• Hey everyone, staff have documented a list of banned content and subject matter that we feel are not consistent with site values, and don't make sense to host discussion of on Famiboards. This list (and the relevant reasoning per item) is viewable here.
  • Do you have audio editing experience and want to help out with the Famiboards Discussion Club Podcast? If so, we're looking for help and would love to have you on the team! Just let us know in the Podcast Thread if you are interested!

Discussion Fami, I posit a question to you: if you are in charge of launching the Wii U, what do you do to ensure it does well?

Hero of Hyrule

Frieren the Slayer
Pronouns
He/Him
H2x1_generic_WiiU_image1280w.jpg


One of the biggest and most high profile mainstream console flops of all time is the Wii U - a system that did so well that it necessitated a total rethinking of how Nintendo conducts its business in the gaming industry, top to bottom, as a result.

The Wii U was a dismal failure. It sold less over its lifetime than its successor managed to sell in one year. It sold, by popular estimates, less than the PS Vita managed to sell (and the Vita was selling in a market that barely had room for it). It made, temporarily, Nintendo into a total non-entity as far as the broader gaming market was concerned, and led to the most catastrophic drop off in developer and industry relations Nintendo had ever suffered - somehow worse than the Nintendo 64.

A failure this thorough ultimately comes down to a cumulative amount of bad decisions that contribute to the poor performance. As much as people might want to say "I would have named it Wii 2 and watched the money roll in", the fact of the matter is that the Wii U was doomed to fail because of how many bad decisions went into its release and marketing.

With the benefit of hindsight, I want to ask you - what would you have done to try and have it sell more than it ultimately ended up doing? You essentially have carte blanche, but you act under these constraints:
  • You can make whatever changes you want pertaining to the Wii U's marketing and release. You cannot change anything about the hardware
  • You can change anything pertaining to the Wii U from 2011 and onwards. You cannot change how Nintendo handled the Wii (in other words, you are stuck with releasing a successor to a system that had its platform holder abandon it in the final two years of its life)
  • Even though you can't change the hardware, you can change online services, popular engine support, branding, how much you choose to emphasize the Gamepad controller, pricing, all of that
  • You can choose to redirect resources from the 3DS to the Wii U
  • You cannot choose to abandon the Wii U

The purpose of this thought exercise is simple - it is to see if, given the situation Nintendo found itself in in 2011, with the Wii being what it was towards the end of its life, and years of R&D into its successor having solidified what the Wii U would be like, was there any realistic way for Nintendo to actually brute force the Wii U into being a success? Or was it always going to be a lost cause without deeper changes going back years and console generations?

Within the constraints of the situation Nintendo was in in 2011, would the Wii U even have been a "success"? How much more could it have sold? For example, if you post a full fledged plan for making the Wii U sell more than it ultimately did, what do you envision the final sales tally being? GameCube level? N64 level? Would the investment in such a case truly have been worth it?

I look forward to seeing what you have to say.
 
A really interesting thread premise, and I apologise for being too tired to engage fully, but one thing I've always thought should have been different for Wii U was the timing of the software.

Mario Maker as a launch title, and Splatoon within the first six months, would show Nintendo at their exciting and innovative best and the former especially would've been a much more marketable demonstration of what's good about the gamepad.
 
Last edited:
-The name I would drop and just pick something else.

The Wii lost its luster long before it launched and by then Wii represented a console for little kids rather then for everyone according to the market.

-I’m not knowledgeable about the tech. So I honestly can’t answer many of these questions.

-But, I’ve always said that it’s the games that matter in the end. Another 2D Mario game for launch sounds good on paper but doesn’t translate for a launch. Would’ve personally just launched Mario 3D world instead. And also cut trailers better. Early Wii U, Nintendo did a poor job with some stuff before they got their skills up a notch. But you gotta them early. Not later in the life of the console.

-marketing? Personally. I think the gamepad is also a huge reason the system failed. Too big and bulky. You can’t really make it look “good”. Smaller would’ve been better but I don’t know tech so I can’t even say if it was possible back then. I feel it’s a system you could marketed as best as you can and release the best games that you can but in the end, it was going to be a failure. I can’t change the hardware unfortunately.

This is an interesting thread. But I honestly do think Nintendo take a nap prior to the Wii U launch and then having the system look and be called WII U destroyed any chance it had. There was no recovery. Look at Xbox One. A stronger system but a rather poor name and poor reveal threw its reputation into the ground and took years to recover. Nintendo made even more mistakes and took another console to recover.


Dropping the name Wii U and shifting around titles it had from hindsight. I think It could’ve sold GameCube levels. But honestly even I doubt that. If I had any knowledge on tech and whatnot I could bring a better idea to the table.

I wouldn’t shift resources from 3DS. Can’t stop the one thing making some money to risk losing more money.
 
