Wii U

The Nintendo Wii U is an eighth-generation home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. Released globally in November and December 2012, it holds a fascinating, somewhat tragic place in gaming history. Serving as the direct successor to the world-conquering Wii, the Wii U was a massive commercial failure, selling only 13.56 million units worldwide (making it one of Nintendo’s worst-selling home consoles). However, despite its market struggles, it boasted a spectacular library of first-party games and served as the crucial, necessary prototype for the massively successful Nintendo Switch.

Core Concept

The defining gimmick of the Wii U was the Wii U GamePad, a massive controller featuring a built-in 6.2-inch touchscreen. Nintendo’s philosophy was to introduce “Asymmetric Gameplay”—the idea that the person holding the GamePad could have a completely different view and role in a multiplayer game than the people looking at the television screen.

Additionally, the console introduced “Off-TV Play.” If someone else wanted to watch the television, you could instantly beam the game directly to the GamePad and continue playing your AAA console game in your hands (provided you didn’t walk too far away from the console base).

Unfortunately, the Wii U suffered from arguably the worst marketing campaign in Nintendo’s history. The name “Wii U,” combined with early commercials that primarily focused on the new controller rather than the console box itself, left casual consumers massively confused. Millions of parents and non-gamers believed the GamePad was simply an expensive add-on accessory for the original Wii they already owned, leading to a catastrophic lack of sales momentum.

Hardware and Features

While the hardware was quickly outpaced by the PS4 and Xbox One (which launched a year later), the Wii U was packed with charming, distinctly Nintendo features:

• The GamePad: Beyond the resistive touchscreen, the controller was packed with tech. It featured an internal gyroscope, a front-facing camera, a microphone, and importantly, an NFC reader. This NFC reader successfully launched the billion-dollar Amiibo toy-to-life craze.

• Miiverse: Arguably the most beloved feature of the console. Miiverse was a built-in, Nintendo-themed social network. Every game had its own community board where players could post incredibly detailed stylus drawings, share screenshots, and ask for help. These posts would frequently bleed into the games themselves, appearing as graffiti on walls in Splatoon or as messages floating in bottles in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD.

• Flawless Backwards Compatibility: The Wii U was a preservation powerhouse. It played original Wii discs flawlessly natively. Furthermore, it completely supported Wii Remotes, Nunchuks, and Balance Boards, meaning early adopters didn’t have to throw away their old plastic accessories.

• HD Nintendo: It was Nintendo’s very first console to support high-definition graphics (1080p). Seeing Mario, Zelda, and Donkey Kong in crisp, colorful HD for the first time was a massive selling point for hardcore fans.

Notable Software

The great irony of the Wii U is that while the console failed, its software lineup was so incredibly strong that it practically fueled the first three years of the Nintendo Switch via enhanced ports:

• Nintendo Land: The pack-in game that perfectly demonstrated the asymmetrical GamePad concept. One player would use the GamePad screen to hunt down the other four players who were navigating a maze on the TV screen. It remains one of the greatest local-multiplayer party games ever made.

• Splatoon: Nintendo’s radical, fresh take on the multiplayer shooter genre. Instead of shooting bullets, players shot ink to cover the map, using the GamePad’s internal gyroscope for incredibly precise motion aiming.

• Super Mario 3D World: A brilliant, energetic four-player co-op platformer that introduced the beloved Cat Suit power-up.

• Mario Kart 8: The definitive racing game that introduced anti-gravity mechanics. It was so flawless that Nintendo simply ported it to the Switch (as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe), where it went on to sell over 60 million copies.

• Super Smash Bros. for Wii U: The first HD entry in the franchise, famously introducing 8-player smash battles.

The Sunset

Squeezed between the confusing marketing, a sluggish operating system at launch, and third-party developers totally abandoning the console (due to poor sales and the difficulty of programming for the two-screen setup), the Wii U was doomed early on. Nintendo officially discontinued the console globally in January 2017 to clear the runway for the launch of the Nintendo Switch.

The beloved Miiverse was shut down in November 2017, taking millions of player drawings with it. Like the 3DS, the Wii U eShop was officially closed on March 27, 2023, and the online multiplayer servers were completely disabled on April 8, 2024, ending its network life. Notably, its final game, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, was released simultaneously on the Wii U and the Switch, serving as a beautiful swan song that bridged the gap between Nintendo’s greatest failure and their greatest success.

Quick Note

The Nintendo Wii U is the ultimate “beautiful disaster” in the gaming industry. It was a highly experimental, misunderstood console that lacked the hardware power of its rivals but possessed an unbelievable amount of heart.

In short: Without the Wii U boldly testing the concept of taking your home console game off the television screen, the Nintendo Switch—one of the most successful pieces of consumer electronics in human history—would simply not exist.