Wii U Catch-All

Aaron D. wrote:
Desram wrote:

The Giant Bomb live stream has left me completely depressed. I guess I should be happy they were sold out everywhere in town but, man...

Yeah, I watched the bulk of the 7 hour live stream and was a bit troubled by some of the base-line issues. Hopefully it's just stuff Nintendo can build upon and evolve with system updates much like MS and Sony have this gen.

What issues specifically? All that business with the wifi was completely on their end. Mine had no issue at all connecting. Some of the ports are junk, but that's been the situation with every system launch since the PS2.

I got to Futureshop a little before 9 this morning. They open at 10 on Sundays. Apparently they were supposed to get 36 units but they only had 10... I was 10th in line. Lucky me.

Problem was, I had to wait over an hour like a huge dork just for the store to open and I didn't have breakfast yet. At this point I was pretty sure I didn't like Nintendo that much.

Still, I waited there a few minutes wondering what to do. After all getting the last one kinda made me feel f*cking special... Then I turned around and saw a family getting out of the car in the parking. The kids started to run for the door as soon as they got out of the car while the other people in line were all awwww so sad to see this. I gave them my spot and I bought Halo 4 after a nice breakfast.

At this point, I feel very good about my decision.

Mr.Green wrote:

I got to Futureshop a little before 9 this morning. They open at 10 on Sundays. Apparently they were supposed to get 36 units but they only had 10... I was 10th in line. Lucky me.

Problem was, I had to wait over an hour like a huge dork just for the store to open and I didn't have breakfast yet. At this point I was pretty sure I didn't like Nintendo that much.

Still, I waited there a few minutes wondering what to do. After all getting the last one kinda made me feel f*cking special... Then I turned around and saw a family getting out of the car in the parking. The kids started to run for the door as soon as they got out of the car while the other people in line were all awwww so sad to see this. I gave them my spot and I bought Halo 4 after a nice breakfast.

At this point, I feel very good about my decision.

Great story! Good for you!

...doubt I would have done the same if it was, say, the Xbox 720...

I'm curious what the issues were as well. I didn't have time to watch any of the live stream but I heard they had wi-fi issues (which seems to be a result of their corporate IT setup) and two hard locks. Looks like Klepek might have been bit with some crappy DRM issues which while indeed crappy, probably won't affect most people. What else was there?

Also, Mr. Green: Good on ya' man! You've surely got some well deserved good karma heading your way.

Parallax Abstraction wrote:

I'm curious what the issues were as well. I didn't have time to watch any of the live stream but I heard they had wi-fi issues (which seems to be a result of their corporate IT setup) and two hard locks. What else was there?

epic micky 2 showed some 2 fps action and patrick's account has been bound to the hardware for eternity as it seems

they also were very displeased by 5-10 second menu load times and that the entire console pretty much has to boot into wii emulation mode instead of running that transparently
wii mode is also required if you want to play wii eShop games since those don't even shop up in the new store

Aaron D. wrote:
Desram wrote:

The Giant Bomb live stream has left me completely depressed. I guess I should be happy they were sold out everywhere in town but, man...

Yeah, I watched the bulk of the 7 hour live stream and was a bit troubled by some of the base-line issues. Hopefully it's just stuff Nintendo can build upon and evolve with system updates much like MS and Sony have this gen.

What kind of issues? I haven't had much time to follow Wii U launch news this weekend.

Edit: Double Wiihauser'd. I should refresh before I post.

Parallax Abstraction wrote:

I'm curious what the issues were as well. I didn't have time to watch any of the live stream but I heard they had wi-fi issues (which seems to be a result of their corporate IT setup) and two hard locks. What else was there?

I've had most of it on next to me while playing/tinkering with the system. As I said, a couple of the ports were sh*tty, Epic Mickey and Batman in particular. On the other hand, Black Ops 2 and Mass Effect 3 were pretty much on par with what the other systems offer. Jeff's been eager to rip Nintendo apart since New Super Mario Bros. 2 broke his heart, which I don't really understand, and his negativity regarding the whole thing kind of set the vibe for the event.

