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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - What if Nintendo made a "Super Wii" instead of the Wii U?

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Stefan.De.Machtige on 13 September 2013
Salnax said:

 

What do you think? Would Nintendo have been better off sticking with the WiiMote instead of the GamePad?

No.

The wiimote was rejected by the industry in large, and the casuals would not flock to just a Wii HD. Nintendo clearly realised this. hence, the Wii U was born.

The last reason is also why they held back Wii Party U and Wii Fit U, even though they were sorely needed. They felt that these Wii_Titles needed to be more then just another sequel. We will see if they managed to pull that off when those launch.



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Weedlab on 13 September 2013

I'm fine with the console in its current form. I generally don't entertain hypotheticals since there are often too many variables that are unaccounted for, and often make it difficult to say how an event might happen. But with respect to the name, I would have much preferred that title, to be honest. While I am generally not a fan of the name Wii, I think the addition of "super" suggests superiority and advancement not unlike the NES and SNES. In truth, I know plenty of ignorant 'dude bro' gamers who are of the view that the Wii U is an extension of the Wii and not a new console entirely. Added to that, I find Super Wii to sound much more serious than Wii U. Either way, I'm interested in the system for what it can do and provide me rather than its name.

As for the gamepad vs mote ... I am indifferent to both, but I prefer the pad. That's just me. Nintendo will be fine once the games roll out. I know plenty of people who are interested in the system - they just need some encouragement (ie software).



 

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V-r0cK on 13 September 2013
Salnax said:

It's popular to bash Nintendo's console-related decisions nowadays. And really, it's with good reason. The Wii went out with a whimper and the Wii U, after a decent start, has been crawling along for about 8 or 9 months now.

What I'd like to talk about today is a possible different direction Nintendo could have taken: the Super Wii.

Or the Wii 2.

Or the Wiiwii.

Or the Uss.

Whatever.

 

Imagine this: Nintendo releases an HD system in late 2012 with specs similar to the Wii U's. However, instead of coming bundled with the new GamePad, it comes bundled with a Wiimote Plus and Nunchuck.

What advantages would this give Nintendo? Well, for one, it would make the system cheaper. The GamePad is estimated to cost about about $100, compared to the roughly $50 of the Wiimote/Nunchuck combo. Therefore, the Super Wii could have launched at a price of $250/$300 with similar specs, with maybe even a $350 model with a decent amount of internal memory.

The Wii U is backwards compatible with Wii controllers, and so would the Super Wii. People who owned a Wii and tucked it away in a closet back in 2010 would be able to play all the latest games with their old controllers. People interested in local multiplayer would likely consider a $250 Super Wii a reasonable purchase in comparison to a similarly priced PS3 or 360 if they already own a Wii library and controllers.

What effects would not having the GamePad have on Nintendo games? Not much really. New Super Mario Bros U can already be played with just the Wiimote. NintendoLand requires the GamePad for only some of its minigames, and it was made specifically for the controller! Pikmin 3 is already played without the GamePad by a lot of people, Super Mario 3D World and Donkey Kong Country Returns are also Wiimote-only playable games, and games like Wii Party U and Wii Fit U could easily have been made differently. Unlike the Wiimote in 2006 and 2007, the GamePad is not necessarily required for the Nintendo games of 2013.

What effects would not having the GamePad have on 3rd party games? Not much, except the Super Wii would have to make due without some Ubisoft and Warner Bros ports that aren't selling well anyway. It's not as if 3rd parties are supporting the Wii U even with its traditional controls.

Keeping the WiiMote and Nunchuck as a standard control scheme offers its own possibilities. Neno uld easily take advantage of the Super Wii's larger discs and make HD versions of Wii games. Imagine Super Mario Galaxy Complete Edition in even 720p, just so the 3D Mario team gets some practice with the system before making 3D World. Or imagine an HD version of Twilight Princess or Skyward Sword instead of Wind Waker, maybe with both games bundled on one disc? Or maybe you could sell the console with Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort or whatever built into the system, taking advantage of MotionPlus controls, HD, and Miiverse?

 

What do you think? Would Nintendo have been better off sticking with the WiiMote instead of the GamePad?

 

I personally don't think so. I love my Wii U. But I was wondering.

I read somewhere that the Gamepad cost around $140 to replace it so that almost seems like half the cost is just for the Gamepad.

However, my personal opinion, I think having the "Super Wii" would be a bad decision as it's released late in the gen (from your scenario).  The smarter move would've been to have the Super Wii released around 2009.



Nirvana_Nut85 on 13 September 2013
Th3PANO said:
Even Nintendo U would have been better.


Actually that would be great if they changed it to that, at  least people may finally understand that it's not the same damn system.



" Rebellion Against Tyrants Is Obedience To God"

Legend11 on 13 September 2013

Here's what Nintendo should have done...

Went on a hiring spree about 5 years ago (when they were rolling in money) and bulked up considerable so that the next generation Zelda, Mario, Mario Kart, and Super Smash Brothers would be done cooking by early to mid 2013 or prioritize them so that at least 2 of them were completely done by then..

