15 ms·

Wii U Architecture

280 points by flipacholas 4y ago

meibo 4y ago
The Wii U was such a fun console with so many great games, it's a shame that it was relatively inaccessible due to horribly bodged marketing and weird choices - luckily they're porting most(but not all) of the gems. I actually think that the gamepad screen did contribute a lot to a lot of games, especially if there was a lot of action and you were able to use it as a map/for quick actions. It's good that they basically built a product that was impossible to market badly with the switch, it probably sells itself, considering the form factor and all of the first and third party support they have now.
- mikepurvis 4y ago
  Which games really used the secondary screen in an interesting way? The main ones I can think of are: Splatoon— second player without split screen. New SMB U— gamepad player can spawn blocks to help you reach secrets. Wind Waker— map and inventory. But an awful lot of titles just mirrored the TV or had a button to enable off-TV play.
  - msh 4y ago
    ZombiU also used it well and the mass effect port let you use it to issue commands to your squad mates.
    - dm319 4y ago
      Yes, really innovative use of the gamepad for ZombiU gave the game a properly scary aspect when checking in bags and boxes, and nervously looking up at the screen as you're doing it.
    - mkw2000 4y ago
      One of the most unique multiplayer experiences I have ever played
  - djur 4y ago
    Mario Maker used the touchscreen effectively. You could seamlessly go back and forth between editing your level on the touchscreen and testing it on your TV. I also liked the touchscreen effects in Super Mario 3D World and regret their (effective) absence in the Switch port.
  - c0balt 4y ago
    It was mostly used as a secondary, supporting display: - Zelda Windwaker HD - Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Assassin Creed Black Flag While it wasn't necessary it freed up screen space for the main diaplay while also allowing you to play only on the gamepad.
  - ThatPlayer 4y ago
    Nintendo Land was great for the asymmetrical multiplayer. Four players co-op on the big screen versus a fifth player on the GamePad. It's not impossible to do in other ways, but I haven't seen it done. I think shared/split screen on the TV adds an additional social element to it. Otherwise it's just all of us playing on their phones/Switch.
  - lvass 4y ago
    Wonderful 101 does it beautifully, entire game was designed to use it in many different ways. The best overall use is the Nintendo DS emulator. Unfortunately only few games are available for purchase but with a bit of hacking the compatibility is great.
  - anotherman554 4y ago
    In Tokyo Mirage Session you get text messages from the characters on the second screen so it's like you are glancing at your cell phone as you play. This worked very poorly when they ported it to Switch and you had to go into a menu when a party member texts you.
    - mikepurvis 4y ago
      I felt like later in the Wii U's life, they were pushing it more as being for off-TV play, and that meant that that kind of stuff would have to be implemented anyway— Wind Waker HD certainly had the dual approach, where the default was to play on the TV with inventory on the gamepad, but if you played in off-TV mode, then the inventory was a pause menu popup. That extra development work to support both was probably invisible to most users who only ever played on-TV. That combined with the increasing inevitability that everything was going to be ported to a later, single-screen system anyway, and it's not hard to see why titles like Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze and Zelda BOTW didn't use the secondary screen at all.
      - anotherman554 4y ago
        It's not just games that are played in off-TV mode, any game that supports the Wii U Pro controller needs to have a single screen option.
  - jrootabega 4y ago
    Batman: Arkham City. You could use it to tune your radio, hack stuff, remote control gadgets, probably some more stuff I'm forgetting.
  - vanderZwan 4y ago
    I used it a lot for planning and multitasking in Pikmin 3, it felt like a really organic addition to the gameplay there.
  - BuckRogers 4y ago
    Splatoon made me sad that you couldn't do 2-player co-op online with the gamepad and TV. That felt like a big miss.
ace2358 4y ago
The Wii U was unfortunately not a very successful console, but I feel that it had plenty of power to make fantastic looking games and great experiences. It came out in a weird time for technology and Nintendo always uses slightly older hardware. As a homebrew device it is amazing. There are still exploits being found with a new, safe, simple method out now thanks to some crazy dedicated modders. There’s a whole homebrew sdk. The Wii U can also run Wii and GameCube games by reconfiguring the hardware (or some other sort of firmware voodoo). That’s three generations of video game libraries that can be explored on one console! Always felt like it deserved more popularity, but it couldn’t compete with the ps3/4 and Xbox 360/one.
