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[Theslammer]

"How U Will Play Next"

Previous threads:

Nintendo Entertainment System/Famicom (1985)
Sega Genesis/Mega Drive (1989)
Super NES (1991)
Sega CD (1992)
Nintendo 64 (1996)
Sega Dreamcast (1999)
Sony Playstation 2 (2000)
Game Boy Advance (2001)
Microsoft Xbox (2001)
Nintendo DS (2004)
Playstation Portable (2005)
Microsoft Xbox 360 (2005)
Sony Playstation 4 (2013)
Microsoft Xbox One (2013)

It's amazing to me how poorly the Wii U did in sales. I know it's been talked to death about advertising, people not realizing the Wii U was a different system, the expensive controller, etc., but you look at the launch, and it looked very healthy with a mix of first and third party games.

I guess you could say there were some warnings signs about how the Wii U would keep up since it was getting third party games like Arkham City and Mass Effect 3, both on 2005/2006 hardware in the 360 and PS3. But it certainly was a really good launch, and while you could find some of the great third party games elsewhere and earlier, it was still nice if you didn't own the other consoles (or PC) and hadn't played the games yet.

ZombiU, I have to say, is a game I did not think was going to be as good as it was. I first played it on PS+, and I found it fun, the exploration fun, finding treasures via clues written on walls was fun, the story interesting, and even though I'm not the biggest perma-death guy, I found it well implemented in this game. And it made sense in the context of the story.

New Super Mario Bros. U is a very good game. I picked a screenshot showing one of the prettiest areas.

What did you think of the Wii U launch?

You can't talk about the launch without talking about the update. It was ridiculous how undercooked it was, day one you could barely do anything.
I had NSMBU and Nintendo Land at first and they were enjoyable but I got my third party games on 360 with better support and much cheaper. Mass Effect 3 was probably the best metaphor for how the Wii U did at launch.

The Amazing Spider-Man
Assassin's Creed III

Batman: Arkham City - Armored Edition
Ben 10: Omniverse
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Chasing Aurora

Darksiders II
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
ESPN Sports Connection
FIFA Soccer 13
Funky Barn
Game Party Champions
Just Dance 4
Little Inferno
Madden NFL 13
Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth

Mass Effect 3: Special Edition
Mighty Switch Force! Hyper Drive Edition
Nano Assault Neo
NBA 2K13

New Super Mario Bros. U
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge

Nintendo Land
Rabbids Land
Scribblenauts Unlimited
Sing Party
Skylanders: Giants

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Tank! Tank! Tank!
Tekken Tag Tournament 2: Wii U Edition
Transformers: Prime – The Game
Trine 2: Director's Cut
Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper
Wipeout 3
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013

ZombiU

European launch: November 30, 2012

007 Legends
Assassin's Creed III
Batman: Arkham City - Armored Edition
Ben 10: Omniverse
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Chasing Aurora
Darksiders II
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade
FIFA 13
Funky Barn
Game Party Champions
Just Dance 4
Little Inferno
Mass Effect 3: Special Edition
Nano Assault Neo
New Super Mario Bros. U
Nintendo Land
Puddle
Rabbids Land
Rise of the Guardians: The Video Game
Skylanders: Giants
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Sports Connection
Tank! Tank! Tank!
Tekken Tag Tournament 2: Wii U Edition
Transformers: Prime – The Game
Trine 2: Director's Cut
Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013
ZombiU

Japanese launch: December 8, 2012

Assassin's Creed III
Batman: Arkham City - Armored Edition
FIFA 13
Mass Effect 3: Special Edition
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
New Super Mario Bros. U
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge
Nintendo Land
Tekken Tag Tournament 2: Wii U Edition
Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper
ZombiU

 

[Rubixcuba]

Nintendoland multiplayer, the Mario and Luigi Mansion themed games, were the most fun had on the couch with friends since the N64 days.