I don’t think you’d really have to change too much to make it more successful. The name is the big one. Call it the Wii 2 and show the console and controller together from the start. The big hang up most people claimed to have was that they didn’t know it was a new console. Once it failed to gain momentum, that was when it died.

I loved the Wii U, but I don’t think it was ever destined for too much success while the split between console and handheld continued. With HD games, Nintendo needed to direct more energy towards it then they could. Between the two, I think focusing on the 3DS at the time was the right move.
 
Change the name and the way it was marketed. Every commercial I can think of had families playing games together. One player with the Game Pad and the others with WiiMotes. What this did was completely confuse the very market they sold the Wii to into thinking the Game Pad was just another add-on to the Wii. The very thing that helped to propel the Wii to its massive success—accessories like Wii Fit—led the Wii U to its failure because a lot of people didn’t know the difference. And of course, it didn’t help that the Wii U looked almost identical to the Wii in its design.
 
0
First of all, I would've delayed it by a year. Yeah, I know that sounds kinda crazy given how little there already was on the Wii from 2011 onwards, but I feel like Nintendo only released the Wii U when it did to get a head start on Xbone and PS4, because they clearly weren't ready. If they had waited a year, they could've launched it with Mario 3d World instead of another bland NSMB game that looked the exact same as the last one (I get that Nintendo was probably trying to attract the casuals with this and the gluttony of "expanded market" games in the first year of the Wii U's life, but they really needed something out at launch that actually demonstrated the jump in power). 2014 and 2015 could've had a similar release schedule as actual 2014 and 2015, but with NSMB, Wonderful 101, Wind Waker HD, Pikmin 3, Rayman Legends, the casual Wii brand stuff, and ZombiU spread out throughout these years as well. At this point, perhaps the Wii U would've been decently successful enough that Nintendo would've greenlit more major projects that would've filled out 2016 and beyond.

Of course, they need actual good marketing too, lol. Wii U marketing was soooooo cringe and bad, and the console was associated with kids from the beginning, so they would need to fix this.

Even with all these hypotheticals though, I still don't think the Wii U would've been that successful. Like, 30-40m maybe. Wii U being trash was honestly a blessing in disguise, because I don't think Nintendo would be where they are currently, with such a great platform, had the Wii U not been so bad.
 
0
Marketing was indeed a big issue, but you might say the Wii planted some of the seeds for the next console's struggles. The Wii (basically an overpowered GameCube) was failing and then suddenly Nintendo had to put out a new console with HD capabilites and they were clearly not ready to do so, both in terms of designing the console and preparing for the development cycles HD games have to go through, while Sony and Microsoft already had the experience of the PS360 years.
 
Last edited:
0
If keeping the Wii brand is a must, drop the Wii U name and just call it the Wii 2. It doesn't make the Gamepad any more appealing, but it removes the ambiguity over whether it's just an add on for the Wii or a new system. The design absolutely want to keep continuity with Wii, with Nintendo Land being a key example, so lean into this being a New Wii with new ways to play (or new ways "2" play?).

If you're more willing to drop the Wii brand, maybe call it the Nintendo U, featuring the innovative UPad Controller. Keep the use of Wii accessories as a bonus feature, even as a primary option for specific games, but potentially instead emphasize gameplay with Pro Controllers as the multiplayer solution (and throw a gyro and rumble into those controllers for good measure). That could cause problems with Nintendo Land, but it does remove another source of ambiguity - less ties to Wii makes it more it's own thing. Maybe have a fun tagline too, like "U are the Next Generation."

I think launching with Super Mario 3D World is a better idea than New Super Mario Bros. U. At the very least, launching it the same year as NSMB2 wasn't the best idea in hindsight. But what does this alternate plan mean for Super Mario 3D Land, one of the two games that helped the 3DS gain momentum back in 2011? I imagine that you can't have both a 2011 3D Land and a 2013 3D World. Either way, one system is screwed.

Either way, it still feels like an uphill battle. The Gamepad as a concept is tough to grasp and Nintendo had to support two consoles. But first impressions matter a lot, and I think the two proposals my partner and I cooked up might help a bit.
 
0
I'll probably differ from most but I think the best thing they could've done is scrapped the touch screen and go all in on off-tv play as the main gimmick, not asymmetric gameplay or touch/stylus games. Advertise it as a console that's sort of a handheld, not whatever the hell it actually was.

Changing the name would have helped too of course.
 
0
If I can't get rid of the gamepad altogether, I would make it an optional accessory sold separately in a bundle with Nintendoland, and I would release the Wii 2 with Mario Kart 8.

It's not often mentioned, but it was also a big mistake not to have a MK to launch the system with.
 
Calling it Wii 2 would have been simpler messaging IMO. Wii U was a really bad name. Can't believe they went with it.
 
0
Easy. Grab the Switch reveal trailer but do it with the gamepad.

You’re playing Zelda, and husband/kid/wife wants to watch tv. Get up from the couch, grab gamepad, keep playing.

