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[sturgboski]

The Wii U was the best console nobody cared about for sure. The pure flexibility of what it's capable of astounds me to this day.

But nobody cared, so whatever.

I'd say that was the Vita actually. It had a ton of potential but Sony gave up after lackluster sales. Thankfully studios in the east and indies kept it alive.

 

[SolicitorPirate]

It's surprising to see an article about sales coming from Waypoint, given their focus on culture. Between this and their video on the costs of fighting game characters, Patrick's seems to be thinking a lot about finances lately

 

[Dre3001]

Many people were saying the exact thing that this article details but yet leading up to MK8D release, there was lots of doubt on how many people would double dip.

 

[phanphare]

An argument could also be made about how it underscores how few options the Switch has on the software front though. MK8 was plenty successful on Wii U as well as I recall.

an argument could be made

it'd be a bad argument, mind you, but it could be made. has been already, even.

 

[SatoAilDarko]

I mean it still sold over 8 million on it

The Switch success has most to do with it being a handheld as well as a console than anything else.

A Switch that isn't portable still has a pretty low ceiling of maybe 30-40 million looking at the sales of the N64 and GameCube

The Wii U sold extremely poorly but the GameCube was $99 after two years and it still only sold 22 million if Nintendo dropped the Wii U to half off to one off to $150 it would have been much closer to Gamecube numbers.

 

[Waluigilicious]

I've heard stories from someone in retail and he said WiiU was a nightmare for him because people just didn't understand how it worked. He'd get WiiU games back because people were surprised it didn't work on the Wii. I bet some of us even have similar experiences by just overhearing things in stores. I once saw a family picking up the red Wii mini and a WiiU game. Clerk had to explain it wouldn't work. It was never clear that this was an entirely new system. You can't blame people either, it was confusing if you're not following the news closely.

We often say 'it's all about the games', and it definitely is, but look at these Switch software sales out of the gate... It's like people didn't know there was something in between the Wii and the Switch.

The Switch made it abundantly clear that the WiiU was like a ghost system, only visible to the hardcore.

Could it possibly be argued though that at least one of the reasons for the confusion for the Wii was that it had a massive casual audience so these people were more easily confused. I'm sure some people bought ps3 games for ps2 but it's probably far less as not many grandmas had playstations.

I agree it's a horrible name but this might be a factor.

 

[What The Forest Taught Me]

It should have been called Nintendo U. That's it.

This.

 

[TetraGenesis]

Great article! I certainly feel this. I played a good amount of multiplayer on Wii U thanks to my roommate at the time owning one (some MK8 and we 100%'d 3D World) but I never owned one personally so my history with some of its best games is pretty limited.

I would love if they just went and ported everything good on WiiU over to Switch so I can finally feel like I never needed a WiiU.

 

[SmokedMeat]

It kinda bugs me that Wii U didn't do so well. It's not as cool as Switch, but it was still a damn nice system. Mario Kart 8 was just as awesome on Wii U, yet so many people snubbed it.

 

[Not]

8 million people got the inferior Mario Kart

Goddamn, every day I feel worse and worse for people who thought the Wii U would turn into something

 

[Hattori]

I love the Wii U but it's a pain just to even turn on at this point.

 

[Dre3001]

Could it possibly be argued though that at least one of the reasons for the confusion for the Wii was that it had a massive casual audience so these people were more easily confused. I'm sure some people bought ps3 games for ps2 but it's probably far less as not many grandmas had playstations.

I agree it's a horrible name but this might be a factor.

On top of the name I think a factor was also that the system basically looked exactly like a Wii.

The only difference was the controller. If you didnt follow gaming you would probably just assume the WiiU was just a special controller for the Wii.

 

[JustenP88]

I'm the only human being that I know personally who owned a WiiU. I felt less alone as the kid who liked the Dreamcast.

 

[mavo]

8 million people got the inferior Mario Kart

Goddamn, every day I feel worse and worse for people who thought the Wii U would turn into something

Yeah, i'm pretty sure that the people that have been playing Mario Kart 8 for 3 years feel bad about MK8D

 

[The Horror the horror]

Thankfully studios in the east and indies kept it alive.

 

[Milly Osworth]

It kinda bugs me that Wii U didn't do so well. It's not as cool as Switch, but it was still a damn nice system. Mario Kart 8 was just as awesome on Wii U, yet so many people snubbed it.

It was not a damn nice system. It was poorly thought out, slow, ugly, weak and low quality.

 

[veloxStrix]

Always, its so predictable

Exactly. Nintendo always has someone negative out to get them. Of course, no one has anything bad to say about Microsoft or Sony... oh. Wait.