- chungy 4y ago
  > I feel that it had plenty of power to make fantastic looking games and great experiences. It did, and it shows in that many of the top-selling games on Switch are ports of Wii U games.
  - psychphysic 4y ago
    Breath of the Wild ran poorly on both platforms on release. Which surprised me, and undermined the power of the Switch. That said the Switch remains underpowered compared to contemporary game consoles.
    - bzzzt 4y ago
      Switch is not competing with PS/Xbox, but with mobile phones, tablets and portable consoles (including Nintendo's DS line). It's not underpowered for a battery powered game machine and has a standardised controller setup and easy docking as differentiators to other mobile devices.
      - amyjess 4y ago
        Unless you like JRPGs, in which case the Switch is a first-class console. Except for a few AAA-scale action RPGs that launch on PS4/5 (e.g. FF7R, upcoming FF16), the vast majority of JRPGs being released today come to Switch first. And when Switch exclusivity expires, many of them only get a PC release beyond that with PS4/5 and XB1/XSX releases simply never happening. For a good chunk of JRPG players, the question is "PS5 or Switch?". And if you're like me and specifically prefer turn-based JRPGs, you can forget about anything that launches as a Sony exclusive so that leaves the Switch as your #1 console. Though I guess the comparison to the DS works well here, as the DS was to platformers during its heyday what the Switch is to JRPGs now.
29athrowaway 4y ago
I wanted to buy this console to play StarFox Zero, but then never did. The game didn't age as gracefully as other StarFox games.
- humaniania 4y ago
  2nd hand Wii U consoles are still very affordable off ebay or FB marketplace.
langsoul-com 4y ago
I reckon Nintendo has the best strategy almost game consoles. Not focusing on the power/realism and instead of other aspects. At some point, if someone buys a ps5 or xbox for power only. Then they just get a pc, those consoles takes years to design. By the time they're released, it's already outdated
- pjmlp 4y ago
  That is exactly why game studios prefer to target game consoles, there aren't a zillion of different ones to support.
  - Narann 4y ago
    Not the main reason, game studios target consoles because of established player base. Actually, consoles are tricky to develops on because they are quiet restricted from hardware standpoint, so you have to invest a lot in hardware knowledge.
    - pjmlp 4y ago
      Still much less than the gazillion PCs, each being its own snowflake.
      - BuckRogers 4y ago
        In the current day that won't really affect gaming. As long as the PC is stable being its own snowflake hardware combo, the developer of a game doesn't have to worry about customizing code around it. Most games are built on engines like Unity, not that direct API access wouldn't be just as reliable. Games built on very well-tested platform like Unity just remove all remaining doubt.
- quietbritishjim 4y ago
  > At some point, if someone buys a ps5 or xbox for power only. Then they just get a pc, those consoles takes years to design. By the time they're released, it's already outdated I don't think that's really true. Hardware moves slowly enough nowadays that really good hardware from a couple of years ago is still very competitive with today's hardware. And if you tried to build a PC with comparable specs to, say xbox series x, you'd be paying a very substantially larger amount because MS have economies of scale and a strong negotiating position.
m_st 4y ago
Slightly OT but Wii U games seem to be a topic here: There were many great games, but the IMHO single best game on this console was Lego City Undercover. It was like a less violent GTA. Such a joy to play, plenty of jokes, fantastic open world and great story mode with funny missions. Luckily they ported it to other consoles too. My kids are still playing it with their friends. I hope they are working on a successor.
- astura 4y ago
  I agree that game is great - It's currently only $6 on the Switch eShop.
m_st 4y ago
My reason to buy a Wii U back then was that whenever I found the time to play a video game, I had to go through a session of Windows Update, Steam update and game update that I lost interest by the time it was ready. Compare that to the Wii U back then: Turn on and play. Nintendo even achieved to keep this mindset with the Switch: It will update in the background so usually you just turn it on and play.
- buildfocus 4y ago
  I got a steam deck - it makes a very decent attempt at transforming the former experience into the latter, but keeping access to all your existing PC games.
  - criddell 4y ago
