Wii U Discussion

[Flawless]

Re: Wii U Discussion

Nintendo details Wii U network ID system

The Wii U's Nintendo Network ID system, the console's alternative to Friend Codes, will support up to 12 users per a console, allow third-party publishers to create their own online networks and require a sizable day-one patch to work, Nintendo president president Satoru Iwata said during an early morning video stream.

Wii U owners will first be required to create a user account for the device prior to creating their Nintendo Network ID, with each console allowing a maximum of 12 user accounts. This is followed by designing a Mii avatar.

A Nintendo Network ID is created next, with users asked to input a password, date of birth, gender, location and email address. This ID is used for eShop purchases, as well as within Miiverse and video chat.

Iwata said that the system allows users to register a Wii U user as a friend, "just like a friend code."

The system will also use the ID to track who purchased which games.

Download software and add-on content purchased in Nintendo eShop can be played by all users registered to that console," he said.

Iwata added that the Nintendo Network will also work with various other network services with different software developers via their own network. This seems to leave the door open to system's like EA's Origin working on the console.

"Once you link your Nintendo Network ID to another network service," Iwata said, "you can use each software developer's service using your Nintendo Network ID."

The Network ID will be used to save game settings, save data, pre-installed software and Wii U games to the console, Iwata said. The account will also allow users to save bookmark's for the console's internet browser and save play history. Some games will allow you to share save data among multiple users, he added.

[Steve_OS]

Re: Wii U Discussion

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ECqpc6Ses4s" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Unboxing Wii U http://youtu.be/ECqpc6Ses4s

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nwNJvCBNQPQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Accounts on Wii U http://youtu.be/nwNJvCBNQPQ

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3clOZH-bpgk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Wii U Chat http://youtu.be/3clOZH-bpgk

[rudyjuly2]

Re: Wii U Discussion

I thought the Wii U came with the sensor bar? I didn't see that in the unboxing.

[mestevo]

Saw they replaced their Wii kiosk with a WiiU at Walmart... with no demos, not even Rayman.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[DJ]

Re: Wii U Discussion

The Gamepad is almost as big as the console. I know a few guys here have tried the WiiU demo station out at Best Buy. That controller doesn't look like it'd be comfortable to use for a long period of time.

[ExtremeGamer]

Re: Wii U Discussion

Did I miss the case for NintendoLand being in that unboxing? Please don't tell me it's digital... That's just asking for trouble and complaints.

[FinsUp75]

Re: Wii U Discussion

I thought the Wii U came with the sensor bar? I didn't see that in the unboxing.

The IGN unboxing showed the sensor bar in the "top shelf" of the packaging.

[FinsUp75]

Re: Wii U Discussion

Did I miss the case for NintendoLand being in that unboxing? Please don't tell me it's digital... That's just asking for trouble and complaints.

The IGN unboxing showed Nintendo Land in its own WiiU blue case.

[Skyboxer]

Re: Wii U Discussion

Have ZombieU paid for and still owe 50 on the console and about 20 of SMB. Pretty pumped to play SMB on something other than tbe 3DS.

[CaptainZombie]

Re: Wii U Discussion

Menus that were released today:

[Flawless]

Re: Wii U Discussion

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UV6Oxn8HhaA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

...

IGN

Another thing of note from my Wii U play time was how shockingly easy setting up the GamePad for television control is… and how very badly it made me wish I could play my Blu-ray collection on this thing. While I can't yet detail the process, suffice to say that both times I paired the system with a television (at work and then again at home), it was quick and incredibly simple.
...

After just a few moments and a few taps, I was able to adjust the volume and channels and change the input right from my GamePad, as well as power on and off both the system and my television. I very much enjoyed using the tablet controller in this way, more so than I thought I would.

Just be aware of the fact that the GamePad seems to have some "people issues." Specifically, I found it had trouble connecting with the system when buried behind my folded legs as I sat on the couch, or when hidden behind Brian Altano a few desks away. It’s a controller, in other words, and not a new portable to go slinging around the house. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata gave us some insight into the GamePad's range last month, and his conclusion that it depends on your apartment/house layout seems quite true. But given a reasonably clear path, the lag-free, dual screen connectivity it provides is an absolute joy - though you might want to put any lingering plans of playing Mario out on the patio to bed.

[FinsUp75]

Re: Wii U Discussion

Reading up on the Wii to Wii U data transfer, and I just don't understand why Nintendo would not allow you to keep the data and previous purchases on the Wii.

My understanding is that all the data will be deleted on the Wii after the data transfer. Well, what if I wanted to have my Virtual Console games on the Wii upstairs, and on the Wii U downstairs in my living room? Doesn't make any sense to me, and I'm frustrated with this.

