Wii U

[The Grue]

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

Nope.  There are no VC games for Wii U and the only ones you can play are in Wii mode that you would buy in the Wii VC Store.

[Hetz]

Yeah....i would love to be able to play my VC games on the Gamepad. Hope they get that going soon.

One thing I really do love though is being able to browse the internet, go on MiiVerse or the EShop while playing games. Im posting this from the Gamepad while I have Super Mario running in the background! Man, i wish the Vita could do this.

[Hetz]

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.

Cool! What is your Nintendo ID?

[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.

Cool! What is your Nintendo ID?

it's......  CeeKay!  I started a list of everyone here.

[skystride]

Not much discussion for a console launch, are people getting tired of it already? 

[CeeKay]

Not much discussion for a console launch, are people getting tired of it already? 

in my case I'm just too busy this week.  i should have left it in the box until Friday, it would have been one less thing to distract me.

[Hetz]

Not much discussion for a console launch, are people getting tired of it already? 

People are too busy playing it and having fun! 

[The Grue]

Not much discussion for a console launch, are people getting tired of it already? 

People are too busy playing it and having fun! 

Yeah, I think it is pretty awesome, myself.

[Bullwinkle]

Sigh.  Still no sign of it.

My Best Buy did mention they expect some in for Black Friday (which the paranoid side of me thinks means that they are sitting in the back, waiting to go on the shelves), but he said you'd probably already have to be camping out to get one.

[Canuck]

The lack of hype is very troubling.  I've never seen less hype for any console launch. I've no doubt that they'll sell out of all of their launch units before Christmas but I'm wondering what will happen in 2013.  Still, it's Nintendo. I'm smart enough not to bet against them.

[shon]

Just tried the wii mode and the screen was all messed up.  The wii menu was all red almost like a cable was loose but the wii u mode is fine. 

Downloading zombiu now will take 2:30 hours pretty slow going.

[davidrobots]

Just tried the wii mode and the screen was all messed up.  The wii menu was all red almost like a cable was loose but the wii u mode is fine. 

Downloading zombiu now will take 2:30 hours pretty slow going.

Yeah, Nintendo needs to do something to speed up their servers, but it's pretty cool that they not only encourage using external hard drives (rather than some kind of proprietary memory add on), but that they have day one digital downloads of most of the biggest launch titles. Nintendo needs to keep that up, it's a great start.

[CeeKay]

performed the system transfer tonight, and I have to say the animations shown while doing it were a nice touch.

[EddieA]

Does the Wii U have user accounts like XBox and PS3 where purchases are tied to your account, or is it like the Wii in that purchases are only tied to the machine?

[metallicorphan]

Does the Wii U have user accounts like XBox and PS3 where purchases are tied to your account, or is it like the Wii in that purchases are only tied to the machine?

the actual accounts are tied to one machine,for the time being anyway
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/379383/nintendo-network-accounts-tied-to-single-wii-u/

"A Nintendo Network Account can only be used on the console where it was created," Nintendo confirmed. "In the future, you will be able to use your Nintendo Network Account with future Nintendo consoles and other devices, such as PCs."

[CeeKay]

on the plus side they do let you transfer your Wii shop purchase and points from the Wii to the Wii U.  I found out I had 700 Wii points that I forgot about.

[Hrothgar]

Digital triggers and a resistive touchpad?  Does Nintendo not even look at what the rest of the technological universe is using?  Even Apple is not above stealing good ideas from everyone else.  It just produces a better product overall.  Is it true you can't run digital games from an attached hard drive?  I like Nintendo games, but I'm beginning to dislike the company.  I am thankful we have at least one new console this year.  I'm sure I'll get one eventually.  Maybe I should pledge to finish my Wii backlog first.

[skystride]

Anyone try Nintendo Land?  I was told not to play it until its patched because there are reports of it causing serious hardware lockup issues.

[CeeKay]

Anyone try Nintendo Land?  I was told not to play it until its patched because there are reports of it causing serious hardware lockup issues.

I played the dancing mini-game and the Zelda quest one.  they were OK diversions, but there are quite a few I didn't get to yet.

[Hetz]

Sigh.  Still no sign of it.

My Best Buy did mention they expect some in for Black Friday (which the paranoid side of me thinks means that they are sitting in the back, waiting to go on the shelves), but he said you'd probably already have to be camping out to get one.

I was at Best Buy tonight and they had just gotten a shipment in this afternoon. They only had 1 Deluxe Unit left and 4 Basics when I was there. They were going FAST.

[Lordnine]

My console arrived earlier today.  My very brief impressions are that the WiiU does some things phenomenally well and so when it fails it other areas it’s very disappointing.  Backwards compatibility is clunky; I gave up trying to transfer my wii data over after I saw what I would have to do and the initial startup interface is slow and clunky.  I’m really hoping that maybe a firmware upgrade can solve a lot of the problems. 

