Sony’s PlayStation 4 turned one year old recently, and Microsoft’s Xbox One will this Friday, but Nintendo’s entry into this generation, the Wii U, has now officially turned two years old as of today.
Back when the Wii U launched in 2012, it was met with some pretty respectable reception commercially (selling 3 million units in 45 days), although it was roundly criticized for its untapped potential (exemplified mostly in its torturously slow and bafflingly unintuitive UI) and for its launch lineup (which in hindsight wasn’t even that bad, especially compared to the launch lineups for Xbox One and PS4). Over the next two years, even as third parties abandoned Nintendo’s console, Nintendo and its internal and partner studios have continued to provide what might be some of the best games we have seen in years, games such as Bayonetta 2, Mario Kart 8, Super Mario 3D World, The Wonderful 101, Hyrule Warriors, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, and Pikmin 3. Today, the Wii U stands as probably the most desirable next generation console, thanks to its extremely strong library and the fact that it remains the one console where you can buy a game and expect it to work, rather than facing bungled launches and pointless installations and updates.
The Wii U’s fortunes have started to go up this year since the launch of Mario Kart 8 as well, with both, hardware and software sales seeing an uptick, and more and more consumers expressing interest in the system.
With the upcoming launch of Amiibos, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and a stacked lineup for 2015, it looks like the console will continue to move from strength to strength.
Happy second birthday, Wii U. Here’s to many more.
