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The Wii U Is Three Years Old Today

Happy Birthday, Wii U,
Happy Birthday, Wii U,
Happy Birthday home console,
Happy Birthday, Wii U.

For those who may not remember, the Wii U launched this day, three years ago — November 18, 2012. The first home console in the eighth generation of systems, the Wii U has received multiple accolades and critical praise over the years (along with inconsistent sales). The Wii U would later release in Mexico, Europe, South America, and Japan in late November/early December. Make sure to spend some quality time with your console today!

58 thoughts on “The Wii U Is Three Years Old Today”

  1. And I just celebrated it, playing Wii Sports on the Wii mode of the thing…
    Oh wel, it’s not it’s European Birthday, so mine isn’t celebrating yet.

    1. Rogue Master XenoRidley X3 ~*Proud Owner of a great PS4 & a great 3DS! Oh & I guess the Wii U is good, too!*~

      Doesn’t matter, though. It was first released on November 18th so that’s it’s birthday regardless of country it released in first. That’s like saying I’m celebrating my 28th birthday in America but in other countries, I don’t exist yet because I haven’t traveled to those places.

  2. I’m satisfied except for the Zelda U delay. Really. I get games for PS3, PS4 and 3DS as well. So I’m not complaining about the lack of 3rd party support. Although that would have helped the Wii U a lot…

  3. I’ll be celebrating by playing Metroid Prime Trilogy…I know, I know, not a Wii U game, but if I didn’t have a Wii U there’s no way I’d have Metroid Prime Trilogy, given the extortionate price of a physical copy of that game.

  4. I remember this day… Being sad that I can’t buy one!!!!! Anyway, even though I STILL don’t have one, I think its a great console and deserves more love. The only real bad thing I see about is no 3rd party support. It has fun looking, creative and innovative games. And the Gamepad looks like a fun innovation as well. I don’t care what people say about I’ll still buy it for games like Splatoon, Mario Kart 8, Smash Wii U (NOW WITH CLOUD THO!!!!) Xenoblade X, Wonderful 101, Yoshi’s Woolly World, Pikmin 3, 3D World, Tropical Freeze Hyrule Warriors, Captain Toad and more.

    1. Just remember, some of us had a WiiU when none of those games existed. No games existed… :/ It’s been a long, crazy 3 years!

      1. Rogue Master XenoRidley X3 ~*Proud Owner of the great PS4 & the great n3DS! Oh & I guess the dying mediocre Wii U is okay, too!*~

        But we both learned our lesson, didn’t we, though, Jaded: never buy a Nintendo console Day 1 again because Nintendo of today can NOT be trusted. :/

          1. I do agree, they were new to HD, but I think for as long as the Wii was out, they should not have waited so long to begin HD software development. I feel like it was irresponsible and Lazy. After upgrading my TV, I finally understood why a majority of the gaming community mocked the Wii. On a large, HD TV, it looks horrible…

            Anyway. Water under the bridge now. Like you said, they better get it right with the NX, just to salvage whatever fans left that want to buy day1 out of nostalgia. (because they sure aren’t doing it for any other reason.)

      1. Dude i love my Wii U really i do but it’s one step a way from dead sadly plus i’m going to miss my Wii U i really had lot of fun i’m not hating it if no regret of buying one i just want it al over i don’t longer want alle this complaining about the Wii U

      1. Those guys are so funny and talented!

        Also, I could swear there was another video of theirs linked to someone’s comment here on MNN these days ago…

        Anyway, they have a channel on YouTube, and the Luigi Death Stare video is simply awesome!

          1. Yeah, it was indeed Drybones!

            That Luigi death stare video somehow appeared on my recommended list of YouTube videos maybe last year. Since then I’ve been watching their funny stuff!

          2. I think there are like… 3? I hadn’t seen this one yet. They’re pretty funny, but I’m a little surprised Nintendo life posted it. ;D how did there commenters tske it? Oh man I need too bookmark all 3.

