Jubenhimer
Member
Nintendo's Wii is one of the most iconic, if a bit divisive, platforms in gaming. With innovative motion controls, and broad appeal. The 100 million selling console practically saved Nintendo that generation, who was coming off of the lackluster GameCube. With such a hot product on their hands, how did they follow it up. By tossing out everything that made the Wii a success in favor, something bloated, clumsy, and 5 years behind every-other device at the time. I am of course, talking about the Wii U. While the Wii was Nintendo's most successful home console, the Wii U was its least successful, at just 13 million units sold worldwide. Yes, it was worse than the GameCube. Large parts of that has to do with its terrible marketing, outdated, over-designed architecture with an equally over-designed tablet controller. And while third parties originally backed it due to the strength of the Wii brand at first, majority of them packed their bags for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as the poor sales and dated architecture of the system wasn't worth the effort.
But let's say none of that happened, what if instead of the over-complicated mess we got, what if the Wii U was an actual proper Wii follow up that was successful? If Nintendo had common sense at the time, here's how I think it would've happened.
1. It's 2008, Nintendo is riding high on the success of the Wii. However HD TV's are becoming more common, and with developers starting to get better at leveraging more powerful consoles, the Wii's lack of AAA support starts taking a tole on the system's reputation. Many label the console as just a casual machine. Nintendo sees this is a problem, and immediately begins work on its next console. Nintendo gathers a small group of software developers to prepare them for HD game development. This will make sure the company is prepared for getting AAA HD games and engines out in a regular fashion. Yoshiaki Koizumi, Director of Super Mario Galaxy, is put in charge of the new platform. Iwata tells him to take what the Wii did well, but make it better. Koizumi assembles a team to prototype the Wii's successor.
3. Koizumi notes the diminished presence of local multiplayer on consoles, and wants to make a system that you can play with friends and family right out of the box. After months of prototyping, the final controller, two detachable remotes that click to a controller grip, and can be shared for multiplayer, is decided. Koizumi feels the Wii Remotes lack of buttons limited its versatility, and aims to avoid that mistake with the successor. For hardware, Koizumi decides to go with x86 as the main processor, and he and his team struck deals with companies like Epic Games to provide the necessary software and development tools for the system, which was designed to be as easy as possible to develop for. Koizumi sees the struggles of Japanese developers making games for HD systems, and wants to make a console that's as simple and accessible to them as possible. A scaled down Wii PowerPC chip is also included, making the system backwards compatible. Nvidia was chosen to provide the GPU, which is based on the latest Graphics tech from desktop PCs
4. At E3 2010, Nintendo shows the Wii successor to developers behind closed doors. Developers are impressed with the system's power, and innovative controllers. Saying its a natural evolution of the Wii. By March 2011, Developers already have dev kits for the console. Rumors begin floating around that it's around 3x as powerful as the PS3, and has detachable controllers with a base that succeed the Wii Remote, and have more advanced motion technology. Nintendo pulls back the curtain at E3 2011 with the final name, Wii Duo. Duo (meaning 2) signifies both the sequel to the original console, as well as its built in 2-player controllers. The Wii Duo Joy-Con controllers are shown. They can be used together in the included grip, detached for motion controls, or shared with a friend for multiplayer. Each has HD Rumble, and 3D IR pointers, the left Joy-Con has a microphone and headphone port. Games are shown from third parties including Darksiders 2, Batman Arkham, Tomb Raider, Tekken, among others. Nintendo shows tech demos demonstrating the system's power, and controllers, confirms its backwards compatible with all Wii games and accessories. It's slated for a Holiday 2012 release.
5. At E3 the following year, a pre-E3 Direct is held talking about the philosophy of the console, as well as how it builds on the accomplishments of the Wii. Miiverse is introduced. A social service that allows communities to talk about games. Pro Controller is revealed. Then at the E3 conference that year, Wii Duo gets a more detailed introduction. Tomb Raider 2013 is demonstrated, featuring superior graphics than the other versions, along with a new optional control scheme courtesy of the Joy-Con. Reggie talks about what makes Wii Duo different from the Wii, and says that it takes it to the next level. Nintendo starts revealing first party games, including 2 new original titles. One, a 2-player party game from EAD Tokyo, produced by system architect, Koizumi, showing the Joy-Con's two player features. The other, a shooter from the Animal Crossing team called, Splatoon, which takes advantage of the Joy-Con's new 3D pointer. Iwata comes on stage, says he's proud of what they accomplished with Wii, but feels they could do better. Says Wii Duo will unite hardcore and casual audiences on one system. More games are shown including Batman Arkham, Injustice, Assassin's Creed III, Tekken Tag Tournament, Final Fantasy (working Title), Truama Center, Just Dance, and more. More first party games are shown, including a new Fire Emblem, Wii Fit, WarioWare, and a rail shooter from Platinum Games. Miyamoto comes out on stage and shows off the long awaited Pikmin 3. The dual 3D pointers of the Joy-Con let you control 2 commanders at once, there's even a co-op mode by passing one to a friend. Releases in Holiday. Iwata comes back on stage, says they have one more surprise, a brand new Super Smash Bros. game coming to both Nintendo 3DS and Wii Duo.
