Wii U Catch-All

I threw together a blog post last night on what I observed yesterday when trying to find a WiiU and observing press coverage of it. A lot of my observations are anecdotal so as with everything I put on my blog, this ain't Garme Jurnalizm.

Parallax Abstraction wrote:
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.

If it's true. I'm seeing comments that 5GB is a rumor, and retractions of that claim as well. The update IS reportedly large, though.

All in all.. a fairly muted new console launch to my recent memory.. I imagine the Nextbox will have a huge fanfaire when it launches... but maybe I'm wrong.. and its a sign of the changing times.

TheGameguru wrote:
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..

Yes, that's why I said online updates "AND" infrastructure. The MiiVerse, video chat and other online infrastructure services are much more meta this time around and those things are new. It's not just patching a main menu or individual apps. They are attempting more integration and experiencing the issues that come with that.

TheGameguru wrote:

All in all.. a fairly muted new console launch to my recent memory.. I imagine the Nextbox will have a huge fanfaire when it launches... but maybe I'm wrong.. and its a sign of the changing times.

The next Xbox launch will seem like a much bigger deal because the people invested in the brand (myself included) are much more active vocal about their interest. Case in point: our 3DS thread has fewer posts than the Vita's despite its install base being roughly eight times larger.

sithcundman wrote:
TheGameguru wrote:
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..

Yes, that's why I said online updates "AND" infrastructure. The MiiVerse, video chat and other online infrastructure services are much more meta this time around and those things are new. It's not just patching a main menu or individual apps. They are attempting more integration and experiencing the issues that come with that.

That's a fair point.. infrastructure wise this is a much larger deal than the Wii.

Blind_Evil wrote:
TheGameguru wrote:

All in all.. a fairly muted new console launch to my recent memory.. I imagine the Nextbox will have a huge fanfaire when it launches... but maybe I'm wrong.. and its a sign of the changing times.

The next Xbox launch will seem like a much bigger deal because the people invested in the brand (myself included) are much more active vocal about their interest. Case in point: our 3DS thread has fewer posts than the Vita's despite its install base being roughly eight times larger.

Have handhelds ever really been that big a deal in terms of launch hype and fanfaire though? excluding mobile/tablet devices.

Blind_Evil wrote:
TheGameguru wrote:

All in all.. a fairly muted new console launch to my recent memory.. I imagine the Nextbox will have a huge fanfaire when it launches... but maybe I'm wrong.. and its a sign of the changing times.

The next Xbox launch will seem like a much bigger deal because the people invested in the brand (myself included) are much more active vocal about their interest. Case in point: our 3DS thread has fewer posts than the Vita's despite its install base being roughly eight times larger.

To be fair this site is a bit strange on these kinds of things. Halo 4 and Black Ops 2 are some the best selling games of the year and yet have some of the smallest threads on the site.

TheGameguru wrote:

All in all.. a fairly muted new console launch to my recent memory.. I imagine the Nextbox will have a huge fanfaire when it launches... but maybe I'm wrong.. and its a sign of the changing times.

I thought the hype was on the weak side, too, especially in the enthusiast markets. Apparently, they ran an ad for the system before the latest Twilight movie, so the Twilight moms will certainly be aware of the launch.

Atras wrote:
TheGameguru wrote:

All in all.. a fairly muted new console launch to my recent memory.. I imagine the Nextbox will have a huge fanfaire when it launches... but maybe I'm wrong.. and its a sign of the changing times.

I thought the hype was on the weak side, too, especially in the enthusiast markets.

I think this is primarily because the enthusiasts know that Nintendo is playing catch-up on the graphical arms race. What we forget is that they intentionally did this with the Wii and have basically forked the generation cycle so that they are about a step (or half-a step) behind the competition in order to keep costs down for consumers, developers, and their own coffers.

