Wii U

[EngineNo9]

So what's the deal with Amazon hot having any of the hardware for this thing?  They don't have either console or even the Pro controller for sale (except for some price-gouging third party).  Are they expected to ever get them in?

[Lordnine]

Amazon and Nintendo had a falling out after the original 3DS.  Currently they are refusing to stock the Wii U and have only recently started carrying the 3DS XL.

[kronovan]

This system is officially available in roughly 5 hours in my market, and its the 1st Nintendo console in 3 generations I'm not purchasing opening day. I know I'll no doubt have a few moments of anxiety tomorrow, but I'm sure I'll be over it by monday. Best thing - I no longer have young kids begging me to get it that would be disappointed if I didn't.

[Kurt Stevens]

Mine is due to arrive on Monday.  I'll have to wait till Christmas to try it out as it's a present for my 8 year old.   I think he'll enjoy it.  If it wasn't for him, I don't know if I would have preordered one this time around.

[CeeKay]

review from Joystiq.  totally missed this bit of info:

It's worth noting that the Wii U, for the first time in game console history, ships only with an HDMI cable. If you want component, composite, or something else, you'll have to buy it separately or use the one you were using with your Wii.

glad I forgot to order another HDMI cable.

[faide]

I was able to buy the last deluxe model target had this morning !!

It's taking forever to update, but hopefully be having fun with it soon.  Picked up New Mario U to go with it.

[Knightshade Dragon]

So I'm torn....part of me says "you have to buy it - product will arrive and you can't review it without the hardware" but recent hands-on time left me cold.  ZombiU turned out to be less fun than I thought, NintendoLand is essentially Wii Sports (minus the Luigi's Mansion portion which is a blast to play), The Wonderful 101 was amusing for a short while but got VERY repetitive after only 5 minutes, I don't sing so Wii U Sing is out, I beat Assassin's Creed III, Darksiders II, and Batman: Arkham City, I don't care about FIFA13, I already own CODBLOPS2, and I'm not interested in Skylanders Giants.

This leaves....
Scribblenauts Unlimited
New Super Mario Bros U
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two

One of those I can pick up on another platform, Scribblenauts is a passing fancy, leaving only one game I'm interested in.  Granted, when I played it, it was fantastic. I will absolutely buy it when other titles fill out my interest range, but as this launch list stands, this is one console I can't honestly either recommend or justify to myself.  Just my 2 cents...

[Lordnine]

I preordered primarily because after the shortage the Wii experienced I didn’t want a game I really wanted to play to come out (Pikmin3) and I not be able to find a system.  Beyond that I’m pretty sure I will love New Super Mario Bros U, I doubt the system is going to get many good deals between now and March, and I have the money now so why not?

[Bullwinkle]

So I'm torn....part of me says "you have to buy it - product will arrive and you can't review it without the hardware" but recent hands-on time left me cold.  ZombiU turned out to be less fun than I thought, NintendoLand is essentially Wii Sports (minus the Luigi's Mansion portion which is a blast to play), The Wonderful 101 was amusing for a short while but got VERY repetitive after only 5 minutes, I don't sing so Wii U Sing is out, I beat Assassin's Creed III, Darksiders II, and Batman: Arkham City, I don't care about FIFA13, I already own CODBLOPS2, and I'm not interested in Skylanders Giants.

This leaves....
Scribblenauts Unlimited
New Super Mario Bros U
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two

One of those I can pick up on another platform, Scribblenauts is a passing fancy, leaving only one game I'm interested in.  Granted, when I played it, it was fantastic. I will absolutely buy it when other titles fill out my interest range, but as this launch list stands, this is one console I can't honestly either recommend or justify to myself.  Just my 2 cents...

Epic Mickey 2 just got a 5/10 from Gamespot (the PS3 version, but the problems didn't sound like they'd be fixed by the Wii U).  You may be off the hook fr that one.

[metallicorphan]

Mine is due to arrive on Monday.  I'll have to wait till Christmas to try it out as it's a present for my 8 year old.   I think he'll enjoy it.  If it wasn't for him, I don't know if I would have preordered one this time around.

I would suggest when your kid is out to update the Wii U which Faide is going through now,people are complaining that its taking forever....Kotaku reckon it will take 4 hrs to update(its a 5 gig update apparently),be a bit of a bitch if you have to wait 4 hrs on Christmas Morning to get playing

[Hetz]

Got my Deluxe at Best Buy and have everything setup.

My Nintendo Network ID is Hetz_OO  (the letters OO not the numbers 00) 

Hope to see people in the Miiverse soon!

