The Official Wii U launch thread

[Reliant]

Not sure if I should keep Black Ops 2 and trade it for Scribblenauts or AC3. I'd like some Wiiu specific AC3 reviews, and Scribble is looking generally favorable.

 

[SAWYER]

I saw this on another site, no wonder the battery life on the controller is bad! Cell phones have bigger batteries
1500mah

I expect ebay to be flooded with double to triple capacity knock off batteries soon

 

[exdeath]

Saw this at target today. Picked up the controller, it feels fine.

FAIL: there are ZERO playable games. There were 19 videos. I don't want to stand at target and watch a damn video, I am there to play it. I left in disgust just like the guy and his son did shortly before me.

You can pre order Spongebob, Hanna Montana, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, and Call of Duty though!

Give it some time, it takes a lot of time to redesign manuals and labels and to change the view and projection matrix to support higher resolution.

 

[zerocool84]

I saw this on another site, no wonder the battery life on the controller is bad! Cell phones have bigger batteries
1500mah

I expect ebay to be flooded with double to triple capacity knock off batteries soon

Yup battery life seems to be bad but they had to tradeoff weight for battery life since you're going to hold a controller for extended periods of time, cellphones not as long.

 

[SAWYER]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6465/nintendo-wii-u-teardown

 

[Mopetar]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6465/nintendo-wii-u-teardown

Nice. Hopefully there's even more information available soon.

 

[Doppel]

You can pre order Spongebob, Hanna Montana, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, and Call of Duty though!

Give it some time, it takes a lot of time to redesign manuals and labels and to change the view and projection matrix to support higher resolution.

I wasn't clear: the thing was plugged in! I was able to navigate through the demo screens on the console itself with its controller. It's just that none of the available options were demo, just a bunch of videos

 

[SandEagle]

I saw this on another site, no wonder the battery life on the controller is bad! Cell phones have bigger batteries
1500mah

I expect ebay to be flooded with double to triple capacity knock off batteries soon

wow, look at that empty space lol. u know nintendo will sell bigger batteries to make more money. probably why included a cheapass 1500mAh one in the first place.

 

[ImpulsE69]

This is the first Nintendo console I am feeling pretty meh about, but I am super excited about the next Xbox. Maybe I'm just getting older?

It's the lack of compelling opening games. I've felt this way about the Vita, 3DS, and now the Wii U (and really the PS3 as well). I also wonder if it's me getting old, except -- I still play and enjoy games. The difference is that original content is lacking CGI fest.

When I can get so many of the "same" games on PC for cheaper, why bother with an overpriced console? So many games are rehash/remake of older games that I've owned over and over already. Just makes the whole thing lackluster.

I honestly don't care what the specs are on the new Xbox or Sony system because the games will not live up to the hype and won't utilize their full potential anyway. People are crying for new systems when even current (PS3) gen tech isn't being fully utilized. While there are a few gems on these old systems - for their lifespan and catalog, there aren't that many that stand out as great.

I predict the next video game crash will occur with the new generation --- but then again, since it's so mainstream now, maybe it can sustain itself with 3 major players again...

 

[bigrash]

Looks like a cool console, but I'll wait to see how it turns out. Wonder how good the games will be.

 

[Todd33]

Wow, $350 buy you a console worse than a 360 or PS3. You really have to love Nintendo games to invest in this machine. I made the mistake of buying into the Wii hype years ago, what a waste.

How does a new console perform worse than 6+ year old consoles?

 

[BD2003]

wow, look at that empty space lol. u know nintendo will sell bigger batteries to make more money. probably why included a cheapass 1500mAh one in the first place.

1500mAh? I have AA batteries that hold more than that.

 

[TheSlamma]

Wow, $350 buy you a console worse than a 360 or PS3. You really have to love Nintendo games to invest in this machine. I made the mistake of buying into the Wii hype years ago, what a waste.

How does a new console perform worse than 6+ year old consoles?

