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Forums - Nintendo - Wii vs Wii U (One year in...)

TheLastStarFighter said:

I was thinking about the different approaches Nintendo took to the Wii and Wii U launches.  It's amazing how differnt the two are at this stage since release:

Wii

Launched with an innovative way to play like nothing seen before.  Console was a fresh new mature style unlike the previous purple gamecube.  New, "weird" console name.  Never-before-seen collection of downloadable classic titles available online.  Games include:

Mario Game:  Super Mario Galaxy - great name, totally new gameplay experience.

Zelda Game:  Legend of Zelda: TP - A dark, mature Zelda where you can wave your remote to swing your sword!

Pack-in:  Wii Sports - A simple, mature themed new IP with no reference to a Nintendo masscot that allows you to simulate real-world activities.

Retro Game:  Metroid Prime 3 - FPS/Adventure with a mature sci-fi theme.

 

Wii U

Launched with a neat tablet controller with a touchscreen, which is on almost everything.  Console looked almost identical to the previous Wii console, with a name that was almost the same.  Online introduced Miiverse, a cool way to chat about games.  Limited availability of Virtual Console games already available on Wii, but some solid indie games that were available on other systems first.  Games include:

Mario Game(s):  Super Mario 3D World - uninspired name, solid retro-inspired gameplay experience.  NSMBU released at launch.

Zelda Game:  Legend of Zelda: WWHD - A remake of the controversal toon Zelda.  Beautiful graphics with classic controls.

Pack-in:  NintenoLand - A complicated but excellent collection of Nintendo-themed mini-games.

Retro Game:  Donkey Kong Country:TF - a solid 2D cartoonish platformer.

 

With a completely different approach to the system, online and games, is it any wonder the system has not caught on at the same level?  What were they thinking?  Can they turn it around? How?


Wii looked more mature than GC and Wii sports had a mature apeal?

If you find 5 people in this forum that agrees with you on this, i will be forever ashamed as gamer and nintendo fan.



"Hardware design isn’t about making the most powerful thing you can.
Today most hardware design is left to other companies, but when you make hardware without taking into account the needs of the eventual software developers, you end up with bloated hardware full of pointless excess. From the outset one must consider design from both a hardware and software perspective."

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Wii U got Pikmin 3. That automatically makes it better!



justiceiro said:
TheLastStarFighter said:

I was thinking about the different approaches Nintendo took to the Wii and Wii U launches.  It's amazing how differnt the two are at this stage since release:

Wii

Launched with an innovative way to play like nothing seen before.  Console was a fresh new mature style unlike the previous purple gamecube.  New, "weird" console name.  Never-before-seen collection of downloadable classic titles available online.  Games include:

Mario Game:  Super Mario Galaxy - great name, totally new gameplay experience.

Zelda Game:  Legend of Zelda: TP - A dark, mature Zelda where you can wave your remote to swing your sword!

Pack-in:  Wii Sports - A simple, mature themed new IP with no reference to a Nintendo masscot that allows you to simulate real-world activities.

Retro Game:  Metroid Prime 3 - FPS/Adventure with a mature sci-fi theme.

 

Wii U

Launched with a neat tablet controller with a touchscreen, which is on almost everything.  Console looked almost identical to the previous Wii console, with a name that was almost the same.  Online introduced Miiverse, a cool way to chat about games.  Limited availability of Virtual Console games already available on Wii, but some solid indie games that were available on other systems first.  Games include:

Mario Game(s):  Super Mario 3D World - uninspired name, solid retro-inspired gameplay experience.  NSMBU released at launch.

Zelda Game:  Legend of Zelda: WWHD - A remake of the controversal toon Zelda.  Beautiful graphics with classic controls.

Pack-in:  NintenoLand - A complicated but excellent collection of Nintendo-themed mini-games.

Retro Game:  Donkey Kong Country:TF - a solid 2D cartoonish platformer.

 

With a completely different approach to the system, online and games, is it any wonder the system has not caught on at the same level?  What were they thinking?  Can they turn it around? How?


Wii looked more mature than GC and Wii sports had a mature apeal?

If you find 5 people in this forum that agrees with you on this, i will be forever ashamed as gamer and nintendo fan.

That wouldn't be hard.  GC was a purple lunch box while Wii was a simple white device that looked like an Apple version of a DVD player.  Much more mature.  And Wii Sports had a very, very mature style.  In fact, you will get a whole bunch of people on here that say it was only played by grandmas, which isn't the case...though the oldest demographics definitely embraced it more than most titles.  I think you're confusing "mature" with "teen/college" focused titles with guns and boobs.



TheLastStarFighter said:
justiceiro said:


Wii looked more mature than GC and Wii sports had a mature apeal?

If you find 5 people in this forum that agrees with you on this, i will be forever ashamed as gamer and nintendo fan.

That wouldn't be hard.  GC was a purple lunch box while Wii was a simple white device that looked like an Apple version of a DVD player.  Much more mature.  And Wii Sports had a very, very mature style.  In fact, you will get a whole bunch of people on here that say it was only played by grandmas, which isn't the case...though the oldest demographics definitely embraced it more than most titles.  I think you're confusing "mature" with "teen/college" focused titles with guns and boobs.


This sums up why I'm one of the five people in this forum who agrees with you. Wii Sports was to gaming what Shrek was to movies, and the Wii's design had a very broad, sexy appeal in 2006, when copying Apple could do no wrong.

However, the Wii went from the hot shit to hot trash in the span of a few years, and how Nintendo failed to realize it needed to get away from the Wii branding baffles me.