The Wii U A Retrospective

One of the charms behind Nintendo’s niche console was its complete backward compatibility it shared with the original Wii system. The original Wii bolstered an impressive catalog of games, ranging from New Super Mario Bros to The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword, which history was seen as some of Nintendo’s greatest titles within their respective franchises. Right away Wii U owners were granted access to hundreds of games even with the system’s dismal launch line up. Fans were immediately greeted with a plethora of Nintendo’s finest library especially which as many know one can spend hours enjoying the original Wii’s motion-controlled wristlet controller. Not only were the games compatible but so were the accessories. This is most evidenced in the e-shop release of Duck Hunt which utilized the original Wii’s wrist controller to great effect. The Wii U gave consumers everything they had hoped for in a current gen console with the exception of, once again, no third party support. The Wii U was notorious for lacking third-party games that could help fill in the gap between first-party launches, giving its competitors a huge advantage in the console market. But none the less, the complete compatibility feature inherent in the Wii U’s hardware was a significant aspect of the Wii U’s greatness in hindsight since current gen system’s like the Xbox One finally caught up to what Nintendo had done a generation ago.

Even with great first party titles, full backward compatibility, and high definition graphics, the Wii U ultimately failed in the international market. In hindsight, it is easy to see why. The Wii U relied too heavily on past franchises instead of creating new ones to showcase its latest console. Sure the Wonderful 101 was a cute attempt at tackling the superhero genre, but it was not enough to build the foundation for a current gen system on. Take for example the Legend of Zelda series on the said console. Twilight Princess and Wind Waker were both remakes of previous entries from the Nintendo’s previous consoles. It was not until the very end that fans were treated to a brand new Zelda adventure, Breath of the Wild, of the Wii U’s lifespan. Granted, BOTW is considered by both fans and critics to be one of the greatest games of all time, it was still too late for a move to salvage anything of the Wii U’s legacy. Truly a sad move when one considers how much this franchise gave to building up Nintendo’s legacy within the gaming community. But there was still another factor that hindered the Wii U’s dominance on the previous generation’s console market.

While the original Wii was clear on its intentions of bringing motion control mechanics to the forefront of modern gaming, its forebear seemed to suffer from an identity crisis. The Wii U never made clear what it wanted to divulge onto the consumer. Most of its games rarely made use of the system’s touchscreen technology, and its design was as clumsy and unimaginative as the Nintendo 64’s ridiculously designed D-pad. Many gamers at the time were uncertain if whether the Wii U was simply an expansion set to its predecessor or a completely new next-gen console. This by no means was the fault of the consumer market, as Nintendo embarked on a vague publicity campaign prior to the Wii U’s release. It was almost as if Nintendo was more concerned at preserving the legacy of its handheld 3DS console rather then satisfying its home market base. A drastic mistake that rendered the Wii U a mere 24 million units sold by the end of its run.

As time passes the Wii U will stand with the Dreamcast as the greatest what if in console history. A could have been had it not been for certain factors. With all its HD capabilities and backward compatibility, the Wii U ended up being more niche then content. A mere spark that gained attention briefly but ultimately failed to set blaze onto the consumer market. The Wii U still garner’s collectors and enthusiasts alike mostly because of its select back of masterworks. Anyone who is a fan of the Japanese company will seek to purchase a Mario Bros or Donkey Kong title because of that very same devotion fanboys have to these timeless franchises. Nintendo realizes this and is utilizing it to their advantage by remastering older games from past consoles and porting them to the Switch for full mark up the price. Whether this is the right move only the free market will dictate but the fact that Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze is being re-released for the full price of 59.99 is shady, to say the least. In hindsight, the Wii U will always remain a hidden shelf in Nintendo’s extensive library. A side road in the highway of gaming history, Nintendo’s previous outing in the console war will in time bring nostalgia as does the Nintendo 64 and Super Nintendo. The Wii U has a select few aces on its sleeve that cannot be ignored when thinking of iconic titles. But unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to maintain the system’s lifeline in the long run. In the end, perhaps the Wii U will only be remembered for these few gems that every Nintendo fanboy clamors for every next-gen console release or even more, the console will be remembered for giving those very same devotees a glimpse into why we all love the company that Mario built so many years ago.