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[Ms.Galaxy]

The Joycons also really add to the concept the way they become one with the screen.

Looking at the original prototype of the Wii U's controller, I think they were thinking about the concept of the Switch's detachable controllers.

The Switch looks to be a refined, fully realized Wii U that Nintendo wanted to do but couldn't at the time. To me, the Wii U was Switch's Beta model.

 

[rochellepaws]

I think the "confused consumer" line is an excuse for what was an underpowered piece of hardware, under supported with software and with a gimmick that never materialised as an advantage and more often as a barrier.
The Wii struggled in its later years, it was pretty clear that the masses have moved away from that era of Nintendo and the Wii U reflected that lack of interest.

 

[Graphics Horse]

There were people here who tried to paint the confusion as a media and console warrior conspiracy. One look at the Switch and you can see how a supplemental 480p device with it's own processing instead of streaming might have worked. Wouldn't explain why the console got an ugly redesign but it was easy to miss.

 

[RM8]

I bet they thought they were so clever by focusing on the "new controller" and literally "thinking outside the box" by not focusing on the console. I watched the reveal with some friends and we were actually discussing if it was a new controller, a new console, or something else. Poor little WiiU, it was a train wreck from beginning to end.

 

[Spukc]

oow yeah the trailer that made me buy it day one cause i thought the new zelda would be on it.

fuck you nintendo . glad i sold that pos.
Can't wait for my switch to come in.

 

[Bgamer90]

I knew it would be a problem months before the system launched. Got criticized for it though (haha).

All of the traits were there to cause a lot of confusion:
-Ads focusing on the controller instead of the system
-System name that sounds like a Wii accessory
-Same logo design as Wii (font)
-System that looks similar to the Wii but curved
-Pushing games that don't look much different in comparison to what people played on their Wii (like Just Dance and New Super Mario Bros. U)

Yeah, the signs were there. Some here felt that anyone confused would "be very stupid" but it was pretty obvious to anyone that knows people that aren't in the gaming bubble that the average mom and/or joe would be confused. Too many factors there; Factors that could have easily been avoided.

 

[Ms.Galaxy]

oow yeah the trailer that made me buy it day one cause i thought the new zelda would be on it.

fuck you nintendo . glad i sold that pos.
Can't wait for my switch to come in.

Never forget, the Wii U is the only Nintendo console to never have an exclusive mainline Zelda game on it. All Zelda games on it were remasters or rereleases and it's own Zelda is now sharing a duel release on the Wii U and Switch. Kinda says a lot about the console.

 

[Spukc]

Never forget, the Wii U is the only Nintendo console to never have an exclusive mainline Zelda game on it. All Zelda games on it were remasters or rereleases and it's own Zelda is now sharing a duel release on the Wii U and Switch. Kinda says a lot about the console.

pretty much yeah.
this nintendo console is also the only console i have ever sold back.

 

[Zombine]

Honestly, that showed me everything I needed to sell me on the new controller; and we got a glimpse at a "new" Zelda. I believe it achieved what it meant to accomplish, they just severely underestimated how the casual market operates.

 

[professor denim]

Honestly, that showed me everything I needed to sell me on the new controller; and we got a glimpse at a "new" Zelda. I believe it achieved what it meant to accomplish, they just severely underestimated how the casual market operates.

The problem with that trailer is that it never mentions that is actually a new system.

I was extremely disapointed with the reveal but ended up getting a WiiU for MK8/Bayo 2 and discovered a marvelous console. I love the WiiU to bits, even with all its faults.

 

[FlaygletheBagel]

pretty much yeah.
this nintendo console is also the only console i have ever sold back.

Same. E3 2015's digital event was what drove me to it. What a dumpster fire of a showing. They were clearly done with the Wii U at that point, so I didn't see any reason to keep mine.

 

[samn]

'Oooh, so I can play Mario, Wii Sports, and that Zelda game... with a new controller! Cool!'

 

[BrownieBrownBrown]

oh Nintendo you silly wank.

 

[Ceadeus]

Worst console launch video ever. Feels like a new controller ad

 

[royox]

Poor POOR sellers that had to deal with moms, dads and kids...

 

[Ms.Galaxy]

Poor POOR sellers that had to deal with moms, dads and kids...

What about this red one? Is this exclusive to that Wii Mini console?

 

[AmFreak]

I think the "confused consumer" line is an excuse for what was an underpowered piece of hardware, under supported with software and with a gimmick that never materialised as an advantage and more often as a barrier.
The Wii struggled in its later years, it was pretty clear that the masses have moved away from that era of Nintendo and the Wii U reflected that lack of interest.

