Wii U: Considering buying it but so many questions!

[FoxNtd]

Note: I'm mainly a retro fan with my library vastly dominated by NTSC-J formats and I thought I wouldn't go beyond the Dreamcast or DS regarding newer consoles. Generally speaking I greatly prefer the design and styles of the classics and it's also the era before DRM and dependencies on online services. I've been entagled with Japanese language for a few years now; I chat with natives in their tongue and am so accustomed to RPGs being in original Japanese format that I feel mentally confused or misguided when things appear in English (like a live stream or Youtube video etc.) Renaming of things due to localisation drives me up the fucking wall - long story short I'd rather stick to JP formats even for the modern stuff. I even run my PCs and phone in Japanese. >_>

That having been said I'm surprised that I'm considering getting a Wii U. I've been seeing a handful of players showing Mario Maker online and it's absolutely brilliant. Classic 2D Mario is great and having those elements come back with an infinite supply of challenges made by level creators worldwide is simply awesome. Despite how much fun this game looks I will never buy a console for one game. Especially a current gen console that has a big price tag still hanging from it. I've been reading wiki to get an idea about the Wii U hardware, particularly the game pad, and the list of games from Wii and Wii U. Shockingly I jotted down about 40 Wii game titles and 20 Wii U titles that looked interesting to me or will probably be things my girlfriend would also enjoy. I doubt I would ever own that many games for PC Engine yet I do have the Duo-R. :) I'd have trouble naming even 10 Wii games I would have wanted to play until today when I took a good look at what it had to offer. I never got the Wii because of input lag, not because it lacked fun games to buy for it; more comments on that below.

Major demotivating aspects: Nintendo is still region locking their stuff - even the 3DS which was a heartbreaker considering I bought a DS domestically knowing it runs JP games without modification... To my knowledge the Wii U hasn't been "jailbroken" yet but that's my first question. Can the Wii U be region unlocked at this time or am I stuck importing the console to get NTSC-J? I also hear that the language of the system interface is based on the region i.e. a US console does not offer Japanese mode. (This is lame, even Xbox 360 offers all languages, c'mon!) Other demotivator - Nintendo's bad rep with digital downloads and purchases. I don't trust them and I hate DRM with a passion (I will never use Steam for better or for worse) so I will probably refrain from WiiWare and VC completely. Only games printed on physical discs would be considered. That way in 20+ years I just need my discs kept safely and a properly working console to play what I bought. I play games over *30* years old so yes it's not so unreasonable that I might still want to enjoy a Wii U in 20 years' time. (Wasn't there a rumour that NoJ wanted to patch the Wii U firmware to lift the region locks in effort to improve business i.e. try to drive game sales up? Why has this not happened yet for fuck's sake!)

I don't know what to expect with a Japanese Wii U in America. How does it behave online? Does it connect to NoJ's servers or does it detect where on Earth I am and connect to NoA? What about service support such as Netflix? Basically what surprises are in store and what drawbacks are in store with this console? I don't mind how it connects one way or another as long as I can interact with the rest of the world as though I was using the domestically regioned console. Oh, how about this: will NoA honour warranty on an NTSC-J system or am I shit out of luck there? They have like a 20-year plan for service on their hardware but I've never considered making use of their services with any consoles since my stuff is not North American... Plus the classic consoles generally don't fail since their machinery is much simpler with few moving parts. :) Ah, I remember the infamous EULA update that Nintendo issues to all Wiis that you MUST accept or you cannot use your console anymore, period. And within that EULA was a disclaimer that Nintendo reserves the right to access and modify your console's memory and contents at will, without notice or consent, at any time at their sole discretion. This, DRM, and region locking piss me off to no end and will have to be acceptable "losses" if I choose to get a console. It's creepy that they COULD send remote commands via the Internet and brick my console if they felt like it. Another reason why I like to cozy up next to a SFC that evil NoA can never pry from my fingers. Now I'm just being silly. :)

Next question goes for Wii support. Allegedly Wii software is not 100% supported... but according to a random thread on GameFAQs (not so credible right lol) everything works aside from 1 random WiiWare game and DDR due to lack of controller inputs. Don't care about those exclusions, but I do care about INPUT LAG. It's what drove me insane trying to play the original Wii. I think before Wii U launched Iwata announced the input lag problem would be solved for Wii U. What can I expect with a Wiimote and the sensor bar via the Wii U? I tried Wii U for about 5 minutes for the very first time at a demo station at the store in town, and I used the gamepad with Mario Maker. I didn't perceive input lag but it's not a motion sensitive controller so that is expected.

Speaking of compatibility I assume all hardware that connects to the system such as ALL controllers (U pad, classic controller, wiimotes) and basics like the video output (I'd need s-video, or I could try HDMI with my new trinitron WEGA.... but I'd want s-video to keep this thing with the rest of my collection!) If all hardware is compatible, I could try to import the console by itself to reduce shipping costs and just buy the rest of the pieces domestically. Fucking region locking.

Models: U has 8GB and 32GB. Wiki says in June 2015 the 8GB basic console was discontinued in Japan. Granted I don't want to mess with WiiWare and such, do I care about internal flash memory? I'm sure I will fill it with Mario Maker downloads eventually lol. Wiki also states SD cards are supported and external HDDs are supported. If these external media are supported equally as internal flash, I couldn't care less about going with 32GB, and save a few bucks snagging the 8GB version.

Any surprises or recalls on hardware craftsmanship? The original Famicom with square buttons comes to mind. Software firmware issues perhaps? I saw a used Wii U on a japanese auction where the seller states the fan is making strange noises. Xbox RRoD and PS3 yellow light issues come to mind as well. Seems like modern consoles tend to have catastrophic failures early in their lifespans. If Wii U failure rate is very low then I can feel better importing it should I decide to buy it.

Speculative questions: how long can we expect online support to be provided? What is the state of Wii's online support, as a frame of reference? Most titles I would buy should not rely on the Internet much, but most enjoyment from Mario Maker is based on going online to get maps and such, so I have to think about this aspect too. Any speculation on price drops? Rumours about the NX are rampant and I wonder if we can expect Wii U to shave off another $50 or so from the retail price sometime soon, who knows? Reference point: I saw a bundle for retail at $300 last night at the demo station that includes a black 32GB console with Mario Kart included. Japanese Amazon sells the Mario Maker bundle for about $370 after currency conversion but I'm pretty sure prices are more balanced elsewhere.

Playing together with my girlfriend happens to be an important part of considering buying this console so that means understanding multiplayer support. Is it necessary to buy a 2nd game pad or is the classic controller and/or wiimote sufficient? I'm confused about input devices outright with this damn thing. Wii was almost exclusively about motion support via the wiimote -- now it seems they backpeddled a bit with Wii U, focusing on the classic style of control, correct? Hopefully the gamepad is not mandatory beyond the first player; not just because a "regular" controller should be cheaper, but because my girlfriend says the gamepad feels a little too big for the size of her hands. LMAO

I also don't understand the compatibility with the gamepad's display serving as the TV. Can this be done with any game that does not use the gamepad like the Dreamcast uses the VMU? What is the range on the gamepad e.g. can I go into another room and continue playing a game on the gamepad as if I'm holding a 2DS or something? How about the battery? They say the launch model dies in about 3 hours of play, but they added another 1000mAh or so in a revision to extend that to 5-8 hrs. (Thanks Wiki.) Is the battery swappable; how do I identify which model game pad is included if the retail box is purchased bundled with the console?

My apologies if I appear to have crawled out from a rock but I basically did. I've been hiding in 8/16-bit land for a long time and the era since Xbox 360/PS3 really put me off from modern gaming that I have basically ignored it outright, thanks for the hardware failures, DRM headaches, and large libraries of modern crap.

I'm still stunned that the original Wii has so many appealing titles. Much better than the jeux du jour from the 360/One/PS3/4 offerings I guess. Phew that is a lot to say but this is the best place to ask these difficult questions especially the cross-region worries. I'm hoping there are NTSC-J Wii U owners here too to provide the greatest insight. :)

[FoxNtd]

Shocked and surprised, I must say, it's fucking disappointing to get not even a shred of assistance knowing all the knowledge floating around this board could have trivially aided us.

Anyway, because of the wide assortment of appealing titles we did decide to make a purchase. We stumbled upon an American selling a Japanese 8GB Wii U and we settled on a good fair deal. Here's what I've learned so far:

The console assumes you are in Japan. Nintendo is clearly not doing geolocating. It would be painfully obvious my IP is in the States, I'm not performing any networking gymnastics to even attempt to conceal it. My Mii profile even suggests my country is Japan. There are no language options of any kind. The input methods are like what you'd expect on a computer or phone. You can even select phone-style input if you like it but the default is PC style keyboard. You can always type in pure Roman letters if you want. All networking goes through NoJ. All the online content is fed straight from them and even using Youtube treats you as the JP region by default, preferring Japanese videos first in channel/video listings. There was a minor revision update to the Wii U firmware and it did indeed download the "J" version (not like I had an option to choose anyway.)

The Wii U game pad appears to have a battery compartment panel suggesting the battery itself can be replaced. The pad comes with an AC adapter for charging. I purchased a Wii U Pro Controller (as you'd expect a US market controller works fine) which can connect to the console via USB for charging when needed, but works wirelessly. To be clear, the Wii U Pro doesn't work as a Wii Classic Pro as stated by Nintendo's user manual online, and it's purely wireless communication like the game pad, so no sensor bar. Sensor bar is only for Wii and its controllers. The game pad display can be shut off if you're focusing on the Pro controller, which is nice to save power on that thing.

Games have a chart on the back of the box identifying which modes of input are compatible. This chart covers the game pad, pro controller, wiimote, classic wii controller and even nunchaku. There is no question what you can use thanks to this chart. Well done on Nintendo's part to impose this on publishers.

