UnemployedVillain
Member
Not really unless you choose to ignore Xenoblade for no reason
Edit: Are you summarizing the article or the year?
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The State of the Wii U In 2015 [Kotaku]
- Thread starter nbnt
- Start date
Not really unless you choose to ignore Xenoblade for no reason
Edit: Are you summarizing the article or the year?
QuixoticNeutral
Member
Until the bottom fell out of the November release schedule, leaving nothing to hold the fort but tennis and AC Amiibo, I thought the Wii U had a pretty good yearnot the wild ride of 2014 but not gravely far behind in second. Five strong first-party releases on a system (Kirby, Splatoon, Maker, Yoshi, XCX) is on the high end for Nintendo in a given year, and compared to 2014, which was widely perceived as a banner year on the strength of iterative sequels that exceeded expectations (DKCTF, MK8, and Bayonetta 2 all have a solid case as best-in-series), the class of 2015 arguably made a better case for the GamePad and stood out as more distinct from previous Nintendo libraries. It's just that 2014 soundly trounced it in the department of filling the schedule with quality spin-offs, and had the benefit of capitalizing on the two great pillars of Nintendo multiplayer.
Everyone grumbles about the Wii U as a system in decline, and the lack of sales momentum agrees, but in terms of software quality and diversity this was competitive with 2013 as the console's second-best year, and was indeed far better than most calendar years in the life of the Wii. It's a pity the market hasn't rewarded the system in kind. I've dumped more hours into 2015 Wii U than I did into 2013 Wii U, and I say that as someone who adored 2013 (SM3DW, W101, Pikmin 3, and sure, let's count NSLU and Wind Waker HD). And there will be more to come, as I've only just acquired my Skell.
Everyone grumbles about the Wii U as a system in decline, and the lack of sales momentum agrees, but in terms of software quality and diversity this was competitive with 2013 as the console's second-best year, and was indeed far better than most calendar years in the life of the Wii. It's a pity the market hasn't rewarded the system in kind. I've dumped more hours into 2015 Wii U than I did into 2013 Wii U, and I say that as someone who adored 2013 (SM3DW, W101, Pikmin 3, and sure, let's count NSLU and Wind Waker HD). And there will be more to come, as I've only just acquired my Skell.
JigglesBunny
Banned
The article. I think the Wii U had tons to offer, and Xenoblade is GOTY-tier, but the articles odd slighting of it was bizzare since they chose to inflate Splatoon and MM so much.
Somehow this article comes off a whole lot harsher than their Vita review, despite the best thing they could say about that platform was it being a nice way to play old PS1 and PSP games. I understand Wii U had a rough year and things are far from rosy but talk about every game here seemed tempered with negative platform ennui and things like delving into youtube policies oddly out of place.
Yeah 2015 was definitely not as good a year as 2014, not by a long shot. And even though I myself didn't end up buying Splatoon, I'm happy to see it was a (for Wii U) massive success. Super Mario Maker and Yoshi's Woolly World (Which is much better than I expected) are fantastic games, and I am very eager to start Xenoblade X.
2016 still has a few hidden gems that could come out of the woodwork, if Pokken and SMTxFE can deliver. But it does seem obvious at this point that Nintendo is primarily focused on NX at this point, and if it really is coming out at the end of 2016, I fully expect a stellar launch the likes of which a Nintendo console has never seen. And this isn't just fanwankery, the timing lines up for a new 3D Mario, a new Retro Studios game, and Zelda U(/NX) to all be ready at or near launch.
You can't beat that launch. You just can't.
2016 still has a few hidden gems that could come out of the woodwork, if Pokken and SMTxFE can deliver. But it does seem obvious at this point that Nintendo is primarily focused on NX at this point, and if it really is coming out at the end of 2016, I fully expect a stellar launch the likes of which a Nintendo console has never seen. And this isn't just fanwankery, the timing lines up for a new 3D Mario, a new Retro Studios game, and Zelda U(/NX) to all be ready at or near launch.
You can't beat that launch. You just can't.