I also feel that the lack of a blueray player is actually going to be one of my biggest annoyances with the system.  Currently I use my PS3 as a media center but after using the WiiU pad for just a couple hours I really love how fluid it is to browse the net/youtube and I assume Netflix will be the same.  The fact that I can’t play normal movies with the controller is a huge letdown.  Also, has anyone figured out if you connect a cable box like you can a normal TV?  That could be another problem if you can’t.

Impressions on games is limited to just Mario but I can happily say that this is my favorite Mario title since Super Mario World on the SNES.  So far my only complaints with it are that I feel like there should be twice as many worlds per over map section and for some reason it really bugs me that Yoshi cant aim his tongue straight up like he could in SMW.  Very small complaints.

[skystride]

Yeah I don't understand why there is such a long delay to return to the main menu.   I'm having trouble updating, keeps timing out.

Mario is a lot of fun but what eurogamer said about poor colour over HDMI is very true.  It was disappointing how much better it looked on the pad than my 60" TV.  After a lot of adjusting settings on the TV, I got it to look better but it's not perfect.  Compare that to PS3 HDMI connection which looks great with default settings.

[Lordnine]

That seems strange about Mario.  It looks good on the pad but much better on my TV, more vibrant and colorful.  I have a 42inch LG so maybe certain brands or sizes make a big difference.

[skystride]

My old TV might be partly to blame (Sony SXRD), I'd guess that HD technology has come a long way since I got that TV.  But other devices like PS3 look vibrant so I don't know why Wii U is different.  This review sort of explains why but it's a bit too technical for me, I'm not that big a video phile.

So after buying it yesterday, I look up the game list to see what else to buy besides Mario.  Absolutely nothing!  Yeah, I've been on blackout mostly and didn't do any research.  Not a big deal though, I can wait for some good exclusives.  It's nice to play 2D mario on the bigscreen, it's not the same as playing 2D mario on the DS.  Brings me back to the SNES days.  The pad is much better than holding the wii mote sideways but I think I will get a pro controller.

Oh this is how little I knew about Wii U, I actually thought it was a portable system because someone mentioned it was portable in this thread and I didn't realize it was mostly a joke.  So is the pad just a streaming device?

To update the system I actually had to put the Wii in the DMZ and then it worked.  Nintendo still hasn't figured out internet protocols, I still get lots of delays and disconnects just like the Wii used to.  Never had any issues with 360 or PS3 which are using wireless just fine and they are sitting beside the Wii. 

Overall I like the hardware though.  Seems like there is good potential for some fun asynchronous gameplay.  Since I already have a bunch of Wii motes, I'm all set for a Wii U party!

[davidrobots]

My old TV might be partly to blame (Sony SXRD), I'd guess that HD technology has come a long way since I got that TV.  But other devices like PS3 look vibrant so I don't know why Wii U is different.  This review sort of explains why but it's a bit too technical for me, I'm not that big a video phile.

So after buying it yesterday, I look up the game list to see what else to buy besides Mario.  Absolutely nothing!  Yeah, I've been on blackout mostly and didn't do any research.  Not a big deal though, I can wait for some good exclusives.  It's nice to play 2D mario on the bigscreen, it's not the same as playing 2D mario on the DS.  Brings me back to the SNES days.  The pad is much better than holding the wii mote sideways but I think I will get a pro controller.

Oh this is how little I knew about Wii U, I actually thought it was a portable system because someone mentioned it was portable in this thread and I didn't realize it was mostly a joke.  So is the pad just a streaming device?

To update the system I actually had to put the Wii in the DMZ and then it worked.  Nintendo still hasn't figured out internet protocols, I still get lots of delays and disconnects just like the Wii used to.  Never had any issues with 360 or PS3 which are using wireless just fine and they are sitting beside the Wii. 

Overall I like the hardware though.  Seems like there is good potential for some fun asynchronous gameplay.  Since I already have a bunch of Wii motes, I'm all set for a Wii U party!

Most of the ports are pretty worthy versions of the previous counterparts, but the other big game for Wii U right now is Zombi U, which I bought but haven't had a chance to play yet. I've heard good things though.

And yes, the pad is basically a streaming device; it doesn't actually do any of the processing on its own. But certain games will let you play on the device while someone else uses the TV, which is a really cool feature. Also, Black Ops 2 has "split screen" multiplayer by having one player use the TV for their screen while another player uses the Gamepad. It's pretty awesome.

[shon]

I've played about an hour of ZombiU and I really like it so far.  The best part is the atmosphere and the world you are in.  The way the game uses the pad is really great and it may be a game that I play standing up most of the time.  I think this game will appeal to certain gamers and maybe that's why the reviews are all over the place. 

[Lordnine]

Played some multiplayer Nintendoland yesterday and today.  If you have a group of friends or family this could actually be a system seller in of itself.  Two of the competitive games are just brilliant for a party setting. 