 

[SMD]

You can't talk about the launch without talking about the update. It was ridiculous how undercooked it was, day one you could barely do anything.
I had NSMBU and Nintendo Land at first and they were enjoyable but I got my third party games on 360 with better support and much cheaper. Mass Effect 3 was probably the best metaphor for how the Wii U did at launch.

 

[Wiped89]

You can't talk about the launch without talking about the update. It was ridiculous how undercooked it was, day one you could barely do anything.
I had NSMBU and Nintendo Land at first and they were enjoyable but I got my third party games on 360 with better support and much cheaper. Mass Effect 3 was probably the best metaphor for how the Wii U did at launch.

This. I remember being excited to unbox it on release day and then I spent two hours on my then-slow internet watching it pull down a massive update.

 

[Ravelle]

I mainly bought the Wii U for Monster Hunter.


Nintendoland was a fun launch party game and it seemed weird there were so few party games which was basically as advertised a party and family console.

 

[SuperEpicMan]

I think the line up is really missing a system seller. I mean, a lot of those game are great but they also exist elsewhere or just aren't that groundbreaking. Many of them offer pretty similar experiences to those offered on other consoles. The Wii U launched deep into last generation, and unless you didn't already have an Xbox 360 or PS3, the only games that kinda stand out are:

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
New Super Mario Bros. U
Nintendo Land
ZombiU

And none of these are going to sell the console on their own.

The Switch is partly successful because besides the Wii U (which not many people bought), it is the only system that you can play BOTW on. I imagine if the Wii U launched with Super Mario 3D World, it would have done a bit better.

 

[Theslammer]

You can't talk about the launch without talking about the update. It was ridiculous how undercooked it was, day one you could barely do anything.
I had NSMBU and Nintendo Land at first and they were enjoyable but I got my third party games on 360 with better support and much cheaper. Mass Effect 3 was probably the best metaphor for how the Wii U did at launch.

It's been so long I forgot about all of this. I'm adding your quote to the OP.

I think the line up is really missing a system seller. I mean, a lot of those game are great but they also exist elsewhere or just aren't that groundbreaking. Many of them offer pretty similar experiences to those offered on other consoles. The Wii U launched deep into last generation, and unless you didn't already have an Xbox 360 or PS3, the only games that kinda stand out are:

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
New Super Mario Bros. U
Nintendo Land
ZombiU

And none of these are going to sell the console on their own.

The Switch is partly successful because besides the Wii U (which not many people bought), it is the only system that you can play BOTW on. I imagine if the Wii U launched with Super Mario 3D World, it would have done a bit better.

I could see NSMBU possibly doing it at the time. The DS and Wii versions sold incredibly well.

 

[Suburban Thug]

I wasn't there at launch but always wanted to try Zombi U. The death mechanic where you respawn as a new character seemed unique at the time and it was the first new survival horror game in god knows when. I got my Wii U because of smash to be honest. Wind Waker HD, Breath of the Wild and Mario 3D Land were good too but that's pretty much all I enjoyed.

 

[FutureLarking]

I still had people tell me Wii U was for kids at launch, even with that line up. It was a a fairly decent show of support from most of the major first parties which Switch didn't get for it's launch.

But fuck me, going into Game during the christmas period and hearing people ask for "the tablet controller" for their Wii, dear lord. The marketing for this thing and the name were so far off base.

 

[Bendo]

Pretty much the only thing I remember from the Wii U launch is Jeff Gerstmann playing Funky Barn for four hours two days after launch. ZombiU aside, it was not a very good launch.

 

[Theslammer]

I wasn't there at launch but always wanted to try Zombi U. The death mechanic where you respawn as a new character seemed unique at the time and it was the first new survival horror game in god knows when. I got my Wii U because of smash to be honest. Wind Waker HD, Breath of the Wild and Mario 3D Land were good too but that's pretty much all I enjoyed.

Ah, so you haven't tried ZombiU yet? Whether the Wii U or the PS4/XBO/PC, I don't think you can go wrong.

I still had people tell me Wii U was for kids at launch, even with that line up. It was a a fairly decent show of support from most of the major first parties which Switch didn't get for it's launch.

