Wii U Catch-All

shoptroll wrote:

If you have an RCA cable from any pre-Wii Nintendo system that will work as well. If not, shoot me an inbox message and I can probably toss one in the mail to you.

Seriously? It didn't look like my Gamecube cord would fit in the Wii's slot. That's great news! (hopefully)

Atras wrote:
shoptroll wrote:

If you have an RCA cable from any pre-Wii Nintendo system that will work as well. If not, shoot me an inbox message and I can probably toss one in the mail to you.

Seriously? It didn't look like my Gamecube cord would fit in the Wii's slot. That's great news! (hopefully)

Errr. Hmmm. I just looked at the back of the Wii. The connector looks very similar to Gamecube + older ones, but I'm not sure now that I look at it again. Regardless, we've got the Wii hooked up with component and I'm pretty sure the RCA cord is in the box somewhere, which you're more than welcome to use.

Just a heads-up for folks with a receiver that supports HDMI in. Evidently, you need to change your WiiU to "surround" sound to activate the LPCM out. I just discovered this last night after I noticed the sound was off in a couple of my games. I'm now getting 5.1 for ZombiU and others and it makes the atmosphere and immersion that much better.

Nintendo really needs to document some of these things better. Or maybe I just overlooked it before.

sithcundman wrote:

Just a heads-up for folks with a receiver that supports HDMI in. Evidently, you need to change your WiiU to "surround" sound to activate the LPCM out. I just discovered this last night after I noticed the sound was off in a couple of my games. I'm now getting 5.1 for ZombiU and others and it makes the atmosphere and immersion that much better.

Nintendo really needs to document some of these things better. Or maybe I just overlooked it before.

Between that and having to set my TV to "Just Scan" to deal with the overscan I was a little worried for the first bit.

The NES had coax or straight up RCA (but with only mono sound).
IMAGE(http://www.8-bitcentral.com/images/nintendo/nes/nesRear.jpg)
IMAGE(http://www.8-bitcentral.com/images/nintendo/nes/nesFrontRight.jpg)

The SNES, N64, and Gamecube share one output port style. It has a bump out in the middle of the top of the connector.
IMAGE(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21ZEQ75sd3L._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
IMAGE(http://www.8-bitcentral.com/images/nintendo/snes/rearPorts.jpg)

The Wii, Wii U share an updated video output port style. The corner is notched out on these.

IMAGE(http://revolutionmedia.ign.com/revolution/image/article/709/709832/wii-hardware-changed-20060523050808731.jpg)

The first years of the gamecube also had a port for component cables, which was later removed, and of course, the Wii U has HDMI.

Ok, I wrote this while distracted at work over about a 2 hr time frame. I hope it makes sense.

Ah. Forgot they ditched the notch on the Wii. I'm guessing they changed the pin connector a little since they're running RCA and Component signal out of the one connector.

Stopped at Target for groceries tonight and checked out the demo unit. All videos, no actual demos. But nice to finally hold the controller in my hand and check the weight.

One lady was buying the deluxe, and on the phone with her kids talking about how many remotes to buy with it.

There were two deluxe still in the case.

Two workers were there, one helping the lady and about to go home, and another guy checking in. She told him there were about the 2 deluxe models left, no more in the back. And a bunch more whites in the back. She said she didn't sell a single white model today. I jumped in with "Why would you buy the white one? More storage space, and the game included for $10 less than the game costs by itself." Everyone nodded agreement.

Oh well. Wanted to pick up one of those two but the wife was looking at me disapprovingly. It's like she knows the size of the pile. :p

If the new Animal Crossing was for Wii U instead of 3DS I'd probably talk her into it.

So far supply is holding up way better than the original, isn't it? It will be interesting to see if that holds true after Black Friday.

I gotta think Black Friday will clear out any remaining stock..but supposedly Nintendo will do a better job meeting demand this year around which is good but might cause the press to assume a lack of demand

Yeah they took a lot of flak for not keeping the Wii in stock a year to a year and a half after release. But I could see them taking just as much flak if the Wii U doesn't sell out completely for 6 months.

People just love to hate. And news is all about controversy. Spin it whichever way draws the most eyeballs.