We don't have any Wii hardware or software yet so I will have to return here later to comment on how they work. It's been a long time since I played the original Wii so hopefully I can remember that experience when I evaluate the input lag concerns...

[celerystalker]

Sorry you didn't get any help. I've not owned a Wii U myself as of yet. Probably will eventually, but I tend to gravitate toward arcade boards and cabinets when I have a large amount of money available for games, as the only thing really tugging at me on Wii U so far is Mario Maker, and I'm not convinced I want to tinker with that right now, as it seems that I'd have to commit more time than I want to right now... maybe when my kid is a little older, but servers will probably be dead by then.

[bb_hood]

Its worth owning just for Mario Maker. Its the only WiiU game I own.

[Tanooki]

I think your post slipped by on accident. I don't remember ever seeing it.

I guess I'll play the bad cop here to the posts before me. I would have said not to get it but you already did.

My problem is when I get a system I'd like it to have a consistent (albeit slower) run of games for me to enjoy and WiiU lacked that due to them pissing off third parties and them taking a walk. The Nintendo franchises are worth it alone if that's all you care about and see no issue with anything and everything they release as it could be enough if you supplement it with their downloads if you are into that. For me both were NO answers. I had one since it came out, dumped it about two years into it because everyone but Nintendo bailed on it and all I saw coming I'd care for months later was Xenoblade and then later Starfox which got delayed into this year.


The system itself I felt deserved a lot better shake. The tablet is cool, I have a little kid, so I could use my game and she got the TV still, but at the same time I think they should have ponied up more into the box and charged another $100 for it and brought it more up to spec with the others along with a better coding language so it wasn't a nightmare to port games to. They sadly gimped it to be barely better if coding rightly for it, than the PS3 which still is no slouch. I blindly/stupidly went into this gen hoping just to own the WiiU most the time, then get a cheap PS4 later for the exclusives, and now the PS4 (and 3DS/PC) is what I have for modern stuff which is a shame.

I'd address your other points but as you have it, kind of too late. :)

[FoxNtd]

Celery/bb, ironically, in case my OP did not mention it, Mario Maker is what spurred the interest. My girlfriend simply said why not just get a Wii U if you like that game so much, but one game is not a reason to get a console in my opinion. When I'm at my PC I should share what titles we selected for the console, to help find insight to those thinking I'd there is anything worthwhile to justify getting the system.

The word is the system is a failure, 3rd party support is terrible, etc. Listen even the FDS was a short lived system/expansion yet I have one, happily, with a great selection of games for it.

I just ordered Mario Maker, should be shipping out of Japan very soon. I'm curious to see how many items on our shopping list are first party....

Edit: totally agree on the game pad serving as a tablet. It's like the Dreamcast VMU but at maximum potential. It's really a shame developers neglected the console.

[kupomogli]

I didn't remember seeing your post either. I can't answer much because I haven't tried a few things but I can answer some.

Like Nintendo DS, Wii online is dead. There's no telling how long Nintendo will keep the Wii U online up, but the system has sold far worse than the Wii, so they may or may not similarly keep the online up two additional years after the launch of the NX after pulling it down.

You mentioned getting Wii U to play with your wife but also online. If it's to play locally then that's fine, but if you're getting a Wii U for online play then forget about it. I haven't played Mario Maker so I don't know how good the online is there, but the online on major titles like Super Smash Bros and Splatoon is as basic as they come. Do you want to play online with people on your friend list, you can with no problem. How about randoms? Sure. But if you want to play with both a friend and have randoms fill the other slots like you could even on the PS2, then gtfo because it's not possible(except for one specific mode on Splatoon.)

Using an additional controller for additional players is as simple as it is on any other console. Using an additional controller for player one is a major hassle, and depending on the game even more so. With Splatoon it's only possible to play using the Wii U pad because the pad acts as the map while in battle, another controller won't work at all. Monster Hunter Ultimate 3 allows you to use another controller, but in order to do so you need to start it up with the Wii U pad, go to options, and then change to controller support, which at that time the Wii U pad will no longer be active. When you start a new game and you have to enter text, you're required to pick the Wii U pad back up and use that in order to input text. Whenever you want to play online and you're searching for a room or creating a room and inputting a password, again, you're required to switch back over to the Wii U pad, but nope, can't use the pad any other time unless the option is changed. Whenever you turn on the Wii U, your Wii U pad is linked to the console and will turn on and stay on with the console, there's no way of turning it off, and it will be a second screen of certain games without any input and continously play volume unless you open Wii U menu while in game, you go to the options and then press the option to turn the Wii U screen off. Every. Damn. Time.

The Wii U can do off screen play with games, but not all games. Splatoon can't do off screen play as requires the Wii U pad as a map. Monster Hunter Ultimate 3 can do off screen play, but identifiers on the map and the item list are almost unreadable so it's a pain. You'd have no issue playing off screen with Super Mario Maker, Super Smash Bros, Super Mario 3D World, etc of games along those lines though.

I haven't attempted to use off screen tv play very far from the system itself but the idea of it is great. What I can tell you is that you don't even need the console plugged into a tv after the initial set up. Whenever turning the Wii U on, the main OS is displayed on the Wii U pad and so long as the game is playable off screen, you really have no need for the a TV so long as you have a power outlet. It's basically the only portable home console(without extras like the attachable screens etc on the PSX and PS2.)

The above is really all the information I can really give. I purchased the console as a sort of grass is greener on the other side with my disappointment of the PS4 software when I purchased it, but as disappointed as I was, I was more so disappointed with my Wii U purchase. The grass wasn't greener. It was a mirage and with the Wii U I'm wandering in a desert. Yes there are some good games, but not enough at the high quality Nintendo fans make it out to be to feel like I didn't throw money away.

What you could do is atleast wait for the release of the NX and see if it happens to use the same concept as the Wii U, offering Wii U backwards compatibility. I kind of doubt it, but there's always the chance. We don't know what it's going to be, whether it'll be a hybrid console or what, just rumors and speculation.

[otaku]

i am a fan of nintendo and its franchises and see this as yet another affordable and unique system from nintendo i look forward to getting it for mario kart smash bros and mario maker especially to play with the wife and maybe someday kids

[FoxNtd]

Thanks for your post, kupo.


I didn't remember seeing your post either. I can't answer much because I haven't tried a few things but I can answer some.

Like Nintendo DS, Wii online is dead. There's no telling how long Nintendo will keep the Wii U online up, but the system has sold far worse than the Wii, so they may or may not similarly keep the online up two additional years after the launch of the NX after pulling it down.

You mentioned getting Wii U to play with your wife but also online. If it's to play locally then that's fine, but if you're getting a Wii U for online play then forget about it. I haven't played Mario Maker so I don't know how good the online is there, but the online on major titles like Super Smash Bros and Splatoon is as basic as they come. Do you want to play online with people on your friend list, you can with no problem. How about randoms? Sure. But if you want to play with both a friend and have randoms fill the other slots like you could even on the PS2, then gtfo because it's not possible(except for one specific mode on Splatoon.)

Local multiplayer is the primary focus. I wouldn't be disappointed in the slightest if I never have the opportunity to play any form of online multiplayer whatsoever. In fact the inevitable termination of online support is the reason I am very shy about Splatoon. Looks like a great game, but I have seen *only* multiplayer, so unless there is a satisfying singleplayer mode...

To be more specific I want to have more cooperative, simultaneous multiplayer games, and a handful of Nintendo's titles offer exactly that. I think even Yoshi's Wooly World offers it? I saw one of the mario titles, maybe Luigi U, but one of them offers an invincible character for new/young/inexperienced players which would be helpful for my girlfriend to develop some basic Mario skills. (lol)



Using an additional controller for additional players is as simple as it is on any other console. Using an additional controller for player one is a major hassle, and depending on the game even more so. With Splatoon it's only possible to play using the Wii U pad because the pad acts as the map while in battle, another controller won't work at all. Monster Hunter Ultimate 3 allows you to use another controller, but in order to do so you need to start it up with the Wii U pad, go to options, and then change to controller support, which at that time the Wii U pad will no longer be active. When you start a new game and you have to enter text, you're required to pick the Wii U pad back up and use that in order to input text. Whenever you want to play online and you're searching for a room or creating a room and inputting a password, again, you're required to switch back over to the Wii U pad, but nope, can't use the pad any other time unless the option is changed. Whenever you turn on the Wii U, your Wii U pad is linked to the console and will turn on and stay on with the console, there's no way of turning it off, and it will be a second screen of certain games without any input and continously play volume unless you open Wii U menu while in game, you go to the options and then press the option to turn the Wii U screen off. Every. Damn. Time.

The Wii U can do off screen play with games, but not all games. Splatoon can't do off screen play as requires the Wii U pad as a map. Monster Hunter Ultimate 3 can do off screen play, but identifiers on the map and the item list are almost unreadable so it's a pain. You'd have no issue playing off screen with Super Mario Maker, Super Smash Bros, Super Mario 3D World, etc of games along those lines though.


I figured it was intuitive that games that rely on utilising the Wii U display with secondary output means the game will not support TV-less play. That's ok. I also suspect core operations of the console tie into a primary game pad which is why you cannot truly shut it off or unpair it with the system on (the console would probably interrupt the action and insist on controller reconnection). But for games that do not impose the game pad display as an output requirement, you basically have the freedom to set it down and play with a pro controller. Picking it back up for typing input makes sense. I fully understand how it might feel awkward from the usability standpoint, but I am sympathising with the design requirements of the hardware so it feels like the natural solution to the problem.



I haven't attempted to use off screen tv play very far from the system itself but the idea of it is great. What I can tell you is that you don't even need the console plugged into a tv after the initial set up. Whenever turning the Wii U on, the main OS is displayed on the Wii U pad and so long as the game is playable off screen, you really have no need for the a TV so long as you have a power outlet. It's basically the only portable home console(without extras like the attachable screens etc on the PSX and PS2.)