Bingo.
The game pad isn't a selling point (more like the contrary).
Core-Gamers knew what the Wii U was and it still bombed.
Many Casual and Non-Gamers didn't, because game pad or new console didn't matter to them, because they weren't interested either way.

 

[Bgamer90]

Looking at the original prototype of the Wii U's controller, I think they were thinking about the concept of the Switch's detachable controllers.

The Switch looks to be a refined, fully realized Wii U that Nintendo wanted to do but couldn't at the time. To me, the Wii U was Switch's Beta model.

Definitely agree. I think that even the red and blue d-pads kind of give it away. Too much of a coincidence to the neon Nintendo Switch model.


_____________________________________

I think the "confused consumer" line is an excuse for what was an underpowered piece of hardware, under supported with software and with a gimmick that never materialised as an advantage and more often as a barrier.
The Wii struggled in its later years, it was pretty clear that the masses have moved away from that era of Nintendo and the Wii U reflected that lack of interest.

It's a mix of everything. I knew people that worked in retail during the time. The confusion was real.

 

[TheMoon]

I still believe that the WiiU was once planned as Wii HD revision which got later branded as new console because of several delays and problems.

No, Mr. Pachter.

 

[//ARCANUM]

To me, first impressions go a long way. The Switch reveal trailer clearly did, look at preorders. The Wii U reveal trailer was a confusing, muddy mess. I'm not saying it's solely responsible for the outcome, but it certainly was a *confusing* first impression.

 

[AdanVC]

Did such a thing even come out? I can't imagine that being comfortable.

Also the E3 2011 thread is pretty funny in retrospect.




I was right.

This thread is pure golden, this page in particular wich is exactly the moment Reggie announced the name of the console for the first time. Some epic quotes of that page as follows:

the YOO

New console named You!

LOL Wii U???

wii you? lol wtf

ehfqouwhfqouhfqouehwoughweou

WORST NAME EVER

Reggie still haven't shown the console at that moment yet and the confusion and doom already started. LOL

"Wii Yuu" Geez... I wasn't on GAF at that time but I watched the stream live and I remember I also confused the word and thought it'll be called Wii You... Absolutely awful and sad times for Nintendo.

 

[PSqueak]

No joke, would buy.

Also would have bought non specific action figure amiibo from the Wii U reveal tho.

 

[Jawmuncher]

I need the Karen amiibo

 

[EatinOlives]

OP, if you were a Joe Schmoe consumer, you would not have watched an E3 2011 reveal video (that only ever was used during the E3 stage show) for a console only released November 2012.

The reveal video was perfectly suited for illustrating to an E3 audience what this thing was. People just loved to play dumb.

BAHAHAHA

People still say this in 2017? Oh wow

 

[SomedayTheFire]

I don't think I've ever actually watched that. Holy shit it is AWFUL

 

[vareon]

Wow, "Switch" is literally the first word in their Wii U reveal.

 

[horkrux]

I really couldn't believe was I was seeing back then. Everything was about the controller, as if that horrible thing was awesome enough to make the console itself irrelevant.
You could get the idea that this wasn't even going to be a new console. Terrible. Of course I knew better, but it was still mindboggling.

 

[xxracerxx]

So many people here saw how messed up it was from the word GO.

 

[Tigress]

Yeah, I don't think that was its only problem but that ad was horrible. I mean I disagree with people that calling it Wii U made it too confusing that it wasn't just a Wii... but that ad certainly made it seem like it was just a controller add on. They didn't do anything to actually inform people that it was a whole new console and not just a new controller. I now understand why people thought it was just an add on thing to the Wii (I guess paired with the name Wii U that would make it confusing).

 

[SOR5]

As much as I love the Wii U, can never forget the big question marks and confused reactions around the reveal

"Is it just a controller? Wheres the console? What games? What? I hate the name" etc.

Even my friends who are enthusiastic and knowledgeable enough had no idea what they were looking at

 

[Astral Dog]

K-karen?

 

[RedToad64]

I remember watching that live. I was very confused as to whether it was a new console or Wii add-on. Reggie's speech didn't help either.

They really messed up.

 

[Astral Dog]

Can you even make video calls on the Wii U

 

[NahaNago]

I was really hoping that the wii u would be the place on console for strategy games.

