Wii U forgotten output of AAA 3rd party games.

[AppleBlade]

Due to my job (Computer Science teacher at a technology school) I am surrounded by gamers. A lot of them happen to be Nintendo fans. I've noticed that a lot of them don't recall that in the early part of the Wii U's life it was getting a lot of the big budget AAA 3rd party games that were going to or coming from Sony and Microsoft's platforms. When I start listing games, they don't believe me or are surprised on some of the titles (especially on Mass Effect 3, Deus Ex, Watch Dogs). Why does everyone forget this little golden period where a Nintendo System was getting big graphically impressive 3rd party games in addition to the Wii U's formidable 1st party output. Similar to the Dreamcast and the Vita, the Wii U might have flopped in sales but owners of the actual systems had plenty to play (provided their tastes were diverse).

These are some of the games I'm referring to:
Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut
Need for Speed: Most Wanted U
Mass Effect 3
Darksiders: Warmastered Edition
Darksiders 2
Batman: Arkham City - Armored Edition
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Call of Duty: Ghosts
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge
Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Watch Dogs
Assassin's Creed III
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
Bayonetta 1
Bayonetta 2

 

[Zool]

It started with months old ports and then it just stopped because there weren't any good numbers to achieve. So this all happened in it first year. After that WiiU was dead already.

 

[_zoipi]

Yeah, but a lot of those games were into years after original release. The "only having one console to play" mentality was fading away and PC gaming has become mainstream accessible, so in reality, those games only appealed to nintendo-only fans that will hype every release like it was Jesus Christ with a triple cheeseburger.

 

[Atolm]

The thing is that most of these had been out for months or even a year for PS360, so no one really cared about them. And they were at best equal or slightly better than said versions, it wasn't a "30fps on old hardware vs 60 on Wii U" which is what you expect with new hardware.

 

[foshy]

it did absolutely not feel like a golden period back then, people were mostly disappointed that most of these multiplats looked and ran worse on the wii u than on consoles that were like 7 years old at this point

 

[Raigor]

forgotten output of AAA months or year old ports you mean?

 

[sir_crocodile]

forgotten output of AAA months or year old ports you mean?

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It's not the same game, it's not the same content.

 

[Rygar 8Bit]

It was getting ps3 and 360 games when everyone already moved on to PS4 and Xbone.

 

[Launchpad]

Who could forget Arkham City - Armored Edition?

 

[BUNTING1243]

Warmastered Edition

 

[BassForever]

The worst/best of those is Mass Effect 3. What Nintendo fan didn't want to jump into a story heavy series in it's final installment after half a year of everyone saying the ending was so bad it ruined the whole series?

 

[pswii60]

Not forgotten at all.

I remember well the Mass Effect 3 thread. "Well this late port will sell like shit and EA will use its inevitable poor sales performance to justify not supporting the platform again.."

 

[chusetto]

Most Wanted was the best version of all consoles

 

[Veil]

This just highlights the difference in how much better the Switch form factor is compared to the Wii U. Releasing a AAA that's a year old on the Wii U did nothing, because the gamepad sucked and didn't drive anyone to want to play the games again. Now, if they rereleased any of the games on that list on the Switch? People would eat it up. Where's the Mass Effect trilogy on Switch EA?

 

[Symphony]

Aside from Most Wanted weren't all of those either basically no better than or slightly worse than the 360/PS3 versions that had already been out for years and were dirt cheap to pick up? Like, who would buy Call of Duty on Wii U to play with all of about 20 people online unless it were their only console?

 

[phonicjoy]

I have most of those, just not mass effect 3.
That was really the most egregious thing ever. Why, why release only the third installment to a username that a) never played any of the others or b) has access to the game on the system they played the others on. Just pure insanity.

 

[Beelzebufo]

Still cannot get over it getting ME3 but not the first two

 

[cw_sasuke]

They were mostly late and overpriced, just like the system.

 

[Clive]

The Wii U was pretty cool for pioneering "true console quality gaming" in bed, something that the Vita and 3DS struggled with. It was essentially a Switch - but only for use within limited range of your console. I quite enjoyed some of these ports in bed before going to sleep. The AAA support died fast and featured many games I had already played on the PS360 though. When it came to indies I preferred them on the Vita because of the more comfortable hardware and trophy support.

 

[Eoin]

With very few exceptions they were only relevant to Wii U-only owners.

