Nintendo cancels Wii U's 'Project Giant Robot' as it focuses on the Switch

By Gabe Gurwin February 2, 2017

Project Giant Robot Brought to Life

Diving headfirst into development for the Switch meant that Nintendo would have to abandon some of its earlier projects, and “Project Giant Robot,” a Wii U title first seen at E3 three years ago, is among the causalities. The game has been unceremoniously canceled, with no plans to move it to the Switch.

“We made this decision after considering our overall product and development strategy,” Nintendo said in a statement to Polygon.

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“Project Giant Robot” was a large-scale brawler for the Wii U, allowing players to customize their adorable, Transformers-like robots, smash cities, and battle other machines with slow, lumbering punches.The game never looked particularly impressive, though another underwhelming Wii U game, Star Fox Zero, was first shown off at the same time and eventually released in 2016.

This decision is in line with the company’s recent statements and actions regarding the Wii U console. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé confirmed in January that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild would be the last game Nintendo develops for the system. A short time later, production of the Wii U ended worldwide — at least it might become a collector’s item at a certain point.

For comparison, the original Wii also ended production shortly after its successor hit the market, but the Famicom, the Japanese version of the Nintendo Entertainment System, didn’t end production until 2003. That is about 17 years after it initially launched.

The Wii U, however, has been on life support for the last few years. Its initial launch sales were very strong — about as strong at the original Wii — but tapered off quickly due to limited software support as well as the arrival of both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Will you be mourning the loss of “Project Giant Robot,” or are your eyes set on the future? Which game cancellation hurt you the most? Let us know in the comments!

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…

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wii sports club retrospective boxing

It’s hard to find someone who was alive during the Wii’s heyday that hasn’t at least tried Wii Sports. It’s one of the bestselling games of all time, and its simple but accurate motion controls made everyone from young kids to seniors feel like they were an athlete for a few minutes. Those are big shoes to fill for any game trying to follow it up, and Nintendo Switch Sports is poised to reinvigorate the formula on April 29 with its reworked visuals and new sports offering.
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Pay to play
I was able to find Wii Sports Club on the Wii U eShop and download it for free. While free-to-play Wii Sports seems like a fantastic idea, it doesn’t last long. The first time I booted up the game, I had a 24-hour free trial to try any of the five sports -- tennis, bowling, golf, baseball, and boxing -- that I wanted. I got a bit of tennis and bowling in on my first day with the game, but didn't see everything it had to offer.
After that first day, it was time to pay up. I was given two payment options in-game that would then bring me the Nintendo eShop. I could purchase the individual sports for $10 each, which would give me access to them and their associated minigames forever. My other option was to pay $2 a day to access everything.
Although having to buy a $2 day pass several days in a row for an abandoned Wii U game wasn't really a wise financial investment, I was curious enough to succumb to this microtransaction and keep playing. Doing that and only spending around $14 makes a lot more sense than paying $50 for remakes of games I got for free with my Wii over 15 years ago. This monetization scheme doesn't seem like it was that good of a deal in 2014, and it definitely isn't one now when there are tons of cheaper or free fitness apps that people can get much more out of. But what exactly did I get for that money?
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I joined the Illinois club, but this didn't have a noticeable impact on my experience because Wii Sports Club's social functionality doesn't really work anymore. While it still tracks clubs' performances online, there's no good way to communicate.
Playing Wii Sports Club is a lonely experience in 2022.