I think the Wii itself was fairly user friendly ... basically point at whatever you want to do on the menu and click :-). The controllers were brilliant for the time.
Three things did it in though.
The first was the piles of shovelware released for that system. During the last 3 years of that system’s run, the titles released were complete garbage for the most part.
The second was the decade old hardware it was based on. It was acceptable around 2006 when the system was released. However, by 2008, HDTVs were everywhere ... the Wii only supports a widescreen version of 480p. The graphics were terrible compared to PS3 and Xbox360.
The third was the terrible Nintendo network interface (maybe that’s what you meant by user interface). You needed something akin to a pair of phone numbers to find your friends online.
They screwed up with the WiiU in that they didn’t migrate to the x86 based systems the new PS4 and Xbox1 consoles are using. They had to have known where the industry was going. Had they made that simple decision, they would have gained a lot of market share as they would have been the first “next gen” console on the market by a year!
Also, while that new controller is interesting, there really isn’t much of a demand for something like that.
All in all, when they hit clearance prices, I’ll pick one up and place it next to my Nintendo Virtual Boy (what a silly name) console :-).
They were the first on the market and it yawned
I'm playing Wii Tennis, and I don't want my character looking like one of the chicks from the "Power Puff Girls" or "Dexter Laboratory" cartoons.
And yes, I tried streaming Netflix and Hulu on Wii and I would have had better success using an old Commodore computer.
I think you are right on everything. And I really do think tablets and mobile phones are hurting the old consoles to the point there won’t be room for the Big 3 and it might go down to a two system race or even one. Tablets and phones have really killed the portable game market too.
I see so many kids playing games like Minecraft or Candy Crush that it tells me it’s changed for good and it’s never coming back. There are a lot of junky games on mobile for sure, but once you find that hidden gem, there’s limitless replay value for very low cost compared to a 60 dollar console game.
There is also another (Andriod based) console entering the fold. https://www.ouya.tv/
I wonder what impact it will have, or not. At 99 bucks I think it’s a great buy, unless it’s of poor quality.
Wii was awesome. That was why it kicked the other two consoles buts for what 3 years after it first came out.
We were using my daughters Playstation 3 for Netflix (due to the lack of good games for it), but now that she has gone to college, the Wii is filling the gap.
Problem with Wii U is "what is the compelling reason to upgrade from the Wii?"
I kept hearing about "U" but never really understood why I should abandon the original Wii for the newer platform.