 

[marmoka]

I watched the trailer again, and yes, it doesn't look like a new console. When I first saw, the media knew by then that the Wii U was a new console, and I saw a new console, but O van understand now how confusing it has to be those days.

Great to see Nintendo doing things right this time.

 

[MythicReclaimer]

While I've enjoyed the Wii U for it's first party classic games they shouldn't have made it look so much like the Wii nor went with just adding an extension in naming the system.

 

[Mman235]

Wii U deserves to go down as one of the biggest marketing fuck-ups the industry has ever had. I'm having a hard time thinking of a single thing they did right (beyond the actual hardware working).

 

[Astral Dog]

Wow, "Switch" is literally the first word in their Wii U reveal.

So thats were it comes from

 

[Caelus]

Compared to the Switch now, which has much, much better marketing overall, the Wii U Gamepad looks more clunky and "Fisher-Pricy" (I don't think the Wii U console itself or the Wiimotes/Pro Controllers look that way, just the gamepad)

 

[Astral Dog]

I honestly think the Switch is Wii U 2.0 and not in a bad way, it takes the concept and evolves into its logical conclusion,taking your game experience away from the TV when you like.

k liked the GamePad btw

 

[foxuzamaki]

I have a Wii U, but don't do anything other than play games on it and the only game I've played that has remotely inventive controls is WarioWare. Do those web browsing features even exist in the Wii U? I've never actually used the browser on it, lol.

Uhh wii U had one of the best console browsers around and this was widely known?

 

[DrArchon]

The biggest problem Wii U had was everything.

- Games
- Price
- Marketing
- Look

It was a gigantic mess from Top to Bottom.

Don't forget the name. The name is terrible and there's no way for a casual consumer to tell at a glance that it's an upgrade the the Wii. It's not Super Wii, or Wii +, or Wii 2, or Wii Next, it's Wii U. What does U tell a casual consumer? Fuck all is what. Maybe they could've gotten away with it if the other aspects were better, like how Xbox got away with 360 and One, but still.

I guess that falls under marketing, but I feel that the godawful name is important enough to get it's own bullet point.

 

[Solid Raiden]

I think we need to admit that the failures of the Wii U far surpass this initial reveal. Nintendo still have some core issues as a company which they need to address if the switch is to be a huge success.

 

[Incitemaybe]

I bought Wii U when Mario 3d World released. First Nintendo console that I found unappealing at launch. The only game I was interested in in the launch window was Pikmin but I could certainly wait until more games that interested me were out so picking it up a year later I had lots of games to play and have all the way up to the end of last year.

For myself, I enjoy new tech and new ways of expressing tech but the Gamepad was certainly something that came off as bulky and straight up ugly upon its reveal. The resistive touch screen choice was admissible but capacitive multi-touch would have been more in line with other devices and comes across as more versatile in general.

I really wanted the Gamepad to be pretty. I remember hoping at the time that they'd release a slimmer version of the Gamepad that didn't look like a discarded relic of the past.

Also, launching with 2D Mario when the 3ds had just received a 2D Mario a few months before in a Mario line with an artstyle that already felt overused. Same old Wii sports and fitness stuff probably killed even more people from absolute boredom.

Basically everything looked old and ugly and completely played out.


I'm certainly in the camp that messaging may have been a problem but the much bigger problem was that the WiiU was just not sexy in the least. It was an active turn off. The name is an obvious mistake.


Having said that, I like my Wii U but I'm also relieved it's gone now. Switch looks sexy.

 

[Toxi]

They showed so many uninteresting bullshit "gimmicks" in that trailer. So off-putting. Compare that to the Switch unveiling.

Which makes the January presentation even more disappointing.

 

[Art Vandilay]

A bit off topic-- did the internet just make up Karen as that girl's name or was that Nintendo?

 

[13ruce]

It was very bad there was also no Karen meme to save it.

 

[DrArchon]

It was very bad there was also no Karen meme to save it.

I remember Non-Specific Action Figure being a thing for a bit on GameFaqs.

 

[forknknife]

Wii U really was a ghetto Switch. They couldn't fit the brains inside the controller, so they had to put it into the "dock", which meant you had always to be in the proximity of the dock to play. Switch is the concept executed properly.

I partially agree but what about asymmetric gameplay? I thought that was a cool concept that i wish was also possible on the Switch but sadly it will not be possible. Maybe smaller games could use a smartphone app for that.

 

[Toxi]

I remember Non-Specific Action Figure being a thing for a bit on GameFaqs.

Nintendo's forced memes are the worst.