    How well does it succeed? One reason I've only played games on consoles is that if I see a game that has PS5 on the box, I know it will run on my console. Do Steam games make a similar promise for the Steam Deck?
    - groovybits 4y ago
      Re: Sleep - Compared a traditional console, the Steam Deck does not auto-download updates quietly in the background while its asleep/docked. That is my one gripe with it. You need to have the screen on and active for it to start downloading games. On top of that, the default behavior is to stop downloads while playing a game. You can change this in the settings, but at a significant performance hit. Re: The 'just works' - In handheld mode, all Steam Verified titles have 'just worked' for me. Docked mode is a different story, because no game has automatically switched resolution automatically. You need to set the Native resolution mode on a per-game basis. Additionally, there is always a chance that an unverified game you're looking for will not work very well on the Steam Deck - be it control-wise, graphically, or some other reason. It is not as 'plug and play' as a traditional console, but the device continues to get better over time with updates.
    - weberer 4y ago
whywhywhywhy 4y ago
The concept of this machine was such a mess. You can truly tell something was rotten in the org chart when a bizarre console/tablet compromise is what they actually shipped with a straight face.
- willis936 4y ago
  Not at all. Nintendo has been making experimental toys since before anyone here was alive. They've been making experimental electronic toys for as long as there have been electronic toys.
- dm319 4y ago
  If you put the Switch and the DS alongside it, you can see where they were coming from / going to.
pwpw 4y ago
The Wii U was a failure in marketing and odd design choices. The former has been discussed quite well by others, so I want to focus on the design choices that didn't help its long-term success. The console initially promoted the gimmick of being a controller for cable TV, as seen by the blue TV button the bottom of the gamepad. This was at a time when cable TV was starting to die out for the younger crowd. The original Xbox One made a similar misguided focus on controlling TV, while the overall market was making a major shift to streaming in that period. Next, the gamepad used a resistive touchscreen instead of a capacitive one. Phones with capacitive touchscreens had been the norm for years at this point, making the Wii U touchscreen feel very low quality. The gamepad came with too small of a battery, which limited the gamepad's use as a portable console, which was already tied down to being nearby the console itself to stream games smoothly. The battery could be easily upgraded to a larger size, but it had to be purchased and installed later on. The base console only had 8 GB of storage. The deluxe model only came with 32 GB of storage and cost an extra $150 (for $350 total). The console largely focused on using discs for games, but the next gen of Xbox and PlayStation consoles showed that internal storage was important. The Wii U had an SD card slot, but SD cards could oddly not be used to expand game storage; USB storage could be used however. The Wii U had some very strong game releases that eventually saw successful ports to the Switch, and it also had the best Virtual Console release of games in any console ever, that the Switch still has not matched. The value of a Wii U by the end of its life was insane. It's the only console where so many incredible games (almost all of Nintendo's catalogue through the Wii - but not the GameCube) could be played on the system. I think the console just focused on all of the wrong things in the minutia. Tie that with terrible marketing, and the console was doomed to failure. The Wii U's genius was later revised upon and proved to be a success with the Switch. Despite it's failures, the Wii U was a great console that is one of my favorites of all time (along with the PlayStation Vita).
tenebrisalietum 4y ago
copetti.org's writeups about the classic consoles are really good. So copetti.org has interesting details on Nintendo's other flop - the Virtual Boy. What I found interesting about that is the VB uses moving mirrors and a vertical LED strip to generate the display - a teensy bit similar to DLP.
_chu1 4y ago
The Wii U plays Wii and Gamecube games better than an actual Wii since you don't have to fondle composite cables and can just plug an HDMI in
tb_technical 4y ago
It's a great console to hack! :)
lynguist 4y ago