The above is really all the information I can really give. I purchased the console as a sort of grass is greener on the other side with my disappointment of the PS4 software when I purchased it, but as disappointed as I was, I was more so disappointed with my Wii U purchase. The grass wasn't greener. It was a mirage and with the Wii U I'm wandering in a desert. Yes there are some good games, but not enough at the high quality Nintendo fans make it out to be to feel like I didn't throw money away.

What you could do is atleast wait for the release of the NX and see if it happens to use the same concept as the Wii U, offering Wii U backwards compatibility. I kind of doubt it, but there's always the chance. We don't know what it's going to be, whether it'll be a hybrid console or what, just rumors and speculation.

The game pad can go at least a good 10 metres from the console. I started going halfway up the second flight of stairs in my house until finally the console complained the home system was out of range (the console was on 1F). You can be so far away from the console and TV that you couldn't possibly see very well what's going on and still have control of the game. The range is clearly fantastic. Depending on the location of the system and the floorplan of your home you very well can go to a nearby room to play a game on the game pad display!

I think what's helping boost our interest in Wii U so much is that we now have the chance to catch up on those Wii games we never played because we never wanted a Wii. There are more titles on Wii that are on our list than Wii U. For this reason I felt comfortable going with the Wii U, rather than wait for NX. It's a fair bet that NX will not support Wii titles. Nobody has ever provided backward compatibility beyond the previous generation, which is probably for the better for the sake of the hardware and architectural designs of the console, to keep it from being suppressed by the burden of supporting very old firmware and such. It wouldn't surprise me if Wii U backward compatibility will not be present on NX to keep costs down as Nintendo is probably slowly entering desperation to recover a position of formidability in the market once again. Eh that is not the focus of this thread's discussion so I'll stop my digression there.

Here's most of our shopping list...

WII

arc rise fantasia
DK returns
earth seeker (NTSC-J exclusive)
kirby return to dreamland
klonoa
last story
skyward sword
lost in shadow
mario & sonic winter olympics
metroid prime 3
milestone shooting collection 2
necronesia (NTSC-J exclusive)
ookami
tower of pandora
silent hill shattered memories (might not get this one lol)
sin & punishment 2
sonic & sega all-stars racing
sonic colours
spectrobes (reminds me of kingdom hearts which I never played, but this and KH seem appealing to my girlfriend so if it makes her happy, hooray)
super mario galaxy
super mario galaxy 2
tales of graces (NTSC-J exclusive; I know there's an updated port for PS3? shush)
tales of symphonia 2
xenoblade
zero (fatal frame "4") (NTSC-J exclusive)

WII U

(still contemplating the first 4 on this list especially bayonetta as I still don't understand wtf is going on in that game lol)
batman arkham city armoured edition
batman arkham origins
bayonetta
bayonetta 2
DK tropical freeze
fatal frame
zelda musou (ahem this is hyrule warriors outside japan)
famicom remixes (still not sure if these are compelling enough vs just playing my famicom)
kinopio treasure hunter (cute 3D puzzle title, even I thought it was an interesting game ha)
mario kart 8
mario & sonic 2014 sochi
new super luigi u
new smb u
rayman legend (sucks that rayman origins for wii is not available in japan, oh well)
sonic & all-stars racing transformed
star fox 0 (not released at the time of writing but I know I will love this game)
super mario 3d world
super mario maker
yoshi's wooly world
zombiu

Interesting how the Wii U list is more dominated by first party. I literally combed the entire list of software on both platforms via wiki trusting its completion and documentation on what has releases in japan and what does not.

Random comments about mario kart 8 on that list... I haven't really been interested in the series after the first two games. I loyally own the original on SFC and the N64 sequel, but after trying the GC edition and seeing the Wii one... Don't know, just feels like it's the same shit over and over (same reason why I wasn't interested in super smash bros after gamecube) but 8 seems to have a lot of new ideas and variety, and a lot of tracks. Plus it's freakin' gorgeous. Oh, and it doesn't look dead simple to win against the AI but I have to play for myself to really know. I got exposed to kart 8 via live stream, and the broadcaster kindly explained what DLC actually gives you. That big pack of new courses might be the one thing I would ever be willing to buy regarding digital downloads.

We don't know just how long Wii U online will be up and running so hopefully I can enjoy mario maker as much as possible, and download every map to my console that I want to replay like a glutton. XD

I hope Wii U gets as much for it as possible before being phased out. I like the move back to normal control styles, ditching the abundance of the motion sensing gimmicks from Wii, and the spirit of the VMU in the game pad is like a home console version of a DS in some ways.

[Leo_A]

I figured it was intuitive that games that rely on utilising the Wii U display with secondary output means the game will not support TV-less play.

It all depends.

For instance, Wind Waker HD and surely Twilight Princess HD support off-screen play, but instead operate like they did in their original GameCube iterations where you have to press start to bring up your inventory and so on.


It's a fair bet that NX will not support Wii titles. Nobody has ever provided backward compatibility beyond the previous generation, which is probably for the better for the sake of the hardware and architectural designs of the console, to keep it from being suppressed by the burden of supporting very old firmware and such.

Not true, I can immediately think of two excellent examples that went back a full two generations previous.

The Wii U only lacked GameCube compatibility since Nintendo didn't want to include physical items associated with it like controller and memory card ports, because the consumer demand for it was minimal due to the GCN's low popularity. There's no reason not to support Wii titles if the NX by chance happens to be backwards compatible with the Wii U, since there's essentially no production savings there. And the Wii managed 100 million units sold and popular titles continue to be reprinted for it to this day, so the demand is certainly greater this time around.

If it can play Wii U code, it by default can play Wii code. And it still has to support Wiimotes since they're an important component of the Wii U experience, so it's not like they can skip out on including the components necessary there for wireless Wiimote communication. And they'd likely just up their production cost if they were to eliminate support for the Wii's DVD derived disc medium from their current optical drive that likely would be carried over intact from the Wii U, since DVD support is not an extra cost feature for optical drives and essentially is something supported by default.

And as the Wii Mini shows, the inclusion of the Wii's SD card slot is far from a mandatory requirement in the eyes of Nintendo. If Nintendo willingly released a Wii revision without it, they'd surely just eliminate it from the NX rather than base its elimination entirely on that optional added cost. Could even conveniently shutter the Wii Shop just before launch, basically eliminating the sole reason why anyone needs an SD card anyways...

All the NX needs in this scenario is for 512 MB's of flash memory to be integrated onto its chipset. And perhaps even that could be eliminated with a partition on the system's regular internal memory doubling for it.

[davidbrit2]

Wii games work great on the U, especially if you've got an HDTV, because the signal is just so much cleaner over HDMI. The games still only run at 480p, but the picture looks a lot nicer than even component to an HDTV. Grab Sengoku Basara 3 if you want a good co-op action game that's similar to Dynasty Warriors/Samurai Warriors, but a bit less punishing (you don't immediately lose if one player is KOed; they will recover after a brief delay, or you can assist and res them faster if you're nearby).

[Sailorneorune]

Also, take advantage of the Japanese eShop and Virtual Console... get Japanese eShop card codes and pick up some old games to play.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Virtual_Console_games_for_Wii_U_%28Japan%2 9


The Ganbare Goemon! (Mystical Ninja) games are a fun co-op experience, even with the language barrier.

[kupomogli]

famicom remixes (still not sure if these are compelling enough vs just playing my famicom)

Say away from NES Remix 1 and 2(or both if they're separate in Japan.) Now I've played through all the Super Mario Bros stages and all of the Zelda stages, and imo, they should rename the game, "How To Play Nintendo Games." Either that or "Waste of Money."

Here's an example of a "challenge" in these games. Zelda. Challenge 1. Acquire the wooden sword. You'll start at the beginning of the game, you go into the cave and grab the sword. Challenge 2. Kill three enemies. Challenge 3. Collect five rupees. Challenge 4. Collect the boomerang(starts you where the boomerang is at you kill the neemies and grab the boomerang.) Challenge 5. Defeat the first boss. Now I don't exactly know if these are the challenge numbers or if anything was between them, but they are the challenges. There's even a challenge that says get the Master Sword, you start at the graveyard and all you have to do is push the grave stone and grab the sword. It was cool at first because it was like a cliff notes version of Zelda, but it was really nothing more than making me want to play Zelda. It wasn't enjoyable on its own merits.

The Super Mario Bros challenges were simlar. The first challenge was something like, get the mushroom. You hit the mushroom and acquired it, challenge done. Find the entranct down the pipe. Find the hidden one up. Get 5000 points from jumping on the tip of the flag pole. Warp to World 4-1. In all instances the game has you visually starting on the same screen of where you'd go. Atleast I did learn something else, is that using the vine to go up top isn't the only way to warp from 4-2 to 8-1. If you go down a pipe a little to the right, that will also allow you to warp to 8-1 as well.

But honestly, the game was really little else than how to play Nintendo games. Made me feel like I wasted my monday and that I'd rather play the regular versions instead of this pos game.

[Leo_A]

Don't forget that Wii received a nice remake of Fatal Frame 2, the title that most fans consider as the pinnacle of this franchise. You have the two original entries that the Wii and Wii U received listed, but I didn't see this remake on your list.


Wii games work great on the U, especially if you've got an HDTV, because the signal is just so much cleaner over HDMI. The games still only run at 480p, but the picture looks a lot nicer than even component to an HDTV.

Most of what you're seeing is just the decent job that the Wii U does at upscaling Wii content compared to the lackluster job that your HDTV apparently does at it. It provides a big boost for me as well on my LCD, but for those with HDTV's with higher quality internal scaling chips than we have, the results could be significantly different.

Another benefit for the HDTV owner interested in Wii U's backwards compatibility is the automatic aspect ratio adjustment that it does as it upscales. A game like Super Mario Galaxy will be automatically stretched to 16:9 proportions during the upscaling process just as it should be for an anamorphic widescreen release. But shift over to a 4:3 game like Data East Arcade Classics and it will automatically be correctly pillarboxed just as it should be.