In Luigis Mansion (or something like that) one player controls a ghost who is only visible when hit by light.  The ghost uses the WiiU pad exclusively and hunts down the other players (up to 4).  The four other players use normal Wii remotes and use flashlights to try and kill the ghost as a team.  If they are grabbed from behind the ghost paralyzes them until they are picked up by an ally or there are no more players.  This is all played from an overhead perspective Pac man style.

The other competitive game we had a blast with is fairly similar but much faster paced and in 3rd person.  One player uses the game WiiU pad which has the entire map of the arena and the other four players again use the wii motes.  The Wiimoters play in a 3rd person perspective and have to talk to each other to track down the WiiU pad player who can see where everyone is. 

As far as single player games I found the Yoshi game to be quite addicting despite its simplistic nature.  In a nutshell you use the WiiU pad to plot (draw) a course for Yoshi to pick up objects on the screen.  The challenge is that the objects and arena hazards don’t show up on the pad and you have to guesstimate the course by looking at your tv screen.

Most of the other games are decent but forgettable.  The exceptions being the dance and race games which are abysmal.

[skystride]

You can't use the pro controller to play Mario?  WTF!

[USMC Kato]

You can't use the pro controller to play Mario?  WTF!

Yep, very strange and makes no sense to me.

[Louis Cypher]

Beat ZombiU today (chicken), I liked it enough to play it again. Also add me on Nintendo Network, KittenOfDeath.

[ras752000]

Yeah....i would love to be able to play my VC games on the Gamepad. Hope they get that going soon.

One thing I really do love though is being able to browse the internet, go on MiiVerse or the EShop while playing games. Im posting this from the Gamepad while I have Super Mario running in the background! Man, i wish the Vita could do this.

Not to thread hijack ... but you can do that on vita now with 2.0 firmware.
Can flip from game to browser and back ...

[leo8877]

Anyone using a USB stick for extra storage?  I know they said not to, but wondering if anyone has had success.

[Teggy]

I know they said not to, but wondering if anyone has had success.

This is why we can't have nice things.

[Lordnine]

I’ve made it to the Screw You levels of Mario now.  After unlocking everything in NSMB2 on the 3DS without much trouble I’m surprised how challenging they’ve made some of these levels. 

[MonkeyFinger]

I decided I would pick up the "deluxe" version of this only if I stumbled across one but I wasn't going to go out of my way to track one down. On a whim, stopped in my local BB on the way home and they had one left from the shipment that got that day, along with a good number of the basic system. Snagged it about 30 seconds before someone else showed up looking for one and also picked up ZombieU. Got started late with the setup and gave up on the system update at midnight after two hours of "downloading". Woke up this morning to find it had failed. 

Guess I'll repeat the update tonight and see how it goes, then perhaps actually play a dang game. Or try to transfer stuff off my Wii...

[kronovan]

I read last night -sorry didn't save the link- that it sold 400k in the USA in its 1st week - so much for it being a flop. I still won't buy 1 for at least a year or 2, but its selling a bit better than I would have predicted. Sales apparently aren't as strong in the UK though and there doesn't seem to be any info on Japan or Europe.

[Lordnine]

The newest firmware update is out.  I played around with it last night after it finished and noticed a significant improvement in performance.  Load times on games have been reduced by 4-5 seconds and loads times on menus and wiishop/internet apps have been cut in half.  This really feels like where it should have been on release.

There is also speculation that this update contains the WiiTVii update and it will be turned on later in the week.

[Scraper]

I decided I would pick up the "deluxe" version of this only if I stumbled across one but I wasn't going to go out of my way to track one down. On a whim, stopped in my local BB on the way home and they had one left from the shipment that got that day, along with a good number of the basic system. Snagged it about 30 seconds before someone else showed up looking for one and also picked up ZombieU. Got started late with the setup and gave up on the system update at midnight after two hours of "downloading". Woke up this morning to find it had failed. 

Guess I'll repeat the update tonight and see how it goes, then perhaps actually play a dang game. Or try to transfer stuff off my Wii...

I saw both versions at a local Target yesterday. On a whim I looked up what the system is going for on Ebay and it seems like they are selling for near retail. So even though the sales numbers are strong I wouldn't say the demand is too far ahead of the supply.

[MonkeyFinger]

Has anyone done the 'Transfer System Data' step to bring over information from your Wii?  It takes an SD card that goes into the WiiU first before going back-and-forth, which makes me wonder if I can use the one that is currently in my Wii to start with. I have no idea what that first step in the WiiU does... worried about possible loss of the current contents. Thanks.

Well, never mind - found this on Nintendo support:

Software and save data that may already exist on an SD card from the source Wii console cannot be transferred directly. If you have data on the SD card, perform the following: For software, either transfer it back to the source Wii console before performing the transfer, or redownload it after the transfer using the Wii Shop Channel on the target Wii U console's Wii Menu.

[Lordnine]

Also be aware that the transfer process removes everything from the original Wii console.