Another badly designed Nintendo console. Now hear me out: NES: Well designed. SNES: Well designed. N64: Hampered by the originally 12-24 MB cartridges as opposed to 650 MB CDs. GameCube: Well designed. A little hampered by the 1.4 GB mini DVDs as opposed to 7.8 GB DVDs. Wii: Underpowered, but a surprise smash hit capturing that era’s sensibilities (like the PS2). Wii U: Clunky and awkward, which however led to the Switch. Switch: Well designed. GB: Well designed. GBC: Well designed. GBA: Well designed, however with a very bad audio quality as compared to the SNES. NDS: Well designed, again with very bad audio quality, and a surprise smash hit capturing that era’s sensibilities (like the PS2). 3DS: Hampered by its pitiful 2004 era 200 MHz CPU and 240p display. Clunky and unremarkable, which had a success in its second half of existence because people just want Nintendo games. Switch: Well designed.
- _chu1 4y ago
  The 3DS is anything but clunky and the CPU was improved with the New 3DS revision
- paulpan 4y ago
  I think "design" is overused in this case. Sure some users base their purchase decision on actual design/look of a console, but that's a rarity. Success is more dictated by 4 main constraints or factors: - Game selection and support - Price point - System performance (including storage) - Innovative-ness or accessibility Successful consoles typically met at least 3 of the above. For example the Nintendo Switch had very mediocre system performance, but it had great (1st party) game support, priced lower than competing XBox and PS4, and seemed very approachable for all demographics.
  - lynguist 4y ago
    > For example the Nintendo Switch had very mediocre system performance Nintendo Switch had the most powerful GPU of any mobile device released at its time. Furthermore it has 4 GB of RAM. Just the Cortex A-57 CPU wasn’t bleeding edge any more, having been replaced by the Cortex A-72 by the time of the Switch with a higher IPC of 16%. It was a well balanced system. You might be mistaken because mobile CPU performance grew in an unparalleled explosive fashion, and the Cortex A-72 was already replaced by the A-73, A-74, A-75, A-76, A-77, A-78, and A-710 by now. But this is unfair to a system where its design was frozen already 6 years ago. It just means that, if a successor Switch is built the same way, and a Cortex A-78 is used, its CPU would have ca 2.6x IPC. If it ran at twice the clock speed, its CPU performance would be 5.2x. You’re being unfair because CPUs grew so much.
Bondi_Blue 4y ago
The Wii U had a rich feature set. Firsts for a Nintendo home console: - OTB web browser - OTB audio and video chat with friends, native support for 3rd party headsets - real-time direct messaging (via Miiverse) notifications and other friend notifications via the home button LED - Ability to view online status of friends - High definition graphics - 5+ player synchronous local multiplayer - built-in Nintendo TVii service - built-in support to use the gamepad as a TV remote - eShop selections for mobile retro consoles (e.g. GBA, DS) - background installations and updates - accelerometer, gyroscope, front-facing camera, touch screen, IR sensor, NFC all packed into the gamepad - full backwards compatibility with a prior console (Wii) Not to mention, all online services were free to use. And those still existing, are still free. Edit: As a kid, this was the first console that had just enough 3rd party support for me to enjoy games like Fifa, Need for Speed, and Call of Duty akin to an Xbox 360, while also hosting all my favorite Nintendo games. It was a fun system, even if it was poorly advertised and a bit awkward. But I enjoyed the gimmicks and I still use it, mostly for playing exclusives that never made it to the Switch.
- IntelMiner 4y ago
  Minor correction. The Wii came with Opera Mini, aka the "Internet Channel" in 2007 https://learn-about-anything.fandom.com/wiki/Internet_Channel https://learn-about-anything.fandom.com/wiki/Internet_Channe...
  - Bondi_Blue 4y ago
    My bad, I thought this was an optional install. Edit: This is an optional install, not OTB.
    - IntelMiner 4y ago
      I remember it being OOTB on our Wii. Though we didn't get it until 2009 or so
      - mch82 4y ago
lights0123 4y ago
The article says: > Similarly to how the Wii Remote mangles the Bluetooth protocol to avoid third-party usage with "mangles the Bluetooth protocol" being a broken link. Anyone have information on this? I'm interested in how so.
- mmis1000 4y ago
  https://www.copetti.org/writings/consoles/wii#next-gen-controllers https://www.copetti.org/writings/consoles/wii#next-gen-contr... Just remove the extra text
- weberer 4y ago
  The XWiimote docs would be the best place to start. https://github.com/xwiimote/xwiimote/blob/master/doc/PROTOCOL https://github.com/xwiimote/xwiimote/blob/master/doc/PROTOCO...
mkw2000 4y ago
I loved and still do love my Wii U and still use it semi regularly to this day. There was something about the Wii and Wii U that was lost on the Switch. They just had that special Nintendo "feel" and vibe
- fallat 4y ago
  IMO it's because Switch adopted the great XMBC UI. That's probably why. Wii's channels for me (and I feel most based on how I saw others use their Wii) were useless...
pjmlp 4y ago
One of the few game consoles that actually supports a subset of OpenGL, yet most WebGL 2.0 games are not up to Wii U ones.

