Topic: The Wii U is a mess of a system

[daifuco]

Hello. Even though I got a Wii U on launch day, I never really played it that much. It has been some busy years for me and sometimes life goes first.
Lately I managed to get a HDMI splitter for my PC, then I realized that my Wii U had been unplugged for more than a year in the living room, so it was time to plug it back.
It felt like a fresh start, and it was not nice.
The system feels just complicated, too much information, too many different controllers, it just feels wrong.
On top of that the tablet/controller is just too heavy.
I have a feeling Nintendo was trying to please at way too many different people with this console. It feels a bit of a frankenstein.
When playing on a PC feels more straightforward than on a Nintendo system you know that there is something wrong!

I hope that with the next system Nintendo makes a proper reboot and starts over.
I hope wiimotes and legacy accessories are treated as external accessories and are not expected.
I think the next nintendo system should be something like the gamecube, something simple and cheerful that anyone can afford.

[Adrock]

You're in luck because NX apparently has detachable controllers you will inevitably lose when they aren't overcomplicating the simplicity of a self-contained portable gaming system.

In all seriousness, I'm in favor of Nintendo starting over completely which includes no legacy controller support. The Wii U Pro Controller is overall my favorite controller ever and I'm admittedly cheap, but I think it's better for Nintendo. One main controller. The GamePad variant must have the same layout/feel (particularly the shoulder buttons). Wii Remotes must be remodeled, rebranded, and downplayed as "classic" controllers. Oh, the delicious irony of labeling it "classic" and pushing it to the side.

A handheld that plays games on par or better than Nintendo's current console which can still be displayed on a TV with a simple HDMI cable is very exciting to me. That's Nintendo bringing things back to basics. Nintendo doesn't need controller gimmicks, or if it insists, the controller doesn't have to be the main selling point. Nintendo proved that with DS/3DS. Its greatest gimmick was always its own first party output. Now, sell the hardware cheap and that's a good start. It isn't a great one because there's still much work to be done: the operating system has to load instantaneously, the marketing has to make sense (and be existent), Nintendo Network has to matter, myNintendo has to be deeply integrated, the netcode has to sing, Virtual Console can't be a colossal clusterfuck like it is now etc.

Going mobile as a means of marketing is a great idea. Nintendo is giving Apple and Google 30% of its mobile sales to remind people Nintendo exists. All the people who already play Mario aren't going to stop just because they can get an endless runner starring Mario. It's for the people who said, "What's a Wii U?"

Apps like Netflix and Amazon are nice (and Nintendo really needs those sports apps), but I rather like the idea of getting to the title screen of a game within 10 seconds of booting up the system. If Nintendo made that an option, that's the biggest message it could send. That's a perfect way to push the idea that there's no play like NX.

[Lemonade]

I think the Wii U is the best thing Nintendo has ever made. It has lots of great games too. I have something like 23 or 24 retail games for it, plus a bunch of eShop downloads and there are still more that I want.

I love the gamepad as a second screen. Off TV play is nice too, but I never really use that feature.

[ThePerm]

The Wii u only becomes problematic when you start to use anything other than the wii u controller. I don't mind using the wii u controller to play traditional games, I don't need the pro. Wii controllers are just for nostalgic use.

I guess using wii controllers for multiplayer games is a hastle, but i never really did that much. I had online games that made up for that.

[Ian Sane]

Regarding the controllers, it's kind of funny that when Nintendo was designing the Wiimote part of the idea was to make it simple and inviting to those that found the modern dualshock-style design intimidating.  But that spun off having attachments and shells and classic controllers and eventually we get to the Wii U where you have one "super controller" and then anyone else playing has to use a different type.  What is more intimidating?  The approach that most consoles have where you have one standard controller and the odd peripheral or the Wii/Wii U approach where you actually have to put a icons on the back of every game case showing which of the numerous controller configurations the game supports?  When I look at the back of my Super Mario Maker case it has FOUR icons for controllers!

