The History of the Wii U

The Wii U launched in North America on November 18, 2012, in Europe and Australia on November 30, and in Japan on December 8. It was Nintendo’s sixth home console and the follow-up to the Wii. Satoru Iwata built it around the Wii U GamePad, a controller with a 6.2-inch resistive touchscreen. Games could use that screen beside the TV, or run on the pad with no television at all. Nintendo called the split asymmetric play. It was Nintendo’s first HD home console, and it played Wii discs and most Wii accessories. The name and the pad confused many buyers, who thought it was an add-on for the Wii they already owned. The white Basic Set shipped with 8 GB; the black Deluxe / Premium Set had 32 GB.

The Deluxe pack-in Nintendo Land was a tour of the second screen. Later first-party games carried the library: Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8, Splatoon, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Bayonetta 2 and Xenoblade Chronicles X stayed on this machine for years. Mario Kart 8 is the best-selling title, at 8.46 million.

Lifetime sales reached 13.56 million, Nintendo’s lowest for a home console. Production ended on January 31, 2017. The Nintendo Switch followed on March 3 and carried the idea of playing away from the TV. Many Wii U games later found a much larger audience as Switch ports. The Wii U remains the console that put a screen in the controller.

Wii U Technical Specifications

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