So I was just listening to the latest Giant Bombcast and so far, they've spent about half an hour discussing how the Nintendo account system works in terms of how there are separate accounts for the stores on Wii, 3DS and WiiU as well as Club Nintendo and how basically none of them talk to each other (including account balances) but some things actually do kind of cross-pollinate. I'm not kidding, this is hurting my brain. Even they couldn't figure out how to explain it correctly. If this is true, I can't believe Nintendo would be this utterly stupid in an online system design. The dumbest thing Sony has ever done doesn't come close to this. I seriously can't even fully explain it. Even if you don't like the Bombcast, if you have an interest in hearing about this, go get their latest episode, go about 15 or so minutes in and listen to that discussion. Is this actually how it works? It's honestly enough to make even me think twice now and I'm usually the first person to say that people who complain about minor account headaches whine too much.

Stele wrote:

Yeah they took a lot of flak for not keeping the Wii in stock a year to a year and a half after release. But I could see them taking just as much flak if the Wii U doesn't sell out completely for 6 months.

People just love to hate. And news is all about controversy. Spin it whichever way draws the most eyeballs.

This is also very true. Most "inventory shortages" for new release product are often carefully staged to get press. Unfortunately, this has given people the incorrect impression that if something doesn't sell out, it must mean no one wants it. Nintendo's gone on record to say they've purposefully made a huge ton of these things to try to avoid shortages because I think they know that they need to get as many of these in people's homes as fast as possible both for themselves and to make their publishing partners happy. But yeah, controversy drives clicks in the enthusiast press so if this doesn't sell out, the story is that it's tanking. You really can't win unless you're Apple these days.

I thought they were overstating the problems.

The Nintendo Network ID you sign up for when you connect your Wii U is going to be your Nintendo account on all platforms going forward. They're upset because you can't sign into that account on another Wii U, but it's become clear that if something happens to your system you can have it reactivated on another. Those dudes want cloud saves and whatnot so they can take their info to and from work, and that does suck for them. It doesn't suck for 99% of the consumers because we only have one system.

That Nintendo account is new, so it isn't on the 3DS. It will be sometime next year. I don't see how it's that big an issue between those two systems - they share none of the same games, and while there is a "wallet" you can put currency in, you can also just buy whatever you need for a given purchase. I.E. You can add $20.00 to your 3DS wallet, or you can "add needed funds," say $10.61 for a $9.99 game.

The Wii U has a Wii channel. It turns your Wii U into a Wii, more or less. I performed the Wii > Wii U transfer, so now when I want to play Wii games I go to the Wii channel. That includes WiiWare and Virtual Console games. I had a balance of 300 Wii Points ($3), they transferred over. They can only be used to purchase Wii software. Is that the most convenient way to handle it? No. Is it the end of the world? Hell no.

As is the case with most legacy/backward compatibility issues, I don't think anyone will give a damn about this in six months, especially not game critics with two month memories. (side note: Jeff is on a fierce crusade against Nintendo because of NSMB 2 and NSMB U. He gave a Nintendo game five stars this year.)

I'm anxious to see if they're this critical of the other system launches. I'm sure there'll be just as many issues.

By the way, I should point this out - I may be a bit more lenient than most about having my account tied to my hardware due to my experiences. Last July my XBL account was stolen along with 4000 MS points (about $50) and not recovered until late October. There's a seven page thread here about people having the same thing happen. Everyone knows about the PSN security issues.

Nintendo has always taken security very seriously. Considering these happenings I am not at all surprised by their cautious approach.

Blind_Evil wrote:

I thought they were overstating the problems.

On the Bombcast?!? Never!!

garion333 wrote:
Blind_Evil wrote:

I thought they were overstating the problems.

On the Bombcast?!? Never!! ;)

The thing is though, while Blind_Evil may be right about how this will probably not be an issue eventually, the way it is right now is insane. Maybe the Bombcast overstated the importance of the issue but if they way they described it from a functional perspective is true, it's inexcusable. There's absolutely no reason why you can't have one Nintendo account that connects all your Nintendo products and balances together right now. I can do that with my PS3 and Vita and for as much as I dislike Apple, their account system is stupid simple and intuitive. Perhaps Nintendo didn't think it would be an issue for the majority of their current customer base but we now live in a world where other companies have done this stuff a lot better and I do think it's fair to judge them against what their competition is doing. This could have been solved in the many years leading up to the launch of the 3DS and WiiU, it shouldn't be a thing that they will get to while they're asking for people's money now. I hate all the comparisons to the iPad that I've been seeing in many WiiU reviews but on the subject of managing your purchases, Apple (and indeed Sony) have them beat. I think they should have solved this before now because they're important points to consider as a hardcore player who is thinking of early adopting a product.