For a lot of those games the release was later than the other versions. Other versions reduced in price faster on other systems and/or were on sale more frequently on other systems. They also tended to perform worse on Wii U - not to a huge extent, and often it was just a matter of which console did the best at not-quite reaching 30FPS anyway, but whenever there was a clear loser it was likely to be the Wii U.

Also, it's stretching things a bit to say there was a "golden period where a Nintendo System was getting big graphically impressive 3rd party games in addition to the Wii U's formidable 1st party output". The major third party support was heavily concentrated around launch because third parties wanted to be sure they were there at launch in case the Wii U turned out to be another Wii. When it wasn't, that support dried up. Nintendo's first party range at launch was tiny - and then their first-half support for 2013 was publishing LEGO City Undercover and releasing Game & Wario and New Super Luigi U. The short time where the Wii U was getting a nice slate of third party releases did not coincide with any time where first party support could reasonably be described as "formidable".

 

[Tobor]

Golden period? Hahahaha.

We were all dying laughing at these late ass ports that sold like garbage. It was the golden period of thinking Nintendo was doomed, I'll give you that.

 

[Lkr]

arkham city for wii u is one of the most confusing announcements/releases lol

 

[Lashley]

golden period? errrr

 

[aronmayo]

Most of those titles performed poorly on WiiU (in terms of stability, fps, visuals) despite many claims that it was a "next gen" system compared to PS3/360. I remember it being a laughing stock during that period tbh 😅😬

 

[404LinkNotFound]

The wii u's dire years always remind me of why j cannot get why some nintendo fans think the switch has droughts. Not even during the height of the pandemjc the switch got even close to how little games released on the wii u, especially 3rd party games

 

[_zoipi]

The wii u's dire years always remind me of why j cannot get why some nintendo fans think the switch has droughts. Not even during the height of the pandemjc the switch got even close to how little games released on the wii u, especially 3rd party games

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Nintendo superfans only care for Nintendo games, or when a buig game everywhere else finally has a Switch port. Happens with NieR Automata, where everyone who wanted to play it already played it if they had an iopta of believing that there's gaming outside Nintendo.

 

[TheMoon]

Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut
Need for Speed: Most Wanted U
Mass Effect 3
Batman: Arkham City - Armored Edition
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Call of Duty: Ghosts
Assassin's Creed III
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
Splinter Cell: Blacklist

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and these were all even the best versions of these (shush now, pixelcounters, this is about how cool the additions were in those versions)

Bayonattas one and two don't belong in your list, though, they're first party games... to retread this ancient point

also those are literally almost all of the games that are worth mentioning, not just some. :D

 

[Deleted member 81119]

You've already called out a lot of them. A few dozen old ports is not a golden era because a few dozen is a paltry number.

 

[Giga Man]

It's not the same game, it's not the same content.

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Oh Reggie...

But yeah, nobody on the internet who paid attention gave a shit because they were ports of months/years-old PS3/360 games for a console that nobody either knew about or cared about because of the hardware. They weren't worth remembering. If you're wondering why people care about ports of old games on Switch, well it's because the hardware is more appealing (handheld hybrid console) and the overall library among 1st-party, 3rd-party, and indie is much better.

Also, I didn't play a single game on that list of yours except Tekken Tag 2 but on PS3. The first 3rd-party game I bought for my Wii U was Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. That and Nintendo Land were my launch games.

 

[Skies]

You could make an argument that the recent Switch Partner Direct lineup is better than what it is in the OP.

How times have changed.

 

[Giga Man]

Also, "AAA 3rd-party" is an overrated term too often used to overhype overrated games.

 

[TheMoon]

Most of those titles performed poorly on WiiU (in terms of stability, fps, visuals) despite many claims that it was a "next gen" system compared to PS3/360. I remember it being a laughing stock during that period tbh 😅😬

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only if you count "not exactly the same to the frame and pixel as other versions or better" immediately as "poorly". I know that was the common refrain but it was mostly bullshit.

 

[Poimandres]

I think what most people didn't really acknowledge was that in 2014 the Wii U had the best releases of arguably any console (at least in terms of exclusives). Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Mario Kart 8, Bayonetta 2 and Smash Bros in the one year, while PS4 and Xbox One had little compelling software. I mean damn... those are still some of the best games on Switch almost a decade later...

 

[Tavernade]

Didn't MassEffect 3 come out around the same time as the trilogy did on other consoles for the same price?

I did play a LOT of Assassin's Creed multiplayer for awhile.

