Been reading a lot recently about the failings of the Wii U, and thought I'd bring this into a discussion here with fellow gamers and see what you think about the Wii U and why it failed.
Before I go onto point already raised, the elephant in the room most people seem to forget about when it comes to the Wii U in terms of its failings is that it's Region Locked; this was a big thing with the PS4 vs. Xbox One issue that lead many choosing the PS4 and Microsoft having to back out of their initial plan because Sony up-showed them. Nintendo's response to users asking to have the console region-free? "No, we're good". While they did a good deed of having it be backwards compatible with Wii games, having it region locked is a negative thing to have. It puts me off having one as I'd gladly would get a Wii U in the US if it was region free, meaning I could play my Wii games on it and still play new ones.
Key points raised are things like the name and lack of advertising, I will say that calling it Wii 2 would have been the better plan because people get so confused about the name. When I was working in HMV, people couldn't tell the difference between the Wii and Wii U games, most of the returns that came for Wii U games was because it wasn't for the Wii. At least when it comes to Playstation, the numbers made sense to people, they new what they wanted, Xbox is ok, but Wii U is definitely a poor choice of name, if they could re-brand it, it might redeem the console so people know it's different. Advertising wise, the UK had LOADS of Wii-based advertising, there was barely a day without one, all I see nowadays is the occasional 3DS advert, but never seen a Wii U outside of Mario 3D World. It shows people don't know about it too well unlike the PS4/Xbox One, if you don't advertise, people don't know about it.
While people would say there's a lack of launch titles, I'll skip that because frankly the PS4 and Xbox One have applied the same tactic.
The other key factor is that the Wii U is an unusual console which third-based companies find hard to get around that they're put off by the console itself. I remember how games like FIFA or WWE were terrible on the Wii because the controls didn't support the playing style. With the Wii U, they now have to adjust for the tablet controller, which alienates the companies because Nintendo is basically saying 'Make it like we want it' as opposed to keeping it simple like the Sony and Microsoft have by just having a simple controller that any game made for both translates with ease.
How could the Wii U be saved? The key thing is big titles like Super Smash Bros, Mario Kart, a new proper Zelda and Mario game; in other words falling on the old guard to help them out. The next key thing would be to make future models region free to draw people in knowing they can upgrade and get any game they can worldwide. The one other thing they did to, not necessarily for the Wii U but the next one, go back to the classic controller. The Wii is unique because it offered something different and it worked, but Sony and Microsoft countered by including a similar feat but maintaining the standard style of play, Nintendo's resolution was to rinse and repeat in a failing manner. The only real way the Wii U could be saved is to drop the tablet gimmick as part of how to play the console itself and market is as a way to play it without a TV, so it makes the tablet useful without alienating gamers and third-based companies because if you remove the screen part of tablet, what's left? A standard controller setup. They could bring controllers in, adapting the console to the market and it could bring a turnaround, but at this point, I expect Nintendo would save such a plan for the next console.
Now I know my ideal resolutions are just that, ideal and based on my own opinion, there's a high unlikelihood it will happen because Nintendo will have their own plans in place. But what are your thoughts about the Wii U and why it's failed? What would you like to see happen?
Before I go onto point already raised, the elephant in the room most people seem to forget about when it comes to the Wii U in terms of its failings is that it's Region Locked; this was a big thing with the PS4 vs. Xbox One issue that lead many choosing the PS4 and Microsoft having to back out of their initial plan because Sony up-showed them. Nintendo's response to users asking to have the console region-free? "No, we're good". While they did a good deed of having it be backwards compatible with Wii games, having it region locked is a negative thing to have. It puts me off having one as I'd gladly would get a Wii U in the US if it was region free, meaning I could play my Wii games on it and still play new ones.
Key points raised are things like the name and lack of advertising, I will say that calling it Wii 2 would have been the better plan because people get so confused about the name. When I was working in HMV, people couldn't tell the difference between the Wii and Wii U games, most of the returns that came for Wii U games was because it wasn't for the Wii. At least when it comes to Playstation, the numbers made sense to people, they new what they wanted, Xbox is ok, but Wii U is definitely a poor choice of name, if they could re-brand it, it might redeem the console so people know it's different. Advertising wise, the UK had LOADS of Wii-based advertising, there was barely a day without one, all I see nowadays is the occasional 3DS advert, but never seen a Wii U outside of Mario 3D World. It shows people don't know about it too well unlike the PS4/Xbox One, if you don't advertise, people don't know about it.
While people would say there's a lack of launch titles, I'll skip that because frankly the PS4 and Xbox One have applied the same tactic.
The other key factor is that the Wii U is an unusual console which third-based companies find hard to get around that they're put off by the console itself. I remember how games like FIFA or WWE were terrible on the Wii because the controls didn't support the playing style. With the Wii U, they now have to adjust for the tablet controller, which alienates the companies because Nintendo is basically saying 'Make it like we want it' as opposed to keeping it simple like the Sony and Microsoft have by just having a simple controller that any game made for both translates with ease.
How could the Wii U be saved? The key thing is big titles like Super Smash Bros, Mario Kart, a new proper Zelda and Mario game; in other words falling on the old guard to help them out. The next key thing would be to make future models region free to draw people in knowing they can upgrade and get any game they can worldwide. The one other thing they did to, not necessarily for the Wii U but the next one, go back to the classic controller. The Wii is unique because it offered something different and it worked, but Sony and Microsoft countered by including a similar feat but maintaining the standard style of play, Nintendo's resolution was to rinse and repeat in a failing manner. The only real way the Wii U could be saved is to drop the tablet gimmick as part of how to play the console itself and market is as a way to play it without a TV, so it makes the tablet useful without alienating gamers and third-based companies because if you remove the screen part of tablet, what's left? A standard controller setup. They could bring controllers in, adapting the console to the market and it could bring a turnaround, but at this point, I expect Nintendo would save such a plan for the next console.
Now I know my ideal resolutions are just that, ideal and based on my own opinion, there's a high unlikelihood it will happen because Nintendo will have their own plans in place. But what are your thoughts about the Wii U and why it's failed? What would you like to see happen?
