No offense, but what early days? Launch? NSMBU was a good game, but people didn't care about it that much, because they had JUST come out with NSMB2 on 3DS mere months earlier, which was a massive mistake on their part. Nintendo Land, to me, was a major disappointment. Unlike Wii Sports, it was not a simple and fun "pick up and play" type of game that was easy for anyone to understand. They were obviously banking on it being their next Wii Sports, and luring that casual crowd back. Didn't work.

Because having lived through it, having bought the console at launch, the next near-year was a long, dark drought where almost nothing came out on the console.

Wii U has had some good games, but it is easily Nintendo's worst home console to date. The controller was fine, the hardware was fine, but Nintendo fumbled this console like a bobbling NFL pass from the outset, and never really got it under control. They mismanaged marketing, development, game releases, you name it. It's not a BAD system. But it IS a flop, also. I know this, because I sat around waiting for the system to finally truly recover and take off. It never did.

Ah? I just remember thinking "why would anyone get one" when it came out, because there really was no killer app or any really good reason to buy it over a PS3, 360, or their looming successors.

So you remember, lol. Well at least I only bought that when it was like 7 or 8 euro.

I don't have anyone else to play Mario Kart or Smash with since everyone either doesn't have a Wii U, isn't a Nintendo fan, or doesn't come over to play those video games. Metroid Prime Trilogy, yes...though I only played one. Wind Waker I didn't finish but came really close to, my first Zelda, really fun although I hesitate calling something my "first" if I never finished it so... Bayonetta 2 I completed through 2 times in a week, Smash Brothers didn't have that much content for casuals I feel, kind of missed Subspace Emissary, and Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze was really fun but I always raged quite at the later levels. I'm the kind of person where if I Die too many times in a game I get really stubborn and start all the way over, ruins a lot of games for me, so i never finished Donkey Kong. Oh, I also completed almost all of Super Mario 3d World on a completionist run two times(but never did finish or complete it either times...got close though). 

You will pretty much have the love for the Wii U that I had for the Sega Dreamcast. I'm sure you'll still have fond memories of 2012 in 2022 :) if not fonder, as nothing ever beat the Dreamcast. Maybe nothing will ever beat the Wii U for you.

Welp, guess I need to adjust my parameters on what lengths of time are reasonable! Still I think for most people that amount of games for that amount of time would be enough. I guess in your situation the fix would be to wait until there are even more games already available before picking up the system, though hopefully you wont have to wait too long with the Switch. Well that, and having another gaming system. The 3DS is probably another reason why the Wii U droughts haven't phased me, certainly so this year.

Also, derp, forgot about the Prime Trilogy, guess I was just thinking retail games. 

Ya i think the 3ds is a much better system but because of how much games like Ocirina of Time and Animal Crossing go out of stock it's been frustrating as well. Luckily I got Ocirina for christmas.

I mean to be fair Donkey Kong would have added another 1-2 weeks to complete possibly, finishing Mario maybe 1-2 more days for completionists, Hyrule Warriors would have added another week or two but I never picked that up. And Tokyo Mirage as well as Xenoblade Chronicles X - those are really cooling looking games that I never picked up and would add probably another three weeks. That's still very little though. I got the Wii U to experience a lot of franchises that i never had before, like Donkey Kong and Zelda and Metroid etc. In that respect I was satisfied with the system, though I feel bad for not completing the triforce quest and for rage quieting donkey kong lol. Hopefully we get a really good eshop for Switch, I really need to finish Prime 2-3 and Wind Waker. The only zelda game i have that i've completed is Link Between Worlds so hopefully we get ports on the eshop.

It was fun reading the perspective of a young person from the Wii U launch. I miss those days too. It was the first console I pre-ordered and that first year was a very happy time for me with the console and in life in general. I absolutely loved playing Blops 2, Mario and Xenoblade on the system. Pure awesomeness and I used the tablet pre-spotify, etc, at parties and everyone loved using it to pick songs. It makes me sad thinking of the untapped potential.

Dat lack of commitment! It's never too late though, you can still finish playing those unbeaten games. As for games you haven't gotten, there's always the Wii U eshop of course, but if you want physical copies then it eventually will be too late (unless you wanna pay well above MSRP) so I recommend getting them soon. I have to doubt the Switch's eshop will straight up have all Wii U games since many of them wont work with only a single screen.

well i am glad all Wii U games will be coming to Switch and i can go mobile with it, and so i am honestly glad i am not buying Wii U.