[Kurt Stevens]

Mine is due to arrive on Monday.  I'll have to wait till Christmas to try it out as it's a present for my 8 year old.   I think he'll enjoy it.  If it wasn't for him, I don't know if I would have preordered one this time around.

I would suggest when your kid is out to update the Wii U which Faide is going through now,people are complaining that its taking forever....Kotaku reckon it will take 4 hrs to update(its a 5 gig update apparently),be a bit of a bitch if you have to wait 4 hrs on Christmas Morning to get playing

Thanks for the update.  That would make for a miserable Christmas Morning.   4 Hour updated is pretty rough.  Now I just need to pick up a couple of games and find a pro controller before Christmas.

[Bullwinkle]

Sigh.  I was hoping Costco would get these in (I have a big credit there I could use), but no luck.  I put off pre-ordering as a result, which was stupid.

Now I'm without and regretting it.

[CeeKay]

Mine is due to arrive on Monday.  I'll have to wait till Christmas to try it out as it's a present for my 8 year old.   I think he'll enjoy it.  If it wasn't for him, I don't know if I would have preordered one this time around.

I would suggest when your kid is out to update the Wii U which Faide is going through now,people are complaining that its taking forever....Kotaku reckon it will take 4 hrs to update(its a 5 gig update apparently),be a bit of a bitch if you have to wait 4 hrs on Christmas Morning to get playing

Thanks for the update.  That would make for a miserable Christmas Morning.   4 Hour updated is pretty rough.  Now I just need to pick up a couple of games and find a pro controller before Christmas.

Of course you also have everyone trying to update today, in a few days it might not be as bad.

[EngineNo9]

I can't believe that the triggers are digital instead of analog, who's the genius that made that decision?  

[Hetz]

It took me about an hour to update. Not too bad.

[Hetz]

So I'm torn....part of me says "you have to buy it - product will arrive and you can't review it without the hardware" but recent hands-on time left me cold.  ZombiU turned out to be less fun than I thought, NintendoLand is essentially Wii Sports (minus the Luigi's Mansion portion which is a blast to play), The Wonderful 101 was amusing for a short while but got VERY repetitive after only 5 minutes, I don't sing so Wii U Sing is out, I beat Assassin's Creed III, Darksiders II, and Batman: Arkham City, I don't care about FIFA13, I already own CODBLOPS2, and I'm not interested in Skylanders Giants.

This leaves....
Scribblenauts Unlimited
New Super Mario Bros U
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two

One of those I can pick up on another platform, Scribblenauts is a passing fancy, leaving only one game I'm interested in.  Granted, when I played it, it was fantastic. I will absolutely buy it when other titles fill out my interest range, but as this launch list stands, this is one console I can't honestly either recommend or justify to myself.  Just my 2 cents...

For what it is worth.....I hear that CODBOPS2 is very impressive on the WiiU. I held off getting it for the PS3 and Xbox because of what I was hearing and it seems to be well worth the week wait. I haven't played yet, but from people that have....they say it looks just as good as the 360 version, if not a bit better. You can also play entirely on the Gamepad screen, while someone else plays on the TV, for multiplayer over the internet. That alone, makes me really excited for this.

[metallicorphan]

It took me about an hour to update. Not too bad.

Oh,that's not too bad then

I can't believe that the triggers are digital instead of analog, who's the genius that made that decision?  

Okay,does that mean no matter how much you press them,they are pressed?..eg: as in you can't soft rev on a starting line when playing racing games?(by only half pressing the trigger)

[davidrobots]

I just got mine this morning, been updating, playing with settings, messed with Mario and Nintendo Land. I'm impressed. The screen works very well, and it's cool to be able to play console games without even having to turn the TV on. Out of the promised TV functionality, the only video app available at the moment is Netflix, and it works really well. Switching between watching on TV and watching on the Gamepad is instantaneous, and when you're watching on TV, the Gamepad functions as a way to access different options like Closed Captioning, or manage where you are in the show/movie. Nice touches here.

Nintendo Land and Mario U both are tons of fun. Played them both with my girlfriend and I found myself enraptured with a Mario game for the first time since Mario Galaxy. Nintendo Land has lots of stuff to do, the minigames are pretty fleshed out, and most have a bunch of levels and options available, giving that one some actual lasting power. Granted, console launches are usually the worst time to buy a system, as anyone who got an Xbox 360 at launch can attest to. But once a few of the other games start hitting and developers stop porting and start getting real (by making games that actually take advantage of the system), I think this thing can be magical given a few months. I can't wait for Pikmin 3, that's for sure.

I'm planning on picking up Zombi U and COD: BLOPS 2 at Toys R Us today, as they're having a buy 1 get 1 40% sale on Wii U games. I hear good things about BLOPS 2, both in general and with the Wii U version, so I'm excited about that.