Didn't ya kno bro, it's all aboutz the innOvation yo. That more than makes up for getting a Ti calculator with a fancy controller.

 

[Sureshot324]

I won't be buying one, but the touch screen controller has some interesting possibilities for multiplayer gaming since it lets you hide things from your opponents. Many board/card games depend on this, but it remains to be seen whether developers can take advantage of this for games, and if a lot of people are willing to invest in more than one touch screen controller.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Anyone heard about the bricked systems that seem to be popping up? I see it mentioned in a lot of forums. My local Gamestop (manager is a friend of mine) told me that they had a few returns because of faulty systems.

Also your Network ID is tied to the hardware so you cannot transfer it to a new system should yours need to be replaced and that means you cannot load your network ID to your friend's system.

I don't own one but someone told me the controller needs to be put into a charging cradle and cannot be plugged in and used while it's charging. This true? If so who's idea was that?

I've read that Ninja Gaiden looks worse than the Xbox and PS3 versions despite all the time that was available to refine the engine for the system and had it been released on the Xbox or PS3 in the state we find the WIiU version in, we would have not given the game a pass on that at all. I also read that Mass Effect won't be getting the new DLC on the system which is pretty big news, especially if this is the only way you will be able to experience the series. The Omega DLC won't be coming.

Overall I've gotten the feeling that this launch was pretty bad, ZombieU has been hammered by critics and not well received despite all the hype behind that as a key launch title. Now we have Fils-Aime basically pleading with Rockstar to get GTAV on the system in one article (at least it's written to seem that way).

I am very glad I didn't buy into it. What's even worse IMO is the system supports two WiiU controllers with tablet screens but no games support this and you cannot buy a second controller separately. What do you do if your cousin, kid, or cat knocks it off the table and it breaks? How do you get another one if you can't buy it? Surely a drop is not covered under warranty.

 

[mizzou]

It's too bad the console appears to be woefully underpowered. I guess Nintendo is banking on their system to be able to, at the bare minimum, easily port PS3/360 games.

I'm interested to see it's ACTUAL potential performance though. I remember hearing about the Nintendo Gamecube being an extremely powerful little box, but it had the perception of being less powerful then the PSone/Xbox.

I think Nintendo never got over that, and oddly embraced the B movie level graphics grade.

Part of me thinks you can't do the Wiix2 and expect it to be succesful. This thing should have been the N64x2....

 

[cmdrdredd]

It's too bad the console appears to be woefully underpowered. I guess Nintendo is banking on their system to be able to, at the bare minimum, easily port PS3/360 games.

I'm interested to see it's ACTUAL potential performance though. I remember hearing about the Nintendo Gamecube being an extremely powerful little box, but it had the perception of being less powerful then the PSone/Xbox.

I think Nintendo never got over that, and oddly embraced the B movie level graphics grade.

Part of me thinks you can't do the Wiix2 and expect it to be succesful. This thing should have been the N64x2....

I don't know any details but from what I understand when you use the screen on the controller you are reducing the potential power of the graphics on the TV. I might be misunderstanding but this is what I was gathering from piecing together all the reports and rumor.

 

[njdevilsfan87]

I'm just happy their exclusives (Metroid, Mario, Zelda) will finally look acceptable on a HDTV. I knew the console wasn't going to be very powerful, and I skipped over the Wii. Metroid Prime was one of my favorite games of all time, and they could make anything close to that on the Wii U, I'll be very happy. Same goes for Zelda, and Mario Kart online would be a blast as well.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I'm just happy their exclusives (Metroid, Mario, Zelda) will finally look acceptable on a HDTV. I knew the console wasn't going to be very powerful, and I skipped over the Wii. Metroid Prime was one of my favorite games of all time, and they could make anything close to that on the Wii U, I'll be very happy. Same goes for Zelda, and Mario Kart online would be a blast as well.

When there is a 3D Mario and a Zelda title on it, I'll buy it. Not before.