280 points by flipacholas 4y ago

The Wii U was such a fun console with so many great games, it's a shame that it was relatively inaccessible due to horribly bodged marketing and weird choices - luckily they're porting most(but not all) of the gems. I actually think that the gamepad screen did contribute a lot to a lot of games, especially if there was a lot of action and you were able to use it as a map/for quick actions. It's good that they basically built a product that was impossible to market badly with the switch, it probably sells itself, considering the form factor and all of the first and third party support they have now.

mikepurvis 4y ago
Which games really used the secondary screen in an interesting way? The main ones I can think of are: Splatoon— second player without split screen. New SMB U— gamepad player can spawn blocks to help you reach secrets. Wind Waker— map and inventory. But an awful lot of titles just mirrored the TV or had a button to enable off-TV play.
- msh 4y ago
  ZombiU also used it well and the mass effect port let you use it to issue commands to your squad mates.
  - dm319 4y ago
    Yes, really innovative use of the gamepad for ZombiU gave the game a properly scary aspect when checking in bags and boxes, and nervously looking up at the screen as you're doing it.
  - mkw2000 4y ago
    One of the most unique multiplayer experiences I have ever played
- djur 4y ago
  Mario Maker used the touchscreen effectively. You could seamlessly go back and forth between editing your level on the touchscreen and testing it on your TV. I also liked the touchscreen effects in Super Mario 3D World and regret their (effective) absence in the Switch port.
- c0balt 4y ago
  It was mostly used as a secondary, supporting display: - Zelda Windwaker HD - Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Assassin Creed Black Flag While it wasn't necessary it freed up screen space for the main diaplay while also allowing you to play only on the gamepad.
- ThatPlayer 4y ago
  Nintendo Land was great for the asymmetrical multiplayer. Four players co-op on the big screen versus a fifth player on the GamePad. It's not impossible to do in other ways, but I haven't seen it done. I think shared/split screen on the TV adds an additional social element to it. Otherwise it's just all of us playing on their phones/Switch.
- lvass 4y ago
  Wonderful 101 does it beautifully, entire game was designed to use it in many different ways. The best overall use is the Nintendo DS emulator. Unfortunately only few games are available for purchase but with a bit of hacking the compatibility is great.
- anotherman554 4y ago
  In Tokyo Mirage Session you get text messages from the characters on the second screen so it's like you are glancing at your cell phone as you play. This worked very poorly when they ported it to Switch and you had to go into a menu when a party member texts you.
  - mikepurvis 4y ago
    I felt like later in the Wii U's life, they were pushing it more as being for off-TV play, and that meant that that kind of stuff would have to be implemented anyway— Wind Waker HD certainly had the dual approach, where the default was to play on the TV with inventory on the gamepad, but if you played in off-TV mode, then the inventory was a pause menu popup. That extra development work to support both was probably invisible to most users who only ever played on-TV. That combined with the increasing inevitability that everything was going to be ported to a later, single-screen system anyway, and it's not hard to see why titles like Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze and Zelda BOTW didn't use the secondary screen at all.
    - anotherman554 4y ago
      It's not just games that are played in off-TV mode, any game that supports the Wii U Pro controller needs to have a single screen option.
- jrootabega 4y ago
  Batman: Arkham City. You could use it to tune your radio, hack stuff, remote control gadgets, probably some more stuff I'm forgetting.
- vanderZwan 4y ago
  I used it a lot for planning and multitasking in Pikmin 3, it felt like a really organic addition to the gameplay there.
- BuckRogers 4y ago
  Splatoon made me sad that you couldn't do 2-player co-op online with the gamepad and TV. That felt like a big miss.

ace2358 4y ago

The Wii U was unfortunately not a very successful console, but I feel that it had plenty of power to make fantastic looking games and great experiences. It came out in a weird time for technology and Nintendo always uses slightly older hardware. As a homebrew device it is amazing. There are still exploits being found with a new, safe, simple method out now thanks to some crazy dedicated modders. There’s a whole homebrew sdk. The Wii U can also run Wii and GameCube games by reconfiguring the hardware (or some other sort of firmware voodoo). That’s three generations of video game libraries that can be explored on one console! Always felt like it deserved more popularity, but it couldn’t compete with the ps3/4 and Xbox 360/one.