 

[SmokedMeat]

8 million people got the inferior Mario Kart

Goddamn, every day I feel worse and worse for people who thought the Wii U would turn into something

You mean the people that got a free copy of Pikmin 3 to play it years before you?

 

[killroy87]

I don't think anyone forgot that Wii U was a failure.

Lol, really. Thanks for the hot take, Waypoint.

 

[KDC720]

I don't think anyone forgot that Wii U was a failure.

Yeah, this just seems like beating a dead horse at this point.

I'm still not done with my Wii U, and I don't plan on owning a Switch for a while. However, I am glad that more people are getting the opportunity to play one of the many gems from the Wii U's library, and I do hope that Nintendo can port more of those exclusives over.

 

[ScientificPizza]

I'm beginning to think that this Wii U might not be selling well

 

[ghibli99]

Yeah Wii U sucked and it was a deserved failure. I'm so glad Nintendo seems to have a hit on their hands highlighted by great games.

While they cut its life short, it is still the system this gen that has gotten the most hours of play out of me. While I don't want Nintendo re-releasing *everything* from the Wii U on Switch, I do hope they bring the heavy-hitters over to expose an entirely new group of people to all the excellent titles on that console. A new, souped-up version of Mario Maker seems like the next logical update to me after the misstep on 3DS.

 

[sinonobu]

I hated everything about Wii U even though it had one of my favorite video games of all time. (Smash 4, Bayo, etc)

 

[Patrick Klepek]

It's surprising to see an article about sales coming from Waypoint, given their focus on culture. Between this and their video on the costs of fighting game characters, Patrick's seems to be thinking a lot about finances lately

Less about that, more that we're trying to encourage all the on-staff writers to be writing more, which means more topical stuff.

 

[dragonyeuw]

Outside of the launch I don't recall seeing a single commercial for the wii U. I don't even recall seeing commercials for games, whether it be Bayonetta, wonderful 101, Donkey Kong, mario 3d world, and so forth. Mario Kart 8D, for all purposes, is a new game for a large potential audience that either wasnt aware of the wii U, or didn't care about it. The Switch is an elegantly sleek, dare I say, cool looking device with a simple hook that fits with a modern consumer'a hectic lifestyle. I enjoy a nice gaming session on my ps4 or PC as much as the next guy, but there are times when being tethered to your couch or computer desk for hours just isnt practical or desirable.

 

[RecRoulette]

Yeah, seeing a ton of people going "I can't wait to play Mario Kart 8 for the first time!' made me realize that barely anyone played the WiiU version.

I really hope Splatoon 2 gets the same insane boost when it comes out. That was my favorite WiiU game, and it's the main reason I'm getting a Switch.

 

[pswii60]

It seemed like Nintendo realised Wii U was a mistake before it even launched. I remember the UK launch and it was night and day to Switch, zero marketing and most stores didn't even know it had released or what it was. No effort made by Nintendo whatsoever. But I'm sure they realised it was too late and just had to stomach the years until its successor.

 

[ZeoVGM]

A new, souped-up version of Mario Maker seems like the next logical update to me after the misstep on 3DS.

That "misstep" has been very successful though.

 

[The Horror the horror]

I just hope Nintendo doesn't start to feel that every single one of their games underperformed because they were on the Wii U and that they can re-release all of them, even those that were never commercially-viable despite the Wii U. Games like Color Splash, Captain Toad, Pikmin 3, and Mario Party 10 can stay marooned on that console.

 

[SolidSnakex]

I just hope Nintendo doesn't start to feel that every single one of their games underperformed because they were on the Wii U and that they can re-release all of them, even those that were never commercially-viable despite the Wii U. Games like Color Splash, Captain Toad, Pikmin 3, and Mario Party 10 can stay marooned on that console.

Hey! Captain Toad is fucking awesome. I hope we get a sequel, even if it's just a download game.

 

[watershed]

I'm confused by the quote in the OP. MK8D sold the same as MKWii? But its a new record at the same time?

 

[Phatosaurus]

The WiiU was great -_-

Well, at least I thought it was. Never thought it'd take off like the Wii purely down to the awful marketing but the console itself, and the exclusives it got were superb.
I only bought it for the TW101 and Bayonetta 2 but I'll be damned if Donky Kong Tropical Freeze wasn't the best playformer I've ever played.

I've had mine setup since 2013, right next to my PS4 and now Switch and it's not going anywhere. Still got a backlog of great games to play on it.

 

[ZeoVGM]

I just hope Nintendo doesn't start to feel that every single one of their games underperformed because they were on the Wii U and that they can re-release all of them, even those that were never commercially-viable despite the Wii U. Games like Color Splash, Captain Toad, Pikmin 3, and Mario Party 10 can stay marooned on that console.

