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Was there anything post-launch Nintendo could have done to "save" the Wii U from failing?

fart town usa

Gold Member
Nah, came out way too late. I feel like the PS4 and XBO were announced like a year after the WiiU launched.

I don't know if the tech wasn't available or too expensive earlier in the Wii's lifecycle but Nintendo released it at a terrible time. One thing to keep in mind is that the Wii had exhausted 99% of the goodwill that gamers had for Nintendo back then. I got a WiiU at launch and I honestly can't remember why. I enjoyed it but there was zero reason for anyone to buy it, especially for people who had been solely gaming on the PS3 or 360.

I think it's totally valid to recognize that Nintendo released some absolute bangers for the WiiU; Mario 3D World, BOTW, Pikmin 3, DK: TF, WW HD, TP HD, Bayonetta 2, etc. People act like the WiiU was a shit console but then these same people also love the WiiU ports on the Switch. Makes zero sense.

The Miiverse was also the best type of social network that a home console has ever had. It was so much fun.

WiiU is in the same class at the Dreamcast and Sega Saturn. It's an absolute gem of a console and I play it all the time still.
 
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Celine

Member
No.
The situation was so bad that in Europe WiiU recorded a negative sell-in (Nintendo was forced to buy back more WiiU stock from retailers than what they sold during a quarter) in a quarter short after the launch.
 
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BlackTron

Member
They kind of did, with the Switch.

I mean, they could have redesigned the system, renamed it, and relaunched it. But it would no longer really be a Wii U, it would be...something close to Switch.

I disagree that the Wii U was somehow a beta test for Switch. People tend to think the products are similar but they are really, REALLY different. The Wii U was a DS for your TV. A console drove two screens at once, the TV output and the wireless gamepad output, to create a stationary Nintendo DS. That was probably their inspiration -DS was so successful, so why not try it in the console space? Big problem as they later found out, it's too annoying and unnatural to keep switching your gaze between your TV and your controller.

The Switch is a tablet device with a TV out. You can use it as a handheld OR on the TV. The unique gameplay ideas possible on Wii U are NOT possible on Switch -no matter what, it's only driving one screen and one screen only.

The Wii U is a Nintendo DS for your living room and the Switch is a portable tablet device that plays games "normally" that will also connect to your TV. The product ideas AND their implementation and tech inside are totally and utterly different.

I agree with the person who said they enjoyed the U not because of the hardware, but despite it. The system just had some really good games, it was their first HD system which was a huge draw to me. Everything else sucked, the name, the marketing, the expensive gamepad controller bundled in that couldn't keep a charge (paying for their mistake), the slow and tacky OS...while it is true that software drives hardware sales, the U is proof that software can't fix everything. You can't just shit out whatever product you think would be cute or funny and coast on game quality. Those games need a decent platform to shine on, and Wii U wasn't it. There's a lot of utility in the U, I mean that legitimately, but I'm so put off by the whole system that I rarely want to take advantage of it.
 

Celine

Member
The Wii U was a DS for your TV. A console drove two screens at once, the TV output and the wireless gamepad output, to create a stationary Nintendo DS. That was probably their inspiration -DS was so successful, so why not try it in the console space? Big problem as they later found out, it's too annoying and unnatural to keep switching your gaze between your TV and your controller.
My guess is that WiiU inspiration came from the GC/GBA connectivity.
They wanted to create a console around that concept with the goal to achieve social interaction in the living room (or if that was not possible, to create social interaction through social systems integrated in the console OS which slowed down the console usability).
The problem was that the general public wasn't really interested in what Nintendo was proposing.
Nintendo's weak software schedule (launching with NSMBWU was a mistake because it isn't the kind of game that can create excitement and then letting the console to wither with no heavy hitter until Mario 3D World a year after launch) and their inability to provide a killer app that justified the WiiU concept (Nintendo Land is a great game but it doesn't possess the same appeal as Wii Sports) worsened the situation.

Video I always suggest to watch to understand what was Nintendo's ideas behind the creation of WiiU:
 

Doczu

Member
They wanted to capitalize on a market that was going away. There was nothing they could do.
Think about it this way. The Wii is your first console, you are about 10-12 years old. Fast forward to the Wii U launch, you are now 15-17 years old. You are going through the edgy phase of your life, you start wanking off to graphics, mature games and want to play online.
What does Nintendo propose to you? The same, but in HD, but worse. 1st party games lacked and were scarce, 3rd party either dropped the console after one game or weren't there at all, gimmick was interesting but a stationary NDS was a bad idea.