The Wii U was great and misunderstood because the pitch and marketing was awful. Those initial commercials focused on so many things but games. The console hardly had focus. All the commercials felt like a Wii add on.

Like yeah it had a range limit, but off tv play without lag or connection issues was pretty awesome and made having time to play games feasible. Like people underestimate how when you get older, having to share the TV becomes a factor.
 
-Call it Wii 2.
-$300 32 GB 1 model but white or black color.
-Allow the ability to text friends from friends list and not miiverse
-online infastructure to match Sony and MS
-Faster OS
-Make gamepad basically handheld and dock it for the HD experience
 
Better software and a more consistent release schedule. Nintendo did a piss poor job from top to bottom with first and third party offerings. The fact that some of their "partners" literally laughed at the idea of some of their games being on the system before launch was a disaster and embarrassing.
 
0
  • A new name. If we keep the Wii branding, I'd just change it to Wii 2. It clearly communicates that it's the next iteration of the Wii.
  • Show the console itself more in the marketing. Highlight that it's not just a "new controller".
  • Showcase the appeal of switching to Off-TV Mode. The final Wii U commercials rarely showed the "switching" - just someone playing on the tablet. I would also standardize this feature more on a system level (rather than a game-by-game basis) to make it as seamless as possible. Ideally there would be a button on the GamePad, but since I can't change the hardware I'd make it a UI element on the "Home/pause screen". You could make commercials that are fairly close to what the Switch is doing now, with the exception of taking the GamePad out of the house.
  • I always thought the main visual of the Wii U (as seen in the OP) was boring. Why does the GamePad just have the Wii U logo on a white background? I only recall one time they didn't do this:
1280x720.jpg

  • Launch window lineup needs a complete overhaul. Make sure there are games releasing every month or two. You can't go six months without a first-party game.
  • Don't launch with a game that looks so similar to something already on the Wii. Instead launch with something that proves the value of the GamePad. For this purpose I would swap New Super Mario Bros. U with Super Mario Maker. (I assume I can do this?) That game had some of the best use of the controller, but by 2015 it was too late to change the perception. I would also make sure Splatoon released within the first 2-4 months.

How successful would this have ended up being? It's hard to say, not laying out a full software schedule. But it should have been able to do at least GameCube numbers, which are still not impressive, but that's almost double of its final total.

I wrote this before looking at the rest of the posts, but I see many of us came to the same conclusions.
 
  • Wii 2
  • Emphasize the console equally or more than the controller
  • Use the black unit equally or more than the white unit in marketing
  • Streamline the OS
  • Killer app in the launch window, or at least in the first 12 months (the buzz-creating titles didn't roll out until 2014)
  • De-emphasize casual experiences to some degree
  • When developing sequels to Wii casual titles, add significant new features and focus on them in marketing (along the lines of the leg strap for soccer in Switch Sports)

The entirety of the Wii U's marketing can be summed up as coasting on the Wii's success + emphasizing all the wrong parts of it.
 
0
  • Give it a new name. Maybe not "Wii 2" but definitely not Wii U
  • Have a stronger launch with Nintendoland and Windwaker HD day one to emphasize how the Gamepad works
  • Launch with more colorful versions of the console. The white just looks so ugly.
  • Work with the 3DS developers on porting 3DS games to the system and having connections between the two versions. Animal Crossing New Leaf would give the system a Animal Crossing game and allow people to connect/play with friends on the other system.
  • Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon year one
  • Give Smash some more interesting crossovers. Sora, Banjo, and Steve would generate tons of hype
  • Work with indie developers and make the Switch the best place to play upcoming indie games. Introduce a program to advertise those. Having Minecraft, FNAF, Stardew Valley on the system as early as possible would do wonders
  • Implement the 3D World Switch fixes into the original game (faster running speed) and have online multiplayer. Advertise it better too.
  • Make Miiverse a big thing in the marketing
  • Advertise the games instead of the hardware and features
 
Wii HD: $199 base system with Wii Sports HD and without GamePad, $349 with GamePad and NintendoLand (and Wii Sports HD).

Market the system as a much more powerful Wii with the GamePad being an optional accessory primarily for off-screen play (and bonus content in some games). Launch with Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon and 3D World day 1 or coming soon (with in-game trailers prior to launch).

I don’t think the Wii U would have been a massive success even like this, but converting Wii owners over would have provided some decent sales numbers.
 
0
1) Delay Skyward Sword and rework it to be a launch title for the console: HD graphics, gyro controls for bird flying and shooting, the analogue stick sword controls from the Switch version combined with the touchscreen inventory of Wind Waker HD.

It wouldn't have been a BotW level killer app, but launching with a 3D Zelda that makes use of the hardware and gamepad would have made the console much more enticing. And moving the game away from the Wiimote would have had the side effect of removing the waggle control complaints, so the game itself would have probably been better recieved.