You're probably right. I appreciate your candor and I'm sorry you didn't get more enjoyment out of the game.
pirateluigi
Member
Reading through these comments I feel like Woolly World was really overlooked. It really is a very good game!
Not one word in the article about the boost of nindies, while Virtual Console is worth mentioning...?
2015 was still a year where the Wii U got much more good cross-platform indies than before, and some fantastic exclusives, such as Affordable Space Adventures, Runbow and FAST Racing NEO.
Absolutely. Yoshi's Woolly World is my absolute favorite 2D platformer together with Tropical Freeze.
2015 was still a year where the Wii U got much more good cross-platform indies than before, and some fantastic exclusives, such as Affordable Space Adventures, Runbow and FAST Racing NEO.
Absolutely. Yoshi's Woolly World is my absolute favorite 2D platformer together with Tropical Freeze.
Yeah really seemed like a rough year for Wii U game wise, though I still haven't played Yoshi's Wooly World (I really need to get on that). For myself, this year for Nintendo wasn't so great as I'm someone who both sucks at using level creator stuff cause I'm not very creative, and I also don't enjoy much online multiplayer, so both Mario Maker and Splatoon weren't really as big of hits for me as it is for others, though I definitely can see why everyone enjoys the hell outta those games. XCX has been amazing fun so far though and I've sunk about 30 hours into it so far, with my main problem with that game being the volume of the voices during cutscenes, especially compared to the loud ass music. Splatoon single player was also insanely fun for me. But yeah it seemed like 2015 was weaker than the usual Nintendo, and it was my least used console this year, but I understand that with NX coming up that it's more of a transitional period than anything. Can't wait to see what Nintendo pulls out for the NX and what games launch with it. Nintendo please do a new Kirby adventure in HD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Disaster Nebraska
Banned
It had a small pool of exceptional games, and I haven't even been able to play them all. As a primary console, yeah, very rough year. As a secondary console, I got my money's worth for the second year in a row.
NOLA_Gaffer
Banned
Not a single mention of Yoshi's Woolly World or any of the eShop titles that dropped this year?
And I even really liked Mario Party 10, though everyone seems to have a hateboner over that game.
And I even really liked Mario Party 10, though everyone seems to have a hateboner over that game.
It's weird because I feel there are two nintendo fan camps (often with overlap).
Group #1 - became fans pre gamecube, so a good year for them is a big EAD Mario, Metroid, or Zelda. Anything else is gravy, but one of these is required for it to be a big year.
Group #2 - became fans during GBA/GCN era, were young during Pokemon's pop cultural height. Their first big console was GCN, so all the main EAD games were experimental to some degree (Prime/First person, Sunshine/Fludd, Wind Waker/Cel Shading), so they've also been used to "Weird Nintendo" instead of "AAA Nintendo"
All of this is to say that 2015 was a great year for weird nintendo. We got a Yarn Yoshi game, a clay, non-traditional kirby game, a new third person online shooter, a huge open world game (from a dev that never made one before) and the ultimate remix of 2D Mario.
Next year will be standard Nintendo. Everyone will be glad about Zelda (and maybe an EAD NX Mario), which I probably won't even buy because the core Zelda franchise, while great, does nothing for me. #FE and Pokken are much more exciting for me in part because the concepts are so weird and interesting.
Group #1 - became fans pre gamecube, so a good year for them is a big EAD Mario, Metroid, or Zelda. Anything else is gravy, but one of these is required for it to be a big year.
Group #2 - became fans during GBA/GCN era, were young during Pokemon's pop cultural height. Their first big console was GCN, so all the main EAD games were experimental to some degree (Prime/First person, Sunshine/Fludd, Wind Waker/Cel Shading), so they've also been used to "Weird Nintendo" instead of "AAA Nintendo"
All of this is to say that 2015 was a great year for weird nintendo. We got a Yarn Yoshi game, a clay, non-traditional kirby game, a new third person online shooter, a huge open world game (from a dev that never made one before) and the ultimate remix of 2D Mario.