No, they couldn't do anything. And i say it as a Wii U owner myself. But i knew what i was going for, i bought the console 3 years after launch 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
Loop Trump GIF
Yeah, its a shockingly slim and sleek ps3 pro. Very well designed console. Extremely small.
 

Shaqazooloo

Member
Imo nothing other than maybe some better marketing or a complete redesign could've saved it.

It was a trash concept and a trash system tbh.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
If people wanted to play tablet games there was already iPads and Android pads.

Nintendo's biggest strengths is handheld gaming or convincing gamers it's got a super unique game style (Wii).

Tablet gaming didn't fit that mould.
 

UnNamed

Banned
I mean it was basically the HD Wii people wanted
Except people didn't want a Wii HD.

Only Nintendo fans did and Nintendo pleased them. 10 millions, all of them, that was their entire fan base. And stop.

Other than that, every other customers wanted a next gen system and they were disappointed with the WiiU.
 
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Celine

Member
If people wanted to play tablet games there was already iPads and Android pads.

Nintendo's biggest strengths is handheld gaming or convincing gamers it's got a super unique game style (Wii).

Tablet gaming didn't fit that mould.
Nintendo's biggest strength is that, since they are the only first-party driven console manufacturer in existence, they can design a console from top to bottom in a unprecedented way to accomodate a specific set of goals.
However simply being unique is not enough, the new functions need to create a tangible value for the end consumer.
The Wii (and DS) success wasn't based simply on "super unique game style", it was based on designing a console around the idea to be more inclusive through more immediate and easy to understand input interfaces and obviously the right software to leverage them (again with the goal to be more inclusive).
The Switch current huge success is based on the idea that the console itself adapt to the user's lifestyle, not the other way around.
So not uniqueness for the sake of being unique but uniqueness to provide an additional desirable value.

If we look at the WiiU it can't be said that it wasn't unique because how the smaller screen in your hands could interact with the bigger TV screen in front of you and the wiimotes held by your friends is definitely a unique configuration and can provide unique experiences as shown by game software like Nintendo Land.
The big problem is that Nintendo spectacularly failed to prove this unique value can be desirable to a vast audience of consumers.
A similar discourse could be attached to Miiverse.
A social system integrated in the OS which let the console users to interact between them in the various game worlds was unique but was it really worth to reinvent the wheel when there already existed social platforms with hundreds of million or even billions of users?

WiiU problem wasn't the marketing, it was that the concept and ideas it was based upon weren't really that enticing to justify the console.
 
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Kirazuki_01

Neo Member
Nah it was doomed as soon as it was revealed. They focused too much on the gamepad so it looked like another accessory for the Wii. Their strategy prelaunch killed its chances post launch.
 

TLZ

Banned
I think them trying to mimic the 2 screen system of the DS and later 3DS onto the console, especially when the iPad was becoming more and more popular, didn't work for them.

The system would have sold a but more without touchpad controller imo. Would've made it cheaper and appealed to more people, plus confused less people too.
 

Panajev2001a

GAF's Pleasant Genius
I think them trying to mimic the 2 screen system of the DS and later 3DS onto the console, especially when the iPad was becoming more and more popular, didn't work for them.

The system would have sold a but more without touchpad controller imo. Would've made it cheaper and appealed to more people, plus confused less people too.

True, but I did like being able to have console quality level of graphics without being connected to the TV, but mostly being able to pass the GamePad to antiche player and have them assist me while I was using WiiMote + Nunchuck or the Pro Controller. It helped bring a non gamer to the game in a way that was comfortable to them. I miss that.

I also miss MiiVerse and the integration of this system with games as well as their stickers. IMHO, it worked very well… the OS was just too too slow and disconnected to make the best use of it though :/.
 

NeoIkaruGAF

Gold Member
I don’t think there was anything they could do. They completely botched the system’s design and presentation. Few understood what it was, and many of those who did didn’t want it. If there was ever a single moment where it became clear that image, branding and marketing have surpassed games as the reason why people buy a gaming console, that was it. Although, to be honest, Nintendo managed to fail spectacularly even on the software side of things at launch. Announcing Mass Effect 3 right when the complete trilogy was announced for PS3 and 360 was another nail in the WiiU’s very, very premature coffin.

Go take a look at the Bayonetta 2 reveal thread on GAF. People were livid that the game would be a WiiU exclusive. They went as far as spouting childish stuff like “they’re stealing OUR games” than entertain for a second the idea of buying a WiiU to play a game they wanted. I spent many happy hours with that system, but it was simply unsalvageable.
 