  5. I got my Wii U on release, unfortunately I can’t say that I’m pleased with it though. Within the first few months, it stopped working and I had to send it in to get it fixed. While it was out being fixed my house was broken into and one of my many possessions that was taken was my Wii U gamepad, which didn’t need to be sent in for repair. So I went months without playing my Wii U because Nintendo was charging $150 to replace the gamepad. I eventually bought one on eBay for $100 so that I could play Super Mario 3D World, which was a disappointment as a 3D mario game. The only real fun I’ve had with it were playing Mario Kart and Smas, which for 2 games, isn’t really enough to warrant my $450+ investment on the console. So, I will not be celebrating it’s birthday. On a more positive note, I will be celebrating the original Wii’s birthday tomorrow, which turns 9 years old!

    1. I’m sorry about that. Theft is never welcomed.

      I also hope you no longer have technical problems with your Wii U and find more games to play on it.

  6. Nifty. It’s a little sad that the Wii U isn’t having a spectacular run, but damn is it fun playing. Between Splatoon, Mario Maker, Smash and Hyrule Warriors I’ve clocked in more time on my Wii U than I have on my 360, which I’ve had 3 years longer. Here’s hoping we get a few more awesome titles before the NX sets in.

  7. LOL I love your little song… but I am happy with my vita. But I am in the market for a 2DS.. I might take a look at the WiiU. I remember the DSis.. so long ago lol… anyways, Happy Bday!

  8. I don’t why I feel like the Wii U has been realeased way longer, 2012 feels like such a long time ago -_- . Anyways, 3yrs and the only games I beat on my Wii U are: AC3, Bayonetta 2, Zombi U and Splatoon. Very sad….I really need to beat more games than this.

  9. So far its probably my favorit console. Its worth to own besides a PC because basically all games are exclusives. And often these exclusives are fantastic. Stuff like DK Tropical Freeze, MK8,Smash, Mario 3DW, Bayonetta 2 are all games that are contenders for best game of their genre this generation(upcoming xenoblade too??). Then there is also experimental stuff like Pikmin,Wonderful101,Captain Toad and Splatoon. Even the more casual stuff like Nintendoland is super polished and is a blast to play with friends, overall couch multiplayer is great on WiiU.
    And while technically it might be a weak console, the games run with 60 frames(!!!), look good and internet is free.
    Also the controller has the option to really make a game better (examples : WindWaker HD or Elliot Quest) and the option to play on the gamepad pretty much doubled my playtime on the console.
    So yeah its certainly not perfect but I love my WiiU and with Smash,MK8 and now MarioMaker I pretty much play at least for a while every day.

  10. Rogue Master XenoRidley X3 ~*Proud Owner of a great PS4 & a great 3DS! Oh & I guess the Wii U is good, too!*~

    I’m going to celebrate the Wii U’s 3rd birthday by… playing my 3DS AND PS4! After all, if all Nintendo cares about this gen is the 3DS & not the Wii U, why should I care about some silly little Wii U birthday?

      1. Rogue Master XenoRidley X3 ~*Proud Owner of the great PS4 & the great n3DS! Oh & I guess the dying mediocre Wii U is okay, too!*~

        It’s not the Xbone, that’s what’s so interesting about it. Although, I will be getting an Xbone close to the end of it’s life span when it’s cheap so I can play Rare Replay & Scalebound. lol

  11. Had my Wiiu for 2 months now. And I am about to sell it.
    The games just don’t keep me entertained for longer than 30 mins anymore and you it really feels like a step down back even when compared to 360.

    I’ll keep the 3DS tho

  12. I’ll nevr forget when the Wii launched. because it happened at the worst time of my life. Only a half month after my family all moved from California to the crap hole we now live. I was so depressed and homesick that I had a difficult time caring much about the Wii. Not to mention, I missed out on the Wii when it first launched, and had to wait the following week to get it at Best Buy. And the water pump in my car broke when coming home after buying it.

    I also bought The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess. But didn’t play it until 9 months later. Partly due to not being happy where I lived. All I played back then was Animal Crossing: Wild World. It helped me through that tough time. When I finally played Twilight Princess, I didn’t enjoy it all that much. But several years later (probably a year ago), I played it with my niece, and I liked it much more than I did that first time. Strange.

    1. I have just received Mario kart 8 splatoon pack which I got amazing deal and also bought hyrule warriors one of the best mixture of dw and Zelda universe didn’t get a chance to play having problems getting my old Nintendo Network ID still haven’t got my content back need to phone Nintendo customer support for help.