For a Wii owner, you had to manually enable and disable stretching on your HDTV as appropriate, with your remote control. Not a big deal of course, but it's still nice and provides a more seamless experience than playing on the original console did.


Also, take advantage of the Japanese eShop and Virtual Console... get Japanese eShop card codes and pick up some old games to play.

He's already expressed a strong dislike for digital distribution, but I agree that he might want to reconsider this route.

And check out the old Wii Shop as well. There's a lot of nice stuff there that isn't available on the Wii U's own Virtual Console, including a lot of NeoGeo and arcade content in particular that we sadly missed out on here in North America (Including scores of Namco arcade classics that never saw inclusion in any Namco Museum release).

[FieryReign]

The Wii is probably one of those consoles I never cared for or never had the slightest interest in, but might come across one for dirt cheap and buy a few obscure games for, MUCH MUCH later in my life(if I live that long). Girl I've been seeing has a Wii up for sale and think she's getting top dollar for it. Tried to put it gently; those shits ain't worth 40 bucks right now, I didn't even want it as a present. Must tell you something when a person who plays videogames as a hobby says they don't want a free console. Zero interest. A shame Nintendo dug themselves in that stupid casual hole.

WiiU looks to be more continued nonsense. I have a tablet already. They really should have thought of that. Implementing their new hardware/software and integrate it for existing users of tablets, io/droid etc. Maybe that's their new strategy. Implementing their games, characters, gameplay ideas on existing media?

[FoxNtd]

Grab Sengoku Basara 3 if you want a good co-op action game that's similar to Dynasty Warriors/Samurai Warriors, but a bit less punishing (you don't immediately lose if one player is KOed; they will recover after a brief delay, or you can assist and res them faster if you're nearby).

I have heard the name Sengoku Basara but never really looked into what that series is about. I'll have to check it out later on.


Also, take advantage of the Japanese eShop and Virtual Console... get Japanese eShop card codes and pick up some old games to play.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Virtual_Console_games_for_Wii_U_%28Japan%2 9


The Ganbare Goemon! (Mystical Ninja) games are a fun co-op experience, even with the language barrier.

I have Goemon for SFC and N64. Sadly the N64 game was only one player but overall it was fun too, and being in 3D really lowered the difficulty, aside from jumping/aiming... (you get used to it.) SFC Goemon was seriously awesome. The few times we would encounter a character talking to us I'd just translate for my girlfriend but she had a great time with me despite how hard it was to finish that game. I think that game made her a fan of the series lol. :)

I'm primarily a retro gamer without a doubt. For the older stuff we like we get the actual carts/discs.


Say away from NES Remix 1 and 2(or both if they're separate in Japan.) Now I've played through all the Super Mario Bros stages and all of the Zelda stages, and imo, they should rename the game, "How To Play Nintendo Games." Either that or "Waste of Money."

Here's an example of a "challenge" in these games. Zelda. Challenge 1. Acquire the wooden sword. You'll start at the beginning of the game, you go into the cave and grab the sword. Challenge 2. Kill three enemies. Challenge 3. Collect five rupees. Challenge 4. Collect the boomerang(starts you where the boomerang is at you kill the neemies and grab the boomerang.) Challenge 5. Defeat the first boss. Now I don't exactly know if these are the challenge numbers or if anything was between them, but they are the challenges. There's even a challenge that says get the Master Sword, you start at the graveyard and all you have to do is push the grave stone and grab the sword. It was cool at first because it was like a cliff notes version of Zelda, but it was really nothing more than making me want to play Zelda. It wasn't enjoyable on its own merits.

The Super Mario Bros challenges were simlar. The first challenge was something like, get the mushroom. You hit the mushroom and acquired it, challenge done. Find the entranct down the pipe. Find the hidden one up. Get 5000 points from jumping on the tip of the flag pole. Warp to World 4-1. In all instances the game has you visually starting on the same screen of where you'd go. Atleast I did learn something else, is that using the vine to go up top isn't the only way to warp from 4-2 to 8-1. If you go down a pipe a little to the right, that will also allow you to warp to 8-1 as well.

But honestly, the game was really little else than how to play Nintendo games. Made me feel like I wasted my monday and that I'd rather play the regular versions instead of this pos game.

LOL that sums up how I felt watching footage of the game. The only positive remark I walked away with was the twists like introducing darkness to DK or messing with the visuals/environment in SMB to make it a little harder. But really like you say, it feels like a child's intro to famicom rather than real challenges. Mario Maker, now that's a challenge. :)


Don't forget that Wii received a nice remake of Fatal Frame 2, the title that most fans consider as the pinnacle of this franchise. You have the two original entries that the Wii and Wii U received listed, but I didn't see this remake on your list.

He's already expressed a strong dislike for digital distribution, but I agree that he might want to reconsider this route.

And check out the old Wii Shop as well. There's a lot of nice stuff there that isn't available on the Wii U's own Virtual Console, including a lot of NeoGeo and arcade content in particular that we sadly missed out on here in North America (Including scores of Namco arcade classics that never saw inclusion in any Namco Museum release).

I'm totally foreign to the fatal frame series. My girlfriend is a horror fanatic so all the scary games, she likes more or less. She just ordered a well-priced copy of a horror Japanese Wii exclusive, Necronesia. We watched footage and we both felt like it's kind of like Silent Hill but big bugs are coming after you rather than nurses and dogs.

NeoGeo is a system I never liked. Good for my wallet not to like it! Haha. SNK is great but most of those arcade games just aren't my thing. I'm sure I could find STG games on Neo I'd like but I'll never jump for the console and the prices of things. If I wanted to play something badly enough I'd rather just emulate with MAME which I never really do; I have plenty of stuff to play as it is. :)


The Wii is probably one of those consoles I never cared for or never had the slightest interest in, but might come across one for dirt cheap and buy a few obscure games for, MUCH MUCH later in my life(if I live that long). Girl I've been seeing has a Wii up for sale and think she's getting top dollar for it. Tried to put it gently; those shits ain't worth 40 bucks right now, I didn't even want it as a present. Must tell you something when a person who plays videogames as a hobby says they don't want a free console. Zero interest. A shame Nintendo dug themselves in that stupid casual hole.

WiiU looks to be more continued nonsense. I have a tablet already. They really should have thought of that. Implementing their new hardware/software and integrate it for existing users of tablets, io/droid etc. Maybe that's their new strategy. Implementing their games, characters, gameplay ideas on existing media?

Yeah which is why my Nintendo loyalty came to a screeching halt after Gamecube. I thought the Wii was a betrayal to their own history. Now that the Wii library is complete, I dug up all the genuinely enjoyable interesting games, and there are plenty to justify having the system for sure. I wish Sin & Punishment 2 made more of a statement; there should have been more games focused on the classic controller rather than the obsession with Wiimote motions. Reminds me of the Mega CD obsession with FMV rather than just making new Mega Drive titles with better colours and CD quality music...

[Leo_A]

Must tell you something when a person who plays videogames as a hobby says they don't want a free console. Zero interest. A shame Nintendo dug themselves in that stupid casual hole.

WiiU looks to be more continued nonsense. I have a tablet already. They really should have thought of that. Implementing their new hardware/software and integrate it for existing users of tablets, io/droid etc. Maybe that's their new strategy. Implementing their games, characters, gameplay ideas on existing media?

Wii was a lot more than just waggle.

There's a lot of excellent traditional experiences with traditional control on the system. And thanks to the Wiimote, it also led to a minor rebirth to the lightgun style arcade genre for five years with several good releases that aren't tv dependent in the slightest. And while Nintendo's controller "innovations" were often detrimental and shoehorned into places they didn't need to be, it still benefited several other titles like the Metroid Prime franchise that were anything but casual shovelware.

And if you think Wii U is that way, you really haven't looked at it. Try actually looking past the touch screen that more often than not isn't doing anything, and you'll find a pretty normal modern gamepad controller there. The only thing out of the ordinary here is the lack of analog for the triggers. And with the absence of simcade racers here like Project Cars, that doesn't even matter.

The touch screen largely enables off-screen play or serves to declutter the main display by taking secondary information away from it and displaying it there. In the Zelda games for instance, it provides instant access to your inventory and a full-screen map rather than overlaying it on the main display and forcing you to go into a sub-menu to select items.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/media/34564/4/1.png

It is not a tablet for the console and when it's utilized, it's almost always beneficial even if it's not the big deal that Nintendo was banking on it being. Heck, an easy 80% of the significant retail releases for it can be fully enjoyed with the Wii U Pro Controller, which should tell you something...

http://www.gamestop.com/common/images/lbox/803389b.jpg

I'll give you your Wii complaints even if I think that they're only applicable as a broad generalization with numerous fine exceptions providing ample reasons to still take the plunge. But while you can of course continue to ignore it if you want, it's still quite clear that you know next to nothing about the Wii U. It does not suffer from the motion woes that plagued the Wii or the shoehorned in touch screen controls that many a DS title had just in order to be able to say that it supported it, regardless if it actually benefited the experience.

It just might be a situation worth rectifying...

[Tanooki]

He's right, the WiiU isn't meant as U are still waggling. Very few games bother with it a all, it and when it does it's an option. The one game I can think of that was badly designed enough to force really using it was Pikmin 3 as a command or two you really need (but not 100% required) is excluded using a gamepad which was just stupid.

Most games used it as a second screen to save pausing or to display maps, but some used it pretty wisely with the context of the game. The WiiU's problem is that Nintendo basically pissed off the third parties who tried to give them a chance for games and stuck their guns on an overpriced tablet which caused the system hardware to be less beefy to keep it under a specific budget they had in mind. It made the system also gimped with a tricky coding language developers aren't a fan of, even more tricky with LOTS of rework needed to do ports which is why so few PS3/360 games came over. Nintendo basically shot itself in the foot and third parties were there to point, laugh, and mock them then ignore Nintendo. Had the system been not even on par, but just in general closer to par/specs with specifically an easier to code for system language they'd be in a better place right now. Leader, no, it's no Wii in how that sucked in all ages, but they'd not be suffering so horrifically either. Don't get me wrong I really like WiiU, I just don't like the situation Nintendo caused with WiiU which ultimately had me sell the thing with a general lack of things for me to do for far too long. I saw no point in keeping a system where I'd buy like 2 games a year for when someone else would use it far more second hand.