Bodomism

Banned
Bad marketing handicapped the Wii U. Nintendo messed up - They wanted to capitalize on the “Wii” branding but most casual customers were confused as to what it was and it never took off.
The hardware itself was the biggest handicapped to Nintendo. How the feck marketing team was supposed to market when Nintendo themselves unable to utilize their own abomination.

WiiU was a disaster.
 
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AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
Completely relaunch it under a different name while making the gamepad an optional device.

Sell an adapter for the gamepad that plays DS games using your TV and the handheld screen.
 

FStubbs

Member
There were people within Nintendo including their previous CEO who knew the Wii U was a disaster in the making.

A huge problem they had was not realizing AMD would come through with the solutions they did for PS4 and Xbox One. Nintendo really thought Sony and MS wouldn't be able to get too far beyond Wii U in power and thus the Wii U would get third party support.

The other thing that hurt Wii U was that 3DS also stumbled out of the gate and Nintendo had to go in on propping it up instead of giving Wii U the push it needed. 3DS had already been out for awhile and NIntendo usually pulls back on first party games once a platform successfully finds its legs (look at the Switch for a good example of this) but the 3DS stumbled so badly that Nintendo had to give it a more extended first party push instead of giving that push to Wii U.
 

Corgi1985

Banned
The name

The name was really that bad

People didn't know it existed or thought it was an add-on

The console itself was fine I like it a hell of a lot better than the Switch
The wiiu actually had some system level features. It's like with every new console nintendo has to reinvent the wheel instead of refining and every time the wheel gets shittier.
 
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NeoIkaruGAF

Gold Member
Nintendo Land is a great game. We had a ton of fun with it. We replayed some of its minigames a few months ago and it was still a very good time. It could never have the casual, pick-up-and-play simplicity of Wii Sports - very few video games do - but it was a great concept. Light years ahead of stuff like 1-2 Switch. Considering the effort Nintendo made on the sofware side of things with WiiU, it’s strange they never did a digital-only Nintendo Land 2 for the handful of aficionados the system had.

I still don’t understand the “tablet” thing people keep repeating after so many years. The GamePad was not a tablet. WiiU barely had “tablet”-style games - Switch has many more mobile-derived games in its library, with comparable interface, but WiiU was very different. The “asymmetric gameplay” concept behind it is very, very far from tablet gaming.
 
They should have price dropped the console, while dropping the gamepad.

Like Xbox One did with Kinect.


It was dead weight and a fixed cost. They actually downgraded the hardware prior to the launch to subside the gamepad cost.
 

SkylineRKR

Member
I firmly believed this console was beyond salvation. I knew so many Wii owners, the type that normally didn't give a shit about consoles, and none of them purchased the Wii U. They didn't even know what it was. They didn't care, and they didn't understand. The Wii was like the ultimate party console, it was hooked up everywhere and people were doing rounds of Wii Sports against eachother. The Wii U however, it was such a isolated experience. There was 1 gamepad. There was no motion controls. It was.. whatever it was.

The issue in general was that the Wii was already fading away, as was the name. They should've dropped the name to avoid confusion. But in general they should've never greenlit this frankenstein system. The consumer didn't understand what it was. And rightfully so. It was more akin to the PS360, a rather pedestrian HD gaming experience. But those systems were ancient by then. HD gamers were fed up by those as well. The Wii U wasn't even a half step up. It had quite an amount of worse versions of multiplatform games in fact. This machine was for no one. It rightfully bombed.
 

recursive

Member
Should have called it the Wii 2
Or maybe the the Super Wii following in the Super Nes (my favorite console still to this day) way. I also think the awkward controller hurt it. Going with a standard controller probably would have been better.
 

BlackTron

Member
I think at the time, it would have been best to move on from the Wii branding. Sure Wii 2 would have been better than Wii U, but so is just about any idea lol.

Thinking a bit more about this, I think it might have worked to name it the Super DS. It instantly identifies it as a different product, one which people already knew and understand well, the DS. Market it as a DS for your TV much like the Super Game Boy was a GB for your TV. No explanation needed.

Add a cart slot to play DS games in addition to the normal console games (DS would be more of a back compat/virtual console type feature).

Tighten up the hardware design a bit, perhaps streamline the gamepad at least.