They should have told Retro to start working on a new sci-fi FPS IP and give them at least 3 years to build it.

Nintendo of America should have hired a bunch of the best online developers in North America and Europe to give them an online infrastructure that rivaled the other two. They should also have placed a major emphasis on getting all the major franchises from third parties including letting them be in on the hardware development process and bending over backwards to give them any help they needed.

As for the console is should have been somewhere in the range of the Xbox One and PS4. Considering Sony is likely selling at near break even it wouldn't have been impossible for Nintendo to bring out a new console for $399 or even $349 if they didn't go with GDDR5 memory.

They could of then launched in early November with a much more traditional (and powerful) console along with Super Smash Brothers, Retro's new IP, Zelda along with a slew of third party games and possibly a big moneyhatted third party exclusive and they would have had the strongest launch lineup.

Then it would have been a real race instead of them being in the place they are now.



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Chris1596 on 13 September 2013

Should of called it the Puu



PlayMatt on 13 September 2013

IDK... When I first saw the gamepad I thought it was a great idea, but as soon as time went on my hype was getting down, and it's kind of annoying to have to buy a console for 100 dollars more for something you already have (iPad) with less functions and that you can only use next to the TV...

In another way, what made the Wii so successful was the novelty brought by the movement control... But I think that with time people got tired of it as it was not as accurate as regular controllers (at least for me)... So I don't know if a Wii 2 would be good enough as it would be only paying for HD graphics in something you already have



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ChrolloLucilfer on 13 September 2013

I would have gone with more of a evolved version of the Wii Remote+Nunchuk into something more like a standard Gamepad design with motion controls for the the successor to the Wii console. Essential like two Nunchuk controllers which can be connected to make up standard controller one moment and then discounted the next to mirror the existing Wii Remote+Nunchuk setup. Just add motion Plus sensor and 4 face buttons to the right Nunchuk and D-pad to the left and it will have all required buttons of a gamepad with the added benefit of motion controls all in one.

This lower cost alternative to the Wii U controller could mean a console either closer to the X1/PS4 in terms of specs while retaining the same price or a lot cheaper console with the same existing Wii U technical specs. This to me would be a better direction for Wii 2 console to be a more successful console.

But saying all that I still believe that Nintendo went with Wii U design fully knowing that it wouldn't be massive success like the Wii. Instead deciding to take the initial risk/hit in sales so they can use the Wii U as testing grounds to future Tablet Nintendo consoles.




noname2200 on 13 September 2013
RolStoppable said:
Salnax, your proposed Super Wii is idiotic, because you see the "Super" as simply better graphics when that is exactly what nobody really cares about. While a proper Super Wii would have better graphics (say similar capabilities to the current Wii U), they would not be a selling point.

You want to make a better Wii and thus you need to eliminate the cord between the Nunchuk and Wiimote, improve the motion sensing in both components (especially the Nunchuk) and perhaps replace the 1 and 2 buttons on the Wiimote with lower case a, b, x, y buttons in a diamond shape to improve what can be done when the Wiimote is held horizontally. Also bundle an upgraded Classic Controller with the system and pre-install an instruction channel on the console that educates consumers on how they can connect their Super Wii to the internet and download Virtual Console and other digital games.

One SKU: Console with Wiimote+Nunchuk, Classic Controller, a few GB of storage and Wii Sports 3. Storage can be extended with common HDDs or SD cards, no need to drive up the price of the system, because it's supposed to launch at $250.

As for the games, not the nonsense you are proposing (offer old games with HD graphics). The market does not care. Instead there would be more motion-based games which would make it easy to understand for consumers why there is a successor. Motion controls on the Wii were limited, so those new games couldn't be realized on the machine. Easy enough. With the current Wii U, Nintendo tells us about Bayonetta's short hair and Donkey Kong's fur. Get the hell out!

This Super Wii might not sell like the original Wii, but it would sell. Unlike the Wii U which is incredibly poorly conceived, mainly because it put third parties over consumers during its design process.

The only portions I disagree with is the part about adding more buttons to the Wiimote and the part about the instruction video. Adding the buttons would make the controller a bit more unweildly, unless you bulk up the Wiimote (and risk making it uncomfortable for some). It also risks the "too many damned buttons" syndrome that the Wiimote was meant to counter. As for the instruction video, I think the more elegant and efficient approach would be for the system to automatically search for nearby wireless connections upon start up, then ask you if you'd like to connect to a network. If you want to incentivize connectivity, maybe offer a free VC game of the purchaser's choice.

Thinking about it a bit more, I would also offer a second SKU, a sort of "family pack" version that ditches the Pro Controller and swaps in an extra Wiimote/Nunchuk or two plus a bundled game, so you can play multiplayer right out of the box. Man I miss those days...



HoloDust on 13 September 2013

Last time I've made the thread about this (some 6 or 7 moths ago), people voted somewhere around 2:1 for WiiU. I wanted to wait for Feb next year to repeat the thread, but maybe you can put a poll too, to see where we're at...

OT - SuperWii by all means, WiiU is bad concept whether you look at it as follow up to Wii, or console that was meant to bring back 3rd party support to Nintendo.