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History of video games/Platforms/Wii U

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  • A Wii U console with Gamepad.
    A Wii U console with Gamepad.

History

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A model Wii U at E3 2011.

Development

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The Wii U was proceeded by the very successful Nintendo Wii.

One gamepad prototype was essentially a screen with two wiimotes attached to it.[1]

Concerns were raised over potential forced child labor in the production of Wii U systems in 2012.[2]

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata sketched the idea for Amiibo while riding a bullet train (Shinkansen) to Tokyo in the later part of 2013.[3][4]

Launch

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The Wii U logotype.
I actually am baffled by it, I don’t think it’s going to be a big success.
—Nolan K. Bushnell, New York Times article, 2012[5]

Pricing

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The typical MSRP of games raised to $59.99, up from $49.99 for Wii games.[6]

At launch in 2012 the 8GB Basic Wii U cost $299.99 and the 32GB Deluxe Wii U cost $349.99.[6]

Stagnation

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By January 2013 the Wii U had notably poor market performance in the United States, having only sold between 50,000 and 59,000 consoles.[7][8] Nintendo reported much lower sales of the Wii U then expected in 2014, leading to financial worries.[9]

In 2015, Nintendo Amiibo sales were very high.[10]

In 2015, Nintendo withdrew from the Brazilian market.[11]

Legacy

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Production of the Wii U ended in January of 2017.[12][13] 13.56 million Wii U consoles and 103.21 million Wii U games were sold over the course of the system.[14]

The Wii U was succeeded by the Nintendo Switch, and eventually many Wii U exclusives were ported to that console.

In 2020 some sought out older Wii U consoles due to shortages of the Nintendo Switch during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.[15]

Technology

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Compute

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The Wii U is powered by a three core 32-bit IBM Power-PC 750 CPU clocked at 1.243125 gigahertz and produced on a 45 nanometer SOI process.[16][17][18] This is complemented by an AMD Radeon GPU clocked at 549.999755 megahertz, which is similar to the AMD RV770 GPU series (HD 4000) and built on a 40 nanometer process supporting up to 1080p output.[16][17][18][19] The GPU has 320 stream processors, 16 texture mapping units, and eight render output units.[19] Both processors have access to 4 gigabytes of shared DDR3-1600 RAM with up to 12.8 gigabytes a second of bandwidth.[18] Though the hardware was underpowered for its time, careful consideration to memory hierarchy and interrelation between components eased many performance bottlenecks.[20]

The basic Wii U has eight gigabytes of solid state storage, and the premium Wii U has 32 gigabytes of solid state storage.[16]

Just as the Wii was often said to be twice as powerful as the GameCube, the Wii U is said to be roughly thrice as powerful as the Wii. Some also compare the power of the Wii U to that of the Xbox 360. While not necessarily true, these can be useful generalizations.

Console Hardware

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As the wireless gamepad is a critical part of the Wii U, the system sports a relatively feature rich radio suite. The Wii U supports 2.4 gigahertz Wi-Fi b/g/n.[16][18][21] The Wii U has an additional Wi-Fi N controller to Miracast to the GamePad.[18]

The Wii U has an optical disk reader which uses 25 gigabyte capacity disks with rounded edges and has read speeds of up to 22 megabytes a second.[18][22] These are essentially non-standard Blu-Ray disks, and as with previous disc based Nintendo consoles, the drive is incapable of reading standard Blu Ray and DVD media to avoid patent issues.[23]

The Wii U has four USB ports, one of which can be used with an external storage drive or thumb drive for extra space.[16][24] The Wii U can use SDHC cards up to 32 gigabytes of cpacity.[16]

GamePad

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The GamePad has a 6.2" LCD with a resolution of 854 by 480 pixels and a resistive touch screen that does not support multi-touch.[25][26]

The GamePad has an NFC radio built in to use Amiibo.[24]

The GamePad has an IR remote to control television sets.[24]

The Wii U could technically support two gamepads, though this was not pursued in practice.[27][28][29]

Other accessories

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The Wii U can use a USB keyboard, though this feature was not available at launch.[30][31]

Software

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The Wii U runs its own specialized operating system.[32]

Third Party Support

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Some third party developers, such as Team Ninja, noted the relative ease of development for the system, comparing it to consoles from the previous generation, such as the Xbox 360.[33] Other third party developers, such as Bethesda, noted that Nintendo did not approach them early enough for them to offer viable support for the Wii U.[34]

Manuals

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In the beginning, Wii U games had paper manuals, with Wii U games shifting to digital manuals around 2014.[35][36]

Special Editions

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Special editions and versions of the console.