Next year will be standard Nintendo. Everyone will be glad about Zelda (and maybe an EAD NX Mario), which I probably won't even buy because the core Zelda franchise, while great, does nothing for me. #FE and Pokken are much more exciting for me in part because the concepts are so weird and interesting.
QuixoticNeutral
Member
Which, incidentally, was the launch year for the Wii: motion-enabled TP, Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime: Corruption. Plus Wii Sports to sell the system as something new.
Then you remember that even with all that on the table, they weren't all shoved into a launch window of the first 1-3 months, but spaced out over a year. I've never seen Nintendo really cram a launch, and for the first half a year or so there are usually maybe two first-party titles of note, one big and safe, the other small and quirky (SSBM and Luigi's Mansion, Zelda TP and Wii Sports, NSMBU and Nintendo Land). I would be surprised if the NX plays out differently, though hopefully this time it won't have the wind knocked out of its sails by the equivalent of seeing Pikmin 3 and Rayman Legends pushed way back.
IchigoSharingan
Member
You even make excuses for XCX without acknowledging the leapfrog from Witcher 2 to Witcher 3?
The bias is obvious and offputting.
To be fair XCX was controversially divergent from XC. It wasn't simply expansion and iteration, it was really a whole different direction.
Not that TW3 is what I'd call an iterative sequel either. It's just that XCX is hardly a sequel at all.
NOLA_Gaffer
Banned
Sword & Soldiers II too. Each month, eShop has 2-3 good titles to download.
Me too.
Since the late 80s, I love Mario and co., but don't need one of them for a year to be great.
In general 2015 was a great year and even "their duds" like Mario Tennis and amiibo Festival were fun and a blast with friends locally.
I just downloaded Devil's Third a few hours ago and from what I've played, it is way better than many described it.
It's a little galling that there was no mention of the plethora of unique indie software that's kept me busy all year in addition to the big hitters. Runbow, FAST Racing Neo, and Affordable Space Adventures knocked it out of the park. The Nindies at Home thing from E3 was a big game changer too and exposed me to a lot more games I never would have played otherwise, like Typoman.
Otherwise, it's a pretty fair and accurate article.
Otherwise, it's a pretty fair and accurate article.
Of course, like I said, there is often overlap between the two. I began gaming on NES, but was always more of a Sega fan until the Dreamcast died. Even on N64, I never owned OoT, MM, or Mario 64. Nintendo to me was Smash, Mario Kart, and Pokemon.
But I do like both Nintendos. For instance, I do like Metroid, but Federation Force didn't send me into a tizzy like most folks because I'm interested in how they could expand that universe.
J
Jotamide
Unconfirmed Member
Splatoon was the only game worth a damn this year for Wii U.
Robert at Zeboyd Games
Banned
As someone who has owned a Wii U since the beginning, 2015 has been by far my favorite year - Splatoon (especially Splatoon), Mario Maker, Xenoblade X, and Yarn Yoshi made for a stronger lineup for me than any past Wii U year (I wasn't a big fan of their 2014 lineup although I know a lot of people loved it).
Also, this was the year they started adding digital copies of Wii games to the system and while they could be doing so much more there, getting Metroid Prime Trilogy for $10 was quite the sweet deal. Oh and they finally did an official release of Mother 1 which gives me a lot of hope that Mother 3 will be coming out next year.
Also, this was the year they started adding digital copies of Wii games to the system and while they could be doing so much more there, getting Metroid Prime Trilogy for $10 was quite the sweet deal. Oh and they finally did an official release of Mother 1 which gives me a lot of hope that Mother 3 will be coming out next year.
Fixed for accuracy.
Xenoblade, Mario Maker and Yoshi's Wooly World are excellent titles.
NOLA_Gaffer
Banned
Weirdly enough I never really participated in the whole console wars thing growing up. I always preferred Nintendo for sure but Sega's offering were always awesome and if I weren't a jobless child I would have owned both a SNES and Genesis for sure.
