The Wii U

After the smash success of the Wii, Nintendo released their follow up console 6 years later. The Wii hadn’t been much of an upgrade over the Gamecube in the technology/hardware/polygons sense, instead focusing on fun and motion controls. And while those were great innovations, competing consoles boosted polygon counts, frame rates, hard drive capacity, and most importantly, online features. Nintendo had fallen behind in certain aspects, and so the Wii U was meant to rectify those problems.

The console itself was only slightly bigger than the original Wii, but had a little more rounded features. It came in both black and white, and in a basic and deluxe setup, with the deluxe including additional stands and hard drive space. Like the original Wii, it featured the same ports and connections (AC, multi A/V, Sensor Bar, USB, SD card), but now included an HDMI connection. The Sync button was moved to the outside (instead of being behind the little door, where the SD card slot and 2 more USB ports were).The only thing it lacked from the original Wii was the reset button (which was mostly meant for the emulated Gamecube games).

The media was a Blu-ray optical disc, and it boasted updated/upgraded online features, better processing power/speeds, as well as HD graphics and full surround sound capabilities, though in many ways it felt like a game of catchup to other consoles of the time. It was backwards compatible with any Wii games/hardware, but GameCube functionality was removed, though it did allow someone with a Wii to migrate their save files and settings to the new Wii U. The USB ports allowed someone to connect an external hard drive to keep more saves and digital games to supplement the included internal space, as well as keep backups.

Many of the games could still be controlled using the same Wiimotes/nunchuks, as long as it had the Motion Plus upgrade. An optional wireless Pro Controller was also available (sold separately) that was more like a traditional controller. But the included controller was the biggest difference. The Gamepad was basically a touch screen tablet that had the standard buttons and control sticks on the side. It had gyro controls so by tilting/twisting the Gamepad it could do things like change the aim of a bow or camera just like the 3DS. There was a camera and a microphone, a slot for a stylus, and its own small speakers. Around the cameras were IR sensors so a Wiimote could be used with just the Gamepad, as well as an NFC sensor for Amiibo functions. Both the Gamepad and the Pro Controller featured 2 control sticks, a D-Pad, +, -, Home, the traditional ABXYRL buttons, as well as a second set of R & L buttons called ZR and ZL.

It was, in many ways, like a melding of the Wii with a 3DS where the Gamepad was the lower touch screen and the TV is the upper screen. Used creatively, it allowed for the touch screen to be used as a map or submenu while displaying the main screen on the TV, or to look around as a scanner in an “augmented reality” manner. It also allowed for an “off-TV” experience, in that every game could be played with just the Gamepad and no TV if wanted/necessary. If someone is playing a game and the TV is wanted by someone else, it’s a simple matter of a button press to make the game play entirely on the Gamepad, freeing up the TV. Because it supported 4 Wii Remotes and the Gamepad, up to 5 people could play certain games with something they called “asymmetrical play,” with the person who had the Gamepad playing an entirely different way.

Later the Wii U would gain Amiibo functionality to coincide with the release of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Amiibo were small figurines of popular Nintendo characters that had a special chip in the base that could be used to unlock features in certain games or to save stats/configurations. So, for example, someone could upload their customized Smash character (complete with win/loss record) to an Amiibo to take to a tournament or friends house. But many games used them as a sort of a DLC-unlocker in that it opened up new playing modes or gave a free life refill. The "New" Nintendo 3DS (and later New 2DS) would also include Amiibo functionality. Because so many people loved the design of the Gamecube controller and relied on it for Smash Bros, an adapter that allowed 4 Gamecube controllers was released along with a re-release of the controllers themselves.

Another later feature was the inclusion of the Miiverse, a Nintendo-moderated, pared down, and kid-friendly version of Twitter of sorts. People could post their thoughts on particular games or show screenshots. The Gamepad made facilitating these posts rather convenient because one could drag stamps or draw pictures using the stylus in addition to putting in text and screenshots. This also was available on a 3DS with a firmware update. 

