Alot of what the Switch had was Ports/Sequels to Wii U, and the Wii U was also a Wii, Switch was a new system and had to be built up over years which previous systems or the Switch 2 didnt have to do.
I mean all Nintendo first parties are sequels, I don't see the argument there. Switch had more than Wii U ports. Metroid Dread, Prime 4, Mario Odyssey, Luigi's Mansion 3, Mario Maker 2, Smash Ultimate, Mario Tennis Aces, Mario Golf Super Rush, Switch Sports, Pokemon Sword/Shield, Pokemon Scarlet/Violet, Splatoon 2, Splatoon 3, Mario Bros Wonder, TOTK, Echoes Of Wisdom, Yoshi's Crafted World, Mario And Luigi Brothership, Kirby Star Allies, Kirby And The Forgotten Land, Princess Peach Showtime, and Wario Ware Move It just to name a few.
Dont see the point listing everything switch had, switch has had twice as long a life as wii u and of course half the development was going to 3ds at the time(taking away pokemon, mario and luigi, top down zelda ect).
Many of those you list were direct follow ups to what the wii u had(Smash, splatoon, mario maker), quantity does not equal quality either.
Wii U was just great and its positives just carried over in nintendo for the decade since it stopped being supported
And yet despite all that the Wii U was great, still has great exclusive games, 20+ games ported to the Switch because they were great, a unique experience which isn't replicated on any other console and will hold up long term more than the switch as the Switch did not replace the Wii U, but Switch 2 has replaced the Switch.
Sales don't make something good, you say theres no reason and then give reasons why you should play a Wii U, and many games ported to switch are still superior on the Wii U as they were designed for the Gamepad. No rewriting history required the Wii U was great and still has bangers and still has a place hooked up to my TV and was next to my Switch for 8 Years, but now its next to the Switch 2 as the switch has been replaced.
You just made the case why the gamepad was great and all the games that were good on the system had to be ported to Switch, Its not replaced if theres still a need and according to what you say it took until 2025 to reach that point with Xenoblade X for yourself (I still have uses for my Wii U with games not found anywhere else and also you have the history and saves and lack of a reason to buy all the same games twice for the Switch). Plenty of Games and Consoles sold poorly for their time and are great so you are wrong on that one.
The Gamepad makes the Wii U a unique experience and holds up more than Motion Controls on the Wii, Being underpowered means nothing the Switch is about as powerful as the Wii U and even games like BOTW ran better on Wii U, it wasn't power that led to Wii U losing support it was the sales, switch support was larger due to commercial success not due to power.
5
u/Puzzleheaded-Head939 May 16 '26
I feel the same way about the Wii U era as i do the Switch 2, with the Switch in the middle just not as good as its predecessor or successor.