Wii U - The "everything" Info Thread

[KingBroly]

This thread will be updated as more information becomes available. If any information is incorrect, please point it out so I may correct it.

Some Technical Specifications
System Ram: 1gb for games, 1gb for OS features (Nintendo may unlock some OS ram for games)
Power Usage: 75w while on, 40w while charging (???)
GPU: Some kind of GPGPU

Japan

Spoiler:

Release Date: 12/8/2012
White Console: 26,250 yen
- White system, Gamepad, 8gb of flash, HDMI cable, AC adapters

Black Console: 31,500 yen
- Black system, Gamepad, 32gb of flash, HDMI cable, 2 years of Nintendo Network Premium, AC Adapters
- Gamepad and System Stands also come packed in

Additional Gamepad: 13,440 yen
- Black and White available

Pro Controller: 5,040 yen
- Black and White available

Console Stand: 315 yen
Gamepad Stand: 1,890 yen

Wii accessory bundle: 5,250 yen
- Wii Remote, Nunchuck and Sensor Bar
- NOT included with the Wii U system

United States

Spoiler:

Release Date: 11/18/12

Basic Set: $300
- White System (8gb), Gamepad, AC Adapters, Sensor Bar, HDMI cable

Deluxe Set: $350
- Black System (32gb), Gamepad, AC Adapters, Sensor Bar, Stands, HDMI cable, Nintendoland

The Games

Spoiler:

- Bayonetta 2 (EXCLUSIVE)
- Funky Barn
- NBA 2K13
- 007™ Legends
- Call of Duty®: Black Ops II
- TRANSFORMERS PRIME™
- Wipeout 3
- Skylanders Giants™
- Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2013
- Rapala Pro Bass Fishing
- Monster Hunter™ 3 Ultimate
- Rise of the Guardians: The Video Game
- Ben 10: Omniverse™
- Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade
- Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
- Mass Effect™ 3
- Madden NFL 13
- FIFA Soccer 13
- Trine 2™: Director’s Cut
- Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien
- Zumba® Fitness Core
- Jett Tailfin™
- TEKKEN TAG TOURNAMENT™ 2 Wii U Edition
- TANK! TANK! TANK!™
- Nintendo Land™
- New Super Mario Bros.™ U
- NINJA GAIDEN™ 3: Razor’s Edge
- SiNG PARTY™
- LEGO® City: Undercover
- Wii Fit™ U
- Game & Wario™
- Pikmin™ 3
- The Wonderful 101™
- Aliens: Colonial Marines™
- Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
- Nano Assault Neo
- WARRIORS OROCHI® 3 Hyper
- Darksiders® II
- Wheel of Fortune®
- JEOPARDY! ®
- Toki Tori 2
- Assassin’s Creed® III
- Just Dance® 4
- Marvel Avengers™: Battle for Earth
- Rabbids® Land
- Sports Connection™
- Your Shape®: Fitness Evolved 2013
- ZombiU™
- Rayman Legends®
- Scribblenauts™ Unlimited
- Game Party Champions
- Batman: Arkham City™ Armored Edition

What is Nintendo Network Premium?
- Nintendo Network Premium is a 2-year service offered with the Black Wii U Console that provides 10% back on all digital purchases through Wii U.

[Devil_Rising]

Hmmmmmm. Just so long as the Nintendo Network Premium doesn't wind up being some kind of "pay for online" service like MS does. Nintendo said they wouldn't do that, so, I'll trust they won't.

[pokemaster515]

So what does the GPGPU mean? Or is it too vague to make anything out yet? Is it something people were worrying about in the other thread? I just want to know what it means for how long the system will be able to keep up with the PS4/NextBox

[KingBroly]

So what does the GPGPU mean? Or is it too vague to make anything out yet? Is it something people were worrying about in the other thread? I just want to know what it means for how long the system will be able to keep up with the PS4/NextBox

A GPGPU can do some computations that a CPU can do. This essentially offsets the weak CPU that was rumored/feared/ranted about.

It makes it harder to port current gen engines to it while making next-gen engines easier to port to it.

[MoldyClay]

Looks like the only logical thing to do is get the Black Wii U. Obviously gotta wait until a few hours from now to find out what OUR deals/prices will be, but at the moment it seems silly to go for the 8GB SKU.

Also, is it just me, or does anyone else want the Nintendo Land costumes to be available to wear in the Miiverse/Mii Plaza/etc?

I'd love to have my Mii dressed as a Pikmin or Red Link at all times. DAMNIT NINTENDO. GET ON THAT. COPY AVATARS AFTER THEY COPIED YOU.

A GPGPU can do some computations that a CPU can do. This essentially offsets the weak CPU that was rumored/feared/ranted about.

It makes it harder to port current gen engines to it while making next-gen engines easier to port to it.

Well that would explain why everyone was bitching about porting older games to it.

Hmmmmmm. Just so long as the Nintendo Network Premium doesn't wind up being some kind of "pay for online" service like MS does. Nintendo said they wouldn't do that, so, I'll trust they won't.

Pretty sure it's free and more of an "Ambassador's Program" for Wii U. You paid more, so you get benefits. That kind of thing.

[J0RdAnN]

I wanted a White Wii U. But the Black one is a much better deal. Looks like I am waiting.

[gtt]

So what does the GPGPU mean? Or is it too vague to make anything out yet? Is it something people were