[FieryReign]

Wii was a lot more than just waggle.

There's a lot of excellent traditional experiences with traditional control on the system. And thanks to the Wiimote, it also led to a minor rebirth to the lightgun style arcade genre for five years with several good releases that aren't tv dependent in the slightest. And while Nintendo's controller "innovations" were often detrimental and shoehorned into places they didn't need to be, it still benefited several other titles like the Metroid Prime franchise that were anything but casual shovelware.

And if you think Wii U is that way, you really haven't looked at it. Try actually looking past the touch screen that more often than not isn't doing anything, and you'll find a pretty normal modern gamepad controller there. The only thing out of the ordinary here is the lack of analog for the triggers. And with the absence of simcade racers here like Project Cars, that doesn't even matter.

The touch screen largely enables off-screen play or serves to declutter the main display by taking secondary information away from it and displaying it there. In the Zelda games for instance, it provides instant access to your inventory and a full-screen map rather than overlaying it on the main display and forcing you to go into a sub-menu to select items.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/media/34564/4/1.png

It is not a tablet for the console and when it's utilized, it's almost always beneficial even if it's not the big deal that Nintendo was banking on it being. Heck, an easy 80% of the significant retail releases for it can be fully enjoyed with the Wii U Pro Controller, which should tell you something...

http://www.gamestop.com/common/images/lbox/803389b.jpg

I'll give you your Wii complaints even if I think that they're only applicable as a broad generalization with numerous fine exceptions providing ample reasons to still take the plunge. But while you can of course continue to ignore it if you want, it's still quite clear that you know next to nothing about the Wii U. It does not suffer from the motion woes that plagued the Wii or the shoehorned in touch screen controls that many a DS title had just in order to be able to say that it supported it, regardless if it actually benefited the experience.

It just might be a situation worth rectifying...
Cool, dude. You like it. I know what a WiiU is and how it functions.

It's glorified tablet with physical controls on it. Period. You're not fooling anyone with that fancy wordplay, though.

It's overpriced as fuck. Even at this stage, Nintendo wants to be stubborn and still sell underpowered shit for premium prices. Why? 720p is weak hd. Way behind the times, typical of them. If a fucking level designer is your "killer app", that must tell you something about your console.

It's called a WiiU. Why? The name "Wii" wasn't dumb as fuck enough? Go and keep on the legacy of asinineness and confuse more people? Almost as dumb as their 3ds naming strategy, little thought went into it. Makes you wonder if they even have english speaking people at NOA. What does the U stand for? Just plain silly and childish.

[Leo_A]

It's glorified tablet with physical controls on it. Period. You're not fooling anyone with that fancy wordplay, though.

Neither are you, my friend.

[Tanooki]

Neither are you, my friend.

Yeah Fiery you're fooling no one. As a disappointed former owner fan of the WiiU that wish it hadn't taken the crap, you're talking out of your ass on this. It's not a glorified tablet with controls on it, there's more. There are a select few games that do act as such, but on the whole, no. It's about as much of a glorified tablet as the DS/3DS are which just isn't the case. Personally for me, it was an off TV play device which really helped with the kid but also a supplemental screen to work in tandem with games much like often is the case with DS/3DS titles. It's a helpful sub-panel if anything tied onto a normal controller, much like the Vita was to the crossplay designs/controls allowed for PS4 usage.

You're mostly wrong on overpriced. Yes the tech is older, problem is which you pointed out, the controller. All the parts and manufacturing costs involved is the most expensive piece in there even now for them to produce. Had they gone with even a more normal sized controller and used it like a DS/3DS sub panel with a touch based 4" screen on it like the XL has, it would have been notably cheaper to retail and lower too by this point but the fools didn't.

Do agree on the name, goddamn retarded. I still recall so many stories, some of them personal, going into stores from Best Buy to places like Meijer/Target and seeing some doofus employee even being confused saying they thought it was an expensive add-on controller for the Wii and the blue games were boxed up as such to show it worked just on that. Or other people, non-workers thinking much the same, that it was just a revision of the Wii, not a new device, so they blew it off as $350 was too damn much for an accessory. They screwed themselves on that one 100%.

[Leo_A]

I agree on the name, too.

I hated Wii when I first heard it and still do a decade later. The only thing that helped make the Wii U name more palatable was that I was used to it by 2012.

While I'm a Nintendo fan and a Wii/Wii U fan, I almost think that it's fitting that in their zeal to bring forward that awful sounding brand with 100 million units sold that was already showing major signs of weakness by 2012, that it ended up perhaps becoming the leading reason why Nintendo's next-gen hardware was strangled.

Instead of adding value to this system, it just created consumer confusion with many and brought up negative connotations for others that didn't feel like the Wii had any lasting value and thus weren't in a rush to buy a 2nd round of waggle games. Unfortunate since I think it's an injustice to the Wii U, but hopefully their marketing department learned an important lesson with this system in several ways.

[FieryReign]

Yeah Fiery you're fooling no one. As a disappointed former owner fan of the WiiU that wish it hadn't taken the crap, you're talking out of your ass on this. It's not a glorified tablet with controls on it, there's more. There are a select few games that do act as such, but on the whole, no. It's about as much of a glorified tablet as the DS/3DS are which just isn't the case. Personally for me, it was an off TV play device which really helped with the kid but also a supplemental screen to work in tandem with games much like often is the case with DS/3DS titles. It's a helpful sub-panel if anything tied onto a normal controller, much like the Vita was to the crossplay designs/controls allowed for PS4 usage.

You're mostly wrong on overpriced. Yes the tech is older, problem is which you pointed out, the controller. All the parts and manufacturing costs involved is the most expensive piece in there even now for them to produce. Had they gone with even a more normal sized controller and used it like a DS/3DS sub panel with a touch based 4" screen on it like the XL has, it would have been notably cheaper to retail and lower too by this point but the fools didn't.

Do agree on the name, goddamn retarded. I still recall so many stories, some of them personal, going into stores from Best Buy to places like Meijer/Target and seeing some doofus employee even being confused saying they thought it was an expensive add-on controller for the Wii and the blue games were boxed up as such to show it worked just on that. Or other people, non-workers thinking much the same, that it was just a revision of the Wii, not a new device, so they blew it off as $350 was too damn much for an accessory. They screwed themselves on that one 100%.

Then why don't you still own one? It's overpriced compared to the competition. That's a fact. It's a tablet, not fooling me. That's what a giant touchscreen is called. A tablet. They're not the only company that make tablets with physical controls, there's a bunch of them on Amazon. They should be liquidating, trying to save face. Pricing that thing as it is, is just pure insulting.

It's like taboo to say anything negative or critical of Nintendo around here. This turning into NintendoLife?

[bb_hood]

It's like taboo to say anything negative or critical of Nintendo around here. This turning into NintendoLife?

You are the only one here so fervently negative about the system.
Believe it or not, many people love the WiiU.

The controller is actually pretty awesome once you get to know it. Its high quality, screen is really nice, comfortable to hold, and the weight is perfectly balanced.. i havent dropped it a single time. It may seem gimmicky at first but it makes games like Mario Maker possible. The touch screen makes level creation very simple as well as making menu navigation really quick.

[FieryReign]

You are the only one here so fervently negative about the system.
Believe it or not, many people love the WiiU.

The controller is actually pretty awesome once you get to know it. Its high quality, screen is really nice, comfortable to hold, and the weight is perfectly balanced.. i havent dropped it a single time. It may seem gimmicky at first but it makes games like Mario Maker possible. The touch screen makes level creation very simple as well as making menu navigation really quick.

And how about games, enough about the underpowered tablet? Not much worthwhile there. No sports and not much mature content. If they want to keep selling the system for that ridiculous price, that's their loss. They don't want money, I guess. The other 2 current consoles are completely broken when you open them and require some online component. System updates and installs and other BS. Is there no alternative?

[Leo_A]

You are the only one here so fervently negative about the system.

And heck, Tanooki didn't have a great time with the system, sold it off, and often thinks poorly of Nintendo's decisions these days on this forum. Yet even he says that you're wrong, FieryReign, with your tablet assessment. Beyond the superficial with the presence of the touch screen in the center of what's otherwise a contemporary console controller in virtually every conceivable way, there's absolutely no significant correlation there to support your statement or defense of it.

And fine, we get it that you're settled on your views and there's nothing wrong with that. I wasn't clear that it was FPS, sports, and the best graphics that a console can put out that you were seeking. If Nintendo's 1st party offerings aren't what you're looking for, then it certainly isn't for you although it's curious that you're even active here.

But when I saw the misconception that this was a glorified tablet, I thought it might be helpful to say that it isn't an accurate view. If you're a Nintendo fan that stayed away because waggle and touch screen nonsense with the Wii and DS turned you off, because Wii branding was intact here and suggested more of the same, and you hate tablet gaming, none are particularly applicable complaints to the Wii U and an interesting console might've been laying in wait for you to discover.

As an actual Wii U owner that has played many of its top games, what I said earlier is entirely accurate I feel about its touch screen (And I'm someone that hated it on the DS and said it was only good for an Intellivision compilation). It does not bring tablet gaming to your tv. Nothing about its top offerings like Super Mario 3D World bares the slightest resemblance to the average tablet game.

Fine that it doesn't change anything for you, but you're still far off with this tablet deal of yours.