The Dreamcast was definitely my favorite sixth generation console and when it and its awesome library of software went belly up simply because Sony managed to wind up a hype machine like the world had never known is when I became bitter about videogames in general and that stuck with me until the Wii rolled around...but I'm getting way offtopic here.
Edit On-Topic, I just remembered that the second batch of MK8 DLC dropped this year, so that's a cool footnote.
GusZamboni
Member
if they manage to keep deliver at least 3 or 4 games for year like they are doing, it will be one of the best consoles of the generation easily
TerryLee81
Member
I just hope that lots of those quality titles will make it to the next system.
NOLA_Gaffer
Banned
I'd rather all-new quality titles, personally.
Bonen no Max'd
Banned
Surely you could say "dismal unless you like open worlds and Bloodborne" for PS4? Like why do people love to discount such things =/
It's nice. If you played Kirby's Epic Yarn on Wii, you kind of know what to expect from it. Replace the Kirby mechanics with Yoshi's Island type of gameplay and you have a good picture of the full game.
TheOfficeMut
Unconfirmed Member
He didn't need to preface his sentence with "I think" or "in my opinion" in order for it to only apply to him. Don't be sensitive to it.
Nocturnowl
Member
A year of extremes I'd say, what few releases it had consisted of some damn fine Nintendo outings like Mario Maker and Splatoon alongside some of the weakest stuff they've published in some time (apparently, I steered clear of the following) like the barebones Mario Tennis and an animal crossing spinoff that's existence serves mainly as an excuse to deal out some AC amiibos (and well, I'd say said amiibos are far more appealing than the game itself).
Not to mention that what few third party titles they had scooped up include such bombs as Devil's Third.
In a reversal of fortune the sequel to a loved Kirby game turned out to be mediocre and the next entry in a string of crummy Yoshi games ended up being pretty great, NoE must've known all along hence giving the dino to us first.
Coming off 2014 this is arguably a huuuuge drop off, doesn't really bother me much seeing as my life isn't tied to how well Nintendo handle their business and I enjoyed the good to great titles they did put out, but yeah it'll likely go down as one of their weaker years and that arguably includes factoring in the 3DS which burned bright at the start only to immediately fizzle out.
In a sense it says it all when Smash Bros was still the game used to leave the big exclamation point at the end of the last direct.
While I always expected Zelda to get delayed (series tradition) I was surprised that Starfox got delayed and wasn't just dumped out, but I'm glad they actually appear to be taking their time with it.
Not to mention that what few third party titles they had scooped up include such bombs as Devil's Third.
In a reversal of fortune the sequel to a loved Kirby game turned out to be mediocre and the next entry in a string of crummy Yoshi games ended up being pretty great, NoE must've known all along hence giving the dino to us first.
Coming off 2014 this is arguably a huuuuge drop off, doesn't really bother me much seeing as my life isn't tied to how well Nintendo handle their business and I enjoyed the good to great titles they did put out, but yeah it'll likely go down as one of their weaker years and that arguably includes factoring in the 3DS which burned bright at the start only to immediately fizzle out.
In a sense it says it all when Smash Bros was still the game used to leave the big exclamation point at the end of the last direct.
While I always expected Zelda to get delayed (series tradition) I was surprised that Starfox got delayed and wasn't just dumped out, but I'm glad they actually appear to be taking their time with it.
LegendofLex
Member
Eh, Tearaway Unfolded can stand up as probably the best game that isn't Bloodborne or Splatoon that I played this year.
(And I'm currently playing and loving Xenoblade X, with the original in my top 10 GOAT list.)
Tertullian
Member
Nintendo really deserves more credit for the good games they did release this year. Whole new experiences in entirely new IPs with Splatoon, significant rethinking of existing franchises with XCX and Mario Maker, perfecting previously shaky genres (level creation games with Mario Maker), post-launch support that puts most other developers to shame (Splatoon and Smash). Even Kirby and the Rainbow Curse has a very fresh, almost unprecedented aesthetic. Even in the indie space: Nintendo's indie developers make a very unique game with Affordable Space Adventures, and Shin'en are the only ones making a futuristic racer.
