The year was 2012. Nintendo was about to unleash upon the world a console that would change everything. And by “everything”, I mean it was suddenly possible to play Mass Effect 3 or the latest 2D Mario game on a chunky tablet controller while your dad regained control of the family telly. Revolutionary.
That’s right, later this month (18 November, to be exact) Nintendo’s least favourite child, the Wii U, turns 10 years old. This home console at long last brought Nintendo into the realm of HD, and had some genuine bangers released for it over the years (many of which are now some of the Switch’s most popular titles now that they’ve been ported over). Despite that though, the poor console’s entire lifespan was fairly tragic on paper, having sold just 13.5 million units in its lifetime. Compared to its predecessor, which sold over 101 million…yeah. It wasn’t what anyone could really call a win.
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Its launch game lineup was fairly dire, which certainly can’t have helped. Its best offering was undoubtedly Nintendo Land - an excellent party game full of mini-games inspired by Nintendo franchises including Metroid, Pikmin, and Animal Crossing. There were a few other choices, including the aforementioned Mass Effect 3 port and New Super Mario Bros. U, but let’s face it, no one was buying a new home console to play a port of ME3, which was released in its original form only months prior, and a new 2D Mario game wasn’t at the top of everyone’s wish list.
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For a long time, it seemed like no one really knew what the Wii U was meant to be, which was hardly ideal. Its main selling point was the GamePad controller, which boasted both touchscreen and motion controls and served both to expand the ways that people could play games (such as drawing lines to control everyone’s favourite pink puffball in Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush) and also, as previously mentioned, sometimes allow players to play games without hogging a TV screen.
Since all the focus was put on the GamePad, it was sort of overlooked that this was a whole new HD Nintendo console we were dealing with rather than an expensive add-on for the Wii. Its capabilities were undersold, and as it grew a reputation for being a bit of a flop, it seemed like more people actively avoided it.
In reality though, its sales and reputation were the only ways that the Wii U actually did flop. In terms of the quality of the device and the games that came to it, it was fantastic. The system saw the start of the Splatoon series, the return of Bayonetta, the release of Mario Kart 8 (which, in its ported Deluxe form, is the Switch’s best selling game to date), the first HD Super Smash Bros title, and my personal favourite, Xenoblade Chronicles X.
This Xenoblade title is one of the few remaining Wii U titles which hasn’t been re-homed to the Switch - alongside other favourites like Wind Waker and Twilight Princess’ HD ports, there’s a huge demand to give these exclusive games a second chance at life, much like Pikmin 3, Super Mario 3D World, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and many more have already had after so many people missed out the first time. And look, X is in dire need of a sequel, so I can only hope that one day it finally manages to stop being stuck on a whole different console so that a follow-up can actually happen.
It wasn’t just the games that people without Wii Us missed out on though, and I’m not saying that to make myself feel better about owning one. One feature that probably passed many people by was the Wii U Chat app, which believe it or not, was Nintendo’s answer to Skype (Discord didn’t even exist at the time). You couldn’t use it within games, so it wasn’t exactly the breakthrough voice chat function that most were hoping for, but you could draw directly onto your friend’s face using the GamePad touchscreen, which I would argue blows its competitors out of the water. Admittedly I’m probably one of the only people who ever really used this, but it was fun with friends, okay?
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The Wii U was also the first console to come with a built-in NFC scanner - although this was later introduced to the New Nintendo 3DS and the Switch, it was first found in the corner of the Wii U GamePad, which essentially made amiibo become a thing. Many people did (and still do) adore these things - although certain figurines were scalped horribly when they first released, they gave gamers a way to buy merch for characters who are less popular (or just give people more Mario and Zelda stuff to cram on a shelf). I still have an assortment of Fire Emblem amiibo which sit proudly by my games, reminding me what a weeb I am every time I pass by.
I’m also going to give a special shoutout to Miiverse here - although this social network platform also existed on the 3DS, its functionality was far greater explored on the home console. Users could discuss their favourite games on dedicated pages and share fan art, and these posts could sometimes make appearances in supported titles, such as via the graffiti in Splatoon (a tradition which has been continued without Miiverse in the newer games). However, Miiverse is most memorable for its cursed content - infamous posts from kids asking for help after getting lost in shops, Splatoon fans wishing that squids were real, questionable drawings, and even role-play threads of all things are likely what stick out most in many minds. For better or worse.
This might just be me, but something about the Wii U having a smaller user base in comparison to its competitors at the time (or the Switch nowadays) made the community feel so much more special. Sure, there was a subsection of people who you’d definitely want to avoid at all costs having seen their Miiverse posts, but for those of us who weren’t out there requesting artists to draw Splatoon characters giving birth (yes, that actually happened), there was always so much excitement and love for this console that most gamers continually shunned. We saw its flaws, we admitted it wasn’t exactly flying off the shelves, but we didn’t care - this was the home console that had Super Smash Bros. 4, for goodness sake, and to many, that was the only thing that mattered.
It’s impossible to look back on the Wii U’s life without acknowledging the things that went wrong, but as it approaches its 10th anniversary, I genuinely have nothing but love for the console, and I’m so glad that I was part of its admittedly small fan base while games were still being developed for it. So happy birthday, Wii U, you might not have been the most sought-after console in the world, but you were a winner in our hearts.
Featured Image Credit: Nintendo