Daily Debate: What Does the Nintendo Wii U Console Mean to You?

Recently, Nintendo officially announced that it will be ending repair services in Japan for the Wii U due to running out of spare parts for the console. With no regions left offering support and the Wii U eShop being shut down a few months ago, this announcement was the final nail in the coffin for anything pertaining to the system in an official capacity. As we finally close the book on the Big N’s eighth-generation video game console, it’s time to look back on what the console meant to the gamers who remember it, for better and for worse.

At Nintendo’s E3 2011 press conference, the Wii U console (codenamed Project Café) was revealed in part as then Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé showed the prototype of what would eventually be known as the Wii U GamePad. It didn’t even have a name yet as it was just referred to as the “New Controller.” When it was released over a year later, it wasn’t exactly met with critical praise due to a weak launch lineup and lack of third-party support, as well as shortcomings in the marketing for this system.

However, that’s not to say the Wii U didn’t have its positives and that was especially noticeable in the games that came out for the system. Take everyone’s favorite plumber for instance, as the New Super Mario Bros. series flourished, Mario Kart 8 made its original debut over a decade ago, and Super Mario 3D World showed how much fun you could have in a co-operative 3D space. Metroid Prime developer Retro Studios continued their success as well in the Donkey Kong franchise with Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, a game still being critically praised to this day.

In 2014, there was the release of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, which helped bring back pro Smash players after the mixed response they had towards Super Smash Bros. Brawl. This was thanks in no small part to the number of new features introduced into the game, as well as the excitement towards speculation on what characters were going to be announced at the next Nintendo Direct. The game even introduced us to the GameCube controller adapter, a device that lets you use your original GameCube controllers on the Wii U. Said peripheral is still being used years later for those who want to throw down in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

And of course there was what the world of Zelda brought to this console as well, like the developers behind the Dynasty Warriors games introducing a different way to play the series with Hyrule Warriors, a hack-and-slash title that has you mowing down hordes of creatures with some of your favorite characters from the franchise. There was also the HD remasters of The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, which breathed new life into these beloved games. Then there was Breath of the Wild, and even though the title was seen as more of a launch title for the Switch, it was considered by many to be the swan song for the Wii U.

Overall, the Nintendo Wii U was a good console that had a lot of faults, but what console didn’t? I remember playing hours upon hours of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U with friends whenever they would come over to my house. There were times that I brought my Wii U with me when I was in college and just played The Wind Waker HD on the GamePad in a small corner of the campus. I even did it on an eight-hour bus ride to Atlanta with my copy of Breath of the Wild. My Wii U also helped raise money for charity as I contributed the system for the couple of times I got to be a part of the Zelda Dungeon Marathon.

The biggest positive I can say about the Wii U is that this was a learning experience for Nintendo. The Big N took everything they learned from the shortcomings of the Wii U and made something more grand from its foundation. As an example, nearly all of the games I’ve mentioned in this Daily Debate have been given second lives on the Switch, so its heart and soul can still be felt to this very day. That’s why I believe that the console walked, so the Switch could run.

There was definitely some stuff I didn’t mention (like the AMAZING pro controller), so let me ask you folks, what does the Nintendo Wii U console mean to you? Is it a system you look back fondly on to this day? Let us know in the comments below!

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