If anyone wants to friend me, my Nintendo ID is davidrobots. Add me and I'll add you back. Hope to see you guys in the Miiverse!

[EngineNo9]

I can't believe that the triggers are digital instead of analog, who's the genius that made that decision?   

Okay,does that mean no matter how much you press them,they are pressed?..eg: as in you can't soft rev on a starting line when playing racing games?(by only half pressing the trigger)

Yeah, that's exactly what it means.  It acts like a button, either on or off, there is no half-pressed or 20% pressed.  Definitely a big issue for any racing game that isn't Mario Kart, as well as many other games.

[Hetz]

I just got mine this morning, been updating, playing with settings, messed with Mario and Nintendo Land. I'm impressed. The screen works very well, and it's cool to be able to play console games without even having to turn the TV on. Out of the promised TV functionality, the only video app available at the moment is Netflix, and it works really well. Switching between watching on TV and watching on the Gamepad is instantaneous, and when you're watching on TV, the Gamepad functions as a way to access different options like Closed Captioning, or manage where you are in the show/movie. Nice touches here.

Nintendo Land and Mario U both are tons of fun. Played them both with my girlfriend and I found myself enraptured with a Mario game for the first time since Mario Galaxy. Nintendo Land has lots of stuff to do, the minigames are pretty fleshed out, and most have a bunch of levels and options available, giving that one some actual lasting power. Granted, console launches are usually the worst time to buy a system, as anyone who got an Xbox 360 at launch can attest to. But once a few of the other games start hitting and developers stop porting and start getting real (by making games that actually take advantage of the system), I think this thing can be magical given a few months. I can't wait for Pikmin 3, that's for sure.

I'm planning on picking up Zombi U and COD: BLOPS 2 at Toys R Us today, as they're having a buy 1 get 1 40% sale on Wii U games. I hear good things about BLOPS 2, both in general and with the Wii U version, so I'm excited about that.

If anyone wants to friend me, my Nintendo ID is davidrobots. Add me and I'll add you back. Hope to see you guys in the Miiverse!

Added you as a friend! Anyone else get the Wii U today and has a Nintendo ID yet?

[USMC Kato]

Me!

Bought ZombieU, Darksiders 2, and the new Mario.

[Hetz]

Me!

Bought ZombieU, Darksiders 2, and the new Mario.

Added!

I got Darksiders 2, Mario, Ac3 and Call of Duty.

[CeeKay]

just ordered ZombiU off of Amazon, and probably going to grab a couple from Toys R Us with their sale (probably Scribblenauts and Mario).  I hit the local Walmart a hour ago and saw they had one of the $299 Wii U sets left on the shelf, but their games selection was picked over.

Darksiders 2 has had really cheap sales for the PC version, so I'm not sure I could justify grabbing the Wii U version at 60 bucks.  AssCreed 3's PC version may trounce my desire for the Wii U version; going to wait and see on how well the PC version is received.   I also have Epic Mickey 1 on the way from Gamefly, gonna finish that first before getting the sequel.

[Crawley]

Any impressions on trying the original Wii games on this? Any graphical improvements or oddities?

[davidrobots]

Any impressions on trying the original Wii games on this? Any graphical improvements or oddities?

I haven't tried it myself, but from what I hear, nothing has changed at all. When you launch the Wii option, you're essentially turning on a Wii inside your Wii U. The Gamepad turns off and everything. So, for better or for worse, you're getting the original Wii experience.

[EngineNo9]

Any impressions on trying the original Wii games on this? Any graphical improvements or oddities?

I haven't tried it myself, but from what I hear, nothing has changed at all. When you launch the Wii option, you're essentially turning on a Wii inside your Wii U. The Gamepad turns off and everything. So, for better or for worse, you're getting the original Wii experience.

Wait, they don't even upscale or anything? 

[USMC Kato]

Any impressions on trying the original Wii games on this? Any graphical improvements or oddities?

I haven't tried it myself, but from what I hear, nothing has changed at all. When you launch the Wii option, you're essentially turning on a Wii inside your Wii U. The Gamepad turns off and everything. So, for better or for worse, you're getting the original Wii experience.

Wait, they don't even upscale or anything? 

I'll give it a try with Last Story

[skystride]

Any impressions on trying the original Wii games on this? Any graphical improvements or oddities?

I haven't tried it myself, but from what I hear, nothing has changed at all. When you launch the Wii option, you're essentially turning on a Wii inside your Wii U. The Gamepad turns off and everything. So, for better or for worse, you're getting the original Wii experience.

