Wii U Retrospective - Nintendo's Biggest Home Console Failure

[@Hippoeater]

This will go down along with the Dreamcast and Turbografx as one of my favorite consoles of all time. So many great memories with it. The Wii U was just a different console. Miiverse was amazing. It felt so alive. It's sad that we went from a console with such character to the Switch that feels so sterile and lifeless (the console itself is great, the UI/eshop/etc are all incredibly lifeless)

[@MizzahTee]

💯 agree! 🎉🎉

[@avalanche84sakic]

Shallow first party library and even worse third party library....yup, definitely better than the Switch.

[@MizzahTee]

@@avalanche84sakic yep WiiU first party so bad Switch ported it all over for full price and Switch best selling game by far is a Wii U game 😂

[@fullmetalgamer6062]

​@MizzahTee At least that port of a Wii U game let's me play as Dry Bones. Couldn't do that with the original Wii U version. It also let me eventually play as Diddy Kong and Funky Kong as well as having a proper battle mode.

[@avalanche84sakic]

@@MizzahTee Releases on Wii U, sells 8 million. Releases on Switch sells 60 million. You thinking there's a reason there?

[@samuelmartin117]

The Wii U crawled (if you can even say that), so the Switch could Sprint

[@Wackaz]

And yet the Wii U still had far better UI and an online community built into the fabric of the system.

[@samuelmartin117]

@@Wackaz oh yeah for sure. I meant it more from business side and keeping Nintendo alive. Love the Wii U library and the Wii U games are pretty much my favs on the switch.

[@megalee0108]

I actually like the Wii U games I’ll miss playing online with it

[@MizzahTee]

You don’t have to. Mod your 3DS and Wii U with Pretendo and you’re back online

[@megalee0108]

@@MizzahTee ok thanks

[@greasy13]

A lot of people who have this nostalgia for the Wii U were probably 11 years old when it came out, had less responsibilities and more time to game. The first party games were solid but we missed out on a whole generation of third-party games as Wii U only owners. It was funny when people were saying it was better than the switch when in my opinion the switch is the best Nintendo console other than the GameCube (I was 9 when we bought one).

[@Wackaz]

If you want a third party game, just buy a Sony or Microsoft console, or buy a PC, goodness me. What makes Nintendo special - and why most fans love them - is because of their first party titles. The Wii U had phenomenal and deeply innovative and influential first party titles which the Switch and its players would take for granted.

[@fullmetalgamer6062]

​@@WackazIrrelevant logic you have because many third party games have done very well on the Switch.

[@Cynim]

Complicated, but very rich and important.

[@RhythmGrizz]

In the same way the Great Depression was important

[@ET_Videos]

We picked up the MarioKart version on that Christmas. Bought all the major releases and had a great time with it. Pro controller was a game changer and should have been included. It could have been just as simple as the WiiU name that hindered it, but we'll never know. I still collect for it when I see an interesting game, that I don't already have.

[@MassiveRican]

What a wonderful introspective on the Wii U. I had a blast with this system and I have a huge sweet spot for it just due to the charm, personality & features it had. However those were also some dark times to be a Nintendo fan. Still love this system and if you’re willing to unlock it with homebrew it’s still a magnificent system today.

[@mr_m4613]

The WIIU was strategically giant trap door for Playstation and xbox to fall through which is part of the Nintendo switch's domination.

[@Mario123007]

I feel like the 5 stage of grief can also apply to Wii U's reception phase... at first people were in full denial with Wii U, then there's anger saying Nintendo should go third party after Wii U, then you see YTber bargaining with eh NX saying what they thought NX should avoid to do, depression is when the whole drought and waiting for NX and Botw so many were just upset with Wii U, and now we see the acceptance phase where people only start talking about Wii U in a more positive light. Not only that, talking about why Wii U failed is always like the "Blind men touching an elephant" analogy, many people only focus on certain aspect of what they thought the Wii U failed, but the truth was it was the combination of all those things.

