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The Wii U is 10 years old, but I still can remember looking forward to it, just like a bunch of people I was fascinated by the concept of Nintendo's newest console.
Did it pay off? Well, if there is something a lot of us have always been aware of is the Wii U's lukewarm success in the market, being Nintendo sometimes subtle enough to admit it.
So let's talk a bit about the console and games and if they did "well" for users.
I don't tend to write long threads but since this is one of the few consoles I lived from start to finish, let's make an exception this time.
• Functionality, services, and options.The Wii U had quite some interesting options, some of which stuff that is not included anymore in modern hardware by Nintendo.
Some of them were useful like knowing how many hours you played a game or actual folders, and other stuff that Nintendo offered was at the very least interesting.
For example, the Wii U allowed you to video chat with other people using the Gamepad as a screen, I tried to use it but I can confirm it never worked.
Another option was using the gamepad for Google traveling and while interesting, I don't believe people loved it.
The Gamepad itself had options like a touchscreen, motion controller, and other stuff that sincerely I fail to remember games that used these functions at all.
The console had interesting features and I respect Nintendo for trying but unfortunately, I think is mostly secure to say that besides Nintendo itself and another indie company used it at all.
Regarding performance, the Wii U was quite a slow machine, taking many seconds to navigate between some menus or just turn it on, I can remember for example that even PS3 and Xbox 360 were faster machines considering both were older and unfortunately this is something Nintendo never ended fixing.
Regarding services, the brand-new Nintendo eShop was easier to navigate than the Nintendo Wii Channel but also had less charisma, of course, this last thing shouldn't care but I do.
But it was a nice store then unfortunately most of the time was mostly empty and lacking new releases.
On the bright side, Nintendo offered a better deal with the Virtual console.
A lot of stuff from the Wii one never appeared but this time we had more Nintendo 64 games, including copyright-hell ones like Donkey Kong 64 and better than ever also Nintendo DS and GBA games.
It wasn't great but it was better than Nintendo offers nowadays with their NSO subscription.
Of course, after all these services I wouldn't forget the most important one.
"Miiverse", Nintendo's social media.
Was Miiverse as bad as people make it sound?
As someone that used it a lot, I can confirm that... I don't think it was that bad, there were a lot of questionable posts but they were easy to ignore, and a bunch of people used to draw pretty well-made sketches.
The problem was... That Nintendo had problems making people respect their rules and sincerely it was quite often seeing people being made fun of just for commenting silly but inoffensive comments or just pushing the boundaries too much.
It's understandable why Nintendo preferred to save themselves the problem and besides some stuff inside some of their games, Nintendo Switch almost completely lacks any sort of social network for users.
A big shame but I still remember it with a smile as something I had the opportunity to live.
• GamesBut what is a console without games?
- A Wii U (Nowadays a PS5 or Xbox Series)
Wii U had quite a limited library of third-party games and almost no one company tried to put their games on the console after it showed signs of limited success.
It had important games but most of them were almost always just worse versions of a game that was available in other cheaper or stronger hardware.
I think this is "ok", and the selection was interesting but it certainly required the user to be tolerant of the limited options and jump to test something different.
Nintendo was quite easier to work with indies at the time and supposedly an indie studio could get a Wii U development kit as cheaper as "400$" or "250$" or is prompted just "free"
Was this beneficial? Yes and No.
Yes, because quite a bunch of indies published really good games for the console, and it helped little studios to enter the video game market, but...
It also helped fill the eShop with quite a bunch of questionable products that also helped the perception of the console to be even messier.
About Nintendo itself, I can not complain.
They did a good job and I respect they tried their best to keep the console afloat while trying with everything and more to have the "NX" ready for release in 2017.
If you are curious.
"NX" was the codename for Nintendo Switch.
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In the end, while not completely I think the Wii U was mostly underrated, it felt like a clear Nintendo first attempt at an HD console but the first-party games and good service/options for the user base were there and are a shame most of that stuff is something that Nintendo failed to include on the Nintendo Switch and for me that enough for remembering the console with a smile.
My favorite games were Pikmin 3 and Sonic Lost World.
But that's just my opinion, did you have a Nintendo Wii U? Do You think it was underrated, or is it an overrated bad console?
You are welcome to disagree with me.