 

[mizzou]

i hope this leads to a strategy / RTS boon on the console market

I really liked the DS in that regard, would be great to see some higher quality / diverse games in that market.

PC has tons, but consoles can attract a different kind of genre

 

[cmdrdredd]

i hope this leads to a strategy / RTS boon on the console market

I really liked the DS in that regard, would be great to see some higher quality / diverse games in that market.

PC has tons, but consoles can attract a different kind of genre

I dunno...that would be a risky environment. We know what sells currently and I think that's what is going to be the formula until the fps genre breaks.

 

[Doppel]

People are crying for new systems when even current (PS3) gen tech isn't being fully utilized.

I read this from time to time and what does it mean? Should a new console not be released until ever last vestige of the current console's hardware and software is exhausted, tweaking it until it's perfect? Because that's never been the case for any PC, either.

the touch screen controller has some interesting possibilities for multiplayer gaming

Yeah, for one player For board games I could see it, though.

I don't own one but someone told me the controller needs to be put into a charging cradle and cannot be plugged in and used while it's charging.

I cannot speak from experience certainly but something I read this morning specifically said this is NOT true; it can charge and play at the same time.

I've read that Ninja Gaiden looks worse than the Xbox and PS3 versions

I have not found many wii u vs 360 or ps3 cross comparisons--what good links are there? BTW, the Xbox 360 is now SEVEN years old. I don't think a single person in this thread can say without a straight face that it's even at all acceptable for the wii u to have similar performance. It is telling though that now Nintendo's brand new offering can have a release along with 360/ps3. That speaks a great deal about its lack of performance for a 2012 console. The 720 (?) or PS4 within 1-2 years will embarrass their predecessors and by extension the wii u in performance. Nintendo has some proprietary titles, but once those systems are out it again won't be able to play the current best games.

I still see deluxe Wii Us available locally.

 

[Todd33]

It runs games at about 35W, low power, but it shows. Just about every cross platform port is having issues. I hope the game pad gimmick is worth it, for $199 on black Friday you can purchase the PS3 with five games, huge catalog, BD playback, etc.

 

[Mopetar]

wow, look at that empty space lol. u know nintendo will sell bigger batteries to make more money. probably why included a cheapass 1500mAh one in the first place.

Doubtful. As another poster pointed out, it's probably a likely trade-off between weight and battery life. A bigger battery is going to be heavier, and that's a problem for a controller that you're supposed to be using for an extended period.

Also, if this were true, Nintendo would require a proprietary hard drive for the console, rather than just letting you plugging in a generic one.

It's the lack of compelling opening games. I've felt this way about the Vita, 3DS, and now the Wii U (and really the PS3 as well). I also wonder if it's me getting old, except -- I still play and enjoy games. The difference is that original content is lacking CGI fest.

It's the same for me. I'll probably pick up a WiiU once it gets a game that I'm interested in, but the launch titles just weren't enough to draw me. As far as console's go, though, they have a really good launch. The only problem is that most of those games can be had on other platforms. The reason I picked up a Wii at launch was the new Zelda game, and it was an amazing experience; one that I couldn't get on other consoles or a PC.

The WiiU doesn't have that for me right now, but I expect that it will get there in a year and I'll probably pick one up. I think Nintendo has an advantage in this regard as the most popular Xbox and PS games tend to be available for PC, so outside of a few exclusives there's not a lot of reason to get those platforms. Nintendo has far more exclusive games, and even though they're nothing new, I have a long history with many of those franchises (Mario, Zelda, Metroid, etc.) so I enjoy the next incarnation for nostalgic reasons if nothing else.

Anyone heard about the bricked systems that seem to be popping up? I see it mentioned in a lot of forums. My local Gamestop (manager is a friend of mine) told me that they had a few returns because of faulty systems.

Wouldn't surprise me. There's always some small failure rate with electronics. Unless it turns into another RRoD, it's probably within the normal ranges.

 

[Doppel]

There's always some small failure rate with electronics.

Especially new consoles. I think they make great contenders for extended warranties