2) Mario Kart 8, there in time for the first launch holiday, instead of a year and a half later. If that meant hiring double the number of developers to get it out the door, then eat the cost. Zelda day one followed by Mario Kart in December would have kept way more eyeballs on the console.

3) Keep NSMBU as a launch title, but make it clear it's a supplementary game aimed at more casual fans, rather than the supposed killer app.

4) Push Nintendo Land to early 2013. It's a fun game, but it's not a game to get people rushing to the shelves to buy a console. Push it to Feb or March 2013 as a quirky new Nintendo IP, pad out the release calendar a bit.

5) Hire, hire, hire! Nintendo took way too long to acknowledge the extra development requirements of HD games.

6) Extra co-marketing with Ubisoft to push Zombi U as a killer exclusive. Push it to April 2013 and have it as the big game for that month, rather than getting lost in the launch kerfuffle.

7) Change the name to something new, such as the Nintendo Switch. Focus the marketing on single player games that make use of the gamepad first, then multiplayer games and asymmetric games.

8) Make it clear to EA from the outset that Origin will not be part of the eShop infrastructure, rather then letting them think it would be then walking away at launch. Mass Effect Trilogy instead of just Mass Effect 3, with touchscreen and gyro controls.

9) Pay whatever it takes for Epic to continue Unreal support for the device. Yes, it would have been a nightmare, but give them whatever money they need to ensure the engine stays supported on the system. Also, pay Crytek the money needed to bring Crysis 3 to the console, if not the entire trilogy. Having Unreal and Cryengine support would have done wonders for addressing the fears that the tech was outdated day one.

10) Delay the western release of Xenoblade Chronicles, release it in early-mid 2013 as Xenoblade Chronicles HD. That way, you've got some killer launch titles, and then a solid year of first party support to maintain interest and get momentum going.
 
The number one thing aside from increasing development resources and changing the name/marketing around it would be totally scrapping the bloated, slow Wii U OS.

It should essentially have the snappy, minimalist switch OS, but with folders. Going into the settings menu or receiving updates on wii u was excruciating.
 
Honestly I think it was a lost cause regardless. Better communication over what it actually was, a better name etc, would have made a difference, but not enough to see it gain the traction it needed.

It’s a transitional hardware step that shows Nintendo heading towards the Switch rather than playing catch-up to PS/XB (where they were so far behind in ‘Pc-style box with online multiplayer), so I can see where the hardware idea came from. But while I enjoyed the tablet in that I would use it to play WiiU games in bed the same as I did for my other portables, ultimately it was fatally flawed across the board. Software wasn’t particularly exciting, and they struggled to make software that really justified the pad, which was the differential factor over the competition offering a much easier to understand iterative increase in power and better visuals instead. The whole dual-screen thing worked fine on DS where both screens are in your line of sight, but the minute developers started thinking about ‘have a companion app on your phone/tablet!’ the concept falls apart.

I don’t know. I wouldn’t have redirected 3DS resources as why hamper the portables that are their long-term reliable, successful line. What I would have done is a lot more testing to see how well the concept would be understood by the casual market and ditched the Wii branding for a whole new concept to assist that.

Ultimately it’s apparent pretty early on that it’s just not gonna fly, and when you are telling your best game designers to find a reason to justify the hardware after launch, it’s way too late. It needed to launch with a crazy-strong slate that justified the pad and showed extreme confidence in it and mastery of it, not experimental stuff that left even their biggest fans thinking ‘eh, wait and see’.

At the point you’ve got hardware even your own developers aren’t convinced by, software that doesn’t justify the concept as attractive compared to what the competition is doing, advertising that isn’t able to communicate what it is, a brand name the whole world thinks makes it a non-essential accessory for something they’ve already bought, I don’t think branding and comms can save it. It’s problems run way too deep on the conceptual level that then leads to problems with hardware design, software and even already-near-dead third party support.
 
Wii Too

Launch it with Nintendo Land and a Wiimote Plus and Nunchuck set in the box so that multiplayer is viable out of the box.

Launch the system with Wii Sports Club so that the name Wii Too and a fully functional online Wii Sports sends the message that the system is the successor to Wii and it has the games from the get go to pickup the hardcore and the casuals.

I wouldn’t have taken anything away from 3DS resources but I would have made some of 3DS’ big games at the time also have Wii Too versions that ran in HD, such as OoT HD, Starfox 64 HD, and Super Mario 3D Land HD. All of these games at launch would signal to the hardcore Nintendo fans that Nintendo is hitting the HD era running full sprint.

I know we can’t change the Wii, but could be have delayed Skyward Sword by one year so it was a cross gen game? The Wii Version would still be as is but the Wii Too version would be comparable to what we got with the Switch HD port.

I bet a lot of these changes would’ve helped the system greatly.

Edit: cross-thread joke; two words: Hentai Uni.
 