... Do you dislike amazing games?

 

[Vital Tundra]

Man they really need to take this advantage they have and port over everything they can. The Wii U has some of Nintendo's most polished products and they could get their real fair shake on Switch.

 

[udivision]

As a Wii U owner, the Switch is so confusing in terms of its success.

Because I was one of those foolish Wii U buyers, all the must have Switch games are a bit "been there, done that" for now in ways that past Nintendo consoles didn't have to deal with.

But eventually it'll get the games and it'll be worth it.

 

[Hattori]

I'm confused by the quote in the OP. MK8D sold the same as MKWii? But its a new record at the same time?

It's a typo, Wii is ~434k

 

[WillyFive]

I don't think anyone forgot that Wii U was a failure.

Very few people in the scope of the market actually knew the Wii U was a game system. To the general audience, the Nintendo Switch is the first Nintendo system they have released since the Wii.

 

[Welfare]

On top of the name I think a factor was also that the system basically looked exactly like a Wii.

The only difference was the controller. If you didnt follow gaming you would probably just assume the WiiU was just a special controller for the Wii.

.

 

[Nanashrew]

Maybe they are.

Yeah, that line is kinda funny considering Super Mario All-Stars on the SNES.

 

[Grizzo]

While they cut its life short, it is still the system this gen that has gotten the most hours of play out of me. While I don't want Nintendo re-releasing *everything* from the Wii U on Switch, I do hope they bring the heavy-hitters over to expose an entirely new group of people to all the excellent titles on that console. A new, souped-up version of Mario Maker seems like the next logical update to me after the misstep on 3DS.

A new Mario Maker wouldn't work as well on the Switch due to a lack of stylus though

 

[jroc74]

I don't think it's only that ppl didn't know what it was.

Many ppl just didn't want it too.

Hope they learned their lesson from it tho.

 

[whalleywhat]

I don't think anyone forgot that Wii U was a failure.

This success clearly merited it being pointed out.

 

[FyreWulff]

Makes me wonder though, why did the GameCube flop as hard as it did? That first year was insane, far bigger than Switches first year (out of what we know).

The PS2 destroyed everyone. The GameCube and Xbox were fighting over the same sized scraps.

 

[jholmes]

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe selling half a million copies in a day proves how badly the Wii U version selling eight million lifetime was.

Does he think it will sell half a million copies every day?

 

[Joe Shlabotnik]

I don't think it's only that ppl didn't know what it was.

Many ppl just didn't want it too.

Hope they learned their lesson from it tho.

I mean, sure. There was probably no chance of the Wii U being a huge success on its own.

But I am absolutely positive they U'd themselves out of at least GameCube totals. Change it to Wii 2 without changing a single damn thing about the console and they would have had millions of more units sold just on sheer marketing clarity.

 

[Giolon]

Didn't Polygon already write this article?

All jokes and bad charts aside, the article was positing that MK8 would be the worst selling entry in the franchise based on Wii U sales numbers. According to Wikipedia, it sold 8.26 copies as of Dec '16 making it the 5th best selling Mario Kart (or 4th worst).

 

[dragonyeuw]

I just hope Nintendo doesn't start to feel that every single one of their games underperformed because they were on the Wii U and that they can re-release all of them, even those that were never commercially-viable despite the Wii U. Games like Color Splash, Captain Toad, Pikmin 3, and Mario Party 10 can stay marooned on that console.

Why shouldn't Nintendo use the Switch to recoup the money spent developing those games and make a few bucks? Its fair to say the wii U's small install base underminned the potential sales of many games. Let them live again on a console which is shaping up to have wide market appeal. As far as I'm concerned Nintendo should port over every big game they can from the wii U.

 

[Giolon]

I just hope Nintendo doesn't start to feel that every single one of their games underperformed because they were on the Wii U and that they can re-release all of them, even those that were never commercially-viable despite the Wii U. Games like Color Splash, Captain Toad, Pikmin 3, and Mario Party 10 can stay marooned on that console.

I have no problem with bringing any games over to get a new chance at an audience. Give me Bayonetta 1 & 2, Super Mario 3D World, and Xenoblade Chronicles X all on Switch.

 

[Lights and Waves]

I just hope Nintendo doesn't start to feel that every single one of their games underperformed because they were on the Wii U and that they can re-release all of them, even those that were never commercially-viable despite the Wii U. Games like Color Splash, Captain Toad, Pikmin 3, and Mario Party 10 can stay marooned on that console.

Captain Toad should be ported to iOS.

 

[ldar247]

Makes me wonder though, why did the GameCube flop as hard as it did? That first year was insane, far bigger than Switches first year (out of what we know).

This might've had something to do with it.