Wii U: Considering buying it but so many questions!

[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!

[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!

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