  • Starlight Gaming Station - Kiosk for hospital use.[37]

Notable Games

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2012

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2013

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The Wonderful 101 at the 2013 Comic Con International

2013 was promoted by Nintendo as the Year of Luigi as the 30th anniversary of his first appearance.

Sonic Lost World

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The Wii U version of this game featured exclusive DLC featuring crossovers with the Zelda and Yoshi game franchises.[38][39]

Read more about Sonic Lost World on Wikipedia.

2014

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2015

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The Satoru Iwata memorial at the Nintendo World Store in 2015
StarFox Zero at E3 2015

2016

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Breath of the Wild at E3 2016

2017

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Nintendo Wii U

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  • A Wii U console from the front
    A Wii U console from the front
  • A Wii U console from the back
    A Wii U console from the back

Wii U Controllers

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  • The Wii U Gamepad
    The Wii U Gamepad
  • The Wii U Pro controller.
    The Wii U Pro controller.
  • The Wii U Pro controller, showing triggers.
    The Wii U Pro controller, showing triggers.

Technology

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  • The Wii U CPU (Smaller package) and GPU (Larger package).
    The Wii U CPU (Smaller package) and GPU (Larger package).
  • Clearer illustration of the same.
    Clearer illustration of the same.
  • Illustration of the processor with heat spreader.
    Illustration of the processor with heat spreader.

External Resources

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Wikipedia has related information at Wii U, Espresso (microprocessor)  and Wii U system software

