gaming Why do people dislike the Wii U?

[Yeah ok 80]

the wii u isn't great. but alot of people keep bashing it for various reasons. like not have enough games so it may not have as many as xbox one or ps4 but there are still a fair few games coming out each year.

I don't know I guess it's just different people's opinion. so do you like the wii u? or do you hate it?

Edited February 3, 2016 by Yellow Diamond
Cleaned up the title a bit. ^^

[Tameless 979]

Coming from a person who owns a Wii U, I've got to say it's a little disappointing. Here are my reasons:

• Not much games
• Graphics aren't the best
• Hard to play with the game pad
• Game pad always needs charging

These are just my opinions.

[Castle Bleck 19,383]

It's not bad at all.

 

It could just be a bit better, though.

[[NULL] 906]

While it may have been more powerful than the 360 and PS3, the hardware became outdated when the PS4 and Xbox 1 released a year later. Nintendo probably should've just waited until the new consoles were announced before making their own.

 

Honest though, I thought that the Xbox 1 was hated more for Microsoft's questionable business practices. On top of that, people are sick of microtransactions and cut content sold as DLC, which you won't find in titles such as Super Smash Bros and Splatoon.

Edited February 3, 2016 by SpaceOnion

[Ziggy + Angel + Rain 11,303]

I own a Wii U, PS4, and Xbox One, and all three of them have come with their own massive dry spells and disappointments.  I personally enjoy my Wii U, but I've been a nearly-lifelong Nintendo fan and genuinely enjoy their franchises.  Super Mario Maker, in and of itself, has been one of the funnest and more satisfying experiences I've had this gen.  I'm still looking forward to Star Fox on Wii U, and I've a pretty impressive Virtual Console library (many of the titles having qualified for a discount, as I already purchased them on Wii).

 

People don't like it because they don't like it.  I imagine they either (or any combination of the following) didn't realize it was a separate console from the get-go and were annoyed they had to shell out a few hundred for it, dislike the (admittedly heavy after a while) Gamepad, dislike Nintendo franchises (and bought it why??), were disappointed in the lack of third party support, or considered the console under-powered.  Or were just trashing it simply because they've a preference for a competing console. < This shit goes both ways (and every which way).  I no longer give that much of a damn if someone "hates" the Wii U; doesn't stop me from enjoying mine when I play it.

[Ponies4Bronies 394]

Because all the people that like the "big" shooters like Call of Duty, Battlefield, or Halo are primarily played on Xbox or Playstation.

[Celtore 2,770]

Well. I have a Wii U and I've been a nintendo guy since I was a kid. The Wii U has just all around been a disappointment, my library for it is the smallest collection of games I've ever had for a console. Comparable to the number of playstation disks we had for the family playstation when I was a kid; that's to say, very few. I kind of regret buying it to be honest. I've had some fun with it, but not nearly as much as the gamecube with its huge diversity and third party support or even the Wii with its hidden gems.

[Rawzy 1,302]

Not many people play it so I guess that makes for a poor multiplayer experience? and I'm pretty sure there aren't many games on it compared to other consoles.

[Guest]

I've made tons of posts about this but it ultimately boils down to not offering what their competitors are offering and being completely reliant on ever repeating Nintendo franchises that are not doing as powerful as they once did.

[LeonShi500 155]

I don't own any gaming consoles anymore and I don't plan to get any, but the Wii U looks like a very fun console. I love Nintendo for making such fun games, even if they aren't making very economically-intelligent decisions. The Mario and Zelda games on the Wii U look very fun, and I love how Twilight Princess is being remade. Sonic Lost World looks like a nice throwback to the classic Sonic games I used to play as a kid. It's a shame the Wii U is doing poorly, and I predict that the NX will become the next Dreamcast. It won't have as negative effects on Nintendo as the Dreamcast did with Sega, but the situation will be similar, too little too late, and it will cost Nintendo quite a bit.

