The Wii U is criminally underrated - it's one of the best consoles ever made

It's an objectively bad console by almost every standard. Unless you live under extremely convoluted circumstances, in which it was feasible playing outdated games on some crappy second screen, whenever the endless drought allowed it.

It objectively has the smallest amount of genre and franchise variety of any Nintendo console. If you happen not to like 2D platformers, like half of the library dies.
It objectively has the smallest amount of established IPs changing up their formula (making blocks in NSMB doesn't count, no). Way too much (of the little it had) felt like a straight copy/paste from respective Wii/3DS predecessors.
It objectively has the smallest amount of games with high critical acclaim of any Nintendo console. You don't even get a full page on gamerankings before the first games with a 50% average show up.
It objectively has the smallest amount of 3rd party support on any Nintendo console.

All around terrible and it honestly sold more than it ever deserved. I do not comprehend how you can fuck up this badly after having two machines be the clear market leader.

Bingo. Even if you limit it to Nintendo consoles only, none of the games top SNES, NES or GC's lineup. Even the Wii has it beat, and at least that had a proper USP rather than a pointless second screen.
 
I mean, personally I feel like how "good" a console may be is directly correlated with how good the games are, since that's...what you do on a games console.
Except the Wii U tablet is terrible. It's built and feels like a Fisher Price toy. Plus, it's too heavy and made the console cost too much.

What makes a console great goes past games.

Also, the good games were few and far between. They had a bunch of great ones, but there weren't enough. It might be the worst games lineup on a Nintendo system ever. At least,since N64.
 
Apparently the system UI was run entirely from the ARM coprocessor, which was way too underpowered for that purpose.

I never realised that. You'd have thought that at least one tester would have said it felt slow to use in comparison to their competitors!

But then from what I read about their online team never using PSN or Live I shouldn't be too surprised.
 
Super Mario 3D World? One of the best platformers ever🙌
Mario Kart 8? 🐐 karting game🙌
GOATical Freeze🍌❄️? 🐐🐐🐐 2D platformer🙌
Breath of the Wild???? 🐐💦🐐💦🐐💦
Mario Maker🔧? 🐐 making game🙌
Xenoblade X? open world heaven🙌
Bayonetta 2💁🏼? 🐐 action game🙌
Wonderful 101? 🐐 platinum games game🙌
Splatoon? 🐐 multiplayer game🙌

And this is only a fraction😍. Truly one of the best consoles ever made👌
 
I'm sure most people saw that headline and immediately became confused and disoriented, but hear me out:

1. The Wii U has arguably the best/most accessible first party titles ever: NSMB Wii U, MK8, SSMB4, SM3DW, Mario Maker, WWHD, TPHD, BotW, etc... With the exception of Mario Kart 8's battle mode, all of those are roughly equal if not arguably better than their heralded predecessors (Mario Kart SNES, Melee, Super Mario World, etc..).

2. The (second?/third) party titles are absolutely impeccable: Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze (Greatest platformer of all time), Bayonetta 1/2 (greatest action game(s) ever made), Xenoblade Chronicles X (hoooly shit), Wonderful 101, Splatoon, Pikmin 3, Starfox Zero (it was good!), Hyrule Warriors, etc...

3. The virtual console (while much lamented) is still pretty damn awesome. I was playing A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time (switching back and forth using restores) on the gamepad, while using my TV for movies and other stuff.

4. Backwards compatibility with the entire Wii library (which also bleeds into some Gamecube games). I get the Metroid Prime Trilogy, Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story, Super Mario Galaxy 1/2, etc, etc...

5. UI - yes I know it is barebones and simplistic, but it gets the job done and even my 3 year old daughter knows how to navigate the system. And dat internet browser... so good.

--

I know a lot of people like to bag on the Wii U, and its' launch and marketing was abysmal, but the system is so good.

I can't justify purchasing a Switch until at least Xenoblade Chronicles 2 drops, simply because of how amazing the Wii U is and how much mileage I still get out of it.



Please understand, the Wii U is awesome.

--

Edit: Yes I understand for third party gaming it is "barren" - but for a Nintendo gaming console it is pure bliss. I would always recommend a secondary gaming machine with it, ala PC or PS4, but I would do that with almost any platform.
A dozen games does not make an amazing system. The Wii U was Nintendo getting greedy with the name and expecting the world to buy it all over again.
 
The Wii U makes me wonder if 'mature' games have hurt early adoption of gaming for young kids. We have a Wii U and the kids (under 6) love it. They are not missing out on exclusives, because most of them would not be appropriate for them anyway. However, it is almost impossible to find other young parents that own a Wii U for their kids. If they game, they probably own an xbox or ps4 for themselves, or if they don't game, the kids are left with a tablet.
 
