The Dark Age Of Nintendo (2012-2017)

The Wii U In Review

To conclude, the Wii U in itself certainly wasn't a bad system; in some ways the games it had on offer were far better than its competitors in the early days. Unfortunately when the PS4 and Xbox One hit their strides in 2015, this only accelerated the demise of Nintendo's least successful home console. When the final result had been tallied, the Wii U had only managed a measly thirteen million units.

Nintendo's CEO in America, Reggie Fills-Aime, reflected on the Wii U, saying it was a necessary step towards the far more superior and successful Nintendo Switch. Looking back, you can clearly see some of the DNA that went into that hybrid console on display. In the end, the Wii U's legacy lives on in the games that were moved over to the Switch in recent years. The Wii U's successor stands as one of the most dramatic turnarounds in gaming history, having already outsold the previous system within a year of its release. Some gaps still remain on the Switch in terms of online functionality and third party support, but a steady stream of quality titles has alleviated most concerns.

Nowadays, Nintendo's latest system has become their guiding focus through and through. It has supplanted both the Wii U and 3DS to become their central project, which has only furthered its success. The Wii U may be no more, but the handful of great games and Nintendo's overarching goals loom large in the gaming community. Here's hoping they don't find themselves in a patch like this ever again.