[Radiance64 7,053]

It's the lowest selling console this generation, which is going to come with hate at times. People also dislike the gamepad I guess, but once you get used to it it's not much different than a traditional controller despite it being bigger and shaped differently... and although it lacks third party support, well, the exclusives are second to none, so there might be some jelousy there? I dunno, the console might not be for everyone, but it's definitely not the worst console ever.

[vampireponyprince 184]

I mean some of the games that have come out like hyrule warriors really dissapointed me

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,800]

As someone who owns the console, I can say that currently it is a dust collector. The Wii U is not a bad system at all, I love its interface and Miiverse, among other features, but Nintendo is just screwing the whole thing up. The system is a third-party disaster and third party support is really what gives your system longevity, ALONG with first party titles of course. Nintendo has the first party stuff, but they seem to ignore everything else now. Plus, Nintendo just doesn't have much focus it feels like.

 

I want to love the Wii U but at this point, I find myself booting up my Xbox One instead, every time. 

[Guest]

I shall compile a list of the reasons why the Wii U isn't doing so hot and a lot of the drawbacks of the system. Now I own one and I think it's a nice little system, but I can honestly say a lot of the complaints are VERY valid:

 

• Gamepad is big, ugly and stupid. Design helps sell consoles and Nintendo missed the mark with this gamepad, which is a shame because the system's design is sleek.
• Gamepad has the worst battery life ever. 3 hours. You more or less are forced to play it chained to the charger, and the whole "keep playing while someone else is using the TV" thing is made virtually pointless when you need to sit next to the charger to play and the device can not really travel that far from the TV, so you are forced to sit next to the TV with the gamepad.
• Developers are not using the gamepad for anything interesting except Nintendo. It's more or less just being treated as a second TV screen. It defeats the purpose of making everyone have this gamepad if no one is using it for anything.
• Virtual console is split between systems. Really dumb that to get your virtual console titles you had on the Wii you need to go into the Wii mode and thus you can't take advantage of the features the Wii U offers such as using the gamepad or the pro controller (which would be excellent for some virtual console titles) and of course it means you are limited to 512MB of storage unless you invest in an SD card (on top of the external you'll need).
• System does not come with everything you need to enjoy it. It did not come with a Wiimote or enough space to use the eShop for more than 2-3 games, or batteries for that matter. If you want full use of the system you'll need to get an external hard drive, an SD card and a Wiimote with rechargable batteries. Ultimately, you end up paying more than a PS4 which comes with everything you need to do everything on the PS4.
• 32GB of memory. Terrible, awful, stupid idea. In an age where the average game can be over 10GB, this basically means selling games on the eShop is virtually pointless. It means you'll NEED to invest in an external within the first month if you're a serious gamer and plan on using it as your primary console. Also even games like Xenoblades Chronicles X requires you to download a 2GB file even if you own the physical copy. So it's just a stupid by design because apparently even if you only buy physical games that won't be enough. Not to mention some titles ONLY release on the eShop such as the US release of Fatal Frame 5 which takes up 10GB.
• What I said above about primary console, that's the biggest problem: the system wasn't designed as a primary console, it's designed to be a secondary console. It more or less relies on you owning a PS4 or The Bone to fill your non-nintendo needs.
• Graphics are very PS3/360. It's nothing to write home about which would be fine if the system didn't cost as much as a PS4 almost.
• Communication features virtually don't exist. The voice chat app only works when people are logged into it and it can't work while an app is running. There is no party chat, no messaging system, having friends on the console is virtually pointless because you can't communicate with them. Many games lack voice chat even though every controller has a mic built in.
• Geared towards kids. Nintendo claims this system was meant to bring back the "hardcore" audience, but then they do shit like remove voice chat from Splatoon to prevent trash talking. I love being treated like I'm 12 when I buy a "grown up" console.
• Third Party support virtually does not exist. Basically Nintendo had to bribe some devs to give them a few butchered ports of last gen games and a few others to get an exclusive or two, but their third party games blow.
• The gamepad forces games to sacrifice graphics from its already fairly poor graphical capabilities. Hyrule Warriors is a prime example of how using Co-op basically greatly reduces the game's appearance when using the second screen for more than a second TV screen.
• Nintendo titles have grown stale. We can only be given so much Smash DLC before we get bored of it. At this point it's just a Smash Box. Mario Maker was a fairly fresh idea, but ultimately the last few Mario games have been fairly lackluster, and for Zelda we're getting... ANOTHER Remake. The Nintendo franchises have grown a bit stale so if you're not really caring much about those, there is no reason to get the system at all.
• Stupid controller takes up space like its own fucking console. I had no choice but to set it on top of the TV stand next to the TV because it won't fit down with the rest of my consoles.
• Slow loads. Just switching between Apps is long and tedious. With only 2GB of RAM, the system is struggling just to open Netflix.
• Everyone knows this system's life span is about to be cut short so no one is wasting money on it. It's common knowledge now that NX will be announced in about 5 months and will more than likely come out later this year. No one is going to dump money into a Wii U when they know that Nintendo is planning another system. They should have waited until they were ready to reveal the NX before they announced it so that people would still buy a Wii U.
• Poor advertising. Many people I know STILL don't realize the Wii U is a new console, but think it's an add on to the Wii.
• No achievements. In a world where every other platform has achievements and trophies to show off gamer  cred, Nintendo lags behind with something that has been being done for over 10 years now. That's really the issue: Nintendo is stuck in the past.
• Online play sucks. Laggy, choppy, no direct connection so even more lag. I have Fios and the Wii U is choppy online. It sucks.