    2. HollowGrapeJ (A.K.A. Shampoo- Destroyer Of Girl Type Ranma & Akane Tendo And Soon To Be Married Wife Of Boy Type Ranma Saotome Of The Anything Goes Martial Arts School)

      Seriously? Man, I’m so jealous…

  13. I’ll take this opportunity to beat a dead horse (or @ least an inanimate, equine piñata; 🎈¡Feliz Cumpleaños!🎂).

    Dear Wii U,

    -Nintendo mismanaged your marketing.

    -Nintendo failed to nurture your Gamepad & your library.

    -Nintendo focused too much on your handheld sibling.

    -Nintendo failed to cater to their core fanbase through U, denying us Wave Race, F-Zero, Metroid, Sin & Punishment, Baten Kaitos, a mainline Fire Emblem (console-style), a mainline Paper Mario (console-style), Eternal Darkness/Shadow of the Eternals, Luigi’s Mansion, Animal Crossing (although works better as a handheld game, imo), WarioWorld… Also, delays (namely Zelda).

    Despite getting entries to other iconic franchises & a few awesome coups (Bayonetta 2), we wanted, we NEEDED more from U, more from Ninty. Indtead, HD remasters & DS ports became big releases. 😩

    -3rd parties treated you like something else, & poorly @ that, even as U were selling better during your 1st B-day than Xbox 360 (a popular platform) did on its 1st. U were thrown 7th gen multiplats, pricier multiplats, incomplete multiplats, too many fanbase-incompatible multiplats, little to no DLC, broken exclusivities, broken promises, unprofessional PR…

    -3rd parties, & the industry in general failed to cater to your fanbase, though they’ve been depriving every console of their ambiance (save maybe 1) since last gen.

    But for U specifically, they deprived us of Red Steel 3, Buck Bumble, Resident Evil Chronicles, FF Crystal Chronicles, House of the Dead, Super Monkey Ball, NiGHTS, Tales, Guilty Gear, Billy Hatcher, Soul Calibur, No More Heroes, MadWorld…

    Yet the high-&-mighty 3rd parties also deprive all home-console atmospheres of Prince of Persia, BG&E, real Final Fantasy, real Resident Evil, real Tomb Raider, real Silent Hill, Tenchu, Shinobi, Crazy Taxi, Bushido Blade, 2D MGS, Brave Fencer Musashi, Ridge Racer Trauma Center… Turn-based Strat/RPGs, actual Adventures, 2D & 3D Platformers, Shmups, Arcade Racers… Gameplay as a focus… Abstract, stylized aesthetics… AA… Sensible budgets… Exclusives…

    They’ve even left indies to pick up the slack w/ spiritual successors like Bloodstained (2D Castlevania/Metroidvania), Yooka-Laylee (Banjo-Kazooie), Mighty No. 9 (MegaMan)…

    The niche get nicher, & the graphics whores get whorier… (& apparently, the purest gets bitchier & more pretentious… 😞). Sorry, Wii U, U were born in the wrong climate.

    Belated happy B-day, Wii U 🎉. Many of the failures that surround U are the result of neglect & a tumultuous era. The 6th-gen boon, its promise of constancy, & what Wii clung to in 7th gen were either dead, dying, or reset when U arrived. It’s not your fault. But U managed to beat some tough stages.

    “The Life of the Party” 🙌,

    pother …👿

    PS: Your sibling will be born soon. Hopefully, Nintendo will learn from its mistakes w/ U & make a better child. If not, there’s always Atari Shock 2.💀 to anticipate. That should push everyone’s reset button. So fret not, I’m sure your lineage will survive, possible even thrive once again. If not, there’s always retro 🎮🃏🎱. Oh, & 📚.

    🍻 Aw, there’s 🍺, too.

    1. Rogue Master XenoRidley X3 ~*Proud Owner of the great PS4 & the great n3DS! Oh & I guess the dying mediocre Wii U is okay, too!*~

      Thank you! Every developer & publisher fucked the Wii U over so it’s not on just one person!

      1. Rogue Master XenoRidley X3 ~*Proud Owner of the great PS4 & the great n3DS! Oh & I guess the dying mediocre Wii U is okay, too!*~

        so it’s not on just one company!* Fixed.

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