Meanwhile, the games that are supposedly crushing the Wii U are... another Witcher game, same genre and style as the last two. Another Fallout game, same genre and style as the last two. Another CoD BLOPs game, same genre and style as the last two...
The Wii U might be weak in 2015 overall, but the cliche that Nintendo just churns out the same game over and over again was definitively exposed as horseshit in 2015.
Meanwhile, the games that are supposedly crushing the Wii U are... another Witcher game, same genre and style as the last two. Another Fallout game, same genre and style as the last two. Another CoD BLOPs game, same genre and style as the last two...
The Wii U might be weak in 2015 overall, but the cliche that Nintendo just churns out the same game over and over again was definitively exposed as horseshit in 2015.
NOLA_Gaffer
Banned
You gotta learn to work the system. Stack GCU, B2G1F sales and whatnot.
Quoted for truth and I am laughing so hard at that comparison. I was on the cusp of Group #1, but my parents insisted on no N64 and I had to fight so hard for a Gamecube. Because honestly, I love my weird Nintendo. Gamecube gave me Pikmin and Custom Robo (though from being on that same cusp, everyone kept shitting on Wind Waker, so I never played it until Wii U)
On topic, I guess it's very clear to see the Amiibo's Wild Ride has ended. Smash Bros is what carried it so long, and now that the roster is coming to an end all they really need to do is focus on restocking the old characters. I think it's bizarre XCX isn't getting the love it should be, because to be honest it really should be winning several awards for it's technical achievements as well as what the gameplay has to offer.
I look forward to 2016. It's a shame Wii U wasn't the roaring success we hoped it would be, even following on the coattails of Wii, but I think if the Third Generation Hubris Curse is a real thing, then cycling every three generations is a thing and we'll see some good success from NX.
PS4 has a bunch of 3rd party and indie support to back it up. Nintendo...doesn't.
NOLA_Gaffer
Banned
It's all about tastes and preferences.
The PS4 has twice the amount of retail releases (if not more) than the Wii U does, but the Wii U has more software that I'm interested in, so it's a bit difficult to make big sweeping statements objectively.
gamerMan
Member
Even though Nintendo had a pretty terrible year, I think it was driven mostly by market conditions. It's probably why Nintendo has abused the Ambiibos. It's hard to support a console which nobody is buying. Part of this is that in this day and age a single company can't support an entire system. I agree that Nintendo stance on content creation has been backward.
Still, Mario Maker and Splatoon are great games. I'm a little sad that next year will probably be the last year for the Wii U. It's a little system that could. While we argue about fps on more powerful systems, Nintendo gave us so many great 60fps experiences on a system that was so under powered.
10 years from now the Wii U library will still be amazing. Fun games will always be fun. I know I'll still be playing Mario Kart 8. That's the thing with Nintendo games. They are so well designed that they are timeless. Still, I worry about Nintendo's place in this industry that is so driven by violence. That's really why the other guys are cool and Nintendo is not. Is there a big enough market for family friendly games with cute characters?
Still, Mario Maker and Splatoon are great games. I'm a little sad that next year will probably be the last year for the Wii U. It's a little system that could. While we argue about fps on more powerful systems, Nintendo gave us so many great 60fps experiences on a system that was so under powered.
10 years from now the Wii U library will still be amazing. Fun games will always be fun. I know I'll still be playing Mario Kart 8. That's the thing with Nintendo games. They are so well designed that they are timeless. Still, I worry about Nintendo's place in this industry that is so driven by violence. That's really why the other guys are cool and Nintendo is not. Is there a big enough market for family friendly games with cute characters?
NHarmonic.
Member
The bolded might be because those companies usually support the consoles until the new one arrives, and nintendo doesn't. Just remember the wii left to perish...
In the case of ps3, it said goodbye with a huge quality 1st party title that became an icon of gaming (TLOU) and lots of support and games from the teams surrounding it.
That's why no one bitched about, then.
MechaBowser
Member
Sad. Very sad year for Wii U.