The Switch is Nintendo’s hottest selling console since the Wii, and has hundreds upon hundreds of physical and digital games. Given its success, it is easy to forget the odd misfit that came before it: the Wii U.
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Released in 2012, the Wii U was meant to be the successor of theWii, potential buyers were perplexed by it when it launched. Was it an add-on for the Wii? A portable console? Rather, it was a standalone console whichintegrated a controllerwith a 480p touchscreen into its interface. Little third-party support and a botched marketing campaign from Nintendo spelled the failure of the console, which was discontinued after four years. Because of its performance, and the obtuseness of the console, people like to poke fun at it in comparison to the Switch.
7I Tip My Hat To You, One Legend To Another
The 2011 Nickelodeon film Rango was a bizarre, heartfelt tribute to the Spaghetti westerns of yesteryear, where a pet chameleon has to take on the role of a sheriff, and desert creatures filled in for cowboys and townspeople.
Here, Rattlesnake Jake, labeled Wii, is tipping his hat to Rango, the chameleon in the stetson, with the name Switch over himself, while Beans, to Rango’s right, takes on the role of the Wii U, and just looks at him. The Switch has exceeded the kind of success the Wii U only dreamed of, forever to live in the shadow of its predecessor and its successor. Needless to say, it won’t be gettingthe LEGO treatmentany time soon.
6Wii U Is The Squidward Of Nintendo Consoles
In some ways, the Wii U laid the groundwork for the Switch. It gave players the option to play games either on the television or on the game pad, so as long as the console was in range, players had some flexibility with where they played. Nintendo refined and enhanced the concept with the Switch, and the console practically sold itself.
The fact that Nintendo tried so hard and failed with the Wii U made it the Squidward of their consoles, as illustrated by this meme from Xate1031 on Reddit. The poor system never got a break. Meanwhile, the Wii U’s rich, successful foil is rolling in the dollars.
5Wii U Wii U Wii U!!!
One way Nintendo went wrong with the Wii U was the name. Gamers scratched their heads, wondering what the point of the U was. The name itself sounds like the noise an ambulance makes.
This meme from Adam on knowyourmeme.com has fun with the pun. Two juxtaposed pictures of a Wii Remote and a Switch joy con each have a knife attached at their ends, with the wielders threatening to makethe kid-friendly consoles M-rated. The resulting confrontation requires an ambulance wailing the console’s name: “Wii U Wii U Wii U!”
4Wii U: The Poor Man’s Switch
Nintendo’s Switch console has a lot ofadvantagesover the Wii U, including more games and greater portability. One thing that the Wii U does have over the Switch right now is that it is a cheaper option for some games.
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This meme from zeden-725 on Reddit illustrates this dynamic perfectly. While the Switch has received updated ports of Wii U exclusives, some original Wii U releases go for fairly cheap right now. At least they are cheap for the moment, untilthe Wii U eShop shuts down. Then physical copies will be harder to come by. The asking prices of some Wii U games has gone up already.
3I’m Making My Own Nintendo Switch
Nintendo Switch models are ubiquitous. One can buy the system anywhere, either new or used. They can get an original model, an OLED model, or a Switch Lite without the switching functionality that made its older sibling famous. Or, if one is desperate, they can make their own Switch.
This meme from detikinet depicts a Wii U game pad being dismembered by a pair of scissors. The Switch with the joy cons attached is essentially the game pad with the actual console components built in, so this is a humorous riff on the system.
2Poor Xenoblade Chronicles X
Most of the majorWii Utitleshave been portedto theSwitch, with a few big exceptions. These include the HD remasters ofThe Legend of Zelda: The Wind WakerandThe Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
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There is one other Wii U game that seems to have been forgotten by Nintendo:Xenoblade Chronicles X, a spinoff of theXenoblade Chroniclesfranchise, which follows a migrant from future Earth on a distant alien world. The fact that this game is yet to be ported is perplexing, since theXenobladefranchise is doing well on the Switch platform. Unfortunately,Xenoblade Chronicles Xhas been left alone in the empty Wii U house, wondering where everyone went.
1After Smash Ultimate, It Was All Over
The Wii U had at least one major thing going for it:Super Smash Bros. It was the first entry in the Smash franchise to enable up to eight players at once and include custom Mii Fighters. Smash 4 also debuted some new characters, including Ryu fromStreet FighterandPac-Man.
Then,Super Smash Bros. Ultimatearrived withvirtually every Smash characterin existence, and then some. It became one of the big selling points of the Switch console. Surprisingly, some people are still playingSmash 4on the Wii U today.
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