The Twilight/soccer moms aren't going to know that the Wii U is going to be "obsolete" in 6-12 months when MS and Sony start rolling out their systems. Nor did they care about "graphical fidelity" when they were buying Wiis and DSes enmasse for Wii Sports, Wii Fit, Brain Age, Nintendogs, etc. The people who buy Nintendo products to play Nintendo games and whatever 3rd party titles land aren't going to care either. Nintendo knows those people are going to show up eventually with their wallets assuming the new product isn't another Virtual Boy.

This is the crux of Nintendo's "blue ocean" strategy. They've got enough appeal to a couple of key demographics that they can intentionally low-ball the specs on their systems and still sell gangbusters over more sophisticated systems.

shoptroll wrote:
Atras wrote:
TheGameguru wrote:

All in all.. a fairly muted new console launch to my recent memory.. I imagine the Nextbox will have a huge fanfaire when it launches... but maybe I'm wrong.. and its a sign of the changing times.

I thought the hype was on the weak side, too, especially in the enthusiast markets.

I think this is primarily because the enthusiasts know that Nintendo is playing catch-up on the graphical arms race. What we forget is that they intentionally did this with the Wii and have basically forked the generation cycle so that they are about a step (or half-a step) behind the competition in order to keep costs down for consumers, developers, and their own coffers.

The Twilight/soccer moms aren't going to know that the Wii U is going to be "obsolete" in 6-12 months when MS and Sony start rolling out their systems. Nor did they care about "graphical fidelity" when they were buying Wiis and DSes enmasse for Wii Sports, Wii Fit, Brain Age, Nintendogs, etc. The people who buy Nintendo products to play Nintendo games and whatever 3rd party titles land aren't going to care either. Nintendo knows those people are going to show up eventually with their wallets assuming the new product isn't another Virtual Boy.

This is the crux of Nintendo's "blue ocean" strategy. They've got enough appeal to a couple of key demographics that they can intentionally low-ball the specs on their systems and still sell gangbusters over more sophisticated systems.

Should management be comfortable with this strategy given the bleeding of cash over at Nintendo? Or is this basically the general strategy for Nintendo going forward? Have 3-4 years of massive success to build a huge stockpile of cash.. then bleed for 2-3 years on the downend of the current generation and then rinse repeat? In the end it works.. because the net positive outweighs the net negative.. but that has to be tough for the Executives to manage.

Does this strategy work if the Wii U doesn't sell 100 million units? Then what?

Atras wrote:

Apparently, they ran an ad for the system before the latest Twilight movie, so the Twilight moms will certainly be aware of the launch.

This was a bit of a head-scratcher for me yesterday. I watched the first and second NFL games and saw multiple commercials for Black Ops 2, Hitman, and Halo 4, but nothing for Wii U. Seems like an oversight for cashing in on launch-day hype.

If my Wii U from Walmart isn't delivered to the office today because we're all at lunch, heads are going to roll...

TheGameguru wrote:

Should management be comfortable with this strategy given the bleeding of cash over at Nintendo? Or is this basically the general strategy for Nintendo going forward? Have 3-4 years of massive success to build a huge stockpile of cash.. then bleed for 2-3 years on the downend of the current generation and then rinse repeat? In the end it works.. because the net positive outweighs the net negative.. but that has to be tough for the Executives to manage.

Dunno, I don't follow their financials that closely. If the strategy doesn't work over the course of the next 5 years with the 3DS and Wii U I'm sure they'll go back to the drawing board. But I don't know much about business stuff so take my opinion with a dose of salt.

I feel like the Wii U is an attempt to try and figure out what to do with the 100 million+ users and convert them into more serious gamers. Maybe that's a stretch, but I think that swapping out the WiiMote with 4 buttons for the Pad with significantly more is trying to have a NES->SNES moment where increasing the number of inputs allowed games to become richer experiences (along with higher graphical fidelity).

Blind_Evil wrote:
TheGameguru wrote:

All in all.. a fairly muted new console launch to my recent memory.. I imagine the Nextbox will have a huge fanfaire when it launches... but maybe I'm wrong.. and its a sign of the changing times.