[Skyboxer]

Re: Wii U Discussion

Reading up on the Wii to Wii U data transfer, and I just don't understand why Nintendo would not allow you to keep the data and previous purchases on the Wii.

My understanding is that all the data will be deleted on the Wii after the data transfer. Well, what if I wanted to have my Virtual Console games on the Wii upstairs, and on the Wii U downstairs in my living room? Doesn't make any sense to me, and I'm frustrated with this.

Isn't the XBOX and some PS3 game saves the same way. Move only and not copy? Could be wrong but thought so.

[FinsUp75]

Re: Wii U Discussion

Isn't the XBOX and some PS3 game saves the same way. Move only and not copy? Could be wrong but thought so.

True. My biggest beef is with VC games I've purchased and only being able to have them on one console. With the PS3, I'm able to have any purchased content on at least two of my consoles. I know there's a limit, but Nintendo is handcuffing my purchased content to one machinie.

[WildFan22]

Re: Wii U Discussion

Kotaku

• 
  Full size
  
  Please enter your full birth year

This content is restricted.








I've had the Wii U for one day, and the way I play console games at home has already been forever transformed. I think you should know how. It's the only rational reason I have for sharing half of the floor plan of my apartment with you. (Please don't turn it into a Counter-Strike map!)
If you're at all interested in the Wii U, this is important. <!-- %JUMP:More &raquo;% -->
Nintendo sent me a Wii U earlier this week. I got it yesterday and took it home. I set it up in my living room (you can see its location in the floor plan above). I powered on the new Super Mario Bros. game it's launching with. The game's graphics appear on your TV and on the Wii U's GamePad—the signature controller with the six-inch screen—at the same time.
I looked down at the GamePad.
I started playing.
Then I started walking around my house and learned the three things about the Wii U that will literally reshape how I play console games at home.
See, most consoles force you to play their games on your TV, so I can only play an Xbox 360 game on my TV. The PS3 clumsily does let you stream some games to the PSP, but I could never get that "Remote Play" feature to work. (I should try it with my Vita but haven't yet.)
The Wii U, however, lets any game that supports "off-TV play" run on the controller. This controller is wireless, which means... maybe I could play New Super Mario Bros.—oh, I don't know—in the bathroom?
Nintendo suggests that the GamePad can work up to a range of 26 1/4 feet, but that's presumably under ideal conditions: big open rooms, through thin walls, etc. I live in a pre-war condo in Brooklyn New York. The walls are thick. My WiFi router, which is in my bedroom, can't get its signal through more than two walls (it gets into my dining room but not beyond into the kitchen). So... the Wii U?
The results of my test:

1. The GamePad can still play Mario when I go to the far end of the living room, meaning, I can give up the TV to my wife, plug headphones into the GamePad and continue playing a Wii U console game at the other end of the room, while she's using the TV. This is a very good thing.
2. The GamePad can still play Mario when I go into the bedroom and lie on my bed, which means that I can stay up late, in the dark, playing a Wii U console game. I can also leave the GamePad on my nightstand, power it and the Wii U on with a press of the GamePad's power switch and start playing my console in the morning—without getting out of bed. Note: this may have a radical effect on my ability to play Call of Duty: Black Ops II multiplayer at strange hours.
3. The GamePad cannot still play Mario when I'm in my bathroom. Hell, it can't even reach my bathroom. The signal fails when I begin to walk down the hallway. I can't even get past the coat closet let alone to the door that follows, which leads into my bathroom. Thus: the Wii U will have to wait when it's time for me to go to the restroom.

Click the top image of this post to get a better look at the Wii U's range in my home. It will differ in yours.
I'm not sure I can effectively convey how odd it is to have these new options for playing console games at home. It's not quite like the shock I felt in the late 90s when I got a cell phone and was suddenly able to make phone calls while walking down the street, but we're in the same ballpark at least. It's impressive and exciting to have these new options, and I'm curious to see how widely-implemented the support for off-TV play will be. I'm also curious if advances in tablet gaming and dedicated handhelds will diminish how impressive this is in the coming years. But, for now, the prospect of playing a new console Zelda in various rooms of my house? I'm into it.

A few extra notes about the test I ran: 1) The GamePad also ran Mario when I went out my apartment's front door, closed it behind me and walked halfway down the stairs. 2) As you reach the GamePad's outer range, the framerate of the Mario game begins to get choppy, but, oddly, the chop is more pronounced when you're walking to that outer range and then smooths out if you stand still. 3) I've only tested this with New Super Mario Bros. U and therefore have no idea if any of these tests would have gone differently with different games. I don't see why they would, but you never know.
We'll have tons more on the Wii U in the days and weeks to come. The system will be out on November 18.