Nintendo announces price and release date for Wii U (1 Viewer)

[Morgan Jolley]

I think the guy who is the head of Gearbox (Randy PItchford?) said the Wii U is absolutely more powerful than the PS3 and 360. I believe he's making Aliens: Colonial Marines and the fact that the graphics look better than PS3/360 and the console also has to stream visuals to the GamePad says something. Now, as to whether the graphics will be better than the eventual Orbis/Durango is up in the air but most likely those will be a good leap over the Wii U.
Anyone play around with SmartGlass now that it's available? I get the impression that MS is trying to leverage the fact that most people who have a 360 also have a tablet or smartphone and add a "Wii U"ish feature but it seems to be basically pointless. I also haven't played any games for PS3 and utilize the Vita in a "Wii U"ish way, which is disappointing, and I'm not sure any exist. There are cross-play games and cross-buy games, but none that seem to use the Vita for a regular PS3 game for added features.
Also, Nintendo has had their retail units for the Wii U and launch games go out to the press. Look around and you can find a bunch of unboxing videos/pics. The biggest news for me was the way you move stuff from your Wii to your Wii U (both need to be on and online, use an SD card to transfer, Wii ends up being completely wiped in the process) but also any unused Wii Points get moved, too. This means that the 2000 Wii Points that I (for some reason) still have unspent will be useful! I hope the Virtual Console games work on the GamePad. One little sidenote: the Wii backwards compatibility, along with some stuff for the online store, will require a day 0 patch update.
As for games being available on Day 1 as digital downloads, you'll want to get a chunky external HDD. The onboard memory is either 16 or 32 GB and full Wii U retail games can be big. I read that Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is like 17 GB on its own, meaning you NEED external memory to just download the game on the regular Wii U unit.
I'm excited for my black Wii U to match my fat glossy PS3 and my Kinect-era glossy 360.

 

[Sam Posten]

It looks like most games will not be available as downloads. That sucks. Hard disk space is cheap and I have fios so downloads the way to go for me. I don't buy disks anymore unless I absolutely have to.
This may be the first device I buy with the intention of jailbreaking....

 

[DaveF]

Pikmin 3: that looks great! The original was a gem on the GameCube. Hearing the music and the whistle takes me back a decade

 

[Sam Posten]

Pikmin is everything I hate hehe. I know some of you love it but it just grates on me in ways that similar games do not....

 

[DaveF]

You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch!

A reason I didn't buy the wii, was that I was tired of Nintendo games where characters spoke in beepy-boopy voices with subtitles. If a new 2012 console remains stuck in 1989 dialog design, I won't consider it.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Conversely, some companies force voices into games that result in terrible voice acting that you mostly skip through because it's quicker/easier to read text.

 

[Sam Posten]

Sorry Dave, I just don't 'get' it. I'll not bag on those who do tho! Similarly I can't stand JRPGs either....

 

[mattCR]

*shrug* and I keep waiting for Phantasmagoria update. Where have all the FMV games gone?

 

[Sam Posten]

You can get Dragons Lair on about 200 different systems at this point.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Ubisoft announced their titles will be downloadable, and they're one of the big boosters. I think Nin wants titles to be downloadable, but I guess it's up to each company.

 

[DaveF]

Originally Posted by Morgan Jolley /t/323738/nintendo-announces-price-and-release-date-for-wii-u#post_4000584
Conversely, some companies force voices into games that result in terrible voice acting that you mostly skip through because it's quicker/easier to read text.

Yep. I think I had an allergic reaction: after a lifetime of boopity-boop dialog, I hit my threshold

Sam - it's a very cute game. But it's also so...sentimental. The way nighttime comes, and all the little Pikmin race to the ship..and you mourn the poor little monochromats who didn't make it back in time after last whistle call..but maybe it's just me

The downside to not having a Wii is that I've missed some excellent games, like Mario Galaxy. Maybe the new U will be the thing to get next year. Especially if I can get my basement HT setup.