Wait, they don't even upscale or anything? 

I'm on the fence but if the WiiU upscaled Xenoblade Chronicles, I'd seriously consider it.

[CeeKay]

no one ever listens to Moose.

[leo8877]

Any impressions on trying the original Wii games on this? Any graphical improvements or oddities?

I haven't tried it myself, but from what I hear, nothing has changed at all. When you launch the Wii option, you're essentially turning on a Wii inside your Wii U. The Gamepad turns off and everything. So, for better or for worse, you're getting the original Wii experience.

Wait, they don't even upscale or anything?

I believe IGN said there's no upscaling done at all.

[Hetz]

There is upscaling on all Wii, Virtual Console and WiiWare games. IGN was wrong.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=500423

[CeeKay]

IGN was wrong.

I believe it was Nintendo PR that was wrong.  from the Moose-link above (I think Leo was making a funny because I said no one listens to Moose):

The answer is no, based on a conversation I had yesterday with Mark Franklin, head of Nintendo's public relations. Pop in a Wii disc, the games will play like they did on the Wii.

No upscaling or texture filtering, unfortunately.

[Hetz]

Ok....so there is a bug of sorts when you try to add friends. If u go through the friend list app...u will send an invite but the other person will never see it. They will just have to know to add u manually. No notification or anything. In order to properly add someone u have to gothrough the miiverse app and "search users" then add them from there that way they will get the notification that u want to be friends.

[davidrobots]

Ok....so there is a bug of sorts when you try to add friends. If u go through the friend list app...u will send an invite but the other person will never see it. They will just have to know to add u manually. No notification or anything. In order to properly add someone u have to gothrough the miiverse app and "search users" then add them from there that way they will get the notification that u want to be friends.

Yeah, I realized that too. I don't think it's a bug, but rather a "feature." It's not perfect, but people tend to forget how crappy the Xbox 360 and PS3 were when they first launched. If Nintendo is smart, they'll work all this stuff out in the coming months.

[Hetz]

Ok....so there is a bug of sorts when you try to add friends. If u go through the friend list app...u will send an invite but the other person will never see it. They will just have to know to add u manually. No notification or anything. In order to properly add someone u have to gothrough the miiverse app and "search users" then add them from there that way they will get the notification that u want to be friends.

Yeah, I realized that too. I don't think it's a bug, but rather a "feature." It's not perfect, but people tend to forget how crappy the Xbox 360 and PS3 were when they first launched. If Nintendo is smart, they'll work all this stuff out in the coming months.

Yeah, that is why I am giving them a *pass* on this issue/feature. Xbox Live and PSN have come a long way since they were introduced. I have no doubt that Nintendo will fix things up and improve on things. It just sucks that Nintendo didn't do this a long time ago. It's just kind of embarassing that they are just now getting a proper online service up and running. Anyway, the Miiverse stuff has a ton of potential. I am eager to see what they can do with it.

[davidrobots]

Ok....so there is a bug of sorts when you try to add friends. If u go through the friend list app...u will send an invite but the other person will never see it. They will just have to know to add u manually. No notification or anything. In order to properly add someone u have to gothrough the miiverse app and "search users" then add them from there that way they will get the notification that u want to be friends.

Yeah, I realized that too. I don't think it's a bug, but rather a "feature." It's not perfect, but people tend to forget how crappy the Xbox 360 and PS3 were when they first launched. If Nintendo is smart, they'll work all this stuff out in the coming months.

Yeah, that is why I am giving them a *pass* on this issue/feature. Xbox Live and PSN have come a long way since they were introduced. I have no doubt that Nintendo will fix things up and improve on things. It just sucks that Nintendo didn't do this a long time ago. It's just kind of embarassing that they are just now getting a proper online service up and running. Anyway, the Miiverse stuff has a ton of potential. I am eager to see what they can do with it.

Miiverse, when it's not being obtuse, is awesome. I love that every single game has its own pre-built community, and you can send messages and ask questions. Yesterday, I asked the BLOPS2 community if it was worth getting, and I was actually able to get a few responses that were genuinely helpful. It's kinda nice.

[CeeKay]

Wii-hoo!  delivered, unboxed, connected to the internet (with some voodoo) and updating (rather quickly).  only got Nintendo Land right now, ZombiU will be here tomorrow.

[leo8877]

Wii-hoo!  delivered, unboxed, connected to the internet (with some voodoo) and updating (rather quickly).  only got Nintendo Land right now, ZombiU will be here tomorrow.

How can they screw up acquiring an IP address automatically??!

[Eel Snave]

So can you play Virtual Console games on the GamePad yet? That's what I'm holding out for.