Flawed console that came at the wrong time but spawned alotta fun games.... got dwarfed by PS4 too.

That's why it's a good thing that the Switch is standing on its own feet with Zelda and other hype future games.
 
the Wii U is the first piece of gaming hardware I've bought that felt offensively cheap and underwhelming. I noticed a dead pixel immediately on the tablet screen and the rest was so crappy feeling that I just didn't even care and I'm usually extremely bothered by defects.
 
Of course it's all about tastes. But even though I probably own more games for Wii U than I've ever owned for any console, I'd say it made a great secondary system. Not enough to stand on its own, but a really good complement to a PC or XBOX or Playstation.
 
It's an objectively bad console by almost every standard. Unless you live under extremely convoluted circumstances, in which it was feasible playing outdated games on some crappy second screen, whenever the endless drought allowed it.

It objectively has the smallest amount of genre and franchise variety of any Nintendo console. If you happen not to like 2D platformers, like half of the library dies.
It objectively has the smallest amount of established IPs changing up their formula (making blocks in NSMB doesn't count, no). Way too much (of the little it had) felt like a straight copy/paste from respective Wii/3DS predecessors.
It objectively has the smallest amount of games with high critical acclaim of any Nintendo console. You don't even get a full page on gamerankings before the first games with a 50% average show up.
It objectively has the smallest amount of 3rd party support on any Nintendo console.

All around terrible and it honestly sold more than it ever deserved. I do not comprehend how you can fuck up this badly after having two machines be the clear market leader.

This.

WiiU was the worst console ever.
 
I think it's great that there are people out there who totally love the WiiU, but it is going to be remembered as a bastard console. The tablet feature just cratered the whole thing. Whatever benefit gained from it being a little more easily portable or something you could use while someone else uses the TV just wasn't worth the impact on price and whatever performance trade-offs had to be made.

I've owned one for about 3 years. and it has to be the most least-used console I've ever had. I think I've spent more time with Breath of the Wild in the last few weeks than I've spent collectively on the WiiU over those 3 years. That's pretty bad even for a niche console.
 
Amazing exclusive line-up, but goddamn do I hate the pad. It's clunky, it's required for the dumbest of things (like changing settings), and it discharges at a phenomenal rate.
 
No, the wii u is a total disappointment and it's the absolute last time I ever buy nintendo hardware.

Does it have incredible games?
Yes undeniably.

However the console only looks amazing when you can buy its whole library of quality outright. There were many years where the drought was painful.

I bought my wii u for 5 reasons
mh3u
w101
bayo2
xcx
and the promise of a new zelda

They all delivered but I can't help but feel cheated anyway. I buy most consoles when there are about 5 games I want to play but I always assume that there will be some level of discovery with the library, where I will find games I didn't even think I would like. The only instance of that happening with the wii u was zombi u. My wii u library hadn't seen an addition that wasn't a VC game since the release of XCX until BotW.

There was nothing coming out for this thing and nintendo just felt like they didn't really care to support it.
 
I can't agree. I love the idea of the console. Being able to play a game on the couch with the pad while the family watches TV is amazingly beneficial. But, the games are simply not there. I struggle to find something to play. Thank God for Zelda. I bought one very late in the cycle figuring there would be tons of shit to play by now. I shouldn't struggle to find a decent game on a console that's been out for years.
 
I don't see how a console with such a small library that's missing so many genres can possibility be one of the best consoles ever made. I mean just take a look at all your options if you like RPGs....it's tragic. Little to no options is the common theme if you go down the genre list.
 
Fantastic wing-console to a primary console or PC. They should have not made the gamepad so integral to the system and called it Wii 2. Would have been a lot easier to upgrade for people from a Wii if it was $80 - $100 cheaper without the pad and they were advised to use their existing Wiimotes. The Wii U Pro Controller was great.
 
I don't know about all that but it certainly proved that if any single developer can turn a lemon console into lemonade (or what passes for lemonade) it's Nintendo.
 
Starfox was good?

Ok then.

Come on. This feels like you're trolling. The Wii U had some good games, but had extremely poor 3rd party support. And the best game on the console came out when it was pretty much dead.

I bought a Wii U for Zelda. The rest of the library leaves me pretty cold.
 
The games themselves are fantastic. It's just they came out so sparsely and the system itself is pretty naff. I really don't like the gamepad and almost every game that tried to use it as more than an alternative to playing on the TV has turned out worse because of it. I'm hoping that certain games like Tropical Freeze, Mario 3D World and Captain Toad live on on the Switch, providing that that system is a success
 
the software is the "only" reason? what a strange comment to make.
maybe it's a 'internet message board gamer' thing or whatever, but back in my day, software was the PRIMARY reason to purchase a piece of hardware.