[@BranSmith101]

The Wii U. A system that had a small, but great lineup of games when the life cycle was done. Also, a system that the gaming media successfully killed before it ever had a chance. It's too bad too. The second screen experience that has not been replicated on the console side was a fantastic feature. It also allowed for 5 player multiplayer instead of the default 4. Lots of ups and downs but, the Wii U was an interesting little device.

[@ShadowFoxInfinite]

Gotta do a video response to this. Today.

[@FleischmannMVD]

I bought the wii U late 2013. I bought most of the first party games and some of the 3rd party games that came out from late 2012 up until spring 2016. I really enjoyed the games. Didn't really spend any money on other consoles - but also really didn't need to. Knew I was getting technically inferior 3rd party and tech exp - knew Nintendo could do better - but didn't matter. I was having fun.

[@Krakenjackz]

It was a very important era for the big N. It flopped so hard and oushed everyone else away, they had to dig deep and figure themselves out. Without the Wii U failure we wouldnt be going through this huge boom we are in now. Kinda wild to think they went from having the least sold to the most sold system in history if the switch keeps selling like it is.

[@astrea555]

Sorry, the only thing I think about when thinking WiiU is how Nintendo censored Xenoblade X, and how for some reason Wind Waker HD is still 30FPS. It's not going to be a console I'll remember fondly.

[@Mario123007]

You forgot to mention Tokyo Mirage Session FE, this game got censor even more than XCX. To the point it even made that one scene where the female MC was in a skimpy bikini but in the western version she was heavily clothed, which made that scene no sense lol.

[@Jahranimo_]

In 2024 it's an amazing emulation machine for just about everything Pre-Switch for Nintendo so it has that going for it now.

[@cbgg1585]

I still received decent dividend payouts from Nintendo in spite of the Wii U failures, so that is/was a positive in itself.

[@ET_Videos]

Ditto! Got our money's worth out of it then and now.

[@VirgoTruck]

No Xenoblade X in the highs? Just not played or did I miss it? It's definitely not in the same level imo as the numbered entries, but it did some amazing things ❤

[@V3ntilator]

I had a lot more fun with Wii U than i ever had with Switch for many reasons. I bought Wii U at launch, and bought 80 physicals and 160 games on eShop. I own everything relevant on it.

[@darkdragonmedeus705]

Wii U is a console I consider highly underrated and was done dirty. It had so much potential that went wasted admittedly, but most of the games were underrated gems at the time that some thankfully got resurrected on Switch. But the duel gamepad basically made it the best console for backwards compatibility given it could have emulated Gamecube games and Nintendo DS games. If only it had more support from gamers and more funds for Nintendo to focus garnering more genre variety. It's basically the Sega Dreamcast 2.0. Or maybe 3.0 since some call the Nintendo Gamecube to be Dreamcast 2.0. It might by process of elimination be Nintendo's weakest system besides Virtual Boy, but it's still a lot better than its reputation. And it still ultimately paved the way for the Nintendo Switch. It was looked down on by a lot of 3rd party AAA companies due to it being an awkward middle that was little more advanced than PS3/Xb360 while only having half the resolution of PS4/XBone that not many people owned where as the former was already in the hands of many and the latter was the real big advancement. But the gamepad offered so many unique gameplay features and would have been the perfect system for a lot of inventory heavy titles. If we ever get a system that is a spiritual successor to the Wii U combined with having hardware exceeding PS5/Xb Series X/S, it would be the perfect system for MMORPGs, CRPGs, and RTS games besides PCs. The Game Pad would still not be quite as good as having a mouse and a keyboard required for excessive multitasking, but it would be the next best thing way better than a standard controller designed for more linear types of action games. But all in all, I am going to miss the Wii U and respect its legacy even if Nintendo Switch has made things far better. And hopefully next gen console will continue to be successful like the Switch.

[@BlueGroove7]

Waiting for new games to release on the Wii U was horrible

[@Wackaz]

I and many others have felt that way about the Switch since 2018. The Wii U had far more complete games releasing for it within 3 years than the Switch had in 7.

