Skip to main content

Preview for the Wii U’s operating system update speaks volumes about Nintendo and its audience

wii-u-eshop
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Wii U doesn’t exactly operate by the same standards as most contemporary consumer electronics. The operating system can chug along, taking upwards of a minute to quit from a game to the main menu. Waiting a few seconds is not the end of the world, but we’ve been conditioned expect comparatively lightning speeds compared to the smartphones in our pockets. The Wii U is getting better, though, and Nintendo can prove it.

Nintendo released a video Tuesday morning demonstrating the faster operating speed of the Wii U with the latest firmware update planned for release in April. The video shows a Wii U GamePad quitting from New Super Mario Bros. U to the main menu. The newer firmware makes the transition in roughly half the time.

Complaints about the way the system works have plagued the Wii U even more than the lack of games for the system. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata had to issue a public apology for the system’s loading times and prolonged system updates that followed the Wii U’s release in November. When Nintendo announced new Wii U games in January, it made the April system update a centerpiece of its presentation. A firmware update from earlier this month laid the groundwork for what will follow as well.

There’s no two ways about it: Dismal sales prove that the Wii U is failing. The fact that a video demonstrating improved operating speeds for a game console even exists speaks volumes about the current technology industry. It shows that video game companies have to tend to an almost terrifyingly entitled audience that has become spoiled by modern conveniences. Consumers should remember that just because a machine doesn’t behave like an iPhone doesn’t automatically mean it’s bad. This isn’t to defend the Wii U. The console’s instability, its habit of locking up and needing to be rebooted, demonstrates that the machine was released before it was ready. The company shouldn’t have to release an informative video to placate needy fans and journalists. 

That said, the video also proves that Nintendo was woefully unprepared to bring the Nintendo Wii U to market. All consoles launch with scant original games – that’s not Wii U’s big problem. Everything from the console’s operating system to its digital distribution infrastructure reflect a company that isn’t ready to meet industry standards. The fact that Nintendo doesn’t offer a unified account for users to track their purchases in the eShop as well as their Miiverse friend network – the sorts of features that were in Xbox Live a decade ago – betrays Nintendo’s base incompetence in the modern technology industry.

Editors' Recommendations

Anthony John Agnello
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Anthony John Agnello is a writer living in New York. He works as the Community Manager of Joystiq.com and his writing has…
Nintendo is ending Wii U and 3DS eShop service
Photos of the 3DS eShops

Nintendo has announced the end of its eShop service for the Wii U console and 3DS handheld. The eShop will stay live on those devices until late March 2023, after which players will no longer be able to purchase games or download eShop apps and services for those devices.

After the closure, players will still be able to redownload games and DLC that they already own, use online play, and download software updates.

Read more
Latest Nintendo Direct ushers in an age of Wii nostalgia
The player throws a bowling ball in Nintendo Switch Sports.

If 2021 was the year of the Game Boy Advance renaissance, then 2022 is the year of the Wii. At this point, the Nintendo Switch has outsold the Wii, but it still doesn’t feel like the Switch is as ubiquitous with casual gamers as the Wii was. Meanwhile, the Wii is getting just old enough that it’s starting to feel nostalgic and retro.
If Nintendo wants to continue to grow the Switch’s userbase, these yearnful Wii fans need to be its next target. Perhaps that’s why the latest Nintendo Direct felt like a love letter to the Wii era by featuring games like Nintendo Switch Sports, Mario Strikers: Battle League, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. 
Nintendo Direct - 2.9.2022
Let’s go bowling
At this point, most hardcore gaming fans who want a Nintendo Switch likely already own one. While those 100+ million players will continue to buy new video games, Nintendo still wants to sell 23 million more units this year alone. If it’s going to accomplish that, it needs to entice people who might not usually play video games or spend hundreds of dollars on a new system. 
Nintendo was the most successful at doing this during the Wii era but moved away from this casual focus after the Wii U flopped. Focusing on its hardcore fans is what made the Nintendo Switch a runaway success right at launch, but we’re now almost five years in, and Nintendo is looking to maintain a growing audience. 
Making the Nintendo Switch even more appealing to casuals and non-gamers seems to be the company’s next goal. Nintendo Switch Sports recapturing some of that Wii magic is the spearhead of this strategy.
Its predecessor Wii Sports is one of the most successful games of all time. Even people who’ve never played a video game might remember the game from the Wii’s heyday. Nintendo wants a Switch in every nursing home, school, or daycare if it isn’t all ready, and first-party titles like Nintendo Switch Sports make that a possibility.
If the game catches on with casual gamers and Nintendo makes it a bundled Switch game, there’s a chance that this could be the Switch’s next Mario Kart 8 Deluxe or Animal Crossing: New Horizons from a sales perspective.

Wii Remember
Believe it or not, the Wii is over 15 years old. Young kids who played games on the Wii with their parents are now adults and likely have nostalgia for those experiences. Some may even consider it to be a retro console at this point. As such, it’s not surprising that Nintendo and other companies would dip back into the well of Wii-era IPs. It started with the Skyward Sword remaster last year, but several Wii-related announcements were in this Nintendo Direct too, which made it a real trip for those of us that grew up with these games on Wii.
Mario Strikers’ last great outing was on the Wii, and the sports spin-off series has been dormant for just long enough to where Nintendo fans are delighted that it’s making a grand return. Even Nintendo Switch Sports will trigger nostalgia for the millions of people who enjoyed it over 15 years ago.
Third parties are even taking notice. Aspyr decided to specifically remaster the Wii version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, which is an odd choice considering that a more polished version of the game existed for Xbox 360 and PS3. Still, the Switch is the only console capable of preserving that Wii experience, and Aspyr ensures that the Wii port doesn’t get lost to time. For players who enjoyed the Wii but don’t want to dig out their system, sensor bar, and some Wii Remotes, releases like this will allow them to satiate their nostalgia. While games like Xenoblade Chronicles 3 indicate that Nintendo isn’t abandoning its hardcore audience, it’s clear that the casual market is the Switch’s next great frontier. Many of the games featured in the February 9 Direct capitalize on a new wave of nostalgia for the Wii. Embracing that market and those causal players with these games might be the key to the Nintendo Switch’s continued success. 

Read more
Nintendo Switch Sports has a major Wii Sports vibe
A bowler takes the top spot in Nintendo Switch Sports bowling.

Nintendo has announced Nintendo Switch Sports, a Switch sequel to the breakout Wii Sports series. The game will once again allow players to assume a character and play a variety of sports using the Joy-Cons' built-in motion controls. Tennis, bowling, and chambara are returning from previous Wii Sports titles. The game will also include new sports such as volleyball, soccer, and badminton.

Nintendo Switch Sports will launch on April 29, 2022.

Read more