chungy 4y ago
> I feel that it had plenty of power to make fantastic looking games and great experiences. It did, and it shows in that many of the top-selling games on Switch are ports of Wii U games.
- psychphysic 4y ago
  Breath of the Wild ran poorly on both platforms on release. Which surprised me, and undermined the power of the Switch. That said the Switch remains underpowered compared to contemporary game consoles.
  - bzzzt 4y ago
    Switch is not competing with PS/Xbox, but with mobile phones, tablets and portable consoles (including Nintendo's DS line). It's not underpowered for a battery powered game machine and has a standardised controller setup and easy docking as differentiators to other mobile devices.
    - amyjess 4y ago
      Unless you like JRPGs, in which case the Switch is a first-class console. Except for a few AAA-scale action RPGs that launch on PS4/5 (e.g. FF7R, upcoming FF16), the vast majority of JRPGs being released today come to Switch first. And when Switch exclusivity expires, many of them only get a PC release beyond that with PS4/5 and XB1/XSX releases simply never happening. For a good chunk of JRPG players, the question is "PS5 or Switch?". And if you're like me and specifically prefer turn-based JRPGs, you can forget about anything that launches as a Sony exclusive so that leaves the Switch as your #1 console. Though I guess the comparison to the DS works well here, as the DS was to platformers during its heyday what the Switch is to JRPGs now.

29athrowaway 4y ago

I wanted to buy this console to play StarFox Zero, but then never did. The game didn't age as gracefully as other StarFox games.

humaniania 4y ago
2nd hand Wii U consoles are still very affordable off ebay or FB marketplace.

langsoul-com 4y ago

I reckon Nintendo has the best strategy almost game consoles. Not focusing on the power/realism and instead of other aspects. At some point, if someone buys a ps5 or xbox for power only. Then they just get a pc, those consoles takes years to design. By the time they're released, it's already outdated

pjmlp 4y ago
That is exactly why game studios prefer to target game consoles, there aren't a zillion of different ones to support.
- Narann 4y ago
  Not the main reason, game studios target consoles because of established player base. Actually, consoles are tricky to develops on because they are quiet restricted from hardware standpoint, so you have to invest a lot in hardware knowledge.
  - pjmlp 4y ago
    Still much less than the gazillion PCs, each being its own snowflake.
    - BuckRogers 4y ago
      In the current day that won't really affect gaming. As long as the PC is stable being its own snowflake hardware combo, the developer of a game doesn't have to worry about customizing code around it. Most games are built on engines like Unity, not that direct API access wouldn't be just as reliable. Games built on very well-tested platform like Unity just remove all remaining doubt.
quietbritishjim 4y ago
> At some point, if someone buys a ps5 or xbox for power only. Then they just get a pc, those consoles takes years to design. By the time they're released, it's already outdated I don't think that's really true. Hardware moves slowly enough nowadays that really good hardware from a couple of years ago is still very competitive with today's hardware. And if you tried to build a PC with comparable specs to, say xbox series x, you'd be paying a very substantially larger amount because MS have economies of scale and a strong negotiating position.

m_st 4y ago

Slightly OT but Wii U games seem to be a topic here: There were many great games, but the IMHO single best game on this console was Lego City Undercover. It was like a less violent GTA. Such a joy to play, plenty of jokes, fantastic open world and great story mode with funny missions. Luckily they ported it to other consoles too. My kids are still playing it with their friends. I hope they are working on a successor.

astura 4y ago
I agree that game is great - It's currently only $6 on the Switch eShop.

m_st 4y ago

My reason to buy a Wii U back then was that whenever I found the time to play a video game, I had to go through a session of Windows Update, Steam update and game update that I lost interest by the time it was ready. Compare that to the Wii U back then: Turn on and play. Nintendo even achieved to keep this mindset with the Switch: It will update in the background so usually you just turn it on and play.