I didn't see the hard locks, but I haven't had any. The biggest disappointment of the launch for me surrounds NBA 2k13. I can't figure out if the issue graphically is the frame rate or the animations, but something is definitely off in comparison to the 360 game. Also, someone at 2k seems to have forgotten to flip a switch or something. Franchise play is set to autosave server side and any time you go to access 2k's servers they don't respond. Oddly, the latest roster update is available, but little else.

New Super Mario Bros. U is as advertised. It's very pretty, the core gameplay hasn't changed a ton. It's still tight and the level designs are a step up from the three prior games in the series. If you're in the mood for 2D Mario platforming, this is a great example. If you're not, don't buy it. Simple!

Nintendo Land, I think, deserves everyone's attention. I've yet to try ZombiU, looking like that'll have to wait until tomorrow.

There are some launchday hiccups. The hourlong update process isn't ideal, but I think with the way the market has moved that'll be the standard from now on. Sony's will probably be worse.

Here's a tweet I wish had more context.

i hope microsoft and sony are paying attention to how quickly the wii u's honeymoon appears to have ended.

There are maybe a million of these things out now, being used. What's the rush to judgment? I'm positive of one thing, the Wii U's fate was not decided today. If the PS3 can come back from its deficit, anything can happen. Sometimes the games press really seems locked into their own little echo chamber where their tweets determine way more than they actually do.

From what I understand, Epic Mickey 2 is a disaster of a game on any system but yeah, 2FPS is pretty awful.

The one thing I'm certain of from everything I've read today: This is totally a new console launch. Some good games, a lot of bad ones and launch day hiccups with the platform. Every single one of these has been the case from launches going back quite a ways. I wonder if it's just been so many years since new hardware has arrived that people have forgotten what the experience is like. Not to say that everyone couldn't do better in preventing such things but it just seems odd that a lot of today's coverage seems to be based on expectations that are a little unrealistic for a new platform launch.

The biggest issues I saw (aside from poorly optimized ports) were the laggy OS and unfriendly user interface stuff. But as I said, Nintendo can easily tighten this stuff up through system updates (think about how many OS iterations the 360 has had), so it's all good.

kingschiebi wrote:

that the entire console pretty much has to boot into wii emulation mode instead of running that transparently

It's been that way with every Nintendo system since the GBA. Hardware based BC sucks like that sometimes.

A delay in starting up backwards compatibility (a feature used largely by only the most hardcore of players anyway) seems a real nitpick but maybe that's a bigger issue more more people than I think.

Seriously? The console has been out for less than 24 hours and the honeymoon is over already?

Sometimes it feels like gaming enthusiasts don't actually want to enjoy things.

SixteenBlue wrote:

Seriously? The console has been out for less than 24 hours and the honeymoon is over already?

Sometimes it feels like gaming enthusiasts don't actually want to enjoy things.

Many parts of the enthusiast press certainly seem anything but these days. I'm not sure what happened.

Mr.Green wrote:

I gave them my spot and I bought Halo 4 after a nice breakfast.

Un vrai Gentleman

So anyone have ZombiU impressions?

Parallax Abstraction wrote:

The one thing I'm certain of from everything I've read today: This is totally a new console launch. Some good games, a lot of bad ones and launch day hiccups with the platform. Every single one of these has been the case from launches going back quite a ways. I wonder if it's just been so many years since new hardware has arrived that people have forgotten what the experience is like. Not to say that everyone couldn't do better in preventing such things but it just seems odd that a lot of today's coverage seems to be based on expectations that are a little unrealistic for a new platform launch.

Expectations seemed pretty tempered if you ask me so things went about as well as I expected. Not having mp setup before launch makes things exactly as they were: incomplete. The bar has been raised higher than previous generations and for the "press" who had them for the past week+ a somewhat significant chunk of the experience was missing.