[@SUPERVEGETTO92]

@_Wakaz_ Yeah No: Smash Ultimate Tears of the Kingdom Links Awakening Remake Pikmin 4 Luigis Mansion 3 Fire Emblem 3 Houses Fire Emblem Engage Xenoblade 3 Bayonetta 3 Bayonetta Origins Animal Crossing NH Mario Rabbids Kingdom Battle Mario Rabbids Sparks of Hope Dragon Quest 11 S Definitive Mario Bros Wonder Mario Bowsers Fury Metroid Dread Metroid Prime Remastered Pokemon Legends Arceus New Pokemon Snap Super Mario RPG

[@fullmetalgamer6062]

​@@WackazSource: You made it up.

[@Wackaz]

@@SUPERVEGETTO92 Haha, nice try, but the Switch has had 4+ more years of life compared to the Wii U. Even so, the majority of those games pale in comparison to the Wii U titles ported to the Switch when it comes to quality. Since when did you Switchoids start coping so hard you needed to use quantity and numbers for your arguments? You also forget the obvious point being that many of those games were sequels to the newly innovative titles the Wii U released (BOTW, SSB4, Yoshi's Crafted World, Splatoon 2, etc.) showing the Wii U set the standard and blueprint. Also, the Switch has multiple games unfinished that for finished over time after release at £60 under the disguise of "free updates" - backlash made Nintendo rethink this corporate strategy in recent years, but the fact they used this strategy in the first place is very telling. That being said, I'm not denying there are good games on the Switch, I'm just saying in the 4 years the Wii U was active, compared to the first 4 years of the Switch, the Wii U had better titles and far far far more to offer beyond the games (it is unfair to compare the Switch to the Wii U beyond that 4 year point, because the Wii U was cancelled before its 5th year), and also, most importantly, you lot need to stop disregarding the Wii U as some sort of black spot in Nintendo's history when the Switch's success in the first place is largely thanks to the Wii U. Finally, the Wii U had far more heart soul and intricate detail put into it than the Switch - the interface and online services being the primary example. This is just an axiomatic fact. The Switch feels heavily bland, lifeless and corporate. The Wii U bustles with personality and the Nintendo community is built into the fabric of that system.

[@Wackaz]

@@fullmetalgamer6062 No I didn't, lol.

[@PaulGaleNetwork]

Good video, OJ. 👊

[@yetticuda]

As someone who grew up on nes and snes. And went the PlayStation route when it released. I would keep dabbling in Nintendo. Owning “gameboys, DS etc” as they kept going. But the Wii and WiiU era really turned me off from Nintendo. It’s why I didn’t even look at the switch until this last year. The Wiis put that bad of a taste in my mouth. I haven’t turned on anything else since I got the switch.

[@PropellerMarioBrothers2012]

The Wii U’s life was very rough! The failure of the Wii U wasn’t a sign it was bad, it just meant that it wasn’t something the world was ready for! The Wii U was like the Windows Vista of Nintendo consoles! People thought the Wii U and Windows Vista deserved to fail, then afterwards, people thought they didn’t deserve to!

[@captiansaveahoe56]

I had good memories with the wii u despite how bad it did I bout thw sky landers edition from Costco. ( lol I never played the sky landers game at all) I played a ton of smash bros, wind waker was fun, I bout the metroid prime trilogy, xenoblade chronicles x, donkey kong tropical freeze still looks amazing I still have mine and if xenoblade chronicles x doesn't get ported to the switch I can still play it on there

[@Folinic]

Fair and balanced take on the Wii U! Had some good times with it but definitely glad to move on it from it

[@Cynim]

I have yet to watch the video, but what are the Wii U revisionsts saying about the console...?

[@KalarMar]

Greeting from Sweden OJ! I have an important point I wish to get across. The price of Wii U was quite fine, if one bought it in early 2015. We also know that more then one Wii U title made the transformation to Switch with a price bump from 20 bux to an occasional 40 bux. We also already owned Wii controllers. And the online was dirt cheap zero. If one wished for more games, such as Pokémon. Well there was the New 3DS which also released in 2015. When I made some casual calculations with the benefit of hindsight for what a Wii U experience would cost for three years of gaming in 9 games from 2015-2018. As we all can agree money is a factor when purchasing video games. When finally sold in 2018 the net cost would stop around 400 bux. Quite fine indeed I say.

