I enjoyed the games I played on it, so I'd say it was alright. Barely getting my money's worth is still getting my money's worth technically. There weren't enough games for me to say it was any better than okay though. Just a handful of quality titles.

I got mine for Wind Waker and Bayonette 2, then got to enjoy both of those games. So I have no regrets.

Between Splatoon, Mario Maker, and Xenoblade Chronicles X, the Wii U was easily my most played system last year. I think Nintendo really knocked it out of the park with those three.

You know what's great about it and took me a while to realize? Portability. When my friends and I get together it's never too much of a hassle to bring the Wii U so we can play smash or Mario kart together (not to mention whenever we do there's always an abundance of controllers). I can't imagine lugging my PS4 around (nor do I have many local multi-player games for it).

It was a fine piece of hardware, but the way it was named and launched completely botched any chance of very many people owning it, which just further botched the likelihood that studios could afford to develop for it. It feels like Nintendo didn't really know what they were doing with their console strategy after the rise and fall of the mass appeal of the Wii, and they didn't have much of an initiative to court 3rd parties back to their console. Not that I expect every game to have a port to the Wii U, but even on the digital storefront side of things, the only indie devs who released stuff on the Wii U seemed like people who went out of their way to work with Nintendo due to their own nostalgia. Like, I guarantee Shovel Knight sold hundreds of thousands more copies on PC than Wii U and 3DS, and I question how much business sense it actually made on paper to make Wii U/3DS initially the only non-PC platforms.

Even if they're not trying to compete in the same console space as the Xbox/PlayStation brands at this point (and they've distanced themselves so much from the 3rd parties that work in that space that there's probably not a huge chance of them reentering that segment of the market), they could still be doing better than the incoherent vision and poor branding of the Wii U.

I am of two minds on this. Very disappointed with the console. It was under powered. Only had a few great first party games, most others were not so good. Too many early 3rd party ports that were inferior due to its lack of power. The controller was rarely used in interesting ways. Online issues including the way digital purchases are handled. So many issues.

Nintendo consoles have disappointed me for some time now. The thing is, every one seems to have a few games I consider must play games. Mario Maker was awesome! The Wind Waker port was so good, it made me wish for a Skyward Sword port. Not very many, but enough so I cant see myself missing out. Thing is, every Nintendo console has at least a few of them. So I feel like I must have every new Nintendo console. They are there own thing.

One of my favorite consoles in a long time. Weird to feel that way about something like the Wii-U but it had DK Tropical Freeze, what I think is far and away the best Mario Kart, Mario Maker, and maybe my favorite game of the past couple years, Splatoon.

I only got my Wii U about a year ago, so I still have some catching up to do. Super Mario Maker alone makes the purchase worth it though, that was the only game we played on the Wii U for months after it came out, I'm sure we have hundreds of hours on that game alone.

Before Super Mario Maker was released I played through New Super Mario Bros Wii, New Super Mario Bros U and New Super Luigi U with my girlfriend, those are all great Mario games to play together. We're hunting for all the stars in Super Mario 3D World now. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is goddamn adorable, we 100%'ed that recently. Next on my wish list is Tokyo Mirage Sessions.

Wii U has really good games, more than the Wii, less than the Gamecube. I still kind of want one but the price will probably never drop low enough to make it justifiable inherently.

No

The Wii U is phenomenal, I use it FAR more than my PS4 and Xone. Mario Kart 8 is the best in the series, despite the disappointing battle mode. It may be a controversial opinion, but I think Mario 3D World is better than the Galaxy games and anyone who says it's not a mainline 3D Mario game is an asshole. Zelda remakes may be remakes, but they are damn good ones, worth replaying. Splatoon is a lot of fun, I played mostly the single player, but if you're into multiplayer shooters more than I am it could be worth your time. Mario Maker is great, that's well documented on this site. It has other games with their followings that I have never even played Bayonetta 2, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Hyrule Warriors.

Off screen play is perfect for a Giant Bomb user, we've got a lot of videos to half pay attention to while playing games or drawing on Miiverse.

But the best feature, for me, is Miiverse. It's now available on 3DS too, but wasn't when I got my Wii U. I understand it's not for everyone and it can be easy to dismiss it as a bunch of scribbles by dumb kids. No other gaming platform's social hooks have ever given me any reason to pay attention to use them. Drawing is central to this for me, there are some fantastic artists on Miiverse and I have made friend that we've built a community around drawing. but there are other ways people encourage community. Stuck in a game? Why not ask the community, get help from friends like the old days of games of games instead of googling it? Post screenshots, share dumb jokes, Miiverse is the best social network as far as I'm concerned. I hope it lives on in the NX and more people give it a shot.

Mario Maker alone makes me believe the Wii U was a great console. Bayonetta 2, Splatoon, Xenoblade, and Wind Waker HD among others make it maybe my favorite of the current gen.

I haven't even played half of Nintendo's major releases on the system, but in my eyes, for what I paid (2nd hand from a friend), it was a pretty worthy purchase, and I still use it to this day for Mario Maker. And I'm planning on using it at least two more times in the future with Zelda Breath of the Wild and Yooka-Laylee... I've gotten a pretty good amount of gameplay out of it, and I haven't even played Pikmin 3 yet, or any of the Kirby or Yoshi games, so I'm sure I'll have that to look forward to when I'm struggling to find new shit to play.

