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Matt McMuscles' What Happened?: The Wii U ft. Scott the Woz
- Thread starter Empyrean Cocytus
- Start date
the name happened. no really, that was like the majority of the issue. lol. kind of crazy after the runaway success of the wii.
this is one of the most pervasive internet narratives about the Wii U completely ignoring that it just sucked. The same argument was made for the Xbox Series and that doesn't seem to be factor at all
will watch
any other name would've been better. Anything to maybe insinuate it was a separate console, rather than an add-on.
It's definitely a huge contributing factor. There are way more differences between Wii U situation and the Xbox Series one beyond the naming/branding.
any other name would've been better. Anything to maybe insinuate it was a separate console, rather than an add-on.
It's definitely a huge contributing factor. There are way more differences between Wii U situation and the Xbox Series one beyond the naming/branding.
Also feels like the hardware just was not ready at that time.. The gamepad sucked and thing dropped connection constant, I always feel like the Switch is what the WiiU should have been but couldn't because the tech wasn't there yet..
The games where fun though and I mean it did had media apps lol..The hardware was just.. jeah
And here I am the fool that bought a Zombi U Wii U at launch for.. 500 euros? Or 400 I forget
The games where fun though and I mean it did had media apps lol..The hardware was just.. jeah
And here I am the fool that bought a Zombi U Wii U at launch for.. 500 euros? Or 400 I forget
it also ignores that wii peripherals also sold very well! If the claim is that consumers were too dense to understand it was a new console, but in fact some sort of peripheral or accessory for the wii, it doesn't address that the Wii had no problem selling accessories! It just sucked lol
This also.. I think we all know why it failed really at this point
Was expensive, came late to the race, its power was so-so, lacked 3rd party support, games didn't really take advantage of its architecture and nintendo wasn't in an inspired streak during those years. That'd be my summary.
Beyond the name the gimmick of the gamepad was simply bad. Any game that had me actively using the gamepad made me wish I just had traditional controls. It was awkward and required looking down and up constantly, most people don't want to do that.
This totally runs counter to the Wii in which the controls have an immediate obvious purpose and appeal.
Regardless of there being good games on the system, the entire selling point of the console is largely unappealing, so it's a tough sell to most people unless you're really invested on keeping up with Nintendo's releases.
This totally runs counter to the Wii in which the controls have an immediate obvious purpose and appeal.
Regardless of there being good games on the system, the entire selling point of the console is largely unappealing, so it's a tough sell to most people unless you're really invested on keeping up with Nintendo's releases.
This video at least seems much easier to research than the wall-to-wall BS that was his Scalebound video. :P
The Wii U was just a complete misfire from a marketing perspective and the emphasis on a touch screen controller that was more cumbersome than useful.
The Wii U was just a complete misfire from a marketing perspective and the emphasis on a touch screen controller that was more cumbersome than useful.
Wonderful contribution. Why even come into the thread if you weren't going to watch it? You don't have to comment on everything.
Bingo. I'll keep saying it...people here that will curse you up and down for being a corporate shill if you buy a game that is $10-$20 more than they think it should be, really paid for a system that was $350 in 2012 that had 2009 tech. And also no games for almost a year after launch besides New Super Mario Bros U and some re-releases/remasters.
But don't you dare buy New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe! It was only worth it when you had to pay full price for it and Luigi U and that was the only game you had to play!
How did it suck? I sat watching movies in my couch while playing streamed cod on my wii u pad. It was great
Nintendo really should have made a Wii 2 with better motion tracking and HD output. Would have done much much better than what the Wii U became.
The problem is the name plus it just wasn't appealing. Game drought, pricing, power, bulky controller.
The problem is the name plus it just wasn't appealing. Game drought, pricing, power, bulky controller.
OP
OP
To be fair, Matt takes requests for episodes from high-tier Patreon backers, and this was one of those episodes. It's why he frequently has covered games and systems that failed that have been discussed to death.
that's news to me cause folks on here was saying it was the same damn thing from the end of the summer through the fall. The only difference is there was no indication that the Xbox Series would flop lol. The Wii U was a much more ambitious console, and the OP video touches on this by referring to Nintendo's need to reinvent the wheel every five years, whereas the Xbox series is a traditional console with all of the games that people expected.
That's totally fair! Matt's channel is very recent so he's been working through a backlog of topics!
I was expecting a mixed response from my comment, but I thought that it was a valid contribution considering we've had a ton of videos covering the topic now
Makes sense, his vids
Good to know for the future :)
are high quality too
In hindsight they should have had an upgrade able Wii HD ready by early 2010 that would have been backwards compatible and had exclusive games/features. Sales fell off a cliff soon after that as casuals abandoned the ship for Facebook games and mobile games.
remember that Nintendo had isolated a tremendous amount of their hardcore fans due to years of basically telling them to take the backseat. So when there was no more meaningful content and a hardware system that pretty much sucked ass there was no hope.
remember that Nintendo had isolated a tremendous amount of their hardcore fans due to years of basically telling them to take the backseat. So when there was no more meaningful content and a hardware system that pretty much sucked ass there was no hope.
It was just... everything. From marketing, to an intrinsic lack of appeal to just about anyone. People didn't even know it existed, many still don't. We also have to mention that Nintendo hit a wall with HD development like all other devs did and that delayed their games and that power was more limited than what they had told 3rd party devs, so porting wasn't that easy. It was very expensive compared to the competition too, it was just a complete trainwreck. Wasn't the tablet a very late addition in the dev cycle too? Maybe they should just not have done that and sell it at $200. But oh well, it was a learning experience for Nintendo I guess.
