I’ve made it no secret in the past that my favorite video game console of all time is the Nintendo Wii. So, I’ve been following the news about the Wii U, Nintendo’s upcoming console, with quite a bit of interest. Many of Nintendo’s fans have been wondering why the Wii’s successor looks the way it does. A tablet with buttons? What was Nintendo thinking? To be honest, I wondered the same thing, until I thought some more and realized that the Wii U is exactly what Nintendo’s next console had to be.
First, some background. When it launched in 2006, the Nintendo Wii caught the world by storm. For over 2 years after that launch, it was difficult to even find the Wii on store shelves. As of May 2012, over 90 million Wiis have been sold. Despite heavy declines in recent years, the system has been huge for Nintendo. However, the Wii also had some faults, some which got worse with age (such as the lack of support for HDTVs). Nintendo knew that it would have to make a new console soon, and that it would need these features:
- Backwards compatibility. When your previous console sold 90 million units, it would be a serious mistake to make those games impossible to play on your brand new console. (I’m looking at you, Playstation)
- High-definition support. HDTVs were relatively uncommon in 2006. Now, not so much.
- Better ways to connect online.
There are others, I’m sure, but I want to focus on the first one, backwards compatibility. To make the new console work with Wii games, it needs to support the Wii Remote, which is a big restriction. But, it also has to have something unique, something that will make the new console truly feel like an upgrade. What to do?
Nintendo’s answer? Turn the next-generation Wii into a gigantic Nintendo DS.
The DS was launched in 2004, and when its various incarnations are included – DS Lite, DSi, and DSi XL – it has sold a combined 150 million units. The newer 3DS, while having a slow start, has become a good-selling console as well, and both the DS and 3DS lines have been remarkably capable in a variety of game genres.
The handheld DS console has two screens, and games are played one screen or the other depending on context. The bottom screen is touch sensitive, the top screen is not. The left side has a D-Pad (directional buttons shaped like a plus sign), while the right side has four circular buttons in a diamond shape. On the top corners of the lower screen, there are two “shoulder buttons” for additional functions.
I have just described the DS. I have also just described the Wii U.
This is the Wii U. It has two screens; your TV, and the Wii U Gamepad, which looks a whole lot like the bottom screen of the DS. The Gamepad has a touch-sensitive screen that can communicate with the main TV screen. The Wii U is a super-sized DS.
I’m not the only one to figure this out, by the way. Scribblenauts, a popular game series for the DS, is making its way to the Wii U, and it appears to play just the same way on the Wii U as it did on the DS.
Bottom line, Nintendo knows what it’s doing with the Wii U.
Now, for some predictions about the Wii U:
- Scribblenauts won’t be the only major DS franchise to come to the Wii U. Other DS titles, like Pokemon and Rhythm Heaven, would be natural fits to move to the console.
- There will be more video games that end in the letter “u” released in the next two years than in the entire history of games combined.
- The Wii U will be less successful than the Wii was. The Wii was a perfect storm of popularity, and expecting Nintendo to beat that is unfair.
- At least a few of the most popular games on the Wii U will be completely new games, not based on any existing Nintendo IP (Mario, Zelda, etc.). The over-reliance on sequels isn’t healthy.
- I will help make a game for the Wii U. (At the moment, this is wishful thinking, but I am hopeful that it will come true.)
I agree the Wii U does look pretty cool but I do feel as though they could of done a bit more because just a new controller and better graphics doesn’t feel enough. (One of the few only things that makes me want to get one is Scribblenauts Unlimited) And also with the theme of the letter U I wonder if they are going to make a Mario Universe it would make sense because first it was Mario Land then Mario World then Mario Galaxy it seems like its the only thing bigger then a galaxy. Anyway those are my thoughts on the console….
Comment by Teddy2tie — June 12, 2012 @ 10:29 pm
Screenhog, if you want to make a video game copyright it first. After you copyright it you can openly talk about it on the internet, without fear of some thief stealing your idea. I said this because I want to learn more about this video game you’ve been planning for years!
Comment by Feey1 — June 13, 2012 @ 8:37 am
Screenhog, I had the same DS-to-WiiU ideas too, and when I was thinking about how much I like the Wii and how uninterested I am in the other current-generation consoles, I thought of the blog post you made that you linked here ;D
(the whole new motion-control thing, I mean)
I’m really excited for the Wii U. I don’t think it will get as much attention (and NEARLY as much hype) as the Wii did, but Nintendo already has the record for the most “WHA–? AWESOME!” exclamations per second, so s’all good
@Teddy2tie
That’s an awesome idea about the next Mario game(s)! I was trying to come up with clever new Mario names myself but that one definitely tops ‘em.
I disagree with your opinion that a new controller and graphics/processor/etc aren’t enough for a new console, though. May I compare this to other console upgrades, such as the PS2-to-PS3 upgrade? Their controllers are nearly identical, and the only big thing I personally notice is better graphics/processor/sound (there is the whole new great thing called internet support, but the Wii also got that, so that argument’s void), so it’s pretty much only as good as the Wii-to-WiiU upgrade as far as I can see.
….all this if consoles are competition
(…yeah, of course they are. If the world wasn’t operated on money, they could maybe not be, but that sure isn’t the case :c )
Comment by jn — June 13, 2012 @ 4:41 pm
Good comments, everyone!
Teddy2tie, now that you’ve mentioned it, the title “Mario Universe” just seems too good not to happen. Personally, though, I’m glad they didn’t go much farther than “new controller” and “better graphics”. The next decade or so, I think, is going to be about being smarter about using the technology we already have, rather than giving us even more tools to play with.
Feey1… someday.
Jn… I’m pretty uninterested in the other consoles, too. I think it’s because there’s a lot of genres of games I don’t like to play: sports, FPS, racing, horror, and pretty much anything rated M for Mature. And that seems to be the big selling feature games that the Xbox 360 and PS3 have.
Comment by Screenhog — June 13, 2012 @ 9:09 pm
@Teddy2tie
There are multiple meanings for “universe”. One meaning for universe is like a whole other life/realm/reality/dimension; another means all of reality. If Nintendo did make a Mario Universe, I think I’d want them to have Mario travel to other dimensions. Even cooler if those dimensions included characters from other video games!
Comment by Feey1 — June 17, 2012 @ 12:39 pm