SMT x FE came out on WiiU along with Xenoblade and Monster Hunter 3U. Those three are better than anything else that's come out in the recent years as a console exclusive (in my opinion of course)

I really enjoyed the games I played on it, but there weren't many. I'm still kinda waiting for some stuff to hit the "Selects" line before picking them up, but it's kinda sad how little use I ended up getting out of it compared to every other console I've owned. Hell, I even got more use out of my Vita and I haven't played anything on that system in nearly a year.

Lots could have been done better with the system, however, between -

Super Mario Maker, ZombiU , Pikmin 3, Wind Waker, Breath of the Wild, Xenoblade Chronicls X, Mario Kart 8, Bayonetta 2, Rayman Legends, New Super Mario U, Super Mario 3D World, Shovel Knight, Splatoon, Child of Light, SMG x FE, Steamworld Dig, Hyrule Warriors....

Yeah, I think I more than got my money worth.

Yes.

I never ended up buying one even though I always intended to (and still do if NX isn't backwards compatible.)

For me the issue wasn't the graphics but the terrible digital rights management stuff and the fact that the price never dropped. As a non-owner I am impressed by Wii U's supply of exclusive games, and some of the features, but the system ultimately never seemed to know what it was doing. The gamepad seems underutilized, the virtual console offerings are anemic, and the offerings this year have seemed virtually non-existent.

It feels like a successor to the N64 to me. Weird controller, some great games but a pretty small library, long release droughts, and just doing something totally different from its competitor consoles.

I'm not a Nintendo fan, so if you were to ignore most of what the Wii U has to offer there's maybe 2 or 3 games i'm interested in, which means i won't get to play Bayonetta 2 until like 2020.

Yeah. It is my favorite console of the current generation.

Also, I am surprised that I didn't hear anyone talking about Tag Climax in Bayonetta 2. Its maybe, one of the best add-on's to a single player game that I have ever played.

The only games I own on the systems are both the Bayonettas (technically one game?) and Smash Bros which I've barely played. It's not exactly been a great purchase as far as making my money back in fun, but Bayonetta 2 is a fantastic game. :P

When people make arguments why they like it, I can understand it. But it really isn't my thing. The only games it had that were my thing were Bayonetta 2... and that's it. Thought I would also like Mario Maker, but turned out I hated having 50 minutes of each hour be spent on poor/boring creations.

I think it knocked it out of the park when it came to first party games, but as a gaming system with lack of third party support it was a hard sell unless you really wanted those nintendo titles.

I kept telling myself that I'd pick one up when the price drops, but that never really happened so I never did. This is the first Nintendo home console that I skipped owning, but having a generation away from Nintendo seems like the right move in retrospect. I'm ready to throw down a preorder on the NX, and hopefully it has backwards compatibility so I can check out the Wii U's best games.

Honestly, it's one of my favourite Nintendo systems. I think its first party lineup all told is pretty damn good. It's certainly not a system you'd have wanted to own on its own during its life with its good releases coming at a trickle, but I've really loved most of the first party games that have been released for the system.

I haven't really enjoyed a nintendo system since the Snes. 64 had a few good games, and i bought a Gamecube for Resident evil 4(only to find it come out on ps2 a year later) but barely played either and bought them late in the cycle. Technically i've played the wii but only like wii sports and stuff like that, felt very gimmicky and thought about getting a wii u but the fact it costs more than a Xbone while being a weaker console means i'll probably never own one. Mario Maker looks great though as well as that new Zelda, Beyonetta should not have been an exclusive and i'd rather play that on a more 'modern" console, but none of those games really make me want to go out and buy one. The persona clone made me think about it though.

Every console has its detractors and people who think it wasn't worth their purchase. But at the end of the day, I can not remember owning a games console that didn't have a solid list of great video games to play. Obviously people judge on different scales how many games makes it worth it, but every system I've owned in the last 20+ years (most of them), I could name numerous games that left me satisfied with the system. But I suppose we're all different.

I would say the Wii U now is fine for what it is and if you like Nintendo games, it's got some great ones, but the early years for the Wii U were disappointing and the only games that really justified my purchase would be Splatoon and Mario Maker, both games being high on my list of favorite games this generation. To be fair, the Wii U had to follow the Wii which I had no problems finding great games to play and there were some really good third-party gems for that system have been forgotten or overlooked, something the Wii U didn't have.

As someone who owns an Xbox One, PS4 and gaming PC as well as a Wii U...I think I'm decently qualified to talk about it as a console compared to the others. The Wii U has had some of the best games in their respective genres this generation exclusive to the system.

Best racing game: Mario Kart 8...only thing that comes close IMO is Forza Horizon. If we're just going kart racers mk8 wins by a landslide.

Best character action game: Bayonetta 2

Best platformer: 3D world, wooly world, Mario maker, tropical freeze...pick one.

Best jrpg: Tokyo Mirage Sessions. Until Persona 5 comes out maybe, but this is the best traditional jrpg I've played in years.