[@fullmetalgamer6062]

As a Wii U owner, the library was disappointing. I enjoyed games like Xenoblade Chronicles X, Twilight Princess HD, and Smash Bros; but there was no mainline Animal Crossing game, but a Mario Party cashgrab that requires amiibos to play. Nintendo of America treated Virtual Console as an afterthought, taking their time to release the good games like Zero Mission while other regions already have them. I could've always made another accou- oh wait, the Wii U's region locked.

[@Wackaz]

The Wii U and 3DS had more heart and soul than the Switch, and that's just a fact. They felt more welcoming for a start. The entire era felt like a huge party, regardless of some complaints made at the time (no era is perfect). When you boot up the Wii U you're presented with hundreds of different Miis playing different messages from all around the world. From the awesome Miiverse and the amazing social aspect. Even how well the Nintendo eShop interface was presented on that system. From the awesome music that plays in the background and if you have the volume up on the GamePad they both come together to play one harmony. The level of intricacy and detail built into the texture of the Wii U was magical. Don't forget organising your games in proper folders. A sense of community was interwoven within the fabric of the games Nintendo released through Miiverse. This entire era was dominated with an ethos of connection. Remember how much more personal and wholesome Nintendo Directs used to be, with the fun quirks, updates on game development and developer commentaries? I'll never forget 2014 Reggie VS Iwata. In contrast, the Switch is completely void of any personality, streamlined to fit a corporate aesthetic. It's completely bland with only two black or white themes. No music, no StteetPass, no Miiverse, no 3DS themes, no freaking system music, absolutely nothing. The e-Shop is an absolute joke of a laggy and unorganised mess. The Joy-Cons are cheaply made and nastily unreliable - Joy-Con drift being a prominent example. Never discounting games and being anti-consumer (remember Nintendo Selects? Where did that go?) as well as releasing unfinished games that would be finished under the disguise of drip-feeding updates that really just added minute content or content in predecessor games released at their launch. Charging a yearly subscription for less online content than the free Nintendo Network model on prior consoles, for accessing Nintendo's older content when the prior consoles had Virtual Console where you could purchase older games at very reasonable prices. Nintendo is axiomatically corporatised. They have become a purely profit-first driven company. They are forgetting all the magical things that make them Nintendo. Nintendo's current president just doesn't get it compared to Iwata. I am not saying Iwata's leadership nor the Wii U/3DS era as a whole was perfect, but it was far more open and wholesome than Nintendo is now. Iwata brought a joyful playfulness to everything. His personality bled into the fabric of the personality of his systems, heavily influenced by him. The Wii U interface is a primary example of this, as I began with in this comment. People aren't revisionists by stating that Nintendo isn't the same anymore - this is just a truism you need to accept. Nintendo was way more open and engaged with the public at the time. Nintendo innovate when they are challenged, and lazy when they are successful. I barely ever see people like PlayerEssence criticising the Switch, but have no issue shading the Wii U and 3DS - but I suppose that is to be expected when Nintendo rewards the uncritical through early preview copies of games and other goodies.

[@fullmetalgamer6062]

Bot comment

[@MPHswayze]

Nostallllllgiaaaaa

[@TheMack625]