6. Wii Duo launches on November 19th for $299.99. EAD Tokyo Party game is a pack-in. System releases to massive hype, with a diverse slate of launch titles. Sales outpace the Wii at launch. The remainder of the generation sees Wii Duo consistently getting first and third party games, including a slew of indie titles thanks to the improved eShop policies.
This is just a rough idea of what Nintendo should've done with the Wii successor.
But let's say none of that happened, what if instead of the over-complicated mess we got, what if the Wii U was an actual proper Wii follow up that was successful? If Nintendo had common sense at the time, here's how I think it would've happened.
1. It's 2008, Nintendo is riding high on the success of the Wii. However HD TV's are becoming more common, and with developers starting to get better at leveraging more powerful consoles, the Wii's lack of AAA support starts taking a tole on the system's reputation. Many label the console as just a casual machine. Nintendo sees this is a problem, and immediately begins work on its next console. Nintendo gathers a small group of software developers to prepare them for HD game development. This will make sure the company is prepared for getting AAA HD games and engines out in a regular fashion. Yoshiaki Koizumi, Director of Super Mario Galaxy, is put in charge of the new platform. Iwata tells him to take what the Wii did well, but make it better. Koizumi assembles a team to prototype the Wii's successor.
3. Koizumi notes the diminished presence of local multiplayer on consoles, and wants to make a system that you can play with friends and family right out of the box. After months of prototyping, the final controller, two detachable remotes that click to a controller grip, and can be shared for multiplayer, is decided. Koizumi feels the Wii Remotes lack of buttons limited its versatility, and aims to avoid that mistake with the successor. For hardware, Koizumi decides to go with x86 as the main processor, and he and his team struck deals with companies like Epic Games to provide the necessary software and development tools for the system, which was designed to be as easy as possible to develop for. Koizumi sees the struggles of Japanese developers making games for HD systems, and wants to make a console that's as simple and accessible to them as possible. A scaled down Wii PowerPC chip is also included, making the system backwards compatible. Nvidia was chosen to provide the GPU, which is based on the latest Graphics tech from desktop PCs
4. At E3 2010, Nintendo shows the Wii successor to developers behind closed doors. Developers are impressed with the system's power, and innovative controllers. Saying its a natural evolution of the Wii. By March 2011, Developers already have dev kits for the console. Rumors begin floating around that it's around 3x as powerful as the PS3, and has detachable controllers with a base that succeed the Wii Remote, and have more advanced motion technology. Nintendo pulls back the curtain at E3 2011 with the final name, Wii Duo. Duo (meaning 2) signifies both the sequel to the original console, as well as its built in 2-player controllers. The Wii Duo Joy-Con controllers are shown. They can be used together in the included grip, detached for motion controls, or shared with a friend for multiplayer. Each has HD Rumble, and 3D IR pointers, the left Joy-Con has a microphone and headphone port. Games are shown from third parties including Darksiders 2, Batman Arkham, Tomb Raider, Tekken, among others. Nintendo shows tech demos demonstrating the system's power, and controllers, confirms its backwards compatible with all Wii games and accessories. It's slated for a Holiday 2012 release.
5. At E3 the following year, a pre-E3 Direct is held talking about the philosophy of the console, as well as how it builds on the accomplishments of the Wii. Miiverse is introduced. A social service that allows communities to talk about games. Pro Controller is revealed. Then at the E3 conference that year, Wii Duo gets a more detailed introduction. Tomb Raider 2013 is demonstrated, featuring superior graphics than the other versions, along with a new optional control scheme courtesy of the Joy-Con. Reggie talks about what makes Wii Duo different from the Wii, and says that it takes it to the next level. Nintendo starts revealing first party games, including 2 new original titles. One, a 2-player party game from EAD Tokyo, produced by system architect, Koizumi, showing the Joy-Con's two player features. The other, a shooter from the Animal Crossing team called, Splatoon, which takes advantage of the Joy-Con's new 3D pointer. Iwata comes on stage, says he's proud of what they accomplished with Wii, but feels they could do better. Says Wii Duo will unite hardcore and casual audiences on one system. More games are shown including Batman Arkham, Injustice, Assassin's Creed III, Tekken Tag Tournament, Final Fantasy (working Title), Truama Center, Just Dance, and more. More first party games are shown, including a new Fire Emblem, Wii Fit, WarioWare, and a rail shooter from Platinum Games. Miyamoto comes out on stage and shows off the long awaited Pikmin 3. The dual 3D pointers of the Joy-Con let you control 2 commanders at once, there's even a co-op mode by passing one to a friend. Releases in Holiday. Iwata comes back on stage, says they have one more surprise, a brand new Super Smash Bros. game coming to both Nintendo 3DS and Wii Duo.
6. Wii Duo launches on November 19th for $299.99. EAD Tokyo Party game is a pack-in. System releases to massive hype, with a diverse slate of launch titles. Sales outpace the Wii at launch. The remainder of the generation sees Wii Duo consistently getting first and third party games, including a slew of indie titles thanks to the improved eShop policies.
This is just a rough idea of what Nintendo should've done with the Wii successor.