Nintendo Wii U
Shares rank 21 of 29 game consoles by recommenders
Plays Wii and Wii U games and supports four-player family play; critics say its library lacked a killer app and the gamepad was limited.
Plays Wii and Wii U games and supports four-player family play; critics say its library lacked a killer app and the gamepad was limited.
18 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 11
- approval share
- 39%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 0.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Plays Wii and Wii U games
“For Wii it’s better to use a Wii U, because they support HDMI.”
Comment from 26 Mar 2026 in “You probably don't want to buy a retro console” “Wii U is even better since it can play all the Wii games”
Comment from 30 Oct 2026 in “My favourite PowerMac is a Nintendo Wii”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Few compelling games or killer app
“No one was particularly bothered by what the Wii U offered, even though it wasn't really compelling.”
Comment from 30 Aug 2026 in “Startup Anti-Patterns” “once you're past setup you don't really need it except for a handful of games”
Comment from 26 Mar 2026 in “You probably don't want to buy a retro console” “it never really had a "killer app"”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “Pac-Man, but You're the Ghost” Gamepad limited, TV-first design
“the Wii U failed by being TV first and handheld second, instead of handheld first and TV second”
Comment from 30 Aug 2026 in “Startup Anti-Patterns” “the Wii U Gamepad was highly limited in its capabilities”
Comment from 30 Aug 2026 in “Startup Anti-Patterns” “it didn't really feel good to use on a larger scale”
Comment from 30 Aug 2026 in “Startup Anti-Patterns” Gamepad and console hardware failures
“But the gamepad screen was broken and I couldn't sync the gamepad to the screen until I fixed it.”
Comment from 28 Dec 2025 in “So I started cloning the Wii U gamepad [video]” “I forgot that my Wii U existed until I remembered, hooked it up, and the NAND had gone bad.”
Comment from 18 Mar 2026 in “Microsoft's 'unhackable' Xbox One has been hacked by 'Bliss'”
Other game consoles people recommend
The four most recommended other game consoles, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valve Steam Machine | 326 | 240 | 58% | 12 | 1 mo5 owners | — |
| PlayStation 5 | 121 | 181 | 40% | 12 | 3 yrs8 owners | — |
| Xbox console | 62 | 212 | 23% | 12 | 21 yrs6 owners | — |
| Xbox 360 | 41 | 19 | 68% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Nintendo Wii UThis page | 7 | 11 | 39% | 6 | — | — |
What people said
20 of the 22 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“A bit too gimmicky for us. Doubly so for the Wii U.”
“We still have a Wii U for the family and still play 4-player games”
“Wii U is even better since it can play all the Wii games”
“No one was particularly bothered by what the Wii U offered, even though it wasn't really compelling.”
“the Wii U Gamepad was highly limited in its capabilities”
“the Wii U failed by being TV first and handheld second, instead of handheld first and TV second”
“it didn't really feel good to use on a larger scale”
“the Wii U gamepad was just waiting for powerful enough mobile technology so that it could break free of the console”
“it never really had a "killer app"”
“Would be amazing fun for PowerPC development”
“you can now use a Steam Deck or similar to replace the original pad”
“once you're past setup you don't really need it except for a handful of games”
“For Wii it’s better to use a Wii U, because they support HDMI.”
“I forgot that my Wii U existed until I remembered, hooked it up, and the NAND had gone bad.”
“The WiiU sold like crap! It was a disaster!”
“This didn't affect Wii, WiiU, Switch or Switch 2.”
“It works really well, except for not supporting the Wii U power button and not yet allowing button reconfig.”
“But the gamepad screen was broken and I couldn't sync the gamepad to the screen until I fixed it.”
“Microsoft evidently did not learn from the Wii U.”
“the absolutely insanely inadequate Nintendo Wii / Wii U decision making”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.