At the end of 2012, the staff here at Wii U Daily made several predictions as to what we’d see for the coming year. Now that 2014 is finally upon us, it’s time to look back at 2013 and see how many of our predictions came true. Some of these were off the wall silly, while others were rooted in more sensible territory. So without further ado, let’s dig into the last year of the Wii U.
10. Wii U Achievements
Nintendo has shocked us by remaining steadfast in the no achievements camp. Some games on Wii U have remedied this by including what are called accolades for that particular game, with moments that can be shared on Miiverse, but this is still not a system-wide achievement system similar to what Microsoft or Sony have for their consoles. Bummer. Perhaps this is something we’ll see released in 2014 as the Wii U heads into its second year.
9. Wii U cross-game chat
This was another prediction based on functionality that was included in other competitor’s consoles. The Xbox 360 was the only console of its generation to offer the feature, but now that next-gen is now current-gen, the Wii U is the only console that doesn’t have a party chat feature of similar caliber. The real issue here is that Nintendo’s online multiplayer isn’t as robust as its competitors, so perhaps when this is worked out we’ll see some sort of cross-game chat available on the Wii U.
8. Wii U homebrew takes off
This seemed like a sensible prediction since before we listed our top ten predictions, a homebrew channel for Wii U was already available. We figured the hackers would release it and people would get around to hacking their Wii U with the same ease that the Nintendo Wii was hacked last generation. That turned out not to be the case this year, as notable hacker group fail0verflow decided not to release their work publicly.
Nintendo probably breathed a sigh of relief at this, but that doesn’t mean the Wii U isn’t being hacked in other ways. Just a few days ago we wrote a news post about a group of intrepid hackers who have gotten the Wii U GamePad to work with streaming PC games. We’ll consider this one half-true.
7. Nintendo/Apple Deal
Consider this one rooted in the fantasy minds of twelve year olds everywhere. The prediction stated that Nintendo and Apple would reach a deal for iTunes to be available on the Wii U, which hasn’t happened. We’re inclined to believe that neither company is willing to work with the other, since Apple’s mobile devices are considered primary targets for the Nintendo 3DS.
You won’t see Mario on an Apple device and don’t plan on listening to your iTunes music collection on your Wii U, either.
6. Wii U Virtual Console
This one came true, as the Wii U virtual console was finally released to the public. The rate at which games have been made available has been nothing short of abysmal, and the catalogue is far from the “full-featured” catalogue we predicted back in December of 2012. Still, it’s here for better or for worse.
5. Wii U and 3DS cross functionality
This one also came true, in the form of Nintendo Network IDs being able to be utilized on the Nintendo 3DS in order to united balances between the Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS. Additionally, a Miiverse app was released for the Nintendo 3DS, making it possible to share screenshots and talk about Nintendo 3DS games on Nintendo’s social network. It only took Nintendo nearly all year to release it, but it’s here!
4. Miiverse on smartphones and PC
While we expected to have an official Miiverse app for the App Store and Google Play by now, we’ll take whatever we can get. In 2013, Nintendo made Miiverse accessible through any browser, so you can browse the service away from your Wii U. You still need a Wii U in order to create an account, but now Miiverse posts can be readily shared to other social networks like Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr. We’re still waiting on that official app, which is something that might come in 2014.
3. Brand new Nintendo franchise will be announced
While many people expected to see something new from Nintendo in the form of franchises, the company actually played the 2013 year very conservatively. We did have a few announcements for new games, including the much anticipated X game from Monolith Soft. We’re not certain if it’s a new franchise or not and it’s not directly from Nintendo, but plenty of people are really excited about it.
So how about Nintendo? Did they reveal a game with a new franchise? Yes and no. Yarn Yoshi is a new game featuring an old character in an entirely different setting, so we’re inclined to consider it a new franchise even though Kirby’s Epic Yarn preceded the game. Regardless of whether you consider this a new franchise or not, Miyamoto has stated several times that he’s working on something new for fans.
2. No news on Mario Kart or Metroid Wii U
Well, consider this one half-true. We got plenty of news about the new Mario Kart game for Wii U and even got to play it at E3. It’s an interesting looking game with new mechanics that’ll likely please the Mario Kart crowd.
However, Nintendo has been very silent about a new Metroid title for Wii U. Hopefully that’s something we’ll see in 2014.
1. Nintendo reveals Zelda and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Once again, another half-true prediction. While we didn’t get an all new Zelda title for the Wii U, Nintendo did reveal the remake of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker in HD form, leading to one of the biggest releases for the Wii U this year. It even launched with its own special edition Wii U bundle. Additionally, Nintendo revealed an entirely new Zelda game, though the honor went to the Nintendo 3DS instead of the Wii U.
Super Smash Bros. was also revealed in more detail and we’ve been getting daily updates on the progress of the game, including several new announcements for characters that will be available in the newest iteration of the brawler. The Villager from Animal Crossing, Wii Fit trainer, and Rosalina are perhaps the most surprising editions.
Overall, we did pretty well in our predictions. Some of them came true just as we predicted, while others were off by a long shot. Overall we’re pleased with the direction of the Wii U and look forward to spending another year with whatever Nintendo has in store for us.