buildfocus 4y ago
I got a steam deck - it makes a very decent attempt at transforming the former experience into the latter, but keeping access to all your existing PC games.
- criddell 4y ago
  How well does it succeed? One reason I've only played games on consoles is that if I see a game that has PS5 on the box, I know it will run on my console. Do Steam games make a similar promise for the Steam Deck?
  - groovybits 4y ago
    Re: Sleep - Compared a traditional console, the Steam Deck does not auto-download updates quietly in the background while its asleep/docked. That is my one gripe with it. You need to have the screen on and active for it to start downloading games. On top of that, the default behavior is to stop downloads while playing a game. You can change this in the settings, but at a significant performance hit. Re: The 'just works' - In handheld mode, all Steam Verified titles have 'just worked' for me. Docked mode is a different story, because no game has automatically switched resolution automatically. You need to set the Native resolution mode on a per-game basis. Additionally, there is always a chance that an unverified game you're looking for will not work very well on the Steam Deck - be it control-wise, graphically, or some other reason. It is not as 'plug and play' as a traditional console, but the device continues to get better over time with updates.
  - weberer 4y ago

whywhywhywhy 4y ago

The concept of this machine was such a mess. You can truly tell something was rotten in the org chart when a bizarre console/tablet compromise is what they actually shipped with a straight face.

willis936 4y ago
Not at all. Nintendo has been making experimental toys since before anyone here was alive. They've been making experimental electronic toys for as long as there have been electronic toys.
dm319 4y ago
If you put the Switch and the DS alongside it, you can see where they were coming from / going to.

pwpw 4y ago

The Wii U was a failure in marketing and odd design choices. The former has been discussed quite well by others, so I want to focus on the design choices that didn't help its long-term success. The console initially promoted the gimmick of being a controller for cable TV, as seen by the blue TV button the bottom of the gamepad. This was at a time when cable TV was starting to die out for the younger crowd. The original Xbox One made a similar misguided focus on controlling TV, while the overall market was making a major shift to streaming in that period. Next, the gamepad used a resistive touchscreen instead of a capacitive one. Phones with capacitive touchscreens had been the norm for years at this point, making the Wii U touchscreen feel very low quality. The gamepad came with too small of a battery, which limited the gamepad's use as a portable console, which was already tied down to being nearby the console itself to stream games smoothly. The battery could be easily upgraded to a larger size, but it had to be purchased and installed later on. The base console only had 8 GB of storage. The deluxe model only came with 32 GB of storage and cost an extra $150 (for $350 total). The console largely focused on using discs for games, but the next gen of Xbox and PlayStation consoles showed that internal storage was important. The Wii U had an SD card slot, but SD cards could oddly not be used to expand game storage; USB storage could be used however. The Wii U had some very strong game releases that eventually saw successful ports to the Switch, and it also had the best Virtual Console release of games in any console ever, that the Switch still has not matched. The value of a Wii U by the end of its life was insane. It's the only console where so many incredible games (almost all of Nintendo's catalogue through the Wii - but not the GameCube) could be played on the system. I think the console just focused on all of the wrong things in the minutia. Tie that with terrible marketing, and the console was doomed to failure. The Wii U's genius was later revised upon and proved to be a success with the Switch. Despite it's failures, the Wii U was a great console that is one of my favorites of all time (along with the PlayStation Vita).

tenebrisalietum 4y ago

copetti.org's writeups about the classic consoles are really good. So copetti.org has interesting details on Nintendo's other flop - the Virtual Boy. What I found interesting about that is the VB uses moving mirrors and a vertical LED strip to generate the display - a teensy bit similar to DLP.

_chu1 4y ago

The Wii U plays Wii and Gamecube games better than an actual Wii since you don't have to fondle composite cables and can just plug an HDMI in

tb_technical 4y ago

It's a great console to hack! :)

lynguist 4y ago

Another badly designed Nintendo console. Now hear me out: NES: Well designed. SNES: Well designed. N64: Hampered by the originally 12-24 MB cartridges as opposed to 650 MB CDs. GameCube: Well designed. A little hampered by the 1.4 GB mini DVDs as opposed to 7.8 GB DVDs. Wii: Underpowered, but a surprise smash hit capturing that era’s sensibilities (like the PS2). Wii U: Clunky and awkward, which however led to the Switch. Switch: Well designed. GB: Well designed. GBC: Well designed. GBA: Well designed, however with a very bad audio quality as compared to the SNES. NDS: Well designed, again with very bad audio quality, and a surprise smash hit capturing that era’s sensibilities (like the PS2). 3DS: Hampered by its pitiful 2004 era 200 MHz CPU and 240p display. Clunky and unremarkable, which had a success in its second half of existence because people just want Nintendo games. Switch: Well designed.

