opa wrote:The Wii U is losing Mario 3D World. These are some sad times for the poor Wii U. About the only notable game I can think of still remaining is Xenoblade Chronicles X which, let's face it, is ultimately going to be ported at some point.
Nintendo definitely fumbled with the handling of the Wii U but I think it speaks volumes of its quality that some of the popular Switch games are ports. Honestly, I wonder where the Switch would be without the back catalog of the Wii U to re-release. Breath of the Wild and Mario Kart 8 were some heavy hitters that helped sell systems while people waited for new releases. (Although, iirc BotW was delayed because of the Switch but whatever)
The U had a very fast life cycle, had it sold more and been supported for the normal length of time all of the Switch ports probably would have just stayed on the U. The Switch would have then got it's own new games for each series, as would be typical for a new Nintendo console. This is just an odd situation. Nintendo pretty much threw up a white flag for the U, made a new console and ported the best games to it.
It does suck though that the Switch isn't a total replacement for the U. If only you could use the Switch's touchscreen in addition to playing on the TV, it could then replicate the U's experience. This isn't needed for a lot of games, which is why ports to the Switch are great. But certain games, having the dual screens really made a unique experience.
Wind Waker - The gamepad touch screen was your map and item selection screen. You could check the map or switch items on the fly, without having to the pause the game. If they ported it to the Switch, they'd have to return to the way it was handled on the Gamecube and pretty much every other console Zelda. Also, Tingle bottles.
Super Mario Maker - Having the stylus and the touch screen was PERFECT for this type of game. You can do this for the sequel on the Switch, but only in handheld mode. The first game on the U, it was amazing being able to build your level with the stylus and touchscreen, then look up at the TV screen to play test it. Having the touchscreen to build levels was so intuitive that I can't even bring myself to play the sequel without them. I know I can build the levels in handheld mode and use the touchscreen, but then I can play the levels on the TV without getting up to dock it.
Captain Toad's Treasure Tracker - This game is mostly the same experience on the Switch. But there was at least one level that I realized plays a lot better on the Wii U. The level that's pretty much a rail shooter, where you're in a mine cart on tracks and have to aim and shoot at stuff. This played great on the U because of the motion aiming. On the Switch, you have to aim with the joystick which makes the aiming harder. And having the aiming be harder makes it less enjoyable.