But fuck me, going into Game during the christmas period and hearing people ask for "the tablet controller" for their Wii, dear lord. The marketing for this thing and the name were so far off base.

O_O

 

[Durock]

I worked at GameStop a year after it launched. There were still numerous customers asking about getting the controller for their Wii. When you’re marketing the system with 4 people playing on their couch holding WiiMotes and a 5th person holding the GamePad, confusion is to be expected. Not to mention one of the factors that played to the Wii’s success was its incredible peripherals. The GamePad just seemed like another one.

 

[Couleurs]

My main memory of the launch is:

 

[PantsuJo]

ZombiU was the real killer app.

 

[BanjoLayleeYookaKazooie]

It's a really good launch when everything is said and done, it's just that most of those games were already available elsewhere for cheaper prices (or would be in the future as far as the 'exclusive' Zombii is concerned) and there was not a big system seller game à la BoTW, albeit NSMBU and Nintendo Land were both great. And then with how lean 2013 was, particularly the first 6 months and well that's when the situation became unsalvageable.

 

[Markitron]

I have owned every Nintendo console and handheld since the SNES, yet I have never seen a Wii-U in real life.

Tells you all you need to know about it really. A collosal failure from start to finish, it's like they didn't realise that nobody cared about the Wii since the start of 2010.

 

[-shadow-]

My main memory of the launch is:

I hope she never got rid of them.

 

[Markitron]

My main memory of the launch is:

I have seen this image a few times but am not sure of the context, I'm assuming she's a scalper bragging about how many Wii-U's she got on launch?

 

[Poimandres]

I have owned every Nintendo console and handheld since the SNES, yet I have never seen a Wii-U in real life.

Tells you all you need to know about it really. A collosal failure from start to finish, it's like they didn't realise that nobody cared about the Wii since the start of 2010.

Every console... Including Virtual Boy? Because thats on a whole other level of failure compared to Wii U hehe.

The console itself is not too bad really. If Nintendo marketed correctly and actually cut the price of the console instead of just leaving it sit maybe it could have reached Gamecube numbers at least. Not that GC numbers means "success", but it really does feel like they just sort of gave up after 2014.

Bayo 2, DK Tropical Freeze, MK8 were the top picks for me all said and done. I thought it was amazing I got the console for $175 AUD less than a year after launch brand new. Only now has that price been matched, many years later.

 

[Markitron]

Every console... Including Virtual Boy? Because thats on a whole other level of failure compared to Wii U hehe.

The console itself is not too bad really. If Nintendo marketed correctly and actually cut the price of the console instead of just leaving it sit maybe it could have reached Gamecube numbers at least. Not that GC numbers means "success", but it really does feel like they just sort of gave up after 2014.

Bayo 2, DK Tropical Freeze, MK8 were the top picks for me all said and done. I thought it was amazing I got the console for $175 AUD less than a year after launch brand new. Only now has that price been matched, many years later.

Ah. I forgot about the Virtual Boy! I wasn't employed when the Wii-U was released at the end of 2012, otherwise I'd have blindly bought it just like any other Nintendo product. By the time I did have disposable income, the machine was clearly dead and yet they still hadn't dropped the price. I remember going onto Amazon to see how much they were and being shocked, I don't know what possessed them to never cut the price.

Hopefully the best games show up on the Switch eventually.

 

[TheDinoman]

I think it was probably the first Nintendo home console we didn't get at launch. There was just nothing there for me gamewise, and then the news about all the horrible OS issues completely turned me off from it for a good year. Got it for the holidays in 2013 for Pikmin 3 and Mario 3D World.

 

[MikeHaggar]

The hide n seek mini-game in Nintendo Land was awesome (Mario Chase?). I got a Wii U at launch and we had all of my family over for Thanksgiving. We had a ton of fun playing Mario Chase. I'd love for them to revisit that idea and expand it out into a full-fledged game with more intricate levels, power-ups, etc... If done right I think it could be a huge hit. Plus, it would work well on Switch since everyone playing has their own screen.

