Let's be honest, Nintendo didn't give us much reason to like it or want it.
- It had spectacularly bad software support.
- It was infamously hard to develop for.
- The controls for the system were, being generous, an absolute nightmare. You should not need an optional 60$ controller for any game to be mildly playable.
- Too bad for the above, you still need to use the tablet and/or Wiimote for most activities.
- The UI of the Wii U OS is utterly horrific and cluttered. "Keep It Simple, Stupid" is a good philosophy, Nintendo followed "Keep It Stupid, Simple".
- The tablet (which costs most of the system IF you can even get a replacement) is essential for function. No working tablet, no working console, even for games that won't need it.
- The tablet was horrendously low-quality, had an inexcusably bad, blurry, low-resolution screen, and no real range away from the console. It was a distraction from playing the game more than it ever was an aide or alternative for "portability".
- Online play in anything was painfully slow and disconnected constantly, just like the DS, 3DS, and Wii before it.
- FRIEND CODES.
- It lacked a Blu-Ray drive, which limited use hard for home theater (something Sony has been controlled since 2006's PS3).
- It lacked most streaming services because Nintendo are cheap as anything.
- WHY DID IT NOT HAVE A HARD DRIVE. NO ONE IS PUTTING GAMES ON A FREAKING SD CARD OF ALL THINGS. And sorry, an expensive, and slow as hell USB 2.0 External HDD DOES NOT COUNT.
I had I think five Wii U games. Played the hell out of all of them except Mario Maker, due to the awful online support of the Wii U (shocking for a company that still uses friend codes, I know).
Nintendo took FOREVER to support it. SSB4 and Mario Kart 8 were in its second year. Sorry Nintendo, I love New Super Mario Bros, and the U one was good, but that's not a system mover. SSB4 and MK8 would've been. How did they not learn this lesson from the 3DS? Which had no Nintendo support until like over a year in?!
And lastly, the biggest one why it didn't sell.
That name sucked. Parents and even less obsessed gamers wouldn't think it's a NEW console. Why would they? The Wii Mini wasn't new. The PS3 Slim wasn't new. The PS3 Super Slim wasn't new. It's literally the same name as their previous console with one letter added that tells you NOTHING. Wii 2 would've helped. Wii U? What the hell is that?
All this being said, the good games the Wii U had, were amazing. But they came late and still competed with the flaws of the console. And even the good games had severe flaws---MK8 having a horrendous and counterintuitive local co-op was agonizing. Ironically as they move to a fully widescreen console they have a LESS WIDESCREEN FRIENDLY SPLITSCREEN THAN EVER BEFORE.
This is getting off-topic honestly, I feel like you did it just to bash the Wii U or whatever.
"- It had spectacularly bad software support."
From third-partys? Yeah, maybe.
From Nintendo? For what the machine sold, it was pretty great.
"- It was infamously hard to develop for."
You are confusing PS3 with the Wii U, the Wii U was not hard actually hard to develop for. It was different.
"- The controls for the system were, being generous, an absolute nightmare. You should not need an optional 60$ controller for any game to be mildly playable."
Uh... the Wii Remotes were a great sucess, and the Wii U GamePad is easily the best controller ever made. It was full of features that any other controller doesn't even have... I mean, it has a touchscren, what else do you want? Lol.
"- The UI of the Wii U OS is utterly horrific and cluttered. "Keep It Simple, Stupid" is a good philosophy, Nintendo followed "Keep It Stupid, Simple"."
The Wii U OS is inefficient, due to wasting an entire GB of RAM for what it actually does. Not sure if this is because it has that RAM reserved for the web browser.
It lacks themes and may be a bit slow, but other than that it's pretty good. I prefer it over the Switch OS for example, but the 3DS is the one that have the best one.
"- The tablet (which costs most of the system IF you can even get a replacement) is essential for function. No working tablet, no working console, even for games that won't need it."
False, I use my Wii U from time to time without even needing the GamePad. It's true that some apps need it though, but if you need edit your system setings, just use Sys config tool.
"- The tablet was horrendously low-quality, had an inexcusably bad, blurry, low-resolution screen, and no real range away from the console. It was a distraction from playing the game more than it ever was an aide or alternative for "portability"."
You got a defective unit, I have a launch Wii U from 2012 and the quality is top-notch, it's working like the first day even today... and I was a very heavy Wii U user in the past years. It was not a distraction at all for the games that implemented the GamePad well. In fact, enhanced the gaming experiencie. Even the Camera was good enough for the purpouses it served just like taking a shot for Wii Fit U or some Wii U Chat, while not great quality, it was good enough for casual use.
"- Online play in anything was painfully slow and disconnected constantly, just like the DS, 3DS, and Wii before it."
That's because you have bad internet, played heavily Splatoon and Mario Kart in the past and didn't have those issues... but it was laggy in Splatoon, that is really annoying, and still happens on Switch (and it's pay, I didn't care that much on Wii U because it was free).
"- It lacked a Blu-Ray drive, which limited use
hard for home theater (something Sony has been controlled since 2006's PS3)."
Who cares? I mean, are you buying a console? Or Blu-Ray player?
"
- FRIEND CODES.
What? Wii U doesn't use friend-codes lmao. I'm starting to believe you are a Sony fanboy or something, like, you are not even informed about the Wii U and compare it to the PS3...
"- It lacked most streaming services because Nintendo are cheap as anything."
?
"- WHY DID IT NOT HAVE A HARD DRIVE. NO ONE IS PUTTING GAMES ON A FREAKING SD CARD OF ALL THINGS. And sorry, an expensive, and slow as hell USB 2.0 External HDD DOES NOT COUNT."
That's like asking why the PS5 and Xbox Series doesn't have hard drives either
"That name
sucked. Parents and even less obsessed gamers wouldn't think it's a NEW console. Why would they? The Wii Mini wasn't new. The PS3 Slim wasn't new. The PS3 Super Slim wasn't new. It's literally the same name as their previous console with one letter added that tells you NOTHING. Wii 2 would've helped. Wii U? What the hell is that?"
Problem was not the name, otherwise the 3DS would have failed because people would think it's a 3D DS...
The problem was marketing itself. Too mcuh focus on the GamePad.
But, like the others said, stop spreading bullshit and get on-topic, I even feel like you did the thread just to throw shit at the machine...