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wii U

References

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 Parts of this page are based on materials from:
 Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia.
  1. ↑ Kersey, Ben (7 December 2012). "Nintendo details the history and prototypes of the Wii U". The Verge. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  2. ↑ Phillips, Tom (18 October 2012). "Nintendo investigating Wii U manufacturer Foxconn for using illegal child labour" (in en). Eurogamer. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-10-18-nintendo-investigating-wii-u-manufacturer-foxconn-for-using-illegal-child-labour. 
  3. ↑ "Inside Nintendo's Plan to Stay Alive for the Next 125 Years". Time. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  4. ↑ "Iwata Came Up With Amiibo on a Train in Late 2013". Gamnesia. 19 March 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  5. ↑ Wingfield, Nick (24 November 2012). "Nintendo Confronts a Changed Video Game World (Published 2012)". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  6. ↑ a b McElroy, Griffin (13 September 2012). "Wii U games will cost $59.99" (in en). The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2012/9/13/3328300/wii-u-games-price. Retrieved 20 October 2020. 
  7. ↑ Orland, Kyle (15 February 2013). "Wii U has historically bad January, sells about 50,000 units in US" (in en-us). Ars Technica. https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/02/wii-u-has-historically-bad-january-sells-about-50000-units-in-us/. 
  8. ↑ Matthews, Matt. "At 57K sold, Wii U's January performance is historically abysmal" (in en). www.gamasutra.com. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/186741/At_57K_sold_Wii_Us_January_performance_is_historically_abysmal.php. 
  9. ↑ Pfanner, Eric (29 January 2014). "Flat Sales of Wii U Put Nintendo in the Hot Seat (Published 2014)". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  10. ↑ Byford, Sam (15 January 2015). "Nintendo is selling millions of $12.99 plastic figurines". The Verge. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  11. ↑ Good, Owen S. (10 January 2015). "Nintendo ends console and game distribution in Brazil, citing high taxes" (in en). Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/2015/1/10/7524759/nintendo-brazil-wii-u-3ds-tariffs-taxes. Retrieved 26 October 2020. 
  12. ↑ "Wii U Production Ends Worldwide". GameSpot. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  13. ↑ "Nintendo Switch overtakes the Wii U". BBC News. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  14. ↑ "IR Information : Sales Data - Dedicated Video Game Sales Units". Nintendo Co., Ltd. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  15. ↑ "Why You Should Buy A Wii U If You Can't Get A Nintendo Switch". ScreenRant. 1 April 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  16. ↑ a b c d e f "Technical Specifications". Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  17. ↑ a b "Wii U CPU and GPU clock speeds revealed; not the end of the world, but not great either - ExtremeTech". www.extremetech.com. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  18. ↑ a b c d e f Shimpi, Anand Lal. "Nintendo Wii U Teardown". www.anandtech.com. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  19. ↑ a b Leadbetter, Richard (5 February 2013). "Wii U graphics power finally revealed". Eurogamer. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  20. ↑ "Wii U avoids RAM bottleneck, says Nano Assault dev". VG247. 5 November 2012. https://www.vg247.com/2012/11/05/wii-u-avoids-ram-bottleneck-says-nano-assault-dev/. 
  21. ↑ "Nintendo Support: Compatible Wireless Modes and Wireless Security Types". en-americas-support.nintendo.com. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  22. ↑ "Take a very, very close look at the round-edged Wii U proprietary discs". Engadget. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  23. ↑ Sin, Gloria. "Nintendo Wii U: No DVD or Blu-ray player? No problem." (in en). ZDNet. https://www.zdnet.com/article/nintendo-wii-u-no-dvd-or-blu-ray-player-no-problem/. 
  24. ↑ a b c Stein, Scott. "Wii U review: A fun system for kids, but you should probably wait for the Switch". CNET. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  25. ↑ Pierce, David (18 November 2012). "Nintendo Wii U review". The Verge. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  26. ↑ "Nintendo Wii U Review". PCMAG. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  27. ↑ Doolan, Liam (9 July 2022). "Reggie Explains Why The Nintendo Wii U Didn't Utilise Dual GamePad Support". Nintendo Life. https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2022/07/reggie-explains-why-the-nintendo-wii-u-didnt-utilise-dual-gamepad-support. 
  28. ↑ "Reggie talks about why Nintendo never used two GamePads with Wii U" (in en). Nintendo Everything. 8 July 2022. https://nintendoeverything.com/reggie-talks-about-why-nintendo-never-used-two-gamepads-with-wii-u/. 
  29. ↑ "Reggie explains why the Wii U never got dual GamePad play" (in en). GoNintendo. 8 July 2022. https://gonintendo.com/contents/6213-reggie-explains-why-the-wii-u-never-got-dual-gamepad-play. 
  30. ↑ "USB keyboard support". Nintendo of Europe GmbH. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  31. ↑ "Nintendo Support: Does the Wii U Console Work With Keyboards?". en-americas-support.nintendo.com. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  32. ↑ "Wii U Operating System". NintendoToday. 17 May 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  33. ↑ Souppouris, Aaron (1 February 2012). "Team Ninja: Wii U is 'very easy to develop for'" (in en). The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2012/2/1/2763225/nintendo-wii-u-easy-to-develop-for-team-ninja. Retrieved 20 October 2020. 
  34. ↑ Rose, Mike. "Bethesda: It's too late for third-party support on Wii U" (in en). www.gamasutra.com. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/199456/Bethesda_Its_too_late_for_thirdparty_support_on_Wii_U.php. Retrieved 20 October 2020. 
  35. ↑ Totilo, Stephen (February 5th, 2014). "Nintendo Is Slowly Reinventing The Video Game Instruction Manual" (in en-us). Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/nintendo-is-slowly-reinventing-the-video-game-instructi-1515814941. Retrieved 20 October 2020. 
  36. ↑ Totilo, Stephen (March 14th, 2017). "Even Nintendo Seems To Be Abandoning Game Instruction Manuals" (in en-us). Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/even-nintendo-seems-to-be-abandoning-game-instruction-m-1793260316. Retrieved 20 October 2020. 
  37. ↑ "Announcing the Starlight Nintendo Switch Gaming Station!". www.starlight.org. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  38. ↑ Diaz, Ana (16 July 2021). "Let us not forget Sonic the Hedgehog’s weird Zelda: Skyward Sword crossover". Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/22580065/legend-of-zelda-skyward-sword-sonic-the-hedgehog-lost-world-wii-u-dlc-crossover. 
  39. ↑ Farokhmanesh, Megan (26 March 2014). "Sonic: Lost World gets free The Legend of Zelda DLC stage March 27". Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/2014/3/26/5550670/sonic-lost-world-gets-free-the-legend-of-zelda-dlc-stage-march-27. 
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