 

[IdreamofHIME]

Two two SKUs were dumb as fuck, the 8GB model was literally made just so they could advertise at a lower price point, but it was such a pathetic choice compared to the 32GB model.
...even then, that was shitty small storage space.

 

[TheJoRu]

It was a diverse launch line-up for sure. Problem for me was that, while NSMBU is a good game, it did not have a killer-app ala Mario 64 for N64, Wii Sports+Twilight Princess for Wii or Breath of the Wild for Switch.

Perhaps an even bigger issue was what came after the launch...as in almost nothing, for a good 6-8 months or so.

 

[WillyFive]

Launch content was very good, but the fundamental mistakes of the system were apparent day one; with no one knowing it was a new system, bad branding, and misguided attempt to attract PS3/360 players a year before the PS4 and One would come out.

 

[Ouroboros]

I have seen this image a few times but am not sure of the context, I'm assuming she's a scalper bragging about how many Wii-U's she got on launch?

I believe that was the pic on their ebay listing and just to show how much quantities they had on hand. I don't know how much they were asking for the wii u's though.

I got mine from scalper Walmart, the system, an extra wii remote, nunchuk, and New super mario bros U. Worst decision ever.

 

[bozeman]

I always thought the decision to launch with NSMBWiiU as the hopeful system seller was odd considering they had just released NSMB2 on the 3DS just a couple of months prior in August. Seems like they could've spaced those out a bit more.

 

[Forkball]

I could not get into Nintendo Land. None of the games really stood out as memorable. And I knew something was wrong when I played Nintendo Land with another person and zero fun was had. Compare this to Wii Sports, a game that instantly engaged people who have never touched a game in their life, or even the Switch, where the play anywhere gimmick has also captured the attention of those who are not invested in games. I played the Switch in public with some friends and they instantly understood the appeal. That can't be said at all with the Gamepad (aka the New Controller).

New Super Mario Bros. U is legit. Easily the best of the NSMB series, and it got even better with the New Luigi U DLC. That said, it is a terrible game to launch a console with. You need something completely fresh and vivid when launching a new console. "But the level design!" doesn't hook people. Even during the original Wii U trailer people were questioning whether or not it was a new Mario game. That didn't happen at all when they showed only a handful of seconds of Super Mario Odyssey last year.

The third party games sound amazing on paper. Call of Duty, Fifa, Mass Effect, Tekken, Assassin's Creed, Batman... I don't see a lot of those franchises coming to the Switch ever. But, in context, no one wanted to play these games because they were ports of titles released months before. Ironically Switch has had tremendous success with ports, but largely because of the handheld feature and developers have pushed out "ultimate" versions of titles instead of the base game with no promises of DLC. It should be interesting to see how late ports of western AAA games fare on the Switch when many flopped on the Wii U.

Compared to the Wii and Switch, the Wii U definitely had a dim launch. It didn't have the instantly understandable hardware gimmick like motion controls, nor did it have a legit gaming sensation such as Breath of the Wild.

 

[nickerous]

I believe that sales would have been better if they allowed you to use the gamepad to control wii games. Maybe not all of them, but the ones that had Classic Controller support at least. Also, make gamecube games compatible and controlled with the gamepad.

We are finally getting that now, but not from Nintendo.

 

[DiamondDog74]

God, I was so excited to get this. Parents got it for me. Friend and I played Mario kart and splatoon. Brought it to college and slammed hours into nintendoland. Mario maker was the perfect sunset. For every painful release cycle there was a burst of first party magic. I hated that wait.

 

[phanphare]

NSMBU is a good game

it was a really bad launch game

story of the Wii U's life

 

[sixteen-bit]

The only launch game I have played is Tekken Tag but it's real good.

 

[watershed]

I remember the WiiU launch as that of an unattractive system with tons of 3rd party ports and very few interesting 1st party launch games. I like 2d Mario games in general but even back then I was struck by the complete misread Nintendo made when they thought a 2d HD Mario would be a major draw at launch.

