Nintendo fans of Bsky! Hoping this reaches people, but I’m curious about something. With presales of the Switch 2 being so high, I ask a simple question: Why did the Wii U fail? Clearly price isn’t affecting console sales. So why did the follow up to the Wii fail so miserably? - ThreadSky

swiperightmike.bsky.social • 36 days ago

Nintendo fans of Bsky!

Hoping this reaches people, but I’m curious about something.

With presales of the Switch 2 being so high, I ask a simple question:

Why did the Wii U fail?
Clearly price isn’t affecting console sales.
So why did the follow up to the Wii fail so miserably?

Comments

pixilrena.bsky.social•36 days ago

I believe two of the biggest reasons for the Wii U's failure is that Nintendo themselves admitted that making HD games was taking them longer than expected, and they had more a stranglehold on who could release third party games on their system. Because of that it was a constant drought of games.-

pixilrena.bsky.social•36 days ago

-Nintendo's own first party titles took a long time to come out and they were super, SUPER selective about what could come to their systems (this was the era where they at first would not let Binding of Isaac on their systems, DESPITE the devs wanting it there, due to religious iconography)-

pixilrena.bsky.social•36 days ago

-and because of this, and the fact that by 2012 the Wii brand was seen as basically a joke by the gaming enthusiast crowd, the Wii U floundered.

Why buy a new console that was only getting a handful of new games a year, and nothing recent by third parties? Even the Switch has more in that regard.

swiperightmike.bsky.social•36 days ago

I’ve seen some complaints that the market believed the Wii U to be TOO similar to the Wii and that casual buyers (parents mainly) didn’t see the difference from console to console to warrant a purchase.

Do you think the Switch 2 might face similar issues?

pixilrena.bsky.social•36 days ago

There was a big issue with the Wii U, supposedly, where people were confused as to whether or not it was a new console, or a new tablet controller for the Wii itself. I think that contributed to the Wii U's failure

For the Switch 2? Naw. It's actually really well positioned to become a success-

pixilrena.bsky.social•36 days ago

-lets compare to what i've said in my other posts;

1: Nintendo has adjusted well to HD game development. They've shown this with the Switch.

2: Nintendo is less picky (maybe not picky enough) about what games make it onto their systems. This means third party titles will come. and on THAT topic-

pixilrena.bsky.social•36 days ago

-The Switch 2 has SIMILAR architecture to the PS5/XBseries. Not nearly as powerful, no, but in the same way modern games can scale for lower and higher end PCs, the parts are similar enough that devs can easily put games ON the Switch 2.

The Wii U, by comparison, was SUPER different from ps4/xb1-

pixilrena.bsky.social•36 days ago

-This puts the Switch 2 in the favorable condition of being a follow up to a popular console, with internal architecture that modern games can be scaled to, with the doors wide open for third party devs to put their games on without a fuss.

Literally a lay-up. Nintendo just has to let it happen.-

tris-and-asura.bsky.social•36 days ago

The Wii U was ill fated not because it was too similar but because many didn’t get it was a new console

If you watch the reveal trailer, the emphasis is on the gamepad with the phrase “new controller” constantly on screen.

Never once did they say “new console”

tris-and-asura.bsky.social•36 days ago

Many people who were younger back then like myself relate to our parents

“This is just an accessory to the Wii”

Or similar sentiments.

The switch 2 meanwhile from its name alone is pretty clear it’s the next iteration of the device. Same form phones use, it’s clear to mass audiences.

pixilrena.bsky.social•36 days ago

This is another point. I see a lot of people wanted "Super Switch" and while I think that's a cool name (and harkens back to Nintendo's past) it ran the risk of making the console sound like a "Switch Pro", and not the next, iterative generation of the console.

Switch 2 was the best possible name.

swiperightmike.bsky.social•36 days ago

Oh 100%. The market will NOT be confused as to what console this is. Sony has owned that for decades now. Something Microsoft was simply terrible at.

ambound.bsky.social•36 days ago

- Marketed to an audience who didn't care anymore
- Appeared to be an extension rather than a new console
- Limited amount of good 1st party offerings (especially near launch)
- Overpriced and underpowered for the time
- Gamepad was gimmicky without much benefit
- Best games were also on 3DS

lanusensei.bsky.social•36 days ago

The central gimmick of the console wasn't appealing and required too many compromises to get it to work, and worst of all, Nintendo themselves didn't even make use of it in meaningful ways. The WiiU catered to an audience that didn't exist anymore, and Nintendo did a half-assed attempt on top of it.

swiperightmike.bsky.social•36 days ago

This is a very good answer. It’s super simple. Wii was a gimmick that the Wii U was trying to replicate but simply did not. Seems like top to bottom the console was doomed to fail.

jrpogm.bsky.social•36 days ago

Bad marketing and fatigue. The Wii didnt have the greatest end-of-life library like Switch, especially comparing initial reactions to their Zeldas (Skyward and Tears), and marketing on Switch 2 was better shown in its games as a seller than WiiU offered in its time.

swiperightmike.bsky.social•36 days ago

I have a few posts and articles from 2012 saying presales for Wii U selling out and predicting the Wii U to be hectic release comparable to the Wii. So what happened?

jrpogm.bsky.social•36 days ago

Momentum, I think. I believe fatigue for the Wii came a few years into its life too, as a console that served casually to families than an audience of gamers. And support from third parties both was sparse on their tech, compared to Elden Ring, Hogwarts and Cyperpunk on Switch 2 today. Low support.

swiperightmike.bsky.social•36 days ago

How do you think the Switch 2 will do?

jrpogm.bsky.social•36 days ago

Completely fine. Price jump is a shocker, but it’s not going to cut out as much of their playerbase as people think. Switch revitalized a lot of goodwill in consumerism with their library of games, and the 2 is showing a good continuation in first and third parties for its first year or two.

jrpogm.bsky.social•36 days ago

Will it sell like the Switch? No. But I assume it’ll keep its own momentum better than the Wii and Wii U did.

tris-and-asura.bsky.social•36 days ago

- Disaster level marketing campaign and confusing name. Many didn’t get it was a new console.

- Very underpowered and 3rd party support fell off hard.

- Casuals had moved onto tablets and other smart devices.

The Wii was a lightning in a bottle. They tried to replicate that with Wii U, it failed.

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