[Bondi_Blue]

The Wii U had a rich feature set. Firsts for a Nintendo home console:

- OTB web browser

- OTB audio and video chat with friends, native support for 3rd party headsets

- real-time direct messaging (via Miiverse) notifications and other friend notifications via the home button LED

- Ability to view online status of friends

- High definition graphics

- 5+ player synchronous local multiplayer

- built-in Nintendo TVii service

- built-in support to use the gamepad as a TV remote

- eShop selections for mobile retro consoles (e.g. GBA, DS)

- background installations and updates

- accelerometer, gyroscope, front-facing camera, touch screen, IR sensor, NFC all packed into the gamepad

- full backwards compatibility with a prior console (Wii)

Not to mention, all online services were free to use. And those still existing, are still free.

Edit: As a kid, this was the first console that had just enough 3rd party support for me to enjoy games like Fifa, Need for Speed, and Call of Duty akin to an Xbox 360, while also hosting all my favorite Nintendo games. It was a fun system, even if it was poorly advertised and a bit awkward. But I enjoyed the gimmicks and I still use it, mostly for playing exclusives that never made it to the Switch.

[IntelMiner]

Minor correction. The Wii came with Opera Mini, aka the "Internet Channel" in 2007 https://learn-about-anything.fandom.com/wiki/Internet_Channe...

[Bondi_Blue]

My bad, I thought this was an optional install.

Edit: This is an optional install, not OTB.

[IntelMiner]

I remember it being OOTB on our Wii. Though we didn't get it until 2009 or so

[mch82]

Yes, Wii had a web browser and a JavaScript API for the Wiimote. I prototyped a simple web game for my Wii at the time.

[tiagod]

>full backwards compatibility with a prior console (Wii)

Wasn't the Wii, at least initially, compatible with gamecube? Mine even has gamecube controller and memory card slots.

[aquova]

Yes, the Wii contained full GameCube components inside, so it was able to natively play GameCube games. I think the later Wii Mini model removed that capability, but the regular Wii model was backwards compatible.

[SSLy]

Well, https://github.com/FIX94/Nintendont

[drewzero1]

Yes, ours had that. There was a door on the top that concealed four GameCube controller ports and two memory slots. We never had a GameCube but I ended up buying some controllers and GC games to play on the Wii.

[lostgame]

The Wii Mini - I believe only available up here in Canada; but actually fairly common up here - I think dropped GCN support.

Otherwise, all Wii models had GCN game, controller; and memory card support.

Fun fact: the Wii was a modified GameCube for a bit of its development cycle. Prototypes of the Wiimote with a GCN have been found.

[goosedragons]

There was a model before the Wii Mini that also dropped GameCube support. It looks similar to the original model but lacks the GameCube ports and the "Wii" logo is placed for horizontal orientation instead of vertical. It's sometimes called the "family edition".

The Wii Mini originally released in Canada but came to other regions later. Japan never got the GameCube-less models for some reason.

[dm319]

The article mentions that the Wii U had gamecube compatibility. I wonder how that was achieved? And I'm guessing it can't take the small optical disks of the gamecube.

[zerocrates]

The Wii plays GameCube games and accepts the controllers and memory cards, the Wii U doesn't. I assume removing the ports and the mechanism to load small discs in the disc slot were the main reasons for dropping it.

The Wii was compatible with the GameCube largely by being basically an enhanced GameCube under the hood, and the Wii U is kind of a further step down that same road with its "vWii" backwards compatibility mode, so it's possible to use homebrew to play dumped GameCube games on a Wii U natively, only providing some light glue to hook things together. It's not officially supported though.

[parker_mountain]

The Wii U could play gamecube games in wii mode, but it required jailbreaking and loading the images onto storage. So, I wouldn't say it was "possible" ootb.

[pasquinelli]

it could take gc disks.

[parker_mountain]

It could not take gc discs.

[Bondi_Blue]

Yes, my bad. Completely forgot.