 

[DKPOWPOW]

This was the first Nintendo home console I didn't pick up at launch after becoming a gamer. In fact I didn't pick one up until 2015 with the Splatoon/Smash bundle (awesome deal).

I remember liking the controller, and the graphics. But it just didn't have a must buy title forme and my Wii/360/DS backlog was huge.

Compared to the launch of the Wii, or GameCube it was just lacking. No real killer app, nothing like Mario 64, Zelda TP, or Melee.

 

[friskykillface]

I hope she never got rid of them.

Easily returned them is my guess
You get extended returns due to the holidays x gift receipts so once the Wii U went for no profit she just returned it :/
Honestly all new systems should be all sales final/ exchange only if it breaks.

Aside from ZombiU and NSMB Wii U, launch was a mess, that day 1 update was so slow, going into the options and different menus was supper slow.

Then the wait after for games was terrible

 

[Geg]

I remember not even realizing the Wii U had already launched lol. Ended up not getting it until Mario Kart 8 in 2014.

Honestly though, the Wii U ended up being the console to get me back into gaming after a long period of not playing many games. Splatoon is the GOTG for me.

 

[rudger]

I waited in line at the Nintendo Store for the launch. Several people in line were telling me how they planned to scalp it, which even though I was bullish on the system, I told them was a bad idea.

Was excited to play when I got home and was stuck updating until it looked like it froze. Unplugged the system and plugged it back in (it was downloading not installing) and realized that it updates in the background - still one of the better ways a system handles automatic updates, but wish the button to play and update later existed on day one. Played Nintendoland with my roommates and had a good, if not incredibly tired time.

The next day I migrated my Wii over to the Wii U and enjoyed watching the little Pikmin march....and march...and march...and it was no longer enjoyable. Called my friend on Wii U chat, which I actually liked, but was useless since it required quitting what you were doing.

Through trial and error had to find an external drive that worked. Thrilled I could load games on an external, but annoyed at the odd limitations on what kind of setup works - y cables!

Tried following a sports game through TVii...lol.

Set up the remote to work with my tv - still one of the most useful features. Has proved wonderful when traveling with the system since it's so easy to set up and it just becomes my remote.

I started using the browser and loved it. Scrolling is great. YouTube is great. I set up a folder on my computer to launch videos on my Wii U. Wonderful! I'd eventually use the browser to mess with the web API and taught myself programming playing with its buttons, screen, gyroscopes and accelerometers. Changed my life honestly as I now program as a profession.

Overall it was a typical bumpy launch. The system had some great ideas that the competition took years to catch up to (external drives) or didnt even try (Sony and backwards compatibility - Xbox really did great here but it's not 100% compatible). They eventually managed to fix some of the slowness with he quick start menu, but the fact it was behind the 3ds in functionality is frankly unforgivable. I shouldn't have to quit a game to see my games list.

Edit: oh, forgot to mention I also overheard some mothers complaining in a Toys R Us how ridiculous it was that Nintendo was coming out with a new system "already". I told them the Wii was 6 years old and they were legitimately shocked. Hell, a month ago I was in a GameStop and a woman came in asking how to hook her Wii up to a tv that only had hdmi in.

 

[thechristoph]

I really liked the Wii U, though I did not get it at launch. I thought it was too expensive.

My main launch memories are listening to podcasts and stuff where the hosts would talk about no shortages like that was a bad thing. "It's not even selling out, it's not even hard to find one, it's a huge bomb."

I guess that turned out to be true (oops) but it's another one of those things where Nintendo can't win among "gamerz". If there are no shortages, it's a failure. If there are shortages, it's an artificial supply constriction.

 

[¡HarlequinPanic!]

Ended up getting it after playing Nintendoland at a friend's house and being enraptured by it the entire night. It had just hit those 200 dollar refurb and free game with Kart 8 deals.