I suppose that I'm part of the problem of the Wii U's complicated history, hm? Hahaha. I am one of those folks who enjoys the Wii U quite a lot. I proclaim it as one of my top five game systems. Smash 4 and Mario 3D World are magnificent, New Super Mario Bros. U and Mario Kart 8 got their starts on Wii U before having better ports on Switch, and I also really dig Mario Party 10 and the Rio Olympic Games. Here's a little something that I'd like to say. My crazy love for Smash 4 and 3D World has stayed intact since they first came out. By proxy, I haven't stopped liking my Wii U after nine years. It _seems_ like I might be gassing up Wii U just to hate on the Nintendo Switch, but no. I quite enjoy the Switch for its ambition and fanservice. Other things that I like about Wii U is the cozy aesthetic and Virtual Console. The latter comes with a bonus of reading the original instruction manuals for select games. Moreover, there's a sense of whimsy that I simply cannot hate... Of course, Wii U has its flaws. The marketing was bad, very little third-party support, and the droughts were hard to stomach. While I enjoyed Mario's run on the system, there was certainly an aura of blandness with the games. I have heard many complaints about these since 2015, but I still liked the Wii U anyways. What is my point? Even though the Wii U is a complicated machine, I don't see myself ever hating it. Folks like to take one extreme or the other when talking about it on Twitter. Smash 4 in particular is one of my top 10 games of all time, even if Ultimate does things better. It's an oddball, but I love the Wii U for what it does for me personally.

[@avalanche84sakic]

I actually hooked up my Wii U this past weekend. The UI was awful. The way the system tethered was not great. And the library was almost all rereleased elsewhere. Unless youre craving some Zelda or Xenoblade Chronicles X, no reason to go back. I swear Nintendo wishes they could wash the system from the history books. Im reading some of the positive posts, and I find them baffling. The system performed poorly by all metrics that are known and the library was the thinnest of any Nintendo console. Better than the Switch? Unless youre in nostalgia overload, thats impossible to seriously argue.

[@phorchybug3286]

I just wanted Wii U for more goofy Nintendo gimmicks. Then i finally discovered the Wii U's ultimate potential. Virtual Console: classics you can keep for a nice budget price (unlike the crap Switch does). Got to try all sorts of hidden gems from the exclusive GBA and Turbografx areas. And then Nintendo had to slaughter such a treasure trove these days.

[@Wackaz]

In the first few years, half the Switch's first party library and its most successful titles (MK8, Splatoon, etc.) were a result of the greatness and innovation of the Wii U, whether it be games being just directly ported themselves from the Wii U or the blueprint and gamechanging influence Wii U games had on their sequels which would release on the Switch. The Switch would not be close to as successful as it is without the Wii U. Also, the Wii U had better online functionality too, where a community - through the interwoven Miiverse - was built into the fabric of the console and Nintendo's first party games. The OS/UI was *not* painfully slow, and the OS/UI generally had infinite more soul and heart put into it than the Switch which is why so many people are nostalgic for the Wii U & 3DS era to this day. The Switch has 0 menu music anywhere, 0 ambience and atmosphere in the UI, 0 sense of community and connectivity, relies on ports to push a sense of momentum with releases - meanwhile the Wii U has different tracks for every section of its UI, Settings, eShop (tons of wonderful eShop tracks), etc., it has a dynamic and beautiful home menu in tandem with the Wii and 3DS, with wonderful graphics dotted around the system, with a multitude of different integrated apps you won't find on the Switch, and finally has the Wara Wara Plaza which sits above the home menu screen at all times, bringing you into an integrated community through Miiverse, which was far more than just a social media app. The craft behind the Wii U is noticeably intricate with attention to detail that you won't find anywhere else. No one is a revisionist for rightly defending a console which has loads of masterful games going for it with an incredibly detailed, comforting and magical user interface, that was sadly forgotten by many due to the lack of Wii U sales. Yet so much care was put into the Wii U by Nintendo - they pushed themselves to create a system which transcended just a games' console, but was able to bring people together. No, the Wii U was not a stop gap, if you actually analyse Nintendo's advertisement and general ethos surrounding the console at the time, this was clearly a magnum opus console for them. The Switch is clearly a rushed console in terms of its UI and quality of its controller. I and many others have far more to be critical of over the Switch than the Wii U. The Wii U was indeed misunderstood for all its special elements and its gaming achievements for Nintendo as a company because too many people overlook all of this to bash it for a lack of sales. When Nintendo are challenged, they create magic.

