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Reggie Fils-Aime: Wii U Was A 'Failure Forward' Since It Led to the Switch

Reggie Fils-Aime: Wii U Was A 'Failure Forward' Since It Led to the Switch - News

by William D'Angelo , posted on 07 May 2020 / 4,703 Views

Retired Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime speaking in a lecture at Cornell University discussed his time at Nintendo. ResetEra user Theorymon provided a summary of the lecture.

Reggie was blunt in describing the Wii U as a failure. However, he called it a  "failure forward" because it led to the Nintendo Switch.


The Nintendo Switch has sold over 15 million units in North America, which is more than the Wii U sold during its lifetime worldwide.

Thanks ResetEra.


A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.


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15 Comments
Zenos (on 22 October 2019)

That's a nice positive spin, which is also quite true. If the Wii U didn't flop as hard as it did Nintendo might have still chased the casual audience that was captivated by the Wii U.

  • +8
Vertigo-X Zenos (on 22 October 2019)

Captivated by the Wii, I think you mean.

  • 0
VAMatt Zenos (on 23 October 2019)

They are still chasing non-core gamers in much the same way they were in the Wii days. See ring fit and Labo.

  • +4
Zenos Zenos (on 23 October 2019)

@VAMatt Yeah, Nintendo cardboard and the new ring thing are definitely products aimed at the casual market, but the core system is more oriented towards the core gamers.

  • 0
Keybladewielder (on 22 October 2019)

Academic king

  • +3
Azantix Keybladewielder (on 22 October 2019)

preach!

  • 0
hunter_alien (on 23 October 2019)

It was the reason Nintendo remained with one ecosystem. Its a failure, and arguably the biggest failure in Nintendo's history. Period.

  • +1
TheGreatRanger1 hunter_alien (on 23 October 2019)

Would you say the Wii U was more of a failure than the Virtual Boy?

  • 0
hunter_alien hunter_alien (on 24 October 2019)

Yes. The virtual boy was a secondary handheld that was barely supported. The WiiU had the entire development muscle of Nintendo behind it, and acted as their primary showcase platform for 5 years. I would say the WiiU is by far the biggest flop Nintendo managed to release, easily outdoing the shamestain that was the Virtual Boy.

  • 0
Mystro-Sama (on 23 October 2019)

Ya, ok Buddy.

  • -3
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KLAMarine (on 22 October 2019)
  • -15