The Virtual Console was updated and upgraded, and now allowed games from the NES, SNES, Gameboy Advance, N64, and even the DS. A small selection of games from the TurboGrafix-16 was also available. Like the Wii, each game was its own "channel" on the menu. A variety of other digital titles and demos was also available on the eShop, as well as apps for things like Netflix and YouTube. 

However, there were a few things that were not as well thought out as they could have been. The battery life on the Gamepad did somewhat limit what could be done with it, and it had only a 20-foot range, so it was effectively tethered to the console. The button layout was also a little unfortunate, in that the designers put symmetry ahead of functionality; to wit, the right stick and four buttons’ placement should be swapped for maximum functionality. When playing a game with a Pro Controller on the TV, the Gamepad still mirrors the screen and has to be on for the Wii U to function even though it’s not really being used. And when switching from a regular TV playing experience to a Gamepad one, it may require restarting the system and/or game to facilitate the change – something that could take upwards of 5 minutes depending on the original setup. Charging the Pro Controller the "official" way required that the Wii U is on the entire time, not just plugged in, so most people opt to use an external AC adapter instead. And while it was advertised as being backwards compatible with all Wii stuff, it required rebooting the console into Wii mode every time so it felt slow and clunky.

Its debut lineup of games was rather lackluster, mostly consisting of ports that were already available on other systems. There was a new Mario game, but it wasn’t really anything groundbreaking, even though it was reviewed quite well and showcased the asymmetrical play concept. And there was also a “variety” collection of Nintendo IP-themed mini-games called Nintendo Land, but not much else in terms of “must haves” or exclusives. Many ports of popular games weren't available on the Wii or Wii U because it required having to downgrade graphics and add in motion controls. The Wii backwards compatibility was a little clunky in that in order to play a Wii game, it required the Wii U to shut down and reboot in Wii Mode, and vice-versa to go back to a Wii U game. And though it was a "neat" feature, the Miiverse wasn't something that was a reason someone would buy the system. 

Essentially, the Wii U was bought by Nintendo fans who wanted to play Nintendo games (Mario, Zelda, etc.) because it wasn't worth it to play third-party games at full price with missing features (like multi-player capabilities). It was kinda accepted as gospel that by the time the Wii U port of a game (like a Batman Arkham game or Call of Duty) was finally released, it had already been on the other two competing consoles for over a year, so one could buy it on the Wii U for the full price of $60, or for half that on the PS3/XB360. Usually a later port includes DLC included or some new features to justify the full price tag, but it was usually the case that the Wii U port was the worst of the three versions. As mentioned above, it really felt like little brother Nintendo was trying to play catchup to the big boys and coming up short. 

Finally, the naming and promotion of the console wasn’t really thought out well. The marketing for it really, really focused on the Gamepad, leading some people (actually, a lot) to believe that this was just a tablet controller peripheral meant to supplement the original Wii rather than an entirely new console. On top of that, the name “Wii U” was meant to capitalize on how popular the original Wii was, but Nintendo made the same mistake Sony did between the PS2 and PS3 era in that they assumed everyone who had a Wii would upgrade (more casual gamers and grandparents who bought the Wii probably didn’t upgrade). But while something like naming subsequent versions of the Playstation with numbers makes it easy to distinguish, Nintendo’s decision for these kinds of things at the time (Wii U, “New” 3DS, etc.) made it hard for more casual gamers and parents to realize that these were different consoles.

Overall, it didn’t sell super well despite its potential and innovative new controller, though it did have a lot of praiseworthy features that set it apart from its competitors. It tried to straddle the line between what the original Wii was and its more modern competitors, and its sales did pick up a little after a significant price drop and various bundle deals. But it (along with the other consoles) also had the added competition of smart phones, and a lot of the non-hardcore gamers found a free mobile games market emerging that didn't require a TV/console setup.