Touchscreens and motion controls only work for certain games and they're the sort of things that fit well into the peripheral role.  It's silly that Nintendo felt the need to put a screen in the controller but then released a lot of games that barely use it or essentially don't at all.  It's like a refined take on the GC-GBA connectivity but they felt it should be standard issue.  But they had the 3DS available and could easily have tried some connectivity thing with that to incorporate the handful of touchscreen ideas they had.  Really the problem on the Cube wasn't the GBA, it was the stupid cable to connect the two as an extra purchase.  These days they could have used the wireless capabilities of the 3DS to do the same concept and with no extra purchase for those that own both systems the idea would have been more adopted.  And then you can knock down the price of the Wii U or beef up it's specs a bit so it didn't get quite so blatantly lapped by the PS4/XB1.  The lack of focus on the controller would also have prevented any consumer mix up where they thought the Wii U was a Wii peripheral.

Nintendo feeling the need for gimmicks is kind of insane because they're arguably the best game developer in the world.  If they want to make a great game, and not some novelty tech demo pushing a weird controller scheme for the sake of being different, they can do it and do it consistently.  Any other company would have been wiped out by the weak third party support they have.  The Wii U wasn't a big seller but it would have been worse if there wasn't a dedicated Nintendo fanbase and Nintendo's talent as a game designer is why they have such a fanbase.

That's why I want them to play it straight.  If they have the same third party support and the same features as the competition it comes down to the first party exclusives and Nintendo has the talent to own everyone else's ass in that fight.  It's their greatest strength but they completely destroy its effectiveness by doing things in a weird or shitty way or just outright missing industry standards.  What selling point is Nintendo's own games if pretty much everything else is worse than the other guys?  And these days Nintendo isn't even consistent with their games because they'll gladly make some clusterfuck controller experiment like Star Fox Zero to "prove the concept" for their wacky gimmicks instead of just making a great game where the priority for the controls is to make the game control well.

[lolmonade]

Tvii is very analogous to the Wii U in general.  Neat idea that's half assed and therefore satisfies very few.

[ShyGuy]

WiiU scratched my itch in a lot of ways personally. TVii was not very good, and the camera was very underutilized, but the controller was completely functional equivalent to the competition, and the touch screen was great for:

MiiVerse
Nintendoland
Zombie U
Rayman
Deus Ex: HR
Art Academy
RE: Revelations
Wonderful 101
Splatoon
Super Mario Maker

[daifuco]

I totally agree with Ian Sane.

I really felt the need of posting my impressions of the Wii U, because even though I used to be considered a 'Fanboy' I had totally forgotten about the Wii U experience, so the  day I plugged the Wii U back It really felt like a fresh experience, and as I commented on the original post... it was not good at all.

Ian Sane post pretty much summarizes the problem.
Nintendo should have treated the Wii as a one-off experience. Instead they tried to somewhat blend the Wii, the next gen graphics, the tablet experience and why not... add a traditional dual analog controller to the mix! What could go wrong?

Hopefully now they will understand that a console is meant to be simple to use.
Nintendo can not expect or depend on third parties, they should just release the SDK to everyone and hope for the best!
The safest bet and my favorite one would be to release something like the gamecube, super straight forward, easy and cheap to make, no gimmiks.
Maybe some people consider the gamecube as a failure because It was made to beat the PS2, and that did not happen at all! But who cares! The gamecube was a great console and now Nintendo needs a gamecube now!

[Fatty The Hutt]

I totally agree with Ian Sane.

Well there's something you don't see every day
Ian Sane alt, confirmed!

Nintendo should have treated the Wii as a one-off experience. Instead they tried to somewhat blend the Wii, the next gen graphics, the tablet experience and why not... add a traditional dual analog controller to the mix! What could go wrong?

Hopefully now they will understand that a console is meant to be simple to use.

I don't agree that the Wii U being perceived as over-complicated  was the problem. I think theproblem was they had a year head-start over other "next-gen" consoles and put out very little compelling software in that time. Iwata saw this as a result of split-focus between handheld (3DS) and console development within Nintendo. Word is they have made major internal operational shifts to alleviate the problem and also rumour is NX is one platform or OS where software can be run by both console and handheld. Nintendo is embracing that people buy their systems for their games and are bracing to not rely on third party support. They have come to accept it won't be there from "big AAA" publishers that need the "most graphicz" and thus gravitate toward the higher-spec consoles. That's not to say there is no third-party support, there's lots of indie support and "family fare" just not the "most shooty-shooty-bang -bang onlne-all-the-time yeah-buddy hardcore-AF bang-bang most graphics!!!11!" third party stuff.