What I'm getting at is the console hardware did the software NO favors, and actively worked against the success of the system. Whereas, for example, the Playstation 4 hardware works to help push forward the software. The PS4 hardware is not a detriment to game development the way the Wii U was.
 
Can I just give a VLTTP shout-out to Splatoon? I just picked up this game cheap last week and probably played it for about 15 hours this weekend( 10 straight yesterday). Its been months since I spent that much time on a single gaming session.
 
Starfox was good?

Ok then.

Come on. This feels like you're trolling. The Wii U had some good games, but had extremely poor 3rd party support. And the best game on console came out when it was pretty much dead.

The WiiU was always dead doe.
Mario Maker is God Tier, MH3U also
 
I'm sure most people saw that headline and immediately became confused and disoriented, but hear me out:

1. The Wii U has arguably the best/most accessible first party titles ever: NSMB Wii U, MK8, SSMB4, SM3DW, Mario Maker, WWHD, TPHD, BotW, etc... With the exception of Mario Kart 8's battle mode, all of those are roughly equal if not arguably better than their heralded predecessors (Mario Kart SNES, Melee, Super Mario World, etc..).

2. The (second?/third) party titles are absolutely impeccable: Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze (Greatest platformer of all time), Bayonetta 1/2 (greatest action game(s) ever made), Xenoblade Chronicles X (hoooly shit), Wonderful 101, Splatoon, Pikmin 3, Starfox Zero (it was good!), Hyrule Warriors, etc...

3. The virtual console (while much lamented) is still pretty damn awesome. I was playing A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time (switching back and forth using restores) on the gamepad, while using my TV for movies and other stuff.

4. Backwards compatibility with the entire Wii library (which also bleeds into some Gamecube games). I get the Metroid Prime Trilogy, Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story, Super Mario Galaxy 1/2, etc, etc...

5. UI - yes I know it is barebones and simplistic, but it gets the job done and even my 3 year old daughter knows how to navigate the system. And dat internet browser... so good.

--

I know a lot of people like to bag on the Wii U, and its' launch and marketing was abysmal, but the system is so good.

I can't justify purchasing a Switch until at least Xenoblade Chronicles 2 drops, simply because of how amazing the Wii U is and how much mileage I still get out of it.



Please understand, the Wii U is awesome.

--

Edit: Yes I understand for third party gaming it is "barren" - but for a Nintendo gaming console it is pure bliss. I would always recommend a secondary gaming machine with it, ala PC or PS4, but I would do that with almost any platform.

Wii U was garb.

That controller was so heavy. Hardware should've been better so it could have more 3rd party games.

Overall is was a 3/10 console. It could've been better, Nintendo gave up on it.
 
3 to 5 are valid, 1 and 2 are not. It's okay to like some games but claiming that the Wii U's library is better than any other console before it is simply delusional, it did nothing that the Wii did aside from open world Zelda, Splatoon and Platinum action games. You can argue that Wii U's 2D platformers are better than the SNES ones but to most people(hence bad Wii U sales) don't care about buying a new console to go through 6 worlds with 8 levels and a bonus if you get all big coins, the snes throwbacks during the Wii era were fine as they were between bigger releases but when those were treated as actual big games for the Wii U, that's really telling of the library's quality. People want to buy a new system for new experiences, Wii U had barely any


They could have capitalized on how their console actually had better value than launch ps4/xboxone but when they completely dropped any meaningful support just after it finally got started in 2014, that's how it was beyond dead.
 
I can't imagine anyone saying this having ever touched a Dreamcast. The Dreamcast was ahead of its time in many ways.

Yep, I called it the reverse Dreamcast in my post and I think it's accurate. Wii U was behind the times in tech, had poor online, poor graphics, not a lot of variety and choice when it comes to software. Literally everything the Dreamcast was not. The only similarity they share is they're both huge flops that couldn't even manage a meager 15m consoles sold.
 
I'm sure most people saw that headline and immediately became confused and disoriented, but hear me out:

2. The (second?/third) party titles are absolutely impeccable: Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze (Greatest platformer of all time), Bayonetta 1/2 (greatest action game(s) ever made), Xenoblade Chronicles X (hoooly shit), Wonderful 101, Splatoon, Pikmin 3, Starfox Zero (it was good!), Hyrule Warriors, etc...

You lost me at 2nd/3rd party titles. The games in bold are all first-party titles (didn't know what qualified for you as a 2nd/3rd party titles),because they are all developed internally by Nintendo's own studios. Maybe only the last Donkey Kong was co-developed by both Retro Studios and Monster Games, but I would still consider it a first-party title since Retro worked on it too. That and the fact that these are all IPs owned by Nintendo.