 

[SilverX]

This would look like a feast to any gamer that swore off ever touching a PlayStation or Xbox, but to the average consumer it was very underwhelming. Simply put, most people had consoles that played these games by the time the Wii U arrived

I am sure some Nintendo diehards were even like ¨High definition, 7fucking20p gaming....its beautiful!!!!¨ in late 2012 with staying true to only Wii gaming for all those years when people were demanding 1080p gaming at that point.

 

[entremet]

Need For Speed: Most Wanted is a rather great port. Surpassing the 360 and PS3 versions at the time. So it showed that the WiiU was most capable if the effort was exhausted.

The issue, no incentive since the system flopped hard.

The developers talked about all they put into it.

Face-Off: Need for Speed: Most Wanted on Wii U

Digital Foundry compares the new Wii U edition of Most Wanted to the PC, 360 and PS3 alternatives.

www.eurogamer.net

From DF

All in all, having taken a decade-long break from Nintendo since the release of Burnout 2 on GameCube, Criterion Games has used the Wii U to conjure up the definitive console version of Need for Speed: Most Wanted. It's not an overwhelming advance that matches the visual fidelity of the PC version in all regards, but additions and tweaks are numerous and well-considered. At no expense to the frame-rate, textures stand at the midway point in the quality spectrum, between the more blurry assets we're seeing on PS3 and 360 and the highest possible settings on PC. It's a worthwhile upgrade that extends to reflection draw too, with all other visual facets being identical, and the frame-rate coming away smoother regardless.

Tweaks to night-time lighting are welcome too, bringing a more natural darkness to the environments, while at the same time enhancing the look of directional lights. It's a bold change when compared to the more vibrant lighting of the previous releases, and crucially one which doesn't interfere with the core racing experience. There are shortcomings to the Wii U package that must be noted though; starting with the uncertain release schedule of future DLC, and the cut down to six players for online play. The lack of analogue triggers on both the GamePad and Classic Controller Pro may also be a factor for some, where re-mapping acceleration to the right analogue stick is a necessary workaround for those who prefer to modulate their speed.

In summary, this ranks as the version to get if those points can be overlooked. The conversion is a sound one, and GamePad features are well-implemented and useful - if not all absolutely essential. Many are luxuries, such as the ability to hop into any car immediately, which ultimately make exploring Fairview a much easier experience. Meanwhile, the inclusion of off-screen play brings this version to life in a way no other release can at this time. When considering the mixed quality of ports that have hit the Wii U so far, this ranks among the stronger and most committed efforts to cater for its strengths - a tradition we hope will long continue.

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[Kamisori]

Why does everyone forget this little golden period where a Nintendo System was getting big graphically impressive 3rd party games in addition to the Wii U's formidable 1st party output.

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Because it wasn't golden at all, if you remember what happened back then, WiiU ports were like this:

• Late ports (several months or years after the PS360 release)
• Missing content on WiiU ports (no online mod, missing DLCs, etc...)
• Very often worse performance than the PS360 versions while the console is technically better (and it showed on first/second party games and few third party games)
• Released full price while the PS360 were available for a half or third of the price at the time of the release
• Scarce availability (physical versions version were deeply under-distributed, difficult to find in stores), and with the stockage available on the WiiU (32GB), it wasn't sustainable to download all the games

If i retake your list and detail it :

• Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut : that was the superior versiono
• Need for Speed: Most Wanted U: Full price late port (6 months later, physical version basically available anywhere)
• Mass Effect 3: Full price late port (6 months), two first opus unavailable, missing DLCs, no online mod, worse performance than PS360 versions
• Darksiders: Warmastered Edition: dont remember
• Darksiders 2: dont remeber
• Batman: Arkham City - Armored Edition: Full price very late port (1 year), worse performance/textures than PS360 versions
• Tekken Tag Tournament 2: dont remember
• Call of Duty: Black Ops II: worse performance than PS360 versions
• Call of Duty: Ghosts: same
• Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge: dont remember
• Splinter Cell: Blacklist: worse performances/textures (no HD texture pack like PS360) than PS360 versions,
• Watch Dogs: full price late port (6 months), worse performance that PS360 versions (clipping, distance draw, worse aliasing, worse effects)
• Assassin's Creed III: late port (1 month), worse performance than PS360 versions (notably about the clipping)
• Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag: late port (1 month), worse performance than PS360 versions
• Bayonetta 1: best version available (except PC), free with Bayonetta 2
• Bayonetta 2: it was a second party game in partnership with Nintendo, very good title (gameplay and performance) with Bayonetta 1 bundled for free with the game

No wonder why gamers dismissed thhe WiiU versions when often the experience was worse than the PS360 versions. The worst were EA, particularly with Fifa when they released each a full price version which only was the version of the year prior with only updated roster and none of the new features featuring on the PS360 versions (and they did this 4 or 5 years straight, it was the first version ported with only the roster updated for 4 years).

