Prices of Wii U games in the future..

I'll be the first to admit, I thought the Wii U was garbage when I got one in 2014. It literally sat in my closet collecting dust for several years. Recently I got it back out and have been having a ton of fun with it. Zelda BOTW is one of the best games I've ever played. Now I'd like to start up a Wii U collection. Do you think now is the time to buy? Even when it was an active system, they always had a tiny shelf of Wii U stuff compared to Xbox and PlayStation. Do you think these games will keep raising in value?

Absolutely. There's such a small library that complete collections are very doable. That's why there's games like Hello Kitty Kruisers and The Croods that go for $60+. They had low print runs and a collector needs those to complete their collections. I only see the value of Wii U games going up. 

Buy now while GameStop and Walmart online e still have preowned stock. I have been collecting for the wiiu for about three years and I only need minecraft Wii U and sky landers imaginators to compete my set. I see a ton of stock of those around so I'm hoping for some discounts. It's A Nintendo system so there will always be demand but if the switch takes off, a lot,of the best wiiu titles will probably be ported over. Mario maker is an experience you would on.y really get with the wiiu though

GameCube always had a small shelf space when the games were sold in stores too and look at the prices of those games today. Some of those are almost unaffordable at this point (ex: fire emblem is 100+, skies is 65+,etc). Even stuff like the Mario Parties are 30+ each. I think the Wii U was even less popular than GameCube so it's games will probably be worth a decent amount in the future too. Stuff like the special editions of TMS #FE, Rodea, and Xenoblade X seem to be fairly expensive now, they might become unaffordable later too. Anyway it's a cool system so I think I want to pursue a collection. I wouldn't go for every game though because stuff like Skylanders just seems like a waste of money because I'd never play them.

I feel like the Wii U simply isn't going to be remember as fondly as the GC was... the GC had a fantastic line-up of 1st party games, while two of the best Wii U games have already hit the Switch (BotW and MK8). I'm sure the games will go up in value, that's a no brainier since it's Nintendo. 

I had a GC and PS2 back in the day and I spent way more time on the GC than I did the PS2. I have a PS4/Wii U now and I barely touched by Wii U. Prime 1/2, Wind Waker, Sunshine, Melee, FE PoR, Double Dash, Pikmin 1/2, and Eternal Darkness simply outclass BotW (also on Switch), SM3D World, MK8 (better version on Switch), Smash, SM Maker, Bayo 2, Pikmin 3, Xeno X, and WWHD (remake).

Third party support on both systems were bad but I actually bought a quote a few third party games on my GC simply because they were just as good as the PS2 release or better, and third party support on the GC was fairly consistent. On the Wii U, I think I only have 2: Rayman Legends (Wii U is easily the best) and MN9 (it was $6) but that's offset by tons of great indie releases I guess (all of which I bought on the PS4 or PC, because they run better on the PS4/PC and Nintendo's online infrastructure sucks). 

Wii U is now becoming pricey especially their new games. When I bought one on table tennis, it wasn't very expensive then. But I do think it's worth it. 

Retroxcellance said:

It's A Nintendo system so there will always be demand but if the switch takes off, a lot,of the best wiiu titles will probably be ported over. Mario maker is an experience you would on.y really get with the wiiu though

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....and now that the Switch is very much a resounding success up this point, that does seem to be what is happening. This make me really wonder what will happen to the Wii U's pricing long term. If one can experience most of it's best games on the Switch, why even bother with the Wii U? The desirability of a classic console is exactly related to it's exclusive library. Even a commercial failure such as the Virtual Boy has games that command some steep prices because outside of emulation, where else can you experience those titles?

This will be interesting to see for sure. Mostly just out of curiosity though. Unless I'm really hurting for cash, I'm going to be hanging onto my stuff.

Squeegor 2 said:

....and now that the Switch is very much a resounding success up this point, that does seem to be what is happening. This make me really wonder what will happen to the Wii U's pricing long term. If one can experience most of it's best games on the Switch, why even bother with the Wii U? The desirability of a classic console is exactly related to it's exclusive library. Even a commercial failure such as the Virtual Boy has games that command some steep prices because outside of emulation, where else can you experience those titles?

This will be interesting to see for sure. Mostly just out of curiosity though. Unless I'm really hurting for cash, I'm going to be hanging onto my stuff.

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This WiiU conversation is very interesting to me. I have an almost complete collection of games (just waiting for Just Dance 2018 to drop some more). I'm skipping the special editions for my count because I don't want to pay the big bucks for the Hyrule Warriors, Assasins Creed IV, windwaker, or Mario Kart 8 special releases.

The dual screen with the game pad and TV is very unique and will most likely never be attempted again. Mario Maker, WiiU party, nintendoland, and kirby rainbow curse would be very diffcult to port to the switch. In the long term, I think the WiiU will occupy a place similar to the Atari Jaguar, a much loved brand but a failure as a console with a bunch of games that can be played elsewhere but a few desirable exclusives.

My biggest concern with the WiiU is the battery life on the game pad and the touchy nature of the disc reader. I missed out on getting the large capacity battery from Nintendo. The issues with a lot of the resurfaced gamestop WiiU games makes me feel that the number of usable discs will be very low going forward.

My final verdict is that the WIiU will be a console only for the Nintendo enthusiast that needs to have all the nintendo products or someone that really loves the gamepad technology.

I was bit by the WiiU bug early after picking a system and games up at BJs on clearance for cheap. After seeing there would probably not be many games released

Great question. Before all of the Switch ports, I would have said that the Wii U would be seen like the Dreamcast. That is, many of the great games would only be understood in hindsight. However, with the Switch ports, I think the Atari Jaguar assessment will become more accurate. That doesn't mean it won't be remembered fondly, but the prices probably won't climb quite to GC levels for those games that are (theoretically) common.

I misjudged the future of the Wii U a bit initially, but I can't see the prices going any further down than their current iterations. The only downside to collecting IMO is that a port will slash $10-20 off its value. Smash Bros and Pokken tournament, maybe even Tropical Freeze, would hold higher prices without the Switch. Also I would bet that Mario Maker will receive a new iteration, if not a straight up port, within two years.

I picked up

Mario maker with the slipcover and art book and Star Fox with the slip and a sealed Star Fox guard used from GameStop.

I am assuming these are probably going to go up in value because of it.

buffdrew84 said:

I picked up

Mario maker with the slipcover and art book and Star Fox with the slip and a sealed Star Fox guard used from GameStop.

I am assuming these are probably going to go up in value because of it.

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LOL- Star Fox Zero won't hold much value.Talk about a horribly done game. That one is definitely a good candidate for a Switch port with pro controller support.

With much of the Wii U's library either being ported or rereleased in better, more complete form, I just don't see how many of its games will hold value. That, of course, does NOT mean all Wii U games will stay in low demand. As we've seen with the Dreamcast, the "stranded" titles will likely see the lion's share of the collectible premium rise. I'm of course talking about games like Cannon Spike and Project Justice.

I've said this in other forums but I think the most likely stranded games on the Wii U are the ones that don't have the mass appeal needed to make it a worthwhile investment for Nintendo. Games like Game & Wario, Project Zero (aka Fatal Frame 6), Tokyo Mirage Sessions, and Nintendoland, Wonderful 101, and Kirby Rainbow Curse all lack the commercial appeal or made probably too much use of the dual screen for Nintendo to bother at this point.

Games like Pikmin 3, Xenoblade X, or Mario 3D World, on the other hand, are almost assuredly the next best candidates for ports. Frankly, those may be it since Nintendo has ported over pretty much everything else that has anything to do with its biggest stars, Mario, Link, and DK.