_chu1 4y ago
The 3DS is anything but clunky and the CPU was improved with the New 3DS revision
paulpan 4y ago
I think "design" is overused in this case. Sure some users base their purchase decision on actual design/look of a console, but that's a rarity. Success is more dictated by 4 main constraints or factors: - Game selection and support - Price point - System performance (including storage) - Innovative-ness or accessibility Successful consoles typically met at least 3 of the above. For example the Nintendo Switch had very mediocre system performance, but it had great (1st party) game support, priced lower than competing XBox and PS4, and seemed very approachable for all demographics.
- lynguist 4y ago
  > For example the Nintendo Switch had very mediocre system performance Nintendo Switch had the most powerful GPU of any mobile device released at its time. Furthermore it has 4 GB of RAM. Just the Cortex A-57 CPU wasn’t bleeding edge any more, having been replaced by the Cortex A-72 by the time of the Switch with a higher IPC of 16%. It was a well balanced system. You might be mistaken because mobile CPU performance grew in an unparalleled explosive fashion, and the Cortex A-72 was already replaced by the A-73, A-74, A-75, A-76, A-77, A-78, and A-710 by now. But this is unfair to a system where its design was frozen already 6 years ago. It just means that, if a successor Switch is built the same way, and a Cortex A-78 is used, its CPU would have ca 2.6x IPC. If it ran at twice the clock speed, its CPU performance would be 5.2x. You’re being unfair because CPUs grew so much.

Bondi_Blue 4y ago

The Wii U had a rich feature set. Firsts for a Nintendo home console: - OTB web browser - OTB audio and video chat with friends, native support for 3rd party headsets - real-time direct messaging (via Miiverse) notifications and other friend notifications via the home button LED - Ability to view online status of friends - High definition graphics - 5+ player synchronous local multiplayer - built-in Nintendo TVii service - built-in support to use the gamepad as a TV remote - eShop selections for mobile retro consoles (e.g. GBA, DS) - background installations and updates - accelerometer, gyroscope, front-facing camera, touch screen, IR sensor, NFC all packed into the gamepad - full backwards compatibility with a prior console (Wii) Not to mention, all online services were free to use. And those still existing, are still free. Edit: As a kid, this was the first console that had just enough 3rd party support for me to enjoy games like Fifa, Need for Speed, and Call of Duty akin to an Xbox 360, while also hosting all my favorite Nintendo games. It was a fun system, even if it was poorly advertised and a bit awkward. But I enjoyed the gimmicks and I still use it, mostly for playing exclusives that never made it to the Switch.

IntelMiner 4y ago
Minor correction. The Wii came with Opera Mini, aka the "Internet Channel" in 2007 https://learn-about-anything.fandom.com/wiki/Internet_Channel https://learn-about-anything.fandom.com/wiki/Internet_Channe...
- Bondi_Blue 4y ago
  My bad, I thought this was an optional install. Edit: This is an optional install, not OTB.
  - IntelMiner 4y ago
    I remember it being OOTB on our Wii. Though we didn't get it until 2009 or so
    - mch82 4y ago

lights0123 4y ago

The article says: > Similarly to how the Wii Remote mangles the Bluetooth protocol to avoid third-party usage with "mangles the Bluetooth protocol" being a broken link. Anyone have information on this? I'm interested in how so.

mmis1000 4y ago
https://www.copetti.org/writings/consoles/wii#next-gen-controllers https://www.copetti.org/writings/consoles/wii#next-gen-contr... Just remove the extra text
weberer 4y ago
The XWiimote docs would be the best place to start. https://github.com/xwiimote/xwiimote/blob/master/doc/PROTOCOL https://github.com/xwiimote/xwiimote/blob/master/doc/PROTOCO...

mkw2000 4y ago

I loved and still do love my Wii U and still use it semi regularly to this day. There was something about the Wii and Wii U that was lost on the Switch. They just had that special Nintendo "feel" and vibe

fallat 4y ago
IMO it's because Switch adopted the great XMBC UI. That's probably why. Wii's channels for me (and I feel most based on how I saw others use their Wii) were useless...

pjmlp 4y ago

One of the few game consoles that actually supports a subset of OpenGL, yet most WebGL 2.0 games are not up to Wii U ones.