Last edited:
Just like the 3DS (a console that customers initially rejected bc the performance didn't match the price), drop the price $100. I don't believe there is any level of name-change or marketing that would lead to acceptance of a $300-350 console that was so thoroughly outclassed by its contemporaries at about the same price.

Overall, I agree that better naming and marketing could've helped, but think those moves pale in comparison to the sticker shock. With the software release schedule, I don't think there's an alternative reality where that changes in a meaningful way. Imo, that's the next biggest area of impact, but I don't feel it's as realistic to have changed.
 
0
I don't believe the Wii U really had a chance to succeed, even with a different name and better marketing. The architecture of the console was archaic in anno 2012 and the Wii U Gamepad was not exactly a selling point to the general public, as it was difficult to explain its benefits.

Instead of releasing the Wii U in 2012, if I were Nintendo I would make sure that the Wii stays relevant for longer. As of 2010, the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 were gaining ground as HD televisions gained market share. An upgrade to the Wii (not a new generation) that was able to play Wii games upscaled to HD would have ensured that sales remained strong for longer.

A possible Wii HD would be released either with Wii Sports Resort (2009) or with Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010). Some sort of Wii U GamePad might also be released as an optional controller for the Wii and Wii HD.

I would try to extend the life cycle of the Wii/Wii HD to late 2015/early 2016 (until the release of the Nintendo Switch is possible). In the later years of the Wii/Wii HD's life, I would position the console as a budget console and ensure that it receives ports of Nintendo 3DS games.
 
I know this wouldn't be a launch game, but I wonder what would have happened if Nintendo had paid for a top-shelf port of GTAV to launch alongside the PS3/360 versions
 
0
Yeah I'd echo that Nintendo's big problem during that period really stemmed from all but abandoning the Wii during its final two years. The Wii was fizzled out of the mainstream concsiousness by 2012 and the "Wii" brand just didn't hold any marketing power by that point.

As for the Wii U itself, the entire concept of the gamepad was messy and confusing and it didn't appeal to anyone. I'd honestly just axe the thing and stick with the Pro controller or something as the "main" controller and keep the wiimotes as well. Probably wouldn't have made a huge difference in sales, but I think that gamepad caused more problems than it was worth.
 
0
I would say there is nothing here that is going to save the WiiU or having it do slightly better outside of completely overhauling the entire system on every facet of its design & premise. Really the problems extended back to the end of the Wii days which probably needed to be taken care of first before this machine could fly.
 
0
Using current day knowledge?

  • Name it HDS. Its way more of a stationary DS than a Wii successor anyway.
  • Completely different marketing
  • Delay it 1 year to improve lineup and the improvements described bellow
  • Being able to play Wii games without restarting in Wii mode day 1
  • Having Wii and GC games on the eShop like they did with Galaxy/Xenoblade/etc, but day 1 and release at least 50 titles over the generation
  • Making sure UE and Unit had full support for it with at least several months prior to launch.
  • Go after indies, AA and key AAA games as much as they did with the Switch.
  • Make their 3DS games' engine support the "HDS" too, so they could have a lot of multiplat releases like Smash without overloading their dev teams. Otherwise, make a 3DS emulator and let users to play their eShop purchases and carts (card read accessory required).

Cheat mode:
- Use my knowledge of what games would become huge and go after them.
 
0
I like the idea of it:

  • Being called Wii 2
  • Just focus on HD, Wii Motion + and Pro Controller for the main library
  • Releasing in Fall 2011
  • Releasing with Skyward Sword and Wii Sports Club and Super Mario Galaxy HD Collection
  • GamePad being a separate accessory that’s bundled with Nintendo Land
 
0
Better third party support would have changed a lot for Wii U.

If I were Nintendo I'd have spent millions for more third party ports. Especially the ones that mattered: FF13/14, Dark Souls 1-2, GTA5, Skyrim, Fallout... And I made sure that Mass Effect release for Wii U was the full collection, not just the third game. The system bundled with GTA5 to show it's much more than a Nintendo platform for the core fans. Nintendo struggled with the first party lineup in its first year, I'd have kept the adopters busy with more day and date third party ports. Not just few of them, all of PS3/360 releases.

Also much cooler name like Nintendo Neon or some similar shit would have made a world of difference.
 
There would be too much to change, the name, the pricing, the system architecture, the lack of software, Nintendo wasn't ready for HD development and it took them the entire U generation to even get that figured out. There is nothing that could have realistically saved the system, but if we're allowed to dream, then launching with BOTW at a 250 dollar price point would have done a lot.
 
0
Better third party support would have changed a lot for Wii U.

If I were Nintendo I'd have spent millions for more third party ports. Especially the ones that mattered: FF13/14, Dark Souls 1-2, GTA5, Skyrim, Fallout... And I made sure that Mass Effect release for Wii U was the full collection, not just the third game. The system bundled with GTA5 to show it's much more than a Nintendo platform for the core fans. Nintendo struggled with the first party lineup in its first year, I'd have kept the adopters busy with more day and date third party ports. Not just few of them, all of PS3/360 releases.