Don't buy one, then. Simple!

It's interesting that you said this is a problem from a functional perspective when I think it's actually more an issue hypothetically. You can play everything from your Wii on your Wii U. Functionally, what more do you want? This all becomes an issue when potential (hypothetical) issues arise. And even then, it seems this has been accounted for, just not in the most user-friendly manner possible.

Seriously, if this is really sticking in your craw, don't buy one. Wait and see if they address whatever issues you have, I think the days of any hardware being sold out for a year are gone. For all their moaning, every Giant Bomb staff member now owns a personally purchased Wii U. That's not how you get your point across. People didn't jive with the 3DS value proposition at first, so that got fixed. It'd be nice if Nintendo got everything right, going back to 2006, but they didn't. Are these issues worth missing the games? Not to me. Games are what matter the most, always.

Edit: and all the negativity about the direction of Nintendo development.. it's funny how quickly things change.

These are real problems and they're worth talking about. I don't care about the Bombcast's tone as they explained this, I care about the explanation itself and the facts within. Other companies have gotten as much stick for less than this. It's not likely going to impact my decision to buy a WiiU but that's because I understand how to work with all this stuff and it's not a big deal for me. I'm speaking of it as a concern for Nintendo and my desire for them to succeed. The fact that mainstream consumers will be driven up the wall by the hoops and headaches when seeing none of those from Apple (which is what a lot of people say will kill the traditional video game business) is a major issue and a potential detriment to their success. Nintendo can't afford to ignore bigger issues they've gotten away with until now. It may not affect you, me or most of the people on this forum but our demographic alone can't sustain a platform. I agree wholeheartedly that a lot of this is the result of the press forgetting what a console launch is like. This account thing however will get Nintendo comparisons to how other companies do it and I think those comparisons are perfectly fair. Nintendo's awesome and I want them to succeed but they're as accountable for what they do poorly as any other company.

Woops, never mind.

I don't really know what you mean specifically by "the account issue" so I don't know what to say.

Blind_Evil wrote:

Don't buy one, then. Simple!

It's interesting that you said this is a problem from a functional perspective when I think it's actually more an issue hypothetically. You can play everything from your Wii on your Wii U. Functionally, what more do you want? This all becomes an issue when potential (hypothetical) issues arise. And even then, it seems this has been accounted for, just not in the most user-friendly manner possible.

Seriously, if this is really sticking in your craw, don't buy one. Wait and see if they address whatever issues you have, I think the days of any hardware being sold out for a year are gone. For all their moaning, every Giant Bomb staff member now owns a personally purchased Wii U. That's not how you get your point across. People didn't jive with the 3DS value proposition at first, so that got fixed. It'd be nice if Nintendo got everything right, going back to 2006, but they didn't. Are these issues worth missing the games? Not to me. Games are what matter the most, always.

Edit: and all the negativity about the direction of Nintendo development.. it's funny how quickly things change.

"Then don't buy one" - We want things to be good. I could care less whether or not they have my money, but I would prefer they not put this stuff together like it's never been done before. They need to pay attention to how things should work. How they've handled the online portion of everything across the board is completely dopey.

Parallax Abstraction wrote:

These are real problems and they're worth talking about. I don't care about the Bombcast's tone as they explained this, I care about the explanation itself and the facts within. Other companies have gotten as much stick for less than this. It's not likely going to impact my decision to buy a WiiU but that's because I understand how to work with all this stuff and it's not a big deal for me. I'm speaking of it as a concern for Nintendo and my desire for them to succeed. The fact that mainstream consumers will be driven up the wall by the hoops and headaches when seeing none of those from Apple (which is what a lot of people say will kill the traditional video game business) is a major issue and a potential detriment to their success. Nintendo can't afford to ignore bigger issues they've gotten away with until now. It may not affect you, me or most of the people on this forum but our demographic alone can't sustain a platform. I agree wholeheartedly that a lot of this is the result of the press forgetting what a console launch is like. This account thing however will get Nintendo comparisons to how other companies do it and I think those comparisons are perfectly fair. Nintendo's awesome and I want them to succeed but they're as accountable for what they do poorly as any other company.