Edited February 3, 2016 by Guest

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

The only reason why I'd get a Wii-U is for the 8-player games. Other than that...I think all of these gimmicks explained above are really disappointing. I mean, 32GB of storage only? Wow...

[Guest]

The only reason why I'd get a Wii-U is for the 8-player games. Other than that...I think all of these gimmicks explained above are really disappointing. I mean, 32GB of storage only? Wow...

I think Smash and Mario Kart are the only ones.

[silvadel 1,393]

Note, NEW Nintendo system coming later this year.

[Concerned Bystander 2,903]

Nintendo have a strong pedigree in their particular niche, which is family-friendly party games.  I'm not a big fan of family-friendly party games for my own enjoyment, I like my games a little more grown-up. 

 

The last Nintendo I had was the N64, bought largely on the strength of Goldeneye and Ocarina of Time, both very good games.  However they also turned out to be pretty much the only games that I was interested in for that system, and thus the N64 turned out to be a waste of money (not in general, just for me).

 

I looked at the Wii, didn't see anything that piqued my interest, didn't even glance at the Wii U.  Nintendo just isn't for me.

[Evilshy 5,090]

The gimmick wasn't good enough to make up for the specs and price. Nobody hated the Wii for its subpar specs because the motion controller was really cool. But the Wii U pad is not nearly as cool, and comes with its own problems. So nobody is overlooking the specs and price.

[Ianpiersonjdavis 513]

Well, I actually own a Wii U and I used hate it too, until a few years ago, so I can give a few answers and I apologize if I end up repeating some points from earlier in this thread made by others;

 

-This one is more of a minor grievance I had with original Wii-the name itself sounds really stupid and adding the U at the end for the name of it's successor felt extremely lazy and childish-which doesn't help the preconception many gamers have of Nintendo products only having 'kiddy' games (getting Bayonetta 2 as an exclusive is seen as one of the exceptions), so it's kind of off-putting.

 

-The gamepad frequently needs to be plugged in to either the console or the electrical outlet when it's charging-which can get annoying.

 

-In terms of processing and graphical capabilities, Nintendo themselves admitted it is a generation behind the PS4 and Xbone.