I think that would have done it...
 

justiceiro

Marlboro: Other M
No. It was too late. They couldn't change the name after that. Besides, it was also too late to get better games to support it. Wii u history would be totally different if it had mario maker at launch instead of new super Mario Bros u.
 

jigglet

Banned
I think the only way would have been to quickly pivot away from the second screen, add the Wii Remotes back in and market it as Wii HD.
 

Marvel14

Banned
Breath of the Wild at launch would have made things interesting. I tested it out at a mall and was startled by the Zombi U load times and my "that was an ok bit of fun" reaction to asymmetric Nintendoland play with 4-5 players...
 
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6502

Member
Save in first year:

1. Scrap the pad and instead bundle 2 wii remote plus.
2. Pack in wii u sports and a 6 game demo disk.
3. Price at £250 max.
4. Rename New HD WII.

But what they actually did - try to let the software talk, keep base serviced replace with new concept machine was by far the better answer.
 

Daniel Thomas MacInnes

GAF's Resident Saturn Omnibus
The main failings for the Wii U: 1) the giant, bulky tablet controller; 2) mass confusion over the "Wii" brand, as this console was the exact opposite; 3) an overt emphasis to regain the support of "hardcore" gamers and Western software developers at the expense of Wii's expanded audience (which was migrating to mobile); 4) lack of any killer apps that demonstrated why the tablet controller was important or necessary; 5) technology that was notably inferior to Apple's iPad, specifically the touch screen; 6) an overly high retail price.

Nintendo tried having it both ways, attempting to appeal to both the "casuals" and "hardcore," and they failed to attract either. In all fairness, I think they were far more successful with Switch, but they just had to learn a lot of lessons the hard way. They couldn't get there without the Wii U.

I think Wii U's reputation will improve with time, mostly because of Switch and also because it has a very solid software library, albeit one that skews heavily towards franchise titles and away from the indie-minded, quirky, experimental videogames that defined the DS and Wii era.
 
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Daniel Thomas MacInnes

GAF's Resident Saturn Omnibus
They wanted to capitalize on a market that was going away. There was nothing they could do.
Think about it this way. The Wii is your first console, you are about 10-12 years old. Fast forward to the Wii U launch, you are now 15-17 years old. You are going through the edgy phase of your life, you start wanking off to graphics, mature games and want to play online.
What does Nintendo propose to you? The same, but in HD, but worse. 1st party games lacked and were scarce, 3rd party either dropped the console after one game or weren't there at all, gimmick was interesting but a stationary NDS was a bad idea.

No, they couldn't do anything. And i say it as a Wii U owner myself. But i knew what i was going for, i bought the console 3 years after launch 🤷🏻‍♂️

The Wii market didn't go anywhere. The problem was Western videogame developers who didn't want anything to do with the dreaded "casuals" who were invading their little worlds. That expanded audience simply moved on to iOS, Android and the indie gaming scene. That said, the idea of Wii kids going through their moody teenage years during Wii U's time is interesting. I've often thought that much of Switch's success owed to the Wii generation growing into adulthood and tapping into that nostalgia a little. So maybe there's something to that.
 

CamHostage

Member
GTA San Andreas Stories?

maxresdefault.jpg


...Not really serious. GTA didn't keep PSP from being beat; I just wish it happened to complete the GTA Stories spinoff trilogy, even though I was a Vita player.

It was weird how quickly Wii U seemed to be cut out of "hardcore" games though. It was Nintendo's productions, it was a few Ubisoft titles, and then, it was bleak. It never felt like a viable platform, even for the little bit of time when it was in the same gen (or in the cross-gen window) as its competition.
 
S

SpongebobSquaredance

Unconfirmed Member
It needed something to showcase the capabilities at launch. Splatoon or Mario Maker should have been the launch titles and Nintendo Land the pack in.
Late Wii titles like Skyward Sword could've released on Wii U close to launch or at launch.
Make it clear that it is a new console. Offer that you get a Wii U if you trade in a Wii and a few games or something like that...
Super Smash Bros and Mario Kart 8 release in 2012 or 2013. Build a killer lineup of games before the release of the PS4 and Xbox One.
New Zelda title around 2014 at the latest.
... make the gamepad not mandatory. Nintendo released games that needed Wii Motes to work as late as 2015 for the Wii U. You need the gamepad too and if you want a normal controller there is the pro controller too. That's three controllers for one player. With multiplayer it gets ridiculous.

If that had not helped, then would've helped.
 
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No it was doom from day once:
- too late, at least one year late
- too expensive
- fucking gamepad
- brand name. Fans wanted Super Wii and were right
- great games came but too late.