The next Xbox launch will seem like a much bigger deal because the people invested in the brand (myself included) are much more active vocal about their interest. Case in point: our 3DS thread has fewer posts than the Vita's despite its install base being roughly eight times larger.

That's because we're all trying to figure out reasons to keep them.

breander wrote:
Blind_Evil wrote:
TheGameguru wrote:

All in all.. a fairly muted new console launch to my recent memory.. I imagine the Nextbox will have a huge fanfaire when it launches... but maybe I'm wrong.. and its a sign of the changing times.

The next Xbox launch will seem like a much bigger deal because the people invested in the brand (myself included) are much more active vocal about their interest. Case in point: our 3DS thread has fewer posts than the Vita's despite its install base being roughly eight times larger.

To be fair this site is a bit strange on these kinds of things. Halo 4 and Black Ops 2 are some the best selling games of the year and yet have some of the smallest threads on the site.

Yeah you can't judge by that. Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 are two of the best games for Wii, and best platformers in general for any system ever. And they have like 3-page threads here. There's just not a ton to talk about sometimes.

As for movie trailers, yeah there was a really good Wii U Mario Bros. commercial playing at the theater Fri night. Not attached to Skyfall that I saw, but just in the 30-min of commercials they play between movies now.

Need all y'all to get your profiles updated.

I'm just Rabbit on Nintendo Network Live ID Thing.

Stele wrote:

Yeah you can't judge by that. Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 are two of the best games for Wii, and best platformers in general for any system ever. And they have like 3-page threads here. There's just not a ton to talk about sometimes.

Nintendo consoles tend to be good primarily for Nintendo games (not knocking them, I love Nintendo games). And Nintendo games tend to not have the sorts of things that breed long forum discussions, like online multiplayer (they do some excellent local multiplayer though) or constant patches/updates.

Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 are some of the finest single player experiences of the last generation, but part of their brilliance is that they are so self-explanatory and uncomplicated. You just play them!

Wrote up some day one thoughts for the front page. Some longer ZombiU impressions in there.

Man, those are some sexy ZombiU impressions.

I think I need a Wii U.

What are the media capabilities of the Wii U? Will it play media files from external storage? Is the web browser friendly with Plex?

So far, this is the most available I have seen a console on launch day since the launch of the original Xbox and the Gamecube (both of which I just walked in and purchased on day one at Circuit City and EB respectively). I REALLY miss those days.

IF and ONLY IF you were willing to pick up the basic white version, Wii-Us were available for several hours locally after stores opened yesterday. As far as I could tell, the black deluxe ones immediately sold out in all of the local stores to preorders or those that lined up before doors opened. I've decided to just wait it out and grab a black one when they become available as locally this is feeling a bit closer to the PS3 launch situation than it is to the Wii or 360, and I'm willing to wait a few weeks if I need to.

In my neck of the suburbs, the PS3 was unavailable for a week or two after launch, was available throughout early to mid December, unavailable for the last week or so before Christmas, and then available from then on. In contrast, it took calling my local Target each week until early March for me to finally snag a 360, and the Wii was almost impossible to find until June or July. Then it was readily available for a few months before being difficult to find again for much of the next holiday season.

I am happy to hear that those on GWJ who grabbed one yesterday are enjoying their experience so far. A quick question from someone who has kids who will be all over this: Does the new Gamepad seem to be constructed with the same high level of durability as Nintendo's other hardware has been in the past? My wiimotes and my kids' 3DSs have stood up very well to rigorous use by a 5 year old and a 7 year old. Does the new Gamepad seem to share that durability?

I feel like the build quality of the gamepad is pretty good. As long as your kids don't chuck it at the ground just like you wouldn't do to a DS you should be fine. The gamepad can really be looked at like a larger bottom half of a DS.

Nintendo is letting devs set their own prices and hold their own sales in the eshop. And patching is free. This, along with previously stated indie support should be a huge plus for the eshop.

Our Wii is currently on it's last legs. Discs play most of the time but not always. It makes a loud whine any time a disk is put in. For the most part, it still works but I will not be surprised if it dies completely at any time. My plan was to just get a used Wii. Reading Rabbit's thoughts on ZombiU is causing me to rethink that enough to look online and see if there are any Wii U's available near me (there are).