Also much cooler name like Nintendo Neon or some similar shit would have made a world of difference.
ME3 was such a weird choice. Full price at the same time as the collection came out elsewhere. Such a cynical, half-hearted release. Surely the third game in a huge rpg series famous for carrying forward your choices is one of those things where, if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.
 
0
The controller was the biggest issue. It looked like a fisher price toy even in 2012 compared to the proliferation of cheap tablets in the market.

If you change the name, marketing to something more Switch like and use a pro controller you get a completely different response to the market aswell as being able to sell it at $249 from the start. Forget Nintendo Land, Wii Fit U etc and focus on getting Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8, Wind Waker HD, Splatoon and Smash all out in its first year. The console didn’t have bad third party support at all in its first couple of years so that’s no an issue.

The first year of a consoles life is by far the most important.
 
0
To me this is very easy the system needed to launch with either Zelda or Mario. It needed to launch with a very big well-made version of either one of those games. Of course they did this with the N64 but outside of Mario there really wasn't anything else at launch, well I would say this, yes launch the console with one of those two franchises but also make sure that you have either Xenoblade or Fire Emblem as the other launch title. You need a very big franchise when you launched a console and I would also say a jrpg such as Xenoblade or Fire Emblem would also be great to go along with a Mario or Zelda launch title. If they could have done that, the Wii U would have been one of the most successful Nintendo systems. And if this is just way too much to ask for, then they should have just released either Mario and Zelda but also make sure a mainline Pokemon was released as another launch title.
 
0
The problem with nixxing the Gamepad is that without it, you've just got a 360-level console with nothing to make it a unique proposition. You could drop the price to $250, but you're still basically just competing with the PS3 and 360 at that point.

For all it's many problems, the Gamepad offered a unique selling point and proto-Switch functionality. There's no reality in which the Wii U is a runaway success, but with enough rejigging of the library and marketing, they could have at least sold it as a unique alternative to the PS4 or Xbox One
 
Im going to say the original concept of it just being the Gamepad itself where all the tech was is what they should have done. I don’t think anything would have saved it but it being a more straight up Switch prototype might have been good for an extra 10 million or so
 
0
I don’t think you’d really have to change too much to make it more successful. The name is the big one. Call it the Wii 2 and show the console and controller together from the start. The big hang up most people claimed to have was that they didn’t know it was a new console. Once it failed to gain momentum, that was when it died.

I loved the Wii U, but I don’t think it was ever destined for too much success while the split between console and handheld continued. With HD games, Nintendo needed to direct more energy towards it then they could. Between the two, I think focusing on the 3DS at the time was the right move.

Calling it the Wii 2 or Super Wii would've helped for normies - promising another generation of a Wii style experience would've been a sensible idea. The big problem for us gamers was the development software; it wasn't ready for the big time and you see it in the early Wii U games - they didn't compare well to the 360 and PS3 and they were old. People outside of Nintendo struggled to get the best out of it and it gave a bad impression it never recovered from.

The number one thing aside from increasing development resources and changing the name/marketing around it would be totally scrapping the bloated, slow Wii U OS.

It should essentially have the snappy, minimalist switch OS, but with folders. Going into the settings menu or receiving updates on wii u was excruciating.
When people say this I feel they never used the PS3, because that thing was excruciating to use. Bonus pain points for the PS Store, the bit that should be really smooth to make you spend money.
 
Calling it the Wii 2 or Super Wii would've helped for normies - promising another generation of a Wii style experience would've been a sensible idea. The big problem for us gamers was the development software; it wasn't ready for the big time and you see it in the early Wii U games - they didn't compare well to the 360 and PS3 and they were old. People outside of Nintendo struggled to get the best out of it and it gave a bad impression it never recovered from.


When people say this I feel they never used the PS3, because that thing was excruciating to use. Bonus pain points for the PS Store, the bit that should be really smooth to make you spend money.
I had a PS3, it didn't need me to wait an hour before I used it for the first time like the Wii U did. By the end it was passable, but some of those early OS updates were brutal.

Also I mostly buy physical games, but for the DDL exclusives I felt the Wii U downloads took longer per GB than PS3 too.
 
- Change the name to Wii 2 (stylized as Wii Two)

- Create a mainline Pokémon game for the system. Maybe have another studio handle it since GameFreak wouldn't have been ready for home consoles at this time. Have connectivity with the DS and 3DS games.

- Launch the system in November 2012 with Pokémon and Wii Sports 3 (instead of Nintendo Land). Focus the marketing around these two games, with off-tv play being emphaziised for Pokémon and Asymetric multiplayer for Wii Sports 3.

- Have a consistent stream of games releasing throghout 2013.