[Tanooki]

Then why don't you still own one? It's overpriced compared to the competition. That's a fact. It's a tablet, not fooling me. That's what a giant touchscreen is called. A tablet. They're not the only company that make tablets with physical controls, there's a bunch of them on Amazon. They should be liquidating, trying to save face. Pricing that thing as it is, is just pure insulting.

It's like taboo to say anything negative or critical of Nintendo around here. This turning into NintendoLife?

Selective memory little man? I didn't have anything to play that's why as I don't like to sit on unused stuff. Had that thing had third parties supporting it with releases I'd still be using it and have more games on it than PS4 at this rate. It's not a fucking tablet you tool. It's a console with a touch panel on the controller, might as well call the DS a tablet and 3DS too. You've got some Nintendo beer goggles action going there. Liquidating, you're on crack.


And how about games, enough about the underpowered tablet? Not much worthwhile there. No sports and not much mature content. If they want to keep selling the system for that ridiculous price, that's their loss. They don't want money, I guess. The other 2 current consoles are completely broken when you open them and require some online component. System updates and installs and other BS. Is there no alternative?

How about that? Underpowered eh? When does that always matter, especially when it comes to Nintendo? NES vs SMS, N64 vs PSX(given the CD as the reason), the Gameboy/color versus any other 8bit handheld it crushed, same for the DS vs PSP and 3DS vs the Vita and comparable mobile phone/tablets that could do more for less cash. Get over it. They want money, couldn't you probably get over the fact that maybe they don't want to sell at a loss like Sony seems to love to do to move hardware? They don't have the sales in software going for them like Sony who can eat it and deal and never will on WiiU since no one backs it. They're stuck, it's that simple. They lower the price they fall even MORE into the red which they're trying to avoid as much as possible, WiiU is the reason they've had red which is not in their history year over year, period. The other 2 consoles aren't broken either, fuck you're jaded, blind and confused...to make me think I'm actually having to include me being nice to a MS console in that statement twists me up just a bit making me defend that too. Their systems aren't broken, what's broken are the fucking miserable games people shovel out in beta to use guinea pigs and sheep paying $60 a pop to iron out issues to slam home 1GB+ patches to fix their problems instead of manning up and delaying things until it's right. Consoles aren't like PCs, they're set hardware, there's NO excuse.

[FoxNtd]

Minor update on my project to gather info: You can forget about Hulu. If you try to load it, Hulu's services themselves geolocate you by IP and pop a message saying the program is for exclusive use within Japan, and that if you are receiving the error despite being in Japan you can visit hulu.jp/support for further assistance.

There is no interface with the program on the error display other than to select exit program. I suppose you can try to tunnel your LAN traffic through a Japanese server (e.g. VPN) to fool Hulu but is it really worth the effort to do that? Probably not. I already deleted Hulu from my Wii U immediately after this short-lived experiment.

If anyone's curious, not only does Youtube work but it prefers the JP region so videos and live channels in Japanese almost exclusively come first in the result lists.

[FoxNtd]

Finally got a wiimote and got a chance to test the Wii mode on the Wii U. There has to be improvement with regard to input lag. After going through the small set of games I have for Wii right now, I felt the input was natural and responsive. I have to really use this thing more to be sure though? Perhaps games that have more complex motions involved; Mario & Sonic 2010 might be a good choice for that which I only tried briefly. I'm curious if my bad experience with wiimotes in the past with regular Wiis was due to A/V lag with fucking flatscreens as they're notorious for it. I'm on a CRT so that is not a worry. Unfortunately I don't have a ton of hardware lying around to test all the combinations to see what happens with each way. I have only memories of Wii from years ago on an LCD TV to compare to... Damn, it could actually be possible that using a CRT is the reason why it seems to work well, but I won't know for sure...

By the way I'm running with s-video and Wii games definitely look good. It might be quite some time until I try hooking up the Wii U with HDMI to the HD CRT just to see how Wii looks there, but I doubt it would be worse than the s-video display. :)

Tested Mario Galaxy and my handedness dilemma. As a lefty do I want the nunchaku's stick in my left hand, which is used to moving a character, or hold the wiimote in my left which is better at precise aiming? I played for 15-20 minutes with the controllers in each hand, and it's a tough call. I might be better off just using my right thumb on the analog stick, as that configuration is going to help me a lot once I get Metroid Prime 3, since aiming is probably going to be pretty significant there. It felt cumbersome to aim at the damn starbits with the wiimote in my right hand, and using the stick in my right hand felt like less of an obstacle.

[PizzaKat]

I love the Wii U. Mario Kart 8 is so much fun online. I still loathe the way items are distributed. Coins in 9th place really??? That said its a great game. Super Mario 3D World is fantastic and Pokken Tournament is a really fun fighting game. Easy inputs to pull off but its a deep fighter. I own a bunch of games which I won't post plus all the Wii games you can play. The Virtual console which is not as good as the Wii is still good.

[Bratwurst]

I have a Wii U and about 15-16 games. Surprise, most of them are first party. Here's my farts.

The touch-pad controller is nice, and obviously well made, I think foremost it was a concern of Nintendo's to make the thing durable because it's something you're gonna handle a lot and at some point you're gonna drop it. Well, that's a problem. I feel it's extraneous, unnecessary, and bloats the initial expense of getting into the system, in a really unreasonable way. I've played games just fine on one display up to now, and there's nothing accomplished by that extra screen that the primary display can't handle, perhaps inconveniently at times, but nonetheless possible. Mind you, I love the hell out of some Nintendo, and I absolutely had to experience Pikmin 3. The games are good.

Overall I perceive the touch-pad controller to be a premium. Yes, it's nice, but it is expensive and needless. Good luck replacing it if you need to once the Wii U's no longer made, sold at retail, supported by Nintendo, etc.

Incorporating a premium element goes against a philosophy that was a major strength of Nintendo's for many years, and that is to favor frugality over flair. The original Gameboy won big because it was cheaper and ran longer on fewer batteries. I'm sure you get the jist.

[BlastProcessing402]

If the Wii U gamepad is a tablet, then the Dreamcast controller is a graphing calculator.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

I don't know what to expect with a Japanese Wii U in America. How does it behave online? Does it connect to NoJ's servers or does it detect where on Earth I am and connect to NoA? What about service support such as Netflix? Basically what surprises are in store and what drawbacks are in store with this console? will NoA honour warranty on an NTSC-J system or am I shit out of luck there?

I'm not sure why you would want to get a Japanese WiiU. Yes, the system is region locked, but there aren't many (any?) WiiU games that only got released in Japan, and tracking down Japanese WiiU games will be considerably more expensive than tracking down the domestic versions.

But anyway, here's the answers to this first part: A Japanese WiiU will require you to create a Japanese Nintendo ID account. It'll ask in Japanese, which prefecture you live in, what your address is, and your credit card information for eshop access. Note that American creditcards CANNOT be used. If you don't have a Japanese creditcard, you'll need to use Japanese Nintendo Points cards. Points cards like games, are region locked. You cannot go to a store in the US, buy Nintendo Points, and then use them on a Japanese WiiU.

A Japanese WiiU will not connect to NoA, ever. The reverse is also true; American WiiUs will never connect to NoJ.

Services like Netflex will be restricted to whatever the Japanese have access to. You'll not be able to gain access to the American Netflex.

The main drawback of buying a Japanese WiiU is not being able to access anything on the North American eshop including sales and promotions.

Nintendo of America will not service a Japanese WiiU. Period.




Next question goes for Wii support. Allegedly Wii software is not 100% supported... but according to a random thread on GameFAQs (not so credible right lol) everything works aside from 1 random WiiWare game and DDR due to lack of controller inputs. Don't care about those exclusions, but I do care about INPUT LAG. It's what drove me insane trying to play the original Wii. I think before Wii U launched Iwata announced the input lag problem would be solved for Wii U. What can I expect with a Wiimote and the sensor bar via the Wii U? I tried Wii U for about 5 minutes for the very first time at a demo station at the store in town, and I used the gamepad with Mario Maker. I didn't perceive input lag but it's not a motion sensitive controller so that is expected.)

I can't speak to input lag because it's never been a problem for me, but just know that the WiiU contains a Wii inside of it so I wouldn't expect anything different from using the original Wii. But again keep in mind that the Wii is region locked as well. A Japanese WiiU will only be able to play Japanese Wii games.



Speaking of compatibility I assume all hardware that connects to the system such as ALL controllers (U pad, classic controller, wiimotes) and basics like the video output (I'd need s-video, or I could try HDMI with my new trinitron WEGA.... but I'd want s-video to keep this thing with the rest of my collection!) If all hardware is compatible, I could try to import the console by itself to reduce shipping costs and just buy the rest of the pieces domestically. Fucking region locking.

The WiiU will work with the Wiimote, Nunchuck, Wii Classic/Pro Controller, WiiU Gamepad tablet and WiiU Pro Contorller. No GameCube controller accessories or any USB controllers or controller adapters. Nintendo did offically release a GameCube adapter for the WiiU, but it ONLY works for Smash Brothers 4. Also, the WiiU tablet and Pro controller don't generally work with original Wii software, and the original Wii Classic/Pro controller don't work with WiiU software.

The WiiU is designed for widescreen modern TVs (thank god) so anything less than HDMI is shortchaning yourself, especially using a 4:3 CRT relic. You'll run into all manner of overscan and wrong resolution issues using an old tv with S-Video. My advice is don't. But yes, the WiiU carries over the same connection port as the original Wii for SD video output, so you could track down an original Wii S-Video cable. But don't. The power brick of the WiiU and the power brick of the WiiU tablet controller would be the same in Japan and North America, but buying a WiiU without the tablet just to save money is foolish, because finding replacement parts would be a massive pain in the ass.



Models: U has 8GB and 32GB. Wiki says in June 2015 the 8GB basic console was discontinued in Japan. Granted I don't want to mess with WiiWare and such, do I care about internal flash memory? I'm sure I will fill it with Mario Maker downloads eventually lol. Wiki also states SD cards are supported and external HDDs are supported. If these external media are supported equally as internal flash, I couldn't care less about going with 32GB, and save a few bucks snagging the 8GB version.

