Is the Wii U a Future Classic or Destined To Forever Be a Flop?

[PGen98]

There is no question that the Wii U was grossly underwhelming as a console, it sold poorly, most people thought at first that it was just a Wii accessory that they didn't want to spend the massive money on, and third party developers very quickly gave up on supporting it in favour of Xbox, PlayStation and PC audiences.  So in that regard it is, and always will be, a flop; however, not all flops go on to be remembered as such, some become future classics (Virtual Boy, Sega Saturn, for examples).  Is the Wii U one of those consoles that, in your opinion, has enough going right for it to become a future classic?

For me, personally, I feel it has the goods to be a future classic.  It has so many amazing first party games available (and yes, most of those are now on the Switch), it was a fun console to play, the gamepad was a great tool that was quite innovative for its' time, and there can be no doubt that it's sold poorly enough that, in another 10 or 15 years, numbers will be low enough that it will be considered somewhat rare.  So, I'm going on a limb and calling it a future classic!

[Crazycrab]

I could see it being collectable in the future but I don't think that alone makes it a "classic".  You mentioned the Virtual Boy and yes, it's has value among collectors.  That's because it's quite rare, because it sold poorly, because nobody wanted one, because it was crap.  That's the case for most valuable collectors items.  

 

For me a classic is something that made an impact or had an interesting story to it.  Whether that be because it was ahead of it's time, popular, innovative, or even notorious.  I could be wrong but I don't think that the Wii U really did that.  It was just mediocre, not making any impact good or bad.  It just sorta came, went and quickly got forgotten about.  It will certainly be harder to find an because more valuable than an XBox One or PS4 down the line because there aren't as many of them around but a classic, I'd have to say no.

Edited September 10, 2021 by Crazycrab

[PGen98]

Fair points indeed, rarity alone doesn't make a classic, it just makes it collectible, you're spot on there.  The Virtual Boy was somewhat innovative, and that's why I consider it to be a classic.  There's no doubt the games were afterthoughts thrown out to try and sell a gimmick, but it has wiggle room in the innovation department to consider it a classic.  I do understand the other side of that argument, though, because it really was a gimmick that failed very, very hard. 

The Wii U I think is innovative enough and has a decent enough library that it could become a classic, IMO.  The Gamepad was a great innovation that, yes, had limitations, but we can see now in the second iteration (Switch) just how much of an impact it's refined version has had on gaming as a whole.  So I'd push it as a classic and not just a collectible.  On the edge of being classic, at least.

[The Blackangel]

As far as Nintendo consoles go, it's really hard to make one a classic. There has to be something extremely special about it. The NES for example launched us from 2 bit graphics up into 8 bit graphics. The games were so much more complex and detailed. The graphics were astounding for the era. The SNES introduced up to shoulder buttons. No one had thought about putting buttons there. The controller laid the groundwork for all future controller designs. The games were also innovative because they allowed us so much more range and so many options, that it's hard to match. There are games that debuted in that era (on Sega as well) that have led to blockbuster movies. The original Game Boy did the same thing for portable gaming that the NES did for home gaming. Prior to it, the only real option we had were Tiger games. Yet with the Game Boy, we only needed one console, and could carry cartridges with us to play different games. Then there's the N64. It brought us into the 360° view of gaming, which before was unheard of. Most people disliked the controller design (personally I liked it) but the fact that it was the first 360° system had people drooling.

Those 4 systems all gave something new and groundbreaking to gaming as a whole, not just Nintendo. That alone makes them classics.

Age is another factor. It also needs a bit of a "cult following" if you will, to make it a classic. For example, with about 3 game exceptions, I am a classic gamer. I play Atari 2600, NES, SNES, N64, and Sega Genesis almost exclusively. They are what I grew up on, and I still vastly prefer them. If you see me gaming, it's a 98% chance that it's one of those systems.

So there are several factors that go into consideration as to whether or not something has earned Classic status.