[@DankMemeCenterX]

Rose tinted glasses, mate. There was no actual pokemon, animal crossing, or fire emblem so that first point of half the switch library owes the Wii u is pure copium

[@Krakenjackz]

Half? I just look it up, 65 exclusives made by nintendo or in tandem with them, 14 ports.

[@fullmetalgamer6062]

16 of the top 20 best selling Switch games aren't even Wii U games.

[@Wackaz]

​@@DankMemeCenterX No, mate, you're forgetting the fact that the Wii U era was in concordance with the 3DS era - both part of one bubble. Therefore, Animal Crossing, Fire Emblem and Pokémon were made for the 3DS, which is totally sensical provided their ancestry. The 3DS held the main titles, whilst these franchises all had spin-offs, which is important to acknowledge. Pokémon had plenty of games on the Wii U, of which were heavily successful, one of which was even more successful when ported to the Switch (Pokken being a perfect example), Fire Emblem had the crossover title, and yes, Animal Crossing also had a Wii U spin-off, regardless of how disappointing it was (and trust me, I was disappointed with it, as an Animal Crossing superfan). Regardless of what you think about this, that's your subjective opinion, because the content was there. And no, my take on the Switch owing itself to the Wii U is NOT copium at all! An extreme number of successful Switch titles were Wii U ports, and all of them are arguably the Switch's best games bar Odyssey and Pikmin 4 (the latter of which took 6 years to release). Don't you remember how many years people in the Ninty community were complaining about the plethora of ports Nintendo were releasing to disguise the lack of authentically new first party releases? Remember your Nintendo history. Also, the Switch is built on the blueprint of the Wii U. Therefore, the Switch absolutely relies on the fortunes of the Wii U. Finally, the Wii U and 3DS as consoles had that wonderful personality, sense of community, and magic of the UI that the Switch totally lacks. The Switch is highly corporate in comparison to the Iwata era consoles.

[@Wackaz]

​@@Krakenjackz65 exclusives and the 14 ports are arguably the best of them all alongside Odyssey, Kirby TFL, Three Houses and Pikmin 4 lol.

[@knuclear200x]

The Wii U could've continued as it was. Like we could've had Booster Pass, SwSh, TOTK etc on it. But something happened, as if time simply didn't allow it

[@fullmetalgamer6062]

Sword and Shield wouldn't have been on the Wii U even if the console continued because the games are made specifically for handhelds. Yes, the Switch counts as a handheld.

[@theexile4694]

The Wii U failed because of the hardware itself. The CPU in the Wii U just wasn't up to par with any of the previous gen stuff. So no third party developer could even port their games over as they would have to re-engineer them, costing them boat loads of money, just so they would run on the Wii U, and just so Nintendo can take a majority cut of that revenue. Hence why the Wii U died, no real 3rd party support.

[@TimeofRagnarok]

I would very much like a wii u styled controller for modern systems. OJ tell 8bitdo to make one.

[@saidul02]

hacked wiiu is beast

[@gameonken_pnc]

Can you do a Legacy 3ds video. I like this one.

[@nessianz4730]

Switch is a wonderful console I love it but it lacks of the personality and conectivity wiiu/3ds has or previous consoles and handhelds, switch doesnt even has a menu music i hope this things get fixed on switch 2

[@RhythmGrizz]

I'll take Switches game library alone over a clunky system with menu music any day

[@nessianz4730]

You dont have that many library anyway just few

[@fullmetalgamer6062]

@nessianz4730 Said no real gamer. The Switch has more than just Wii U ports, but you're blinded by fanboyism.

[@lambiepie6436]

Very well timed video with all the revisionist history going on right now lol

[@HebrewGamer100]

So many people in comments for videos on the WiiU saying how awesome of a system it was. Why didn't you knuckleheads buy it?

[@DankMemeCenterX]

You can appreciate the Wii U without making up takes to justify it. For me, a game system priority is to have a quality lineup before the superficial personality tweaks on the eshop to the home screen. Splatoon's birth was a good aspect from that time period.

[@AnthonySmith-bj9mo]

hi OJ