There are places the Wii U lacks but its got some of the best exclusive games out there.

I own a dozen really cool games. That's what I expect out of Nintendo consoles these days, and that's what I got.

I'm constantly tempted to buy one because there are a handful of games I want to play but I can never get myself to pull the trigger. Especially now with the NX around the corner

They botched the launch of the console, but I have gotten more value out of the Wii U than i have any other game console since ps2. I've got a huge Wii backlog, vrtual console galore, and the few but solid first party wii u exclusives. I can see a person that has had Nintendo since the NES being disappointed, but the Wii U was a window into the world of Nintendo that I had missed out on, and has brought me hundreds of hours of joy. I shall treasure and defend it always!

i regret buying it i keep giving nintendo the benefit of the doubt since the n64 and they keep dissapointing me i'm definitly waiting for an NX price drop

Man people are still harping about how the name? The name has zero impact on the sales of the Wii U. There's no situation where someone would have bought it with a different name. All companies except Sony follow a similar naming convention. Grandmas probably couldn't figure out the difference between a Ninentdo and a Super Nintendo either.

Sure it's possible someone may have bought a Wii U game thinking it would work on a Wii, but that has no effect on console sales. The same thing happens with every console.

There are some truly good games on the Wii U, so yes, I think it's an okay system. Not a great one, not a bad one, just a-okay.

Based solely on the amount of time I've played my Wii U, PS4, and Xbox One, the Wii U would rank as my favorite console. So I'd say the Wii U is more than alright. I expect the PS4 to eventually unseat it as my favorite console of this generation.

For me the wii u was worth it for Mario maker , splatoon and xenoblade chronicles alone. It hasn't been nintendo's best system but I am still glad I got it.

No qualms about the WiiU. Its exactly what I want out of the machine: The machine with around 10/15 great exclusives, Smash isnt for me, and Im still looking to own DKC tropical freeze and Tokyo Mirage Sessions (and zelda further on). W101, Bayonetta 2, 3D World, Xenoblade, Pikmin 3, Splatoon are all pretty great. NSMBU is a great 2D mario. Mk8 , yoshi epic yarn and mario maker kept the kids busy for ages (as well as splatoon) he remakes/ports in ww, tp and bayo1 were fine in between. Wouldnt have mind a metroid, another good (j)rpg, consolesize fire emblem and zelda to come a bit earlier...but I got out if it what I wanted.

The Wii U for me was the first console that I was able to play among the current generation of home consoles, so my comparison lacks the obvious evidence that others have. My appreciation for the Wii U is based on the fun gameplay that I've had. This was the first time I've owned a Mario Kart game. I was also deeply interested to try Hyrule Warriors because I really dig hack and slash style of games. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker was a challenge for me, a challenge that I took on when in the past I would have looked over the game. I tried out how amiibos work and had fun with that too. I think I have 3 amiibos I've trained up in Smash 4.

I've also purchased Metroid Fusion and Fire Emblem on the GBA and tried those games for the first time. Having an easy to use eShop that offers these games is convenient. The next one that I'm looking at purchasing is Ninja Gaiden III from the NES. The Miiverse experience for me has been friendly, and I'm always impressed at the drawings that others like to share. My latest enjoyment has come from Tokyo Mirage Sessions, a game I hope other Wii U owners check out some time too. All in all, it's been a great console for me. I will probably pick up Paper Mario Color Splash in October and maybe the new Shantae game in September.

I think the Wii U was bloody fantastic. Bayonetta 2, Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, Hyrule Warriors, Mario Kart 8, Pikmin 3, Pokken Tournament, Super Mario Maker, Super Mario 3D World, Super Smash Bros., and Xenoblade Chronicles X are all great exclusives that still sit on my shelf, and I never even got around to picking up stuff like Splatoon or The Wonderful 101. Compare that with the XBox One and PS4 which I still haven't picked up as not a single exclusive has piqued my interest, and there's nothing there I can't run better on my PC.

The Wii U's issues were never quality, but quantity and marketing. 3D World is great, but a Mario game more in line with 64, Sunshine, and Galaxy is a huge hole in its library, as is the remaining lack of an original Zelda until next year. I don't really need to go into how Nintendo completely botched the marketing of the thing.

I'm a huge Nintendo fan, but the only systems I've skipped were the Gamecube and the Wii U. As much as I enjoy playing Nintendo games, I just don't think the system would even just satisfy me even on the most basic level of just coming home late a playing an hour of Destiny multiplayer. And even just mentioning the system to a brother in law, his first reaction was "Oh we already have a wii, do you want to barrow it?" Instead of "Hey, wanna play Punchout in Crisp 1080p on a HDMI cable?" which is how I would say it instead. I do believe I'll get one on the cheap since now my 3 year old niece has walked in on me playing Wind Waker and thinks it's the most amazing thing she has ever seen before. I personally can't stand the 480p blurriness on a 50 inch HDTV, so I'll do it for another zelda game yet again.

Taking into account the original Wii games I continued playing on the Wii U, I'd probably say that the Wii U was the most fun console I've had since the PS2.