It’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment where the Nintendo Wii U died. It could be the day the Nintendo Switch was announced. Some theories place the time of death far earlier, close to the beginning of the console’s life. The Wii U had a birth defect. Its parents chose not to tell anyone about this defect, until it had become brutally clear that the Wii U would only live a short, unfulfilled life. In its short life, it had few things, and they were humble, but meaningful. However, as it neared its untimely death, the Wii U gave away games it once cherished as its own to its closest sibling, the Nintendo 3DS. An in-depth autopsy of the deceased revealed that the following aspects lead to its untimely death.
On one hand, the Wii U died partly because no one even knew that it existed, and if they did, they either did not know what it was, or that it was out yet. Reggie’s all but enlightening reveal of the Wii U answered all the questions except the ones it needed to answer. I have to admit that for the first year after the Wii U came out, I did not know that it wasn’t just an accessory for the Wii, and the advertisements depicting the “upgraded” version of Wii Sports did not help at all. In fact, many people simply did not know that the console was its own thing, and so they did not bother with buying it, which is seen in its measly less than 20 million units shipped over five years.
As well as that, the Wii U died because of a lack of games. Some people tend to blame this on a lack of power, but in the end, not enough third party developers were interested in the console either. However, the Wii U was not so weak that it couldn’t play the games that were still being released for the PS3 and Xbox 360 at the time. In fact, Batman: Arkham City, and Arkham Origins, as well as Mass Effect 3, amongst other games, were ported to the console, and did not run too shabbily. The common misconception that the console was only as weak as the Wii helped lead to a lack of sales, and this lack of sales led there to being less incentive for third party developers to create games for the console.
However, in mourning, you also have to consider the good things that happened to the Wii U, the exclusive games that Nintendo did manage to bring to the console, developed by them or by others. Nintendo managed to steal away the sequel to Platinum Games’ beloved Bayonetta, and release it exclusively for the Wii U, and the “funky, fresh” ink-shooter Splatoon took everyone by surprise. Another surprising game was Pokkén Tournament, the refreshing mix between Pokémon and the Tekken fighting games. With two(!) Zelda remakes, and Breath of the Wild now out, it also wasn’t lacking in that department, although it’s safe to say that the lack of an original Zelda game for the console near the time of its release also held the console’s success back.
Due to all these factors, we are gathered here today to mourn the loss of our dearly beloved Wii U. It was an outcast, but those who knew it regret that it did not live longer. If the Wii U were here today, it would surely tell us all to move on, and not linger in the past, but to also never forget it. It should serve as a reminder to its negligent creators, who have a new generation in the form of the Nintendo Switch, because ultimately, the console had three major factors to blame for its death: its lack of power, lack of proper marketing, and its lack of games. The blame for all three of these factors lies with Nintendo. Had Nintendo correctly marketed the Wii U and the things it was capable of, it would have had more sales, possibly more games, and at the very least, people would have actually known what it was.
The Nintendo Wii U will be remembered by some and remain unknown to others as it slowly fades into obscurity to be sold cheaply at flea markets. Nintendo has already given the order to withdraw all new Wii Us from stores all over the world, and so anyone wishing to find one for a cheap price will have to settle for used. Scalpers will no doubt hunt down the last few unopened consoles to try to sell at unbelievably high prices eventually, but that’s just part of the console circle of life.
For us, all that’s left is to make the Switch.
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