And despite all that shit from Nintendo, running an internal contest too not sell it, i loved it. I really do. And i have zero interest on the Switch.
 
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The WiiU should have been a kind of hybrid between the GC and Wii. A home console, with enough power to keep up with PS4 and X1 vanilla but with a twist - motion controllers and fully compatible with Wii games/accessories. It could have had the tablet controller on the box, but allowing you to use GC/Wii controller from day one would minimize all the issues with battery and range.
 
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Jermare

Neo Member
They should have flooded the system with (quality) asymmetric games whether hardcore fans wanted them or not. People weren't going to buy it for big name games like Mario Kart 8 and Smash 4 so they might as well have just doubled down on what made the system unique. Nintendo Land, Game and Wario, Wii Party U and ZombiU had some really great ideas for the gamepad. They should have taken those concepts and expanded and iterated on them. I don't think it would have made the system more successful financially, but I think it would have made the system something people look back on more fondly due to standing out rather than half-assing the idea like it did.
 

Majukun

Member
no, the wiu was doomed from the start and it's baffling that nintendo wasn't able to foreseen it considering that many people online, including myself, predicted one by one every single issue the console would have faced and how it was doomed to fail from the very start.

and it's not like ii'm some kind of highly paid market analyst
 
Yikes sweaty like I seriously wouldn't even be defending the wiiu who even does that? The type of people who unironically ended up with a wiiu were like, kids who got birthday presents from people who know nothing about videogames. That's how bad the system was and the state of Nintendo at the time. It's like when you walk into a poor kids room and instead of having something cool they have a wiiu because it was a charitable donation. Even if someone broke into a house they wouldn't want a wiiu.
 

ResurrectedContrarian

Suffers with mild autism
It never failed in my heart

Yikes sweaty like I seriously wouldn't even be defending the wiiu who even does that? The type of people who unironically ended up with a wiiu were like, kids who got birthday presents from people who know nothing about videogames. That's how bad the system was and the state of Nintendo at the time. It's like when you walk into a poor kids room and instead of having something cool they have a wiiu because it was a charitable donation. Even if someone broke into a house they wouldn't want a wiiu.

C'mon son. A bit dramatic here. Even if it's not your thing, you surely must realize there is a sizable count of people whose most beloved franchises were exclusive to the Wii U. It had a ton of solid entries in franchises you can't find anywhere else. Those who care about that really don't care if the power & specs matched its competitors.
 

fart town usa

Gold Member
Yikes sweaty like I seriously wouldn't even be defending the wiiu who even does that? The type of people who unironically ended up with a wiiu were like, kids who got birthday presents from people who know nothing about videogames. That's how bad the system was and the state of Nintendo at the time. It's like when you walk into a poor kids room and instead of having something cool they have a wiiu because it was a charitable donation. Even if someone broke into a house they wouldn't want a wiiu.
lol. Come on. Considering that the bulk of the best 1st party titles on the Switch are available on the Wii U, your argument doesn't hold much weight.

Everyone knows the Wii U was a failure in sales, that doesn't mean it's a terrible console. It's an awesome console if you have the money to invest in various things. It's certainly not for everyone but some of us really love the console. I rank it as an absolute classic along the lines of the Turbo Grafx 16, Sega Saturn, Dreamcast, GCN even.

It has like 12 Zelda titles available, MK8, XBX, Bayonetta 1 & 2, Super Mario 3D World, a limited VC but lots of great gems within it. Completely backwards compatible with the Wii, can also be easily soft modded to play GCN games. It's an awesome console.
 

Krappadizzle

Gold Member
Yikes sweaty like I seriously wouldn't even be defending the wiiu who even does that? The type of people who unironically ended up with a wiiu were like, kids who got birthday presents from people who know nothing about videogames. That's how bad the system was and the state of Nintendo at the time. It's like when you walk into a poor kids room and instead of having something cool they have a wiiu because it was a charitable donation. Even if someone broke into a house they wouldn't want a wiiu.
Toy Story Pity GIF
 

nkarafo

Member
Maybe a remarkable launch title? Pretty sure some kind of Mario 64 sequel would sell the console, no matter what.
 

fart town usa

Gold Member
Maybe a remarkable launch title? Pretty sure some kind of Mario 64 sequel would sell the console, no matter what.
Funny enough, ZombiU is legit one of the best launch titles of all time IMO. Definitely for a niche audience though.

That first playthrough coupled with watching and taking part in Miiverse posts was pure gaming bliss.
 
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