Is the Wii U fully compatible with Wii games and accessories? Specifically will the old Wii controllers and balance board work with the U? I don't want to buy one to replace the old wii only to find that we can't play Wii Fit or Wii Play or Wii Sports or Wii Star Wars.

I've been reading some about transferring things from the Wii to the U. My kids have completely finished Lego Star Wars. They would be very unhappy to lose their save game. Can that be transferred over?

EvilHomer3k wrote:

Is the Wii U fully compatible with Wii games and accessories? Specifically will the old Wii controllers and balance board work with the U? I don't want to buy one to replace the old wii only to find that we can't play Wii Fit or Wii Play or Wii Sports or Wii Star Wars.

I've been reading some about transferring things from the Wii to the U. My kids have completely finished Lego Star Wars. They would be very unhappy to lose their save game. Can that be transferred over?

Yes, it is almost fully compatible with the Wii. I haven't verified the Balance Board, but the controllers work (assuming you have Motion+ add-ons) and all of the games I have tried work, too.

Transferring is possible, you need both your Wii and WiiU, so don't trade in/sell the Wii yet. The Wii has to still be working to some level. I am in a similar situation, but I already bought the WiiU. My Wii cannot connect to the Store - it resets when I try, so I don't know how I can get the Wii transfer tool onto the Wii - I aim to try copying it from one memory stick to another; but if that works, then I should have access to all of my VC games, WiiWare games and most of my saved files.

mrtomaytohead wrote:

Nintendo is letting devs set their own prices and hold their own sales in the eshop. And patching is free. This, along with previously stated indie support should be a huge plus for the eshop.

FILTHY SKIMMER *POINTS FINGER* :p

Atras wrote:

My Wii cannot connect to the Store - it resets when I try, so I don't know how I can get the Wii transfer tool onto the Wii - I aim to try copying it from one memory stick to another; but if that works, then I should have access to all of my VC games, WiiWare games and most of my saved files.

If that doesn't work, maybe contact Nintendo support? Maybe they can send you a disc with the transfer tool?

shoptroll wrote:

If that doesn't work, maybe contact Nintendo support? Maybe they can send you a disc with the transfer tool?

I tried their support when I first saw the problem, and my option was basically "spend 70 bucks to repair it"; which didn't appeal to me much. A disc option would be ideal, though.

On the subject of balance board compatibility: Yes.

What would you say to parents that own a Wii who are on the fence for this holiday season, picking up a Wii U for their kids?
Reggie: First thing, all of those peripherals, the , the Wii remotes, all backwardly compatible with the Wii U, so you don't need to go buy those again.

EDIT: iFixit teardown for the curious

shoptroll wrote:
mrtomaytohead wrote:

Nintendo is letting devs set their own prices and hold their own sales in the eshop. And patching is free. This, along with previously stated indie support should be a huge plus for the eshop.

FILTHY SKIMMER *POINTS FINGER* :p

Dang, that was in the big batch of posts that happened when I wasn't looking yesterday. Oh well, worth repeating. .... maybe?

Thanks. I've been digging a bit and it seems that most things are compatible. I assume you need the motion+ things because of the lack of a sensor bar on the Wii U.

mrtomaytohead wrote:

Oh well, worth repeating. .... maybe?

Very much so.

EDIT: Kyle Orland hit by the DRM issue. Same boat as Atras?

On a side note: I'm honestly surprised that he's surprised at some of the restrictions on manually moving data. Anyone who tried to shuffle their Mario Kart or Brawl save data already knew you couldn't copy these to SD Card due to the online functionality. Also, the "need to play once on the system before copying save to the system" restriction was present in the original Wii. I agree with PXA's point in his blog post, it's utterly baffling how people paid to cover the industry have selective memories about some of the quirks in each console.

Anyways, at least his article confirms that you can still manually copy some Wii save data to a Wii U.