The Wii U Retrospective

[Asura]

The best I can say is it's a good all in one system if you're heavily invested into GC/Wii/Wii U titles. I could never get on with games like Xenoblade, Star Fox, Splatoon and Mario Maker but there were a few games that looked interesting like Captain Toad and Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE. Hopefully the latter gets a Switch port.

But it doesn't run GameCube games, does it?

[dataDave]

Right. I should probably homebrew mine at some point, however I'm quite happy with the Wii already doing that job.

But it doesn't run GameCube games, does it?

With homebrew it does.

[fishbowlhead]

But it doesn't run GameCube games, does it?

The hardware is capable due to it having the Wii hardware stuffed in for full BC, Nintendo just disabled the Gamecube BC on that chipset with software, it didn't take long at all for the homebrew scene to get it unlocked after lauch.

In reality the WiiU is actually a Gamecube, Wii & WiiU on a hardware level in 1 box.

[Nico87]

You need to use homebrew to access it but you can load GC and Wii ISOs via USB devices and SD cards from the Wii menu.

I’d actually love to do that on my Wii U. Much cheaper than buying a GC modded for HDMI. I’d also like to collect JP versions of the games I want so would be great to be able to load games from an SD card or the like so I could play the English versions. I’m way too scared of ****ing up the process though.

GameCube is like the missing link in my Nintendo history. That and N64 but I’m not a superfan of the latter, and besides, Virtual Console. Only thing is that most of the good GC games are available on newer systems as New Play Control versions and HD remasters. Damn shame that the New Play Control version of Chibi-Robo wasn’t localized.

[replicashooter]

It’s quite easy to hack as there is a step by step guide:

https://wiiu.hacks.guide

[speedlolita]

Wii upscaling is balls on the Wii U, I assume it would be the same for GC. Hardly a fair comparison for the existing GC HDMI solutions.

Might as well just use Dolphin.

[Neon Ignition]

I enjoyed the system, it was just woefully under supported by Nintendo who came off the Wii with far, far too much arrogance and laziness that had already seen the Wii go out with a whimper. Never releasing a Gamepadless model was a mistake but, for all that, I preferred it to the Wii. It's already suffering the DC's fate of being ported out of relevance though.

Currently:
-Super Mario 3D World
-Pikmin 3
-The Wonderful 101
-Xenoblade Chronicles X
-New Super Mario Bros U
-Yoshi's Woolly World

Play those and you might as well trade it in towards a Switch.

[Nico87]

Wii upscaling is balls on the Wii U, I assume it would be the same for GC. Hardly a fair comparison for the existing GC HDMI solutions.

Might as well just use Dolphin.

You have a few options on the Wii U to eliminete upscaling. I run Wii on Wii U at 480p and 4:3 on my Dell SuperSharp 24 inch.

[Asura]

I enjoyed the system, it was just woefully under supported by Nintendo who came off the Wii with far, far too much arrogance and laziness that had already seen the Wii go out with a whimper.

I'm not sure that's fair. I believe Nintendo supported it very well. I mean in its short life it received at least a dozen good Nintendo titles.

Nintendo started the system's life with an attitude that was inconsiderate to third-parties and somewhat hostile to indies. They chose a low-spec system which made ports difficult. They had draconian eShop policies such as their deferred royalty payment system, which had burned developers on the Wii/DSi (a few, like WayForward, had emerged successful, but many developers struggled with this as Indies tend to operate on a lower amount of liquid capital). They included a disruptive feature (the GamePad) as a mandatory item with each system, which in many cases practically necessitated support, despite it not always being clear what it was supposed to be for (to non-Japanese consumers). Lastly, they marketed the system ineffectively, picking a name and visual design too reminiscent of an older product, confusing potential customers.

It should be noted that they addressed nearly all of these concerns with the Switch.

They picked a low-spec system again, but they based it on established technology by nVidia which was already well-supported by popular middlewares, making development easier.

They actively courted indie developers, putting them front and centre (something I believe they learned by looking carefully at Sony's policies with the Vita).

They made the console's "disruptive feature" clearer, and went with something that is relatively straightforward for which to design support.

Finally, and this is critical; they absolutely nailed their messaging, breaking completely clear of Wii/DS branding. They created a console where, in seconds, you can show the user what it does - but more importantly, by showing the user what it does, why that's cool is self-evident. You don't have to explain why/how the Switch's feature might be useful, you can just tell. This is the polar opposite to the WiiU, where Nintendo had to make an entire game (Nintendoland) just to explain it.

[Lebowski]

Here's my list of recommendations:

New Super Mario Bros. U + New Super Luigi U
Zombi U
Pikmin 3
The Wonderful 101
Monster Hunter 3U
Super Mario 3D World
Mario Kart 8
Super Smash Bros.
Splatoon
Captain Toad's Treasure Tracker
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Hyrule Warriors
Super Mario Maker
Yoshi's Woolly World

You might want to dip into Bayonetta 2 casually, however for a deeper dive I'd obviously recommend the first game instead which you can probably already get cheaper on other systems. Wind Waker HD is another. Playing that game the once was enough for me - but you might be a bigger fan.

