This is an archive article published on April 23, 2023
Nintendo’s biggest blunders of all time, from Virtual Boy to Wii U
Nintendo, like any company, has experienced various failures and decline in its history. Some of its products were extremely unsuccessful, including the Virtual Boy.
The Virtual Boy was Nintendo's VR-like console that promised 3D gaming experience.
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Nintendo’s biggest blunders of all time, from Virtual Boy to Wii U
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For over 40 years, Nintendo has been the king of the gaming world. The Japanese company has given many hits, from Game Boy, Wii, Switch to the recent Super Mario Bros. Movie. Its games are playful, cute, and memorable. Its characters developed in the 1980s are still relevant and have a cult-like following. But once in a while, the “Apple of Asia” has given a few duds as well that failed miserably. Here are five of Nintendo’s most embarrassing failures.
Virtual Boy
Once upon a time, Nintendo had a big idea: how to bring virtual reality (VR) to the masses. It came with the Virtual Boy which turned out to be its biggest failure of all time. Back in 1995, Nintendo released its ill-fated Virtual Boy, a stilt-legged tabletop gaming machine, which offered stereoscopic 3D graphics. Unfortunately, the device was not a commercial success and was discontinued just a year later. Nintendo’s VR failure was mostly attributed to the game console’s high price, limited games, and monochrome display. However, the basic issue with Virtual Boy was that the 3D aspect didn’t add much to the gaming experience. Years later, Nintendo’s Virtual Boy is now a collector’s heaven. Despite being a commercial failure, Virtual Boy showed Nintendo’s ability to think out of the box and take risks to create something original.
Despite having exclusive games for the system like Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros, the Wii U was a massive failure. (Image credit: Nintendo)
Wii U
Pitched as a successor to the mega-hit Wii, the Wii U was a colossal flop. Launched in 2012, the Wii U was a weird game console with a tablet-like controller aimed at casual gamers. True to Nintendo style, the Wii U was designed as a home console that works with a main controller. However, the controller looked like a smaller, thicker, lower-resolution iPad. It’s essentially like a tablet, but users still need a base console. The concept was novel, as it brought new ways to play games but it never hit with the masses. The Wii U wasn’t a bad console, but what worked against Wii U’s failure was the marketing. Many thought the Wii U’s controller was a new accessory for the Wii, creating confusion in the minds of casual gamers. The Wii U sold fewer than 15 million units over the course of five years and was declared a commercial flop. Nintendo certainly understood why the Wii U failed to catch on. Years later, when the Switch hit the market, Nintendo acknowledged that the Wii U was a “failure forward” to its hit hybrid console.
The Nintendo 64 or N64 as it’s commonly known, was a technical marvel. It was a successful console, but an add-on for the N64 didn’t go as planned for Nintendo. At the time, Nintendo was in a furious battle with Sony and wanted to compete with PlayStation which came with a disk drive. Nintendo’s answer to the PlayStation dominance was the Nintendo 64 Disk Drive, or the 64DD for short, which offered an expansion for the N64 that could connect online and more data storage. The add-on not only looked weird design-wise but Nintendo clearly failed to communicate the purpose of the expansion slot. Just 10 games were released on the N64DD, partly because the peripheral took a long time to develop. When it did finally hit retail shelves in 1999, it was limited to Japan — and it sold just 15,000 units before Nintendo discontinued it in 2000.
Nintendo Fundraiser:
The e-Reader Crew are working with Hit Save! to create an archive for all 3000 GBA e-Reader cards in SUPER high resolution. They’ve already got most of the cards, and this archive would be a literal game-changer for Pokemon, GameCube, and GBA fans. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/MVzH1uwWaB
No, Nintendo never tried to make a Kindle competitor but did end up developing the e-Reader accessory for the Game Boy Advance in 2001. It was essentially a peripheral for the Game Boy Advance that allowed users to scan specially encoded cards in order to play games and unlock bonus content in certain GameCube and Game Boy Advance titles. The e-Reader was pretty unique, letting gamers simply slide the cards through the add-on accessory that would automatically upload the game or bonus content to the system. However, due to high price and poor durability of cards led to low sales of the e-Reader in the US. In fact, its European launch was cancelled by Nintendo after the lukewarm response received globally.
I think about the cancelled Wii vitality sensor add on a lot and how it could have been a cool device for things like horror games that could rely on player’s heart rate to tell if they’re scared pic.twitter.com/cwUsiW5V7J
When first teased at E3 2009, Nintendo made a big deal about the Vitality Sensor for its Wii console and its commitment towards health tech. The device was a fingertip pulse oximeter sensor for measuring the levels of oxygen in the blood and pulse rate. Nintendo has a history of pioneering fitness and health with its consoles and games. But four years after the announcement, Nintendo announced that its pulse-sensing Wii Vitality Sensor would never see the day of light. “After a large-scale test of a prototype inside the company, we found out that for some people the sensor did not work as expected,” Nintendo then-president Satoru Iwata explained in a recent investor Q&A. The product never shipped, and Nintendo too had moved on. Had the Wii Vitality Sensor been shipped, it could have been used within horror games to measure how scared you were.
Anuj Bhatia is a seasoned personal technology writer at indianexpress.com with a career spanning over a decade. Active in the domain since 2011, he has established himself as a distinct voice in tech journalism, specializing in long-form narratives that bridge the gap between complex innovation and consumer lifestyle.
Experience & Career: Anuj has been a key contributor to The Indian Express since late 2016. Prior to his current tenure, he served as a Senior Tech Writer at My Mobile magazine and held a role as a reviewer and tech writer at Gizbot. His professional trajectory reflects a rigorous commitment to technology reporting, backed by a postgraduate degree from Banaras Hindu University.
Expertise & Focus Areas: Anuj’s reporting covers the spectrum of personal technology, characterized by a unique blend of modern analysis and historical context. His key focus areas include:
Core Technology: Comprehensive coverage of smartphones, personal computers, apps, and lifestyle tech.
Deep-Dive Narratives: Specializes in composing longer-form feature articles and explainers that explore the intersection of history, technology, and popular culture.
Global & Local Scope: Reports extensively on major international product launches from industry titans like Apple and Google, while simultaneously covering the ecosystem of indie and home-grown tech startups.
Niche Interests: A dedicated focus on vintage technology and retro gaming, offering readers a nostalgic yet analytical perspective on the evolution of tech.
Authoritativeness & Trust
Anuj is a trusted voice in the industry, recognized for his ability to de-jargonize trending topics and provide context to rapid technological advancements. His authority is reinforced by his on-ground presence at major international tech conferences and his nuanced approach to product reviews. By balancing coverage of the world's most valuable tech brands with emerging startups, he offers a holistic and objective view of the global technology landscape.
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Despite having exclusive games for the system like Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros, the Wii U was a massive failure. (Image credit: Nintendo)