 

-Lack of trophies, achievements, or something similar that Microsoft, Sony, and PC (for Steam) have had since the last console generation, this may be a niche demographic-but, it's one I fall into because I enjoy earning those.

 

-There is also a lack of content that hurts it's reputation-HD remakes of older games are good, but lacking in newer installments of franchises, original intellectual properties (I can only think of Splatoon for that category, right now), or exclusives isn't a very appealing selling point when deciding between consoles-if others can fill that order.

[Discordian 6,015]

Because all the people that like the "big" shooters like Call of Duty, Battlefield, or Halo are primarily played on Xbox or Playstation.

Or the relevant fighting games and RPGs. The big hack'n'slashes. The Wii-U is seriously lacking in nearly every genre. The 3DS makes up for it some but Nintendo consoles in general have a hard time keeping the variety.

[Comic Sans 401]

* the only experience i have with the Wii U is playing it with my friends who own one. for me personally, it's pointless to even own one because i barely even play on my Wii as it is, so forking out more money, which i don't have a lot of anyway, seems pointless.

 

* i don't dislike the console or think it's garbage in any way, shape or form, i really enjoy playing on it when i'm with my friends and it's just really fun.

 

* (like seriously, that ninja star throwing game on nintento world or whatever is just the best, i could play that for hours)

[crispy fries 432]

I will admit that the WiiU has a few decent games, but the game pad shot it in the foot. It makes it too hard to develop for.

[Ziggy + Angel + Rain 11,303]

I mean, 32GB of storage only? Wow...

As ludicrous as it is that the system only came with 32GB of storage space, I have a potential TB of storage available to my Wii U.  Yes, I bought an external hard drive, but I'm going to end up doing the same thing for my 500GB Xbox One, too.  Game installs on the two competing home consoles are huge and fill up their included hard drives pretty fast, and you can always play Wii U games from the discs without sitting through an hour-long installation beforehand or buying any external storage.  (P.S. I don't believe external hard drives are even compatible with the PS4; seems to be the only this-gen home console that isn't.)

-There is also a lack of content that hurts it's reputation-HD remakes of older games are good, but lacking in newer installments of franchises, original intellectual properties (I can only think of Splatoon for that category, right now), or exclusives isn't a very appealing selling point when deciding between consoles-if others can fill that order.

I'd say that there's a general dearth of consistently-delivered, worthwhile, and / or original content on all three this-gen consoles (not that there haven't been exceptions in the worthwhile department), but exclusives are kind of Nintendo's biggest selling point.  A lot of the so-called exclusives that show up on the other two consoles are simply timed ones (or are also available for PC); whereas any Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Smash Bros., Pokemon, Pikmin, or Star Fox title will only appear on a Nintendo console.  (I'm still deliberately excluding titles that could have appeared on Wii U and probably won't.  Kid Icarus and F-Zero, I mean you. ; _ ; )  If you don't care about those...  Yeah, you probably won't get much out of the console. xD

 

But I wouldn't point out the lack of "original" IPs on a Nintendo console without mentioning the likes of Infamous: Second Son (PS4), the upcoming Uncharted 4 (PS4), Killzone: Shadow Fall (PS4), Gears of War 4 (Xbox One), Halo 5 (Xbox One), CoD...  One...  Thousand (I don't know how many CoD games there are anymore).  And HD remakes are absolutely abundant on PS4 / Xbox One.

 

I accept many of the criticisms about the Wii U, but some of those criticisms could be fired right back at everything this gen.

I will admit that the WiiU has a few decent games, but the game pad shot it in the foot. It makes it too hard to develop for.

I like the Gamepad, but I can't really disagree.  It almost seems as though it was too hard for even Nintendo itself to develop for.  Though, oddly enough, some relatively teeny-tiny indie developers managed to do worthwhile things with it, anyway.

 

Didn't mean to monster-post, but no one was posting in-between my three combined ones. xD

[Alex Z 848]

Lack of games and shit marketing