That list shows the problem with the wiiu, some good games but at present they have all been bettered remade, or ported to the switch

Zombiu feels like a multi platform indie game that was released at £15 when it came to other consoles
Pikmin 3 i fully expect to get a switch port
The Wonderful 101 dev's are hankering to port this to the switch
Monster hunter 3U is sub par when put next to the sublime Monster Hunter world,
Super Mario 3d world for me was to similar to the 3DS version of the game and has been bettered by the Odyssey
Smash bros, superior version coming to switch
Splatoon, second version on switch and a better game
then your left with Captain Toad's Treasure Tracker, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Hyrule Warriors all pillaged and put onto a better system.

[Digfox]

In retrospect I haven't played mine as much as I should have, but it's a system where the hardware holds it back from the likely original vision for me. Specifically that gamepad and it's awful battery charge and retention time, limited range and oversized ergonomics. The seperate pro controller is actually pretty good. I feel the system had some good games.

And as people have said it's going to be a good and bad system to collect for. In that there's a smaller library of games to collect but given the small production runs and reliance on the controller, parts are going to become scarce more quickly.

It's already suffering the DC's fate of being ported out of relevance though.

Currently:
-Super Mario 3D World
-Pikmin 3
-The Wonderful 101
-Xenoblade Chronicles X
-New Super Mario Bros U
-Yoshi's Woolly World

I find myself agreeing a lot with [MENTION=345]Superman Falls[/MENTION], and it's hard to argue this point. Although I suppose Mario Maker and Smash Bros are also reasonable stand out titles yet to appear on Switch. However those like most on this list, they have variants elsewhere (i.e. NSMBU has NSMB Wii, Or Mario Maker on 3DS etc.).

[Neon Ignition]

[MENTION=5941]Asura[/MENTION]

I don't know in terms of how it was supported. In the twilight year or two they tried by shovelling clearly low budget software out there but the droughts were painful on WiiU (like most Nintendo systems) sometimes to a painful, dust covered degree. It was far too common for a key title to hit and have between 6-12 months till the next notable release. On Switch they've addressed this with a one per month hit rate, the next game might not be one of interest or a port sometimes but there's a game coming out none the less. I think it's key that the WiiU has the lowest amount of first and third party software of any Nintendo console (in the US) and that's despite the system having a pretty full length five year retail life span. Gamecube had a similar lifespan and managed nearly four times the volume. That's for a precursor to the Wii, WiiU came off the back of that system so the drop in titles was more like a complete collapse and meant the system couldn't even attempt to overcome its Gamepad and sell on software strength alone.

Looking back at the WiiU, there are gems on there (even though most have now found life elsewhere) but Splatoon and Mario Kart 8 were probably the only two software titles Nintendo actually judged for market correctly (not counting BOTW) that seemed to somewhat defy the system they were made for.

Much of it's failure though boils down to the Wii rather than the WiiU itself. The Wii was such a low cost break out profit machine for Nintendo that after the first three or so years they quickly became too accustomed to creating their own low budget shovelware equivalents and seeing big numbers come in. It was a situation long sign posted by the Wii's latter years when it needlessly started to tail off and the quantity and quality of the titles started to diminish. Nintendo took the idea of not making a new game due to a previous one still selling too far and the investment dried up. Come WiiU the well was running dry and they clearly had little in the tank to prop it up with. That question mark still stands with Switch. It's had a strong first twelve months but ironically one built on the back of the WiiU's greatest hits. In theory held back projects should make Year 2 really strong come E3 but if their offerings turn out to be thin and unexciting then I'd think very loud alarm bells might suddenly come into life. They're making the right noise though so hopefully they've finally learnt a generations long lesson.

[wakka]

Some interesting posts in here guys.

On the subject of the WiiU's place in history, it's going to be an odd one. I feel there will be very few unported games for the system by the very end. If Mario 3D World doesn't get a port to Switch, that could potentially be the primary reason to buy one in the future. If Super Mario Maker doesn't, it certainly will be a huge reason to buy a WiiU as retro - but I honestly can't see that. I'm sure that will get a Switch version at some point.

Most of the WiiU games on my shelf are essentially defunct now. No one in the future will ever bother to play Mario Kart 8 when they could play Deluxe on Switch, likewise with much of the rest of the library. I guess some will want to see where the Splatoon franchise all began by playing the very first title, perhaps.

On a separate note: as regards the quality of the software on the WiiU, it was up and down. Nintendo released some absolute crap like Mario Party 10, Mario Tennis Ultra Smash and Starfox Zero. Soulless cash ins sold for full price. On the other hand it had Mario 3D World, Mario Maker, Mario Kart 8 and BOTW. So a bit of a mixed bag.

[Neon Ignition]

It's hard to imagine 3D World won't get ported at this point though Galaxy should come first. Ironically, BOTW will end up like TP was to Cube and history will barely register it ever started life as a WiiU game.

[wakka]

I dunno. It's a bit of a red headed stepchild of a Mario game. Not unlike Sunshine, which remains unported.