Even if you don't plan on buying many digital only games, definitely go with the 32GB model. 32GB isn't much space at all, especially considering the WiiU allocates a portion to its OS and updates. There are WiiU games and updates that exceed 8GB just by themselves. Don't shortchange yourself. SD cards are supported, but only for original Wii Virtual Console stuff since the Wii in the WiiU still has the pitiful 512 MB storage. External harddrives work for WiiU games, but accessing them is slow and Nintendo requires that external drives be formatted in FAT32 like it's 2001.




Any surprises or recalls on hardware craftsmanship? The original Famicom with square buttons comes to mind. Software firmware issues perhaps? I saw a used Wii U on a japanese auction where the seller states the fan is making strange noises. Xbox RRoD and PS3 yellow light issues come to mind as well. Seems like modern consoles tend to have catastrophic failures early in their lifespans. If Wii U failure rate is very low then I can feel better importing it should I decide to buy it.

No product is 100% fail proof, but no, the WiiU is solidly build for reasonable use. Yeah, there are "reports" of people destroying the WiiU Gamepad tablet, but then again those are much the same people who managed to piece their TVs with the Wiimotes and cause injuries to those around them. The WiiU is not something you should be worried about failing or breaking as long as you don't do something like throw the controller across the room.




Speculative questions: how long can we expect online support to be provided? What is the state of Wii's online support, as a frame of reference? Most titles I would buy should not rely on the Internet much, but most enjoyment from Mario Maker is based on going online to get maps and such, so I have to think about this aspect too. Any speculation on price drops? Rumours about the NX are rampant and I wonder if we can expect Wii U to shave off another $50 or so from the retail price sometime soon, who knows? Reference point: I saw a bundle for retail at $300 last night at the demo station that includes a black 32GB console with Mario Kart included. Japanese Amazon sells the Mario Maker bundle for about $370 after currency conversion but I'm pretty sure prices are more balanced elsewhere.

Depends on what you mean by "online support". All of the the original Wii's online functionality shut down several years ago save for the original Wii Shop channel, because that's a revenue stream for Nintendo and closing that down would be foolish. As for the longevity of individual game services on the WiiU, that should be longer than the original Wii because Nintendo essentially didn't have any idea what the hell they were doing with the original Wii. The WiiU is like the 3DS in that it has a dedicated network. How long will something like Mario Maker be supported for? Pure guess: but I'd say at least another 5 years. Maybe longer -- especially if the NX has some sort of backwards compatibility or at least cross connectivity.

The WiiU price will probably fall once the NX is released, but the WiiU isn't exactly the most expensive console on the market as it is. If you want one now, buy one now. Also, consider buying a refubished WiiU directly from Nintendo's online store. In Nintendo's case, "Refurbished" almost always means retrailer returned unsold merchandise. My "refubished" WiiU was brand new, or if it WAS used, there was no way to tell. Buying refublished saved me around $150.




Playing together with my girlfriend happens to be an important part of considering buying this console so that means understanding multiplayer support. Is it necessary to buy a 2nd game pad or is the classic controller and/or wiimote sufficient? I'm confused about input devices outright with this damn thing. Wii was almost exclusively about motion support via the wiimote -- now it seems they backpeddled a bit with Wii U, focusing on the classic style of control, correct? Hopefully the gamepad is not mandatory beyond the first player; not just because a "regular" controller should be cheaper, but because my girlfriend says the gamepad feels a little too big for the size of her hands. LMAO.


Although the firmware technically supports it, the current firmware doesn't allow two WiiU gamepad tablets on the WiiU. Just one. For the second controller, buy a WiiU Pro controller. The controller is AWESOME and I greatly prefer it the gamepad. So buy two, even. Only certain WiiU multiplayer games support the Wiimote. Some do, but you're usually better off with the Pro Controller anyway. Most games don't require the use of the gamepad tablet at all. You can just use a Pro Controller instead. Depends on the game.




I also don't understand the compatibility with the gamepad's display serving as the TV. Can this be done with any game that does not use the gamepad like the Dreamcast uses the VMU? What is the range on the gamepad e.g. can I go into another room and continue playing a game on the gamepad as if I'm holding a 2DS or something? How about the battery? They say the launch model dies in about 3 hours of play, but they added another 1000mAh or so in a revision to extend that to 5-8 hrs. (Thanks Wiki.) Is the battery swappable; how do I identify which model game pad is included if the retail box is purchased bundled with the console?.

Not every game supports the WiiU's off tv play, but yes, generally it works for any game that just mirrors the display of the gamepad and tv. The resolution of the gamepad isn't as high as an HDTV though, so you generally dont want to do this unless you absolutely have to, even if its for playing WiiU in bed.

Range of the WiiU pad is about 12 feet. You can't go to the other end of the house and expect to use the WiiU tablet. You MIGHT be able to do it in an adjacent room, but that's about it.

I get about 5 hours out of the tablet. It's not great, but it's a huge deal to charge it. Just use the dock the deluxe version comes with when you're not using it. You'll rarely be using the WiiU for more than 2-3 hours at a time anyway.

Batteries are all the same size. Don't even pay this any mind.

[ReaXan]

I feel like WiiU would be good to invest in in 3-4 years when the games are on clearance or you can pick them up second hand for cheap. This system is strangely like the N64 where u probably have less than 10 must own games currently.

I got one for my daughter in 2013 and she didn't even really like it over her Wii because of the gamepad being so large. I was kinda shocked a kid would want to use an inferior system but that is how truly strange this console is even to children. I got Mario Kart WiiU thinking that would be the killer app for this system but everyone in the family was tired of it in less than a week and no one has picked it up sense. Wife wants to sell it and the games since it gets no playtime compared to mobile games/ipad.

I ain't dogging on Nintendo but lets call a spade a spade here.Its just a system that really offers nothing better than a Nintendo 3DS can creative gaming wise and its not strong enough to even compete with the XBox One for mainstream HD titles in case your an adult that likes to console game sometimes. The Classic Controller for WiiU is also truly horrible for games like Call of Duty(I tried to find a final use for this system) so its not even really good at anything console wise except being home to Nintendo exclusives.

The new Zelda game looks really good, but not enough for anyone to go out an buy a WiiU full price for.

I see this system as a collectors item one day but right now I think anyone who owns one and played all the games for it would probably trade it straight up for a One S no questions asked 9/10 times. It just not popular in the generation its meant for, bottom line.

[FoxNtd]

Quite the response but it's been months since I've owned the console now. :)


I'm not sure why you would want to get a Japanese WiiU.
Typical for a North American. EDIT: This should help. My entire collection is approximately 90% Japanese.


tracking down Japanese WiiU games will be considerably more expensive than tracking down the domestic versions.
The hell it will. Nothing I bought for JP Wii or Wii U was any greater in cost than US versions. The most likely candidate to break the price would have been Mario Maker, which ran me like ￥4600, STILL cheaper than the copy in the store for $59.99 + tax. None of my Wii titles cost over $10 so far.



But anyway, here's the answers to this first part: A Japanese WiiU will require you to create a Japanese Nintendo ID account. It'll ask in Japanese, which prefecture you live in, what your address is, and your credit card information for eshop access. Note that American creditcards CANNOT be used. If you don't have a Japanese creditcard, you'll need to use Japanese Nintendo Points cards. Points cards like games, are region locked. You cannot go to a store in the US, buy Nintendo Points, and then use them on a Japanese WiiU.
Luckily I have zero need to purchase anything from the online shop. If it was a major issue I could always buy the JP point cards as you say.



Services like Netflex will be restricted to whatever the Japanese have access to. You'll not be able to gain access to the American Netflex.
Are you spelling Netflix wrong on purpose? I have yet to test this. If it will shoot me into JP Netflix that would actually be very cool! Honestly I'm not sure we'll have access because Netflix's authentication could potentially determine the account holder is not registered in Japan and bail out. That's what happened trying to use the Hulu application.


The main drawback of buying a Japanese WiiU is not being able to access anything on the North American eshop including sales and promotions.
This is a drawback? Stuff typically appears in NoJ's side first before anyone else doesn't it? Having easy access to funny videos of Arino-san alone is worth having this hahaha.


Nintendo of America will not service a Japanese WiiU. Period.
Hardware is hardware, they SHOULDN'T care. I'm not sure if there's a straightforward way to verify the accuracy of this without contacting them and attempt an RMA or something.


The WiiU is designed for widescreen modern TVs (thank god) so anything less than HDMI is shortchaning yourself, especially using a 4:3 CRT relic. You'll run into all manner of overscan and wrong resolution issues using an old tv with S-Video. My advice is don't. But yes, the WiiU carries over the same connection port as the original Wii for SD video output, so you could track down an original Wii S-Video cable. But don't. The power brick of the WiiU and the power brick of the WiiU tablet controller would be the same in Japan and North America, but buying a WiiU without the tablet just to save money is foolish, because finding replacement parts would be a massive pain in the ass.

I ended up getting the console with AC adapter and game pad. The seller was domestic so no murder by shipping here. I tested it with HDMI on the HD CRT and it's very good. That setup is not perfect for me at the moment so I'm using it with s-video. There's nothing wrong, except... 1) it's clear they intend for you to use 720p. Some stuff is hard to see and I end up relying on the game pad display to see fonts that are a bit on the small side. 2) I noticed there is a red bleeding effect in very specific circumstances. I don't think this happens over HDMI. Regular Wii looks perfect though! :)





Even if you don't plan on buying many digital only games, definitely go with the 32GB model. 32GB isn't much space at all, especially considering the WiiU allocates a portion to its OS and updates. There are WiiU games and updates that exceed 8GB just by themselves. Don't shortchange yourself. SD cards are supported, but only for original Wii Virtual Console stuff since the Wii in the WiiU still has the pitiful 512 MB storage. External harddrives work for WiiU games, but accessing them is slow and Nintendo requires that external drives be formatted in FAT32 like it's 2001.
Uh oh. This is something else I need to test to be absolutely sure. I want to plug in an external storage device to have space to, for example, download Lost Reavers as I have no space on the Wii U itself. It's the original model so it's low capacity. They probably use FAT32 shit because it's the only FS they can use without royalty issues and still have the device in question be readable on a windoze PC. I could name half a dozen other file systems they could use freely but I know they won't.