I don't think I have much to contribute to that particular conversation because I don't pay any attention to public reaction to technology outside of these forums and a select few podcasts. FWIW considering my less-informed opinion, I think Nintendo's going to be fine regardless. They're probably not going to sell Wii numbers. They're probably not going to sell Gamecube numbers either.

And for the record, I snorted when reading that Apple doesn't put customers through hoops and headaches. I had an iPhone for two years.

our demographic alone can't sustain a platform

Isn't our demographic the exact one to get burned by account transfer/multiple account issues? The largest demographic for video games probably doesn't care at all.

This is such a weird discussion. It really seems like perspective is completely lost.

Has anyone here purchased a Wii U and been disappointed? Do you know anyone that has?

SixteenBlue wrote:

This is such a weird discussion. It really seems like perspective is completely lost.

Yeah, part of why I'm bowing out. I'm baffled so frequently by things people similar to myself say here on GWJ, to think I'd understand the mainstream collective is a wild ass dream.

Desram sounds pretty bummed.

You know the real tragedy of that Bombcast? They had Syndicate DLC in the pipes that never got out because not enough people bought it. f*ck!

Blind_Evil wrote:

Desram sounds pretty bummed.

You know the real tragedy of that Bombcast? They had Syndicate DLC in the pipes that never got out because not enough people bought it. f*ck!

Are you serious?! I haven't listened to the whole episode yet so I didn't hear that. That is a Damn Hell Ass crime! I so want more of that game. Dammt EA!

Also, not going to belabor the argument from before but I agree with you that I think Nintendo will be fine. I just think they're off to a rocky start with the WiiU and for reasons that were wholly preventable. I don't know if I'll be able to afford a WiiU until after Christmas now but I fully intend to buy one and I'm sure I'll love it. I hope they do well, I just wish they had ironed out some of the rough edges that I know some influential people will make a big deal out of.

Parallax Abstraction wrote:

I just think they're off to a rocky start with the WiiU and for reasons that were wholly preventable.

I don't know if we should assume anything like what was and wasn't preventable. Between the huge firmware update and lack of TiiVii til December, it's clear this thing came in hot. Might be that their designers just didn't have the time to get everything optimized in time for Black Friday. I mean, they could hire an army, but the impression I get from Nintendo is that they don't hire people willy-nilly. There's a culture there that needs to be minded.

Anyway, a game. Did anyone pick up Scribblenauts Unlimited? I had it ordered through Amazon because it was $10 and I'm curious about how the franchise has evolved, but after watching a few more gameplay videos and reading a few of the more negative reviews I decided to cancel. I'm not sure how much it'll offer outside of the sandbox ridiculousness.

SixteenBlue wrote:

Has anyone here purchased a Wii U and been disappointed? Do you know anyone that has?

I bought one and am pleasantly surprised. Will get games this week-end

Looking for Wii friends... Interstate78 on there

Blind_Evil wrote:

Don't buy one, then. Simple!

That's cool, I won't buy one. Or if I do I won't purchase full games on it. I don't purchase full games on my 3DS yet because they haven't yet sorted that stuff out like Sony and Microsoft have.

I'm confused, though. Aren't you always hanging around the Vita thread complaining about what Vita isn't? Gamers have a long, rich tradition of wishing things were better because they want to buy them and play them. You're not above the same thing you dismissed PA for.

Blind_Evil wrote:

Edit: and all the negativity about the direction of Nintendo development.. it's funny how quickly things change.

I'm not sure what this proves. They like some Nintendo games, they hate the way Nintendo is handling online accounts and purchases.

And while A bit angry in tone, they're not wrong. Once again I refuse to make online purchases outside of the occasional small game because I don't want my 3DS to die someday and lose that purchase. With the PSP/Vita and the 360 I purchase stuff and I can redownload it at will.