 

[joshEH]

I *wish* this was GameCube 2.0. The GCN's only real problem was the lack of decent titles until the Resident Evil remake happened, apart from games like Rogue Leader. The controller was comfortable, the system wasn't that far removed power-wise from the Xbox, and the user interface was a joy. Yeah, this has a new Mario game on launch day, but that's literally it.
The Dreamcast had a more comfortable controller (which Microsoft then adapted), and there wasn't a "wait'-n-see" with any of its cooler features. It also launched with motherfucking Soul Calibur, Marvel vs. Capcom, Power Stone, Sonic Adventure, and House of the Dead 2.
Rayman Legends and Lego City Undercover are currently both compelling reasons to check this thing out. I guarantee both will be on a system I own before the end of next year.
Really, though, having played with it multiple times now, the number one problem is that I abhor the controller. It's like the Jaguar all over again. It's bulky, uncomfortable, and yeah, the whole "stuff-on-the-second-screen"-thing works for the DS...but when the controller sacrifices comfort and ease for it, it's a waste. Smartglass was absolutely the right way to go with this idea, especially since I can use it on a piece of hardware I already own.
...So, yeah. Hate to say it, but still kinda unimpressed.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Really? I think SmartGlass is a very obvious stopgap attempt to say "see! We can do it too!" It's slow and kind of a waste of technology. Also, what games actually use it in gameplay in a way that is remotely interesting?
I doubt Rayman Legends will be on another console because of how the Wii U controller is so closely tied into the game design. There's no way they could do that with SmartGlass, primarily because it would require someone to have a serious tablet (and not just an Android phone or iPhone) and it runs too slow (SmartGlass connects to your console through the internet, not through a wireless direct connection like the Wii U GamePad). Lego City Undercover is running on the "game titles with U-words in them" theme that Nintendo wants to start pushing (like they did with the DS, the Nintendo 64, and the Super NES) so I'd guess its either an exclusive deal or it just wouldn't come out on anything else.
The only way I see a lot of the games on the Wii U coming out on other platforms is if the other platforms adopt a complete equivalent to the GamePad. The PS3 could do it with a Vita, but the Vita hardware sales are nowhere near as high as they'd need to be for that. SmartGlass will not be like the GamePad in this generation and I wonder what value MS would be adding to the Xbox if they released their new console with a GamePad-style controller and abandoned SmartGlass less than a year later.
From the reviews of the Wii U that I've read or the in-depth impressions I've seen, it appears to be a console worth getting eventually but maybe not right now. It also seems like the idea of a second screen that you can walk away from the base console with is a novel idea that may become a sort of standard in the future, much in the same way that motion control became a bit of a standard (and why Sony and MS each tried to implement it halfway through this generation). I'm really curious to see what Sony and MS announce within the next year.

 

[CaseyL]

I picked one up this morning, but the console is still updating. Anybody else pick one up?

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I have a preorder bundle that shipped this morning but (because of the holiday) I probably won't get it until next Monday. I ran out to my local Best Buy and Target to see if I could score one, but BB only had a couple regular units and Target was out.

 

[Greg_S_H]

I picked up Mario last night and the Wii U Deluxe today. I've hooked it up with my Wii connections for now, until I get an HDMI switcher and figure out how to easily use two sensor bars so I can continue to use my Wii as a GameCube. At the moment, I'm charging my pad and haven't switched it on as I wait for this football game to conclude. I'll likely update and check out a little Mario, but my main focus right now is Sticker Star, and I won't rush that just to get to the new system.
I do want Trine 2 very soon.
To answer the question of what games are downloadable, see here:
http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2012/11/nintendo_download_18th_november_2012_north_america
Seventeen retail games at launch.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Got things powered on and getting ready. I was surprised how painlessly it turned into a universal remote for my TV and cable box. I wonder if I could set it up for my Blu-Ray player. Anyway, I've got Fios, but this update is taking quite a while.

 

[DaveF]

The wii U is out? I'm not following consoles and didn't realize this was for sale. Any reviews to read?

 

[Sam Posten]

I struck out, no u for me.

 

[DaveF]

Found some reviews at USA Today and Kotaku. They felt rushed; reviews hurried out for launch day of immature products. The vibe wasn't great for the U. Not bad, but not impressive.