No product is 100% fail proof, but no, the WiiU is solidly build for reasonable use. Yeah, there are "reports" of people destroying the WiiU Gamepad tablet, but then again those are much the same people who managed to piece their TVs with the Wiimotes and cause injuries to those around them. The WiiU is not something you should be worried about failing or breaking as long as you don't do something like throw the controller across the room.
Fortunately I do not schedule slingshot tests with my consoles.




Although the firmware technically supports it, the current firmware doesn't allow two WiiU gamepad tablets on the WiiU. Just one. For the second controller, buy a WiiU Pro controller. The controller is AWESOME and I greatly prefer it the gamepad. So buy two, even. Only certain WiiU multiplayer games support the Wiimote. Some do, but you're usually better off with the Pro Controller anyway. Most games don't require the use of the gamepad tablet at all. You can just use a Pro Controller instead. Depends on the game.
Pro controller is very nice. Great battery life too!





Not every game supports the WiiU's off tv play, but yes, generally it works for any game that just mirrors the display of the gamepad and tv. The resolution of the gamepad isn't as high as an HDTV though, so you generally dont want to do this unless you absolutely have to, even if its for playing WiiU in bed.
I always play with the TV. The game pad battery bites. I only focus on the pad when you're supposed to, like Maker's level editor.



Range of the WiiU pad is about 12 feet. You can't go to the other end of the house and expect to use the WiiU tablet. You MIGHT be able to do it in an adjacent room, but that's about it.
Very wrong. The range is at least double this! I crossed the entire floor and made it halfway up a flight of stairs before the game pad complained it was out of range.


I get about 5 hours out of the tablet. It's not great, but it's a huge deal to charge it. Just use the dock the deluxe version comes with when you're not using it. You'll rarely be using the WiiU for more than 2-3 hours at a time anyway.
I was playing Mario Galaxy for just over four hours about a week ago. When I got started, I had the battery warning indicator for my wii remote. I made it through all four hours without the batteries dying. If it was the Wii U game pad it would have died in 10 minutes. XD



Batteries are all the same size. Don't even pay this any mind.

Bullshit. If this was true then I wouldn't be able to buy this battery with 2550mAh! (https://store.nintendo.com/ng3/us/po/browse/productDetailColorSizePicker.jsp?categoryNav=true&navAction=jump&navCount=0&atg.multisite.remap=false&productId=prod150204&categoryId=cat10009)

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Typical for a North American. EDIT: This should help. My entire collection is approximately 90% Japanese.

I don't know you're being connidesending when I'm trying to help.
I can understand buying a Japanese 3DS since it's region locked and there are a lot of Japan-only games. But what is your reason for wanting a Japanese WiiU? The WiiU isn't popular in Japan either. There aren't many - if any - Japan esclusives, and more likely you would be missing out on North American exclusives by choosing a Japanese WiiU. DO you simply want a WiiU out of pure devotion to NTSC-J format software? I'd really like to hear your reasoning for very specifically wanting a Japanese WiiU.





The hell it will. Nothing I bought for JP Wii or Wii U was any greater in cost than US versions. The most likely candidate to break the price would have been Mario Maker, which ran me like ￥4600, STILL cheaper than the copy in the store for $59.99 + tax. None of my Wii titles cost over $10 so far.

Maybe if you're strictly talking about new games, but its not hard to find people who bought the WiiU when it came out and are trying to sell it along with games. Mario Maker aside, I've never paid more than $30 for any WiiU game I've bought and that includes the AAA stuff. As much fun as it is, the WiiU was a market failure and its easy to find people who want to get rid of their games.




Luckily I have zero need to purchase anything from the online shop. If it was a major issue I could always buy the JP point cards as you say.

That's shortsighted. There are a good number of WiiU indie games that have no physical form, and among them are real gems like Freeze Me, which is a 3D platformer paying homage to Mario 64. It's easy to say "I don't like digital downloads because DRM and the serves will die someday and blah blah blah" but its one of those nessesary evils of modern gaming. Of course its up to you, but don't dismiss the e-shop entirely unless you're okay with knowingly missing content.



Are you spelling Netflix wrong on purpose? I have yet to test this. If it will shoot me into JP Netflix that would actually be very cool! Honestly I'm not sure we'll have access because Netflix's authentication could potentially determine the account holder is not registered in Japan and bail out. That's what happened trying to use the Hulu application.

Oh whoops, typo. Netflix.



This is a drawback? Stuff typically appears in NoJ's side first before anyone else doesn't it? Having easy access to funny videos of Arino-san alone is worth having this hahaha.

The majority of games developed for the WiiU are not Japanese in origin. There are of course Japanese games, but get used to seeing either katakana or streight up English text untrasnlated. There's no reason to assume that games appear in Japan first. That might be true in some cases, but more often than not the same content will appear in either region at the same time. The only games this would really apply to are RPGs that require time to translate, and the WiiU is sparse on those to begin with.



Hardware is hardware, they SHOULDN'T care. I'm not sure if there's a straightforward way to verify the accuracy of this without contacting them and attempt an RMA or something.

The problem is that the system language is built into the hardware. If you sent a Japanese WiiU in for repairs, most likely they would replace it with a domenstic English system. Call Nintendo and ask. They won't service Japanese or European consoles.




I ended up getting the console with AC adapter and game pad. The seller was domestic so no murder by shipping here. I tested it with HDMI on the HD CRT and it's very good. That setup is not perfect for me at the moment so I'm using it with s-video. There's nothing wrong, except... 1) it's clear they intend for you to use 720p. Some stuff is hard to see and I end up relying on the game pad display to see fonts that are a bit on the small side. 2) I noticed there is a red bleeding effect in very specific circumstances. I don't think this happens over HDMI. Regular Wii looks perfect though! :)

Of course. You're using a CRT for an HD console. CRTs are great for SD systems and partularily for light gun games, but you'll encounter all kinds of issues ranging from clarity to colors to aspect ratio and HUD elements.




Uh oh. This is something else I need to test to be absolutely sure. I want to plug in an external storage device to have space to, for example, download Lost Reavers as I have no space on the Wii U itself. It's the original model so it's low capacity. They probably use FAT32 shit because it's the only FS they can use without royalty issues and still have the device in question be readable on a windoze PC. I could name half a dozen other file systems they could use freely but I know they won't.

You can do it, but expect USB 2.0 speeds both reading and writing. Games will take longer to boot, load, save and access in general. Put your most played stuff on the WiiU itself and the stuff you play occationally on an external drive.




Fortunately I do not schedule slingshot tests with my consoles.

Good. You shouldn't need to worry about the WiiU hardware if your a normal responsible adult.



Pro controller is very nice. Great battery life too!

Absolutely one of my favorite controllers in recent memory.




I always play with the TV. The game pad battery bites. I only focus on the pad when you're supposed to, like Maker's level editor.

Yeah. I don't even use mine, or when I do I always use it plugged in. I removed the battery because it was giving me those sale alerts which lights up the tablet screen and sometimes this happens in the middle of the night. Watch out for that.



Very wrong. The range is at least double this! I crossed the entire floor and made it halfway up a flight of stairs before the game pad complained it was out of range.

I should have specified the range is about 12 feet if you have obstructions such as walls. In a large open space, I'm sure the WiiU would be able to find the tablet fairly easily. But I move even just into the next room, the signal gets down to 1 bar and randomly disconnects.



I was playing Mario Galaxy for just over four hours about a week ago. When I got started, I had the battery warning indicator for my wii remote. I made it through all four hours without the batteries dying. If it was the Wii U game pad it would have died in 10 minutes. XD

Well keep in mind that the Wiimote doesn't have a 7" backlight display thats always on.



Bullshit. If this was true then I wouldn't be able to buy this battery with 2550mAh! (https://store.nintendo.com/ng3/us/po/browse/productDetailColorSizePicker.jsp?categoryNav=true&navAction=jump&navCount=0&atg.multisite.remap=false&productId=prod150204&categoryId=cat10009)

I wasn't aware of this. Is that even first party?

[Rickstilwell1]

I'm not sure if it's been stated in the thread earlier, but make sure you get a Nintendo brand Pro Controller for the Wii U. You can use it with most games and the battery life is much better than that of the Wii U Pad. You can even get a Japanese controller cheaper than a US one and it will still work with a US system and I assume vice versa.

[Gentlegamer]

The new OEM NES pads coming out in the fall can be connected to a Wiimote for authentic classic gaming control.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Who can say for certain if they'll be OEM or not though. Sega has long farmed out their plug 'n plays to the awful AtGames company, and many classic games that people remember fondly were developed by shadow developer TOSE. Also, the NES Advantage joystick was not created by Nintendo, but ASCIIware.

Until it comes out and we crack it open, Nintendo could for all we know be farming their plug 'n play out to AtGames. Quality is not garunteed.

[bb_hood]

Also, the NES Advantage joystick was not created by Nintendo, but ASCIIware.

Until it comes out and we crack it open, Nintendo could for all we know be farming their plug 'n play out to AtGames. Quality is not garunteed.

Thats neat about the Advantage, I didn't know that!

Regarding the quality of the New Nintendo, I would bet that its going to much better than the other plug and play systems. The only plug and play that Ive owned that was of quality build was the commodore joystick. If its going to be Made in Japan then it will definitly be high quality. It will probably be made in China though, and even then I would be surprised if it was junky. I generally consider Nintendo stuff to be high quality.