One of the big things I think is missing is the ability to go "but the graphics are amazing." This is the first modern console where the launch game graphics aren't a significant step up* and I think that makes things more difficult for Nintendo.

*Yes the Dreamcast was a step up.

Aaron D. wrote:

So anyone have ZombiU impressions?

I'm not going to get around to it tonight. I'll give a couple thoughts tomorrow evening, maybe 7ish eastern.

I picked up the last unit left at my local Walmart this morning along with Nintendo Land and New Mario Bros. Nintendo land is quite fun and I have only played 3 of the games so far. Me and my girl friend played the Pikman game for at least 2 hours straight and it was a blast. Super excited for Pikmen 3 whenever that drops. New Mario is also quite fun glad the man game is designed more around a single player experience like the older Mario games on the NES and SNES.

My Nintendo network ID is the same as my forum name if anybody wants to friend me up. Not sure how that all works yet, will have to look into it more tomorrow.

breander wrote:

My Nintendo network ID is the same as my forum name if anybody wants to friend me up. Not sure how that all works yet, will have to look into it more tomorrow.

That worries me. I'm sure some jerk already stole my name. I wish I could convert my Club Nintendo account without having a Wii U yet. By the time I get one...

Aaron D. wrote:

So anyone have ZombiU impressions?

I've put in a couple of hours with it. My thoughts line up pretty well with the Giant Bomb quick look so far. That's worth a gander if you haven't checked it out yet.

This game was definitely designed around the use of the gamepad and it works well, but not in a gimmicky way.

I'm enjoying it. I'm progressing very slowly in the game; taking my time, checking each corner, and avoiding zombies where I can. A lot of the comparisons to Dark Souls are apt with respect to pace, short cuts, and the messaging system.

My only concern at this point is whether it might become too repetitive, but I'm optimistic so far.

Sounds fantastic. The pacing and comparisons to Demon's Souls makes this sound like a must-own and has me on the fence for a Wii U purchase.

I was also watching a live stream of the download title, Nano Assault Neo yesterday and that looked incredible too.

Day 2 brings a report of consoles being bricked by the first system patch. Source

Headline: Wii U users reporting bricked consoles after losing power while trying to install big update

Bricking hardware by losing power during what is essentially a BIOS update? That happens with any device.

Parallax Abstraction wrote:

Headline: Wii U users reporting bricked consoles after losing power while trying to install big update

Bricking hardware by losing power during what is essentially a BIOS update? That happens with any device.

"losing power or internet " is pretty bad if it is true

Their source is one guy's tweet. If true, that is indeed bad but this is hardly confirmation of a larger problem.

kingschiebi wrote:
Parallax Abstraction wrote:

Headline: Wii U users reporting bricked consoles after losing power while trying to install big update

Bricking hardware by losing power during what is essentially a BIOS update? That happens with any device.

"losing power or internet " is pretty bad if it is true

I think the losing internet bit is unconfirmed, and not likely. Giantbomb lost internet connectivity on one of their WiiU's during the patch while they were streaming and seemed to handle it.

I'm pretty sure the Giant Bomb guys lost internet during the update on their second system yesterday during their streaming marathon (due to Internet issue they were having) and it picked right back up where it left off once they got the internet working again. YMMV.

It's a new system launch and Nintendo's first real foray into online updates and infrastructure on a mass scale. I expect some bumps. If folks are stressed about such things, I'd wait a month or two. I personally haven't had any issues outside of Miiverse connectivity (looks like it was overloaded yesterday).

As long as all my discs spin up and allow me to enjoy the games, I'm a happy camper. I expect the online stuff will be a bit bumpy for a while just like it was for XBL and PSN for their first few months.

It's a 5 gb update? Wow.

It's a new system launch and Nintendo's first real foray into online updates and infrastructure on a mass scale.

Really? The Wii had 100 million units sold and did internet updates..

garion333 wrote:

It's a 5 gb update? Wow.

Now if we're talking that point, I will agree that's bloody insane on Nintendo's part.