- Put more effort into the Virtual Console earlier and use nostalgia for marketing during any droughts. Emphazizse that the Wii Two is The Ultimate Place for everything Nintendo
 
0
I don’t think there was any making it a huge success without some major changes that just weren’t feasible. I do think there were some things they could have emphasized earlier on to make the transition from Wii to Wii U less painful and maybe avoid as much ridicule as they got.

It’s absurd they got made fun of for their controller compatibility when it was actually very consumer friendly. They didn’t do a good job explaining this to people and I saw mistakes made all the time about what controllers would work for what. But letting you use all your Wiimotes was fantastic and it’s bullshit that Sony and especially Microsoft released new controllers with very few updates that you needed to buy extra of if you wanted local multiplayer.

Similarly, they needed to better push and emphasize their backward compatibility. Sony had none and Microsoft spent years barely catching up. What Microsoft offered was better quality for sure but it’s not even half the 360 library compared to the Wii U’s nearly 100% BC capabilities. Either push the feature or don’t even bother. Instead they did a weird half and half of having these great features and not properly communicating them to users.

Or they didn’t implement them well enough to make using them painless. The Wii integration needed to be better from the jump. The vWii was clever but cumbersome. They needed your Wii titles accessible from the Wii U menu and most importantly with Gamepad controls where possible. Even after the various vWii updates you still can’t control your VC games with the gamepad.

It needed better integration with the 3DS and downloadable Wii and DS games on day one. Add to that cross buying DS games on your Wii U and 3DS. It’s crazy you couldn’t download DS games onto the 3DS but you can download DSiWare titles. Wii games on the eShop were cool, but they came way too late. They also showed you could skip the vWii menu when selecting a Wii game just like how the 3DS handles DS titles from the start.

Would any of this have saved the system? No. But it would’ve made the transition easier and I think would have made it clearer that this was moving the Wii platform forward while also beginning to integrate with their DS/3DS line. It’s a clearer story than “here’s a screen for asynchronous gameplay which I guess we have to prove to you is a good idea”.

Oh and forget TVii.

I had a PS3, it didn't need me to wait an hour before I used it for the first time like the Wii U did. By the end it was passable, but some of those early OS updates were brutal.

Also I mostly buy physical games, but for the DDL exclusives I felt the Wii U downloads took longer per GB than PS3 too.
You could use the Wii U immediately after turning it on for the first time. The issue was the update message was poorly worded and people didn’t realize you could go straight to the game and the update would simply download in the background. It was actually great about updates but horrible about telling users how anything worked. Funny enough I think the update message was slightly improved after that first brutal update.
 
The general consensus is that the Wii U failed primarily because of marketing, and a smaller number would point to the price.
However, I don't think either was the real issue. There's for some reason a level of denial, perhaps people in denial over a bad purchase, that it was simply a bad product. The Wii U tried to be a middle ground between the Wii and a traditional Nintendo console, with its games trying to both appeal to the casual audience who played Wii sports, and the hardcore Nintendo audience who wanted games like Donkey Kong or Smash. But in trying to appeal to both, they appealed to no one. As a casual device it was a huge step down from the Wii, which had a deluge of constant casual party games releasing, and as a core Nintendo device it didn't have a lot of the meaty single player games people would have wanted.

So if you were to fix the Wii U, you would need to first commit to an audience, because I don't think it's possible to really appeal strongly to both casual and core players. If Nintendo wanted the casual audience then they should have focused all their effort on pumping out wii style games. Make another Wii Party, make more Mario Parties, make Mario Kart 8 a launch title. On the other hand if they wanted the core audience then, just make the switch I guess.
 
0
I had a PS3, it didn't need me to wait an hour before I used it for the first time like the Wii U did. By the end it was passable, but some of those early OS updates were brutal.

Also I mostly buy physical games, but for the DDL exclusives I felt the Wii U downloads took longer per GB than PS3 too.
That initial update was horrible, and implies the WiiU was coming in pretty hot. The thing that likely killed it though was the fact that third party games were generally inferior to the PS360 ones early on. Which was due to an immature development environment as much as other things. It was a horrible first impression.

Where I said the PS3 was inferior though was the OS. It's excruciatingly slow, the way updates and downloads work is infuriating, the shop is atrocious, and actually got far worse with each update.
 
0
Given the strict constraints, I think I'm best off just abusing the marketing budget to benefit myself and my allies and letting nature take its course.
 
0
I've thought about this, and I don't think it does well no matter what. It's in that space where developing for HD is almost a necessity at this point, and Nintendo knows this, but they're not ready to confront that yet.

Further, this comes in a space where Nintendo is clearly aware of the shrinking of the dedicated handheld market, they're spooked by the 3DS's struggle launch (and are watching the Vita bomb in real time near the WiiU's launch as well), and they are trying to get to this hybrid idea, but the tech isn't quite there yet.