 

[TheMoon]

Didn't MassEffect 3 come out around the same time as the trilogy did on other consoles for the same price?

I did play a LOT of Assassin's Creed multiplayer for awhile.

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a few months earlier and EA didn't bother with having them integrate even all the DLC that had at that point come out for the other platforms. still, the port of what was there was excellent and the multiplayer setup was straight up amazing and to this day the only example of push-to-talk voice chat on a console I can think of (you had a "mic on" touch-button on the gamepad)

 

[Eoin]

The worst were EA, particularly with Fifa when they released each a full price version which only was the version of the year prior with only updated roster and none of the new features featuring on the PS360 versions (and they did this 4 or 5 years straight, it was the first version ported with only the roster updated for 4 years).

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There was only one FIFA game on Wii U.

 

[Jroc]

To add insult to injury EA went and released the "Mass Effect Trilogy Collection" containing all 3 games on 360/PS3 at the same time that the Wii U was getting just Mass Effect 3.

It's not the same game, it's not the same content.

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This repeatedly played in my head while reading the OP.

 

[mhayze]

I totally remember the Wii U getting ports, but as a PlayStation/Xbox owner, I don't remember being tempted to purchase any on WiiU not least because of the limited online community/feature set and some strange tradeoffs on ports. I remember hearing that a lobbies in MP games would be sparse or too limited to be properly balanced.
I'm really glad a lot of first party content was ported to the switch because my WiiU died and I never replaced it.

 

[aronmayo]

I think what most people didn't really acknowledge was that in 2014 the Wii U had the best releases of arguably any console (at least in terms of exclusives). Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Mario Kart 8, Bayonetta 2 and Smash Bros in the one year, while PS4 and Xbox One had little compelling software. I mean damn... those are still some of the best games on Switch almost a decade later...

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Xbox actually had a pretty decent year. Personally I really liked Sunset Overdrive, Forza Horizon 2, Titanfall, Alien: Isolation and Wolfenstein: The New Order. It was really popular to hate Xbox at the time but they had a pretty good year.

 

[vrietje]

Not forgotten at all.

I remember well the Mass Effect 3 thread. "Well this late port will sell like shit and EA will use its inevitable poor sales performance to justify not supporting the platform again.."

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Let also not forget that the other platforms got mass effect trilogy around the same time. So this was send to die.

 

[Giga Man]

Tekken Tag Tournament 2: dont remember

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Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Wii U Edition had Nintendo-themed costumes for every character, party-esque items mid-battle, and the exclusive mode "Tekken Ball."



By my standards, it's the definitive version and why I wish I owned it instead of the PS3 version. lol

 

[cjelly]

The saddest part is Nintendo were actually highlighting these ports like they were some kind of big deal.

Like the entire universe was just their own little bubble and anything that happens outside of it doesn't exist.

 

[Kazer]

forgotten output of AAA months or year old ports you mean?

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Yeah this. The only exclusive on that list is Bayo 2.

 

[entremet]

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Wii U Edition had Nintendo-themed costumes for every character, party-esque items mid-battle, and the exclusive mode "Tekken Ball."



By my standards, it's the definitive version and why I wish I owned it instead of the PS3 version. lol

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I had the Wii U version as well. Also had the DLC character included. Great package.

I remember many Tekken fans got the Wii U version as well due to the unique additions such as Tekken Ball.

 

[Giga Man]

I had the Wii U version as well. Also had the DLC character included. Great package.

I remember many Tekken fans got the Wii U version as well due to the unique additions such as Tekken Ball.

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There was a DLC character?

 

[entremet]

There was a DLC character?

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Sorry, character(s).

Yes.

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 DLC characters revealed

The first batch of downloadable characters for Tekken Tag Tournament 2 have been revealed. In a new gameplay video belo…

www.eurogamer.net

Also some more like Skinny Bob. They were DLC for the PS360 versions, but included in the Wii U disc.

However, it looks like they were eventually included for free in those versions eventually. Some were pre-order bonuses.

 

[Coffey]

The way that the gamepad was employed in Splinter Cell: Blacklist, such as inventory management and drone control, worked incredibly well and found it considerably more compelling than a conventional controller. But yeah, not a golden period.