1st party games: Games developed internally by the platform holder's own studios. (Nintendo EAD, Retro Studios [Nintendo], Monolith Soft [Nintendo], Naughty Dog [Sony], Sucker Punch [Sony], Bend Studio [Sony], etc)

2nd party games: Games that are usually co-developed with a partner studio but published by the platform holder. The IPs published are usually owned by the platform holder. (See Ratchet and Clank or The Wonderful 101 for examples)

3rd party games: Games that are developed and published by outside studios and companies that appears exclusively on one platform (for the most part). (See Yakuza series or Nier Automata for examples)
 
I always thought everything about the system was incredibly overrated except for off tv play which the switch does a million times better.

Even the universally praised games didn't click with me in the slightest. Xenoblade x for example had me 100% excited but the combat and story of that game is so lifeless and boring.
 
I feel like in order to be one of the best consoles ever made, it has to connect with a wide audience. That's just like a prerequisite.

It may be a "cult" console, if such a thing were to exist.
 
It's an underrated system but I wouldn't say it's one of the best consoles ever made. It's immediate competition alone were better systems.
 
It's a shame that the games are locked to Nintendo consoles. The reality is the install base isn't there and so many gamers on other consoles are missing out on experiences they would probably buy and enjoy on their consoles.

I'm not port begging. I have a WiiU and will get a Switch when Mario is out. But it's a realistic observation that breaks my heart when something like Breath of the Wild is not going to get the exposure it deserves for most modern gamers.
 
Every Nintendo console has great first-party games, the Wii U had the least of them all.

I don't really understand how people are making these comparisons in their head. You could pull a list for each Nintendo console and compare their first party games and the WiiU would fall behind. That doesn't even get into the 3rd party software issues and all the other problems the system has. For a handful of people there is some need to create a narrative that this is Nintendo's misunderstood console. Maybe that's where the Dreamcast angle is coming from.

Yep, I called it the reverse Dreamcast in my post and I think it's accurate. Wii U was behind the times in tech, had poor online, poor graphics, not a lot of variety and choice when it comes to software. Literally everything the Dreamcast was not. The only similarity they share is they're both huge flops that couldn't even manage a meager 15m consoles sold.

Exactly. I've seen the Dreamcast comparison made before, and it confuses me every time.
 
Played mine again for the first time since September (we play Sm4sh at work a lot though)

and started playing Bayonetta again, incredibly fun and timeless.

My friend's kids also got in on the fun with a couple MK8 and Super Mario Land games before they got sent back to their rooms.

It does a nice job of covering the important bases of a home console:
  • Backwards compatible
  • Nice range / selection of asccessories
  • Excellent 1st party titles
  • Virtual Console
  • Great couch/co-op/local MP options
  • Bridging the gap from child to adult gamers
 
I love the console more than most but one of the best ever is huge stretch despite the ridiculously amazing games that are exclusive to it. It does deserve more credit than it gets certainly.
 
Wii U had some of the best games released, at the time they released, in several genre's. Unfortunately not enough people were able to experience those games and it was a fun system to hate on. In time I think more people will come to realize it had a lot more to offer than originally thought.

Edit:
I think it's criminally underrated and have been an avid Wii U Collector for a while, but even I can't agree it is one of the best systems ever.
 
I agree OP, but I've always been a PC player first. I think that has everything to do with the excellent impression the Wii U has left on me.
 
I don't really understand how people are making these comparisons in their head. You could pull a list for each Nintendo console and compare their first party games and the WiiU would fall behind. That doesn't even get into the 3rd party software issues and all the other problems the system has. For a handful of people there is some need to create a narrative that this is Nintendo's misunderstood console. Maybe that's where the Dreamcast angle is coming from.



Exactly. I've seen the Dreamcast comparison made before, and it confuses me every time.
The Wii U is more like the Sega Saturn. Bloated, over-designed, a complete misread of where the market was, and completely missed the point of it's predecessor. The Switch fits the Dreamcast comparison much better.
 
Honestly when you say that a feather in the Wii U's cap is being able to play all of the Wii library I actually would rate the Wii higher simply for being able to play Gamecube games(natively).

We bought a Wii U as a replacement for our Wii and have hardly played anything on it. Even as a Smash Bros fan I've only played it on the 3DS. Funnily enough might be playing it soon for Zelda rather than buy a Switch and went out and rebought a Wii.

Will get a Switch eventually but I think the Wii U has a few standout titles then it was largely abandoned. It's the home console version of the Vita.
 
Wii U had some good shit, way better than Wii because they actually bothered to make a new Pikmin for it instead of a dumb port with lame new controls
 
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