They've gone halfway there with a tablet, but the uDraw tablet has just bombed and will end THQ as we knew it then. The market, I think at that point, expects tablets to do more than just play games. Put another way: If Nintendo is aware that the market is cooling on dedicated handhelds because of the multi-functionality of mobile phones, then they must have had an inkling (pun not intended) that their single-use tablet controller (that you couldn't move very far from the console to use off-TV) was probably not a great product for the market.

Does it help that they didn't have a killer app ready to go? No, not at all (sorry, fans of Nintendo Land and NSMB). However, I don't think that SM3DW gets them any closer; it's not like people rushed out to get WiiUs when it came out. In fairness, I think the game isn't very good, so it doesn't shock me that it was no help to the WiiU, but even if the market generally thinks by now that it's a great Mario game because of its Switch re-release, it's clear that the prospect of another great Mario game isn't going to push a console with so many negatives behind it.

I don't really blame Nintendo for those negatives, though. They were trying to get somewhere that wasn't yet possible in 2012 and the Wii's collapse in sales meant that they had to do something. I sort of liken it to the Virtual Boy, where Nintendo is looking at the handheld market and knowing that they have to get somewhere new with off-TV gameplay even with the GB's market dominance, and the GBC isn't here yet (though honestly, Yokoi could have just focused on that instead of the VB and Nintendo would have been fine), so they thought, "eff it, let's see what happens with this piece of tech."

And much like the WiiU, the VB was quickly overshadowed by another of Nintendo's own products - the 3DS's revival for the former, the N64's release for the latter - and so it never really got off the ground.

Sorry, I won't make everything I post about the Virtual Boy.

Anyway, I don't think SMG3 and a new Zelda that hints toward the open-world style of BotW in four years at launch is enough to save the WiiU. However, I do think the WiiU is important and needed to exist as a bridge.
 
Honestly I don‘t know. I already think that those people at Nintendo who needed to somehow sell that thing did already the best they could. Even with different branding or better marketing, the hardware would still look very unappealing.

The WiiU could have had some success if it came like one or two years earlier, had a bit of a slicker design and a better system software. But then yeah I don‘t think Nintendo would have had any software ready at launch, unless if they would have saved up Mario Galaxy 2, Skyward Sword and Xenoblade or something.
 
Assuming I can't change the hardware

I would have made sure that the menu system was far more optimized and perhaps make a whole new OS for the thing. Cause really the biggest issue for me with the Wii U was when I was playing the games I LOVED the machine... when in the menus I HATED it. (Settings and such wouldn't be their own programs they'd be usable in the background when a game is suspended)

I would have launched it with a zelda or mario... actually ... Mario Kart 8.

I would have gotten rid of the lower sku

Slim down the GamePad a tad

I would have implemented a proper account system that tied MiiVerse into the core of the system. (Imagine the social aspect of miiverse tied directly into your nintendo account profile, play time, messages, image sharing, ... all of it tied into your account... AND ... available at launch)

Ninendo land would have had online.

I'd have found a way to attach Wii purchases (virtual console, wii Ware) to your new account and not charge for the upgrades.

Rather than have a completely separate mode for Wii games, I'd make them playable from Wii U mode. (If possible I'd push to increase the resolution of said games or SOMETHING to improve the experience)

I'd include a sata expansion bay (2.5 inch) and ethernet port on the system itself... Wii U peripherals were a nightmare... (You had the power cord the HDMI cable, the Gamepad and it's Power Cable, assuming you had a hard drive most the time you'd need a powered external HDD AND it's power cable and it's USB cord... and the ethernet cable and it's cord... OH and the sensor bar)

There might be more but that's what comes to me right now

EDIT: I remember something
I would bring street pass to Wii U in the form of StreetPass Station™
StreetPass Station™ is a train station (or an airport or bus station or something) on wii U where your mii could go on a street pass journey using your 3DS. So for example you set up StreetPass Station™ with your mii and you sync the 3DS with it via Spot Pass, and your mii boards the Bus/plane/whatever and you take it with you on your 3DS. When you get back your 3DS spotpasses with the Wii U and your mii would have encountered other people who had similar Wii U games and you could do the puzzle thing but for Wii U, and other street pass functions that developers built into their wii U games. Also the built in StreetPass Station™ games that showcased the gamepad in unique ways. StreetPass Station™ data would be synced with your Nintendo account stuff so friends would be able to see and compare your progress.
 
Last edited:
0
I would have:

  • not ended software support for the Wii as early as they did.
  • made a Wii HD console to extend its life. No crazy gamepad, just the Wiimote again.
  • replaced the Wii line with the Switch once technology was ready to go fully in on the hybrid console concept.

Of course, I say this with the benefit of hindsight and in complete ignorance of the business/technical realities Nintendo needed to grapple with.
 
0
Not launch it in 2012 when few people cared about the Wii anymore and everyone was already expecting the PS4.
 
0


Back
Top Bottom