Maybe some people consider the gamecube as a failure because It was made to beat the PS2, and that did not happen at all! But who cares! The gamecube was a great console and now Nintendo needs a gamecube now!

This is nostalgia talking. Gamecube suffered many similar-styled complaints as Wii U. People complained it was under-powered, doesn't have the same capabilities as PS2, doesn't do or facilitate online well at all, uses weird discs, no DVD playback, etc. These are not the same, 1:1 complaints levelled at Wii U but the tone is similar. But almost everybody now, in hindsight, realizes some of the very best Nintendo games were on Gamecube. Many today also realize, without having to wait, that Wii U has a truly excellent software library. Wii U games are and will continue to be looked upon favourably for that reason.

[NWR_insanolord]

The Wii U's main problems were that it was too expensive and it came out too late. I don't think people were rejecting the concept as much as they were rejecting a $350 console that was a marginal technical improvement over what was already on the market, released only a year before those competitors released new consoles that were major upgrades.

[KeyBilly]

I can see both perspectives.  Yes, the Wii U has a clunky interface and a lot of poor design and market choices.  It is too slow to get things started when I am used to just clicking on an icon to start a game immediately on my PC.  The games, while good enough to make the system worthwhile, could be considered overall smaller in scope and innovation than they should be.  Still, it has that Nintendo charm and its flaws are part of that.  The big silly controller makes it unique and is a memorable stepping stone between traditional controllers and visual interfaces in VR.  Local multiplayer continues to be a strong point.  It birthed games like Captain Toad and Splatoon, which will be looked back on fondly by the young kids of today.

In short, while it may not be the best Nintendo console, it is still a Nintendo console.  Not just in a literal sense, but in spirit.  Nintendo just needs to figure out how to hold onto that while also grasping what contemporary players expect.

[Ian Sane]

At the most basic level I think the 3DS and Wii U launches were hubris.  Nintendo got a big head from the success of the DS and Wii and then released these overpriced products with pretty meh launch lineups and assumed everyone would just buy their product no matter how half-assed it was and that didn't work.  They salvaged the 3DS with a big price cut but couldn't do the same extreme adjustment on the Wii U.  The lesson is to not cut corners and assume your prior userbase is just going to automatically carry over to the next generation.

[Louieturkey]

The lesson is to not cut corners and assume your prior userbase is just going to automatically carry over to the next generation.

This is something it seems every company tends to forget constantly.  Sony did this with the PS3, though they did the opposite and they thought their PS2 customers would gladly get a second job to be able to pay the extra money it cost at launch to get a PS3.  Microsoft did this at the launch of the XB1 with thinking they could do whatever they wanted in fighting the used games market and charging extra for their system at first.
Nintendo did it before going from Super NES to the N64. Atari did it going from the 2600 to the 5200. And it's not just the video game market that does this.  Companies are constantly thinking it's fans are mindless drones who will buy whatever new product they put out.

[NWR_insanolord]

Everybody thinks they're the exception to that. Our fans really are that devoted, and won't mind having to deal with [insert flaw].

[upsidedownjim]

Does anyone know why, technically, the Wii U interface was so slow on launch (and still not very fast)? I think that was the biggest surprise for me when I started the console for the first time. I don't get how Nintendo thought that that would be acceptable. The quick launch they added later was helpful but it is still quite slow navigating.

[TOPHATANT123]

I'm no expert but I'd say it's to do with the clock speed of the CPU of 1.24 GHz and the fact it has 1GB of RAM dedicated to the operating system.

I think that the time it takes to get into a game especially with the quick start menu is pretty comparable to other consoles, the main complaint I have is how long it takes to get onto Miiverse, that's something that I hope will be improved for NX assuming Miiverse is on NX.

[Mop it up]

I mostly agree with you, but I don't think you'll find many around here who will... which makes sense.

And yeah, the slowness of modern systems is definitely near the top of my list of annoyances. Why is there no option to jump right into a game if one is inserted into the system, completely skipping the slow menu? The DS had this option, but then it disappeared for some reason.

When I look at the back of my Super Mario Maker case it has FOUR icons for controllers!

If you think that's bad, you don't want to see the back of the case for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U!