Fun system but they never found out what to do with it and honestly the control options were a mess. I had half of nintyland locked out for me because I didn't have a motion plus laying around anywhere, stuff like that is just unacceptable and really highlights that the WiiU was going to have a huge accessibility problem at the original Wii didn't. Bought smash brothers and XCX before selling it earlier this year, mostly unplayed.

 

[Oersted]

Nintendoland, Tank! Tank! Tank! and Game & Wario were fun times with friends.

Hope we will see a concept like this one day again. I know chances are subzero.

 

[clevbrowns94]

I thought it was a good launch. Doesn't top launching with BOTW, but still decent. Of course, having good games at launch doesn't matter when you advertise so poorly that most people think the system is a Wii add-on, and sadly, this was actually the peak of third party support and it declined ever since.

 

[clevbrowns94]

I always thought the decision to launch with NSMBWiiU as the hopeful system seller was odd considering they had just released NSMB2 on the 3DS just a couple of months prior in August. Seems like they could've spaced those out a bit more.

Yeah, two in one year didn't help, and you go from that to no more NSMB games in the five years since then. And we may never see one again, with it being more likely to see another Mario Maker game.

 

[Theslammer]

ZombiU was the real killer app.

Definitely underappreciated. I'd say underrated, but I feel it has a pretty good reputation from people who have played it. The look of it definitely turned me off at first, but as I said in the OP, I played it once it came on PS+ and it was addictive. I could see myself playing through it again.

 

[OmegaFax]

The Wii U didn't interest me initially. I didn't even buy a 3DS well until two years into the system's life cycle. It's been my holding pattern until the Switch launched.

If it wasn't for the 3DS, I don't think I would have been interested in the Wii U. The better titles on the 3DS were creeping onto the Wii U with cleaner graphics and tweaked gameplay (Mario Kart 7 -> Mario Kart 8 ... 3D Land -> 3D World).

 

[Cleve]

It was a rough time. I remember coming home, turning it on, starting the update then getting worried about bricking it because the update took hours with no sense of progress and I was afraid to turn it off.

Even after that, the OS ran like shit until several additional patches.

The first game I was really interested in was Pikmin 3, and that wasn't out until July. ZombiU and NSMB held me over, but it really was a disappointment.

 

[LiberaTeExInferis]

This should also be in the OP...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECqpc6Ses4s

 

[PoorChoices]

I almost got into the hype for a launch system. Mu wife told me to wait before I buy it, as we'd probably only play Super Mario Wii U, and...that's it. I will admit that near the end, the system started to come into its own, but I am glad I didnt get it at launch.

 

[SMattera]

Software wise, it was the worst Nintendo console launch of all time (minus the virtual boy). I don't think anything else even comes close.

A NSMBU game that looks just like the others. A mini game collection that's great for couch co-op, but dreadfully boring otherwise. A bunch of third party games you can get on your Xbox 360 or PS3.

I don't know how you can even argue that the launch lineup was respectable, let alone great. Look at some of the games that have launched with previous Nintendo consoles:

NES: Super Mario Bros
SNES: Super Mario World
Gameboy: Tetris
Gameboy Color: Link's Awakening DX
N64: Mario 64
Wii: Wii Sports + Zelda

The Gamecube and GBA had lackluster launch libraries, but both got a ton of great games within the first year.

 

[wild wild rice]

By this point I was convinced I would never touch another Nintendo console ever again. Wii and DS were mostly a snooze for me. (Retroactively I now acknowledge there are plenty of straight classics on those systems. I was just more into Sony/Microsoft's fare at that point in time.) The Wii U reveal was an embarrassment to watch. I thought it was an additional peripheral for Wii for the first couple minutes.

Then they announced Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, Bayonetta 2, etc. etc. and I ended up buying and loving the console. Games are all that matter in the end and Wii U has plenty of great ones.

RIP in peace, little guy.

 

[Shaanyboi]

I'll just say damn all of you that didn't buy ZombiU

And Wonderful 101, and Bayo 2...