The issue is that people are obsessed, fucking obsessed, with sales numbers, marketing, and raw hardware power. The Wii U had a ton of charm and a great library (not just an endless flow of remakes/remasters), and that's all that matters, period. Is it really that big of a deal to play BotW in 720p instead of 1080p? The way this guy is sneering, you would definitely think so. I'll grant you that the gamepad wasn't well designed but like.. can we just move on already? This video just strikes me as typical obnoxious YouTube pablum and I'm worse off for having watched it.
- Dry well indeed
- Fisherprice plastics
- Slowest Device on the planet
- High price for the device
- Seems like 2000% more complex than the original Wii in controls
- Should never been called WiiU
Well, MS has a huge marketing machine going pushing the new systems. The Wii U did not, and it also suffered from a similar fate as the dreamcast launch timing wise.
They failed to capture their casual audience because they waited too long and didnt effectively market to that audience to upgrade their Wiis, and they failed to capture the hardcore audience because that market was waiting on a ps4 and the next xbox.
If they had launched a wii hd or wii 2 ideally, but even wii U naming in 2010/2011 and effectively marketed it to their casual base it would have sold like hotcakes.
I havent watched it yet (and I will, I'm still working) but the fact is the Wii losed a lot of steam by the end of its cycle, mostly because people became uninterested in the console gimmick and found good alternatives both in the Kinect and in the PS Move. Selling the console as a Wii successor didn't seem like a good plan at first and Nintendo didn't even do this properly
When I knew it was dead: Ahead of launch, I tested it with a friend, her kids, and those kids' friends. While playing Nintendoland, every kid who didn't get to hold the tablet in a mini-game was massively bored. They didn't even try to understand what mini-game they were about to play. They felt silly being left out of the fancy new part, kept looking over at the big controller, and asked if they could play Mario Kart instead.
Wii U was simply a badly designed product with an unexpected selling point (portability via Off-TV Play) already mastered and executed better by handhelds 30+ years prior. With the 3DS being as capable as it was as a 3D gaming platform, it's more robust support in comparison to the Wii U, and hosting titles like Smash, 3DLand, and ALBW, Nintendo inadvertently wound up competing with themselves 🤷🏾‍♂️.
Name is only part of the problem, because the 3DS had the same issue (even worse actually with all of the hardware refreshes) and yet even at it lowest it performed better than the Wii U.
Name is only part of the problem, because the 3DS had the same issue (even worse actually with all of the hardware refreshes) and yet even at it lowest it performed better than the Wii U.
"asynchronous multiplayer" just threw me for a loop. It's like, I understood it as a concept, but I just had a feeling nobody would do anything much with it... and they didn't.
Also, that second screen... who's going to look down during gameplay to do separate things on it? I actually did like it a lot in Wind Waker HD, but for the most part, other implementations were gimmicky or annoying.
I actually quite like the Game Pad. Range is abysmal, but it feels great to hold and use. I prefer it to the pro controller tbh. :)
And yeah, the name and confusion that it was just a Wii add-on.
I loved the system though, and its 2014 lineup was epic. I still have mine hooked up because I have Xenoblade Chronicles X that I will finally be playing soon.
Also, that second screen... who's going to look down during gameplay to do separate things on it? I actually did like it a lot in Wind Waker HD, but for the most part, other implementations were gimmicky or annoying.
I actually quite like the Game Pad. Range is abysmal, but it feels great to hold and use. I prefer it to the pro controller tbh. :)
And yeah, the name and confusion that it was just a Wii add-on.
I loved the system though, and its 2014 lineup was epic. I still have mine hooked up because I have Xenoblade Chronicles X that I will finally be playing soon.
Eh, I don't think it sucked. It actually has a great library and the gamepad was a segway to the switch, which is selling bonkers.
I do think if they launched before the rumor mill got into full swing on ps4 and xbox and they actually directly marketed and spent a lot of money on their casual market understanding this is the new Wii it would have done well.
Or at least vastly better than the Wii U actually ended up doing. Like a respectable 30mil sold type gen at least and better than gamecube.
But all of this is really just silly hypotheticals. I think if they could have launched in 2010/2011, well, they would have.
They ended up with an underpowered console on the eve of ps4 and xbox launching and their casual audience had already left their Wiis in the dust.
The only value was the gamepad and a slow drip feed of games.
There just wasn't enough reason to care.
Hurts hearing about the death of MiiVerse again. Nintendo should have continued their online initiatives from the Wii U on Switch instead of the poor system we have.
There just wasn't enough reason to care.
Hurts hearing about the death of MiiVerse again. Nintendo should have continued their online initiatives from the Wii U on Switch instead of the poor system we have.
Scott is a national treasure. It's crazy how there's so few good exclusives left on it now. To some people it's probably zero.
Why did it fail? Because it was an overpriced system with a library that had limited appeal. It basically was only for one audience, Nintendo diehards, and nobody else.
The problem wasn't the emphasis on the controller, it was the presence of the controller. That thing did nothing but drive up the cost.
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Nintendo's arrogance and absolute tone deafness happened. There's honestly no other explanation after they re-revealed the WiiU back in 2012 and did bugger all about their messaging. People were confused in 2011, they were confused in 2012 and they were confused all the way until the Switch launched. Even worse, they ended up blaming the consumer for not understanding the product, rather than looking inward.
I'll never forget being inside a GameStop and I heard people talking about how the Wii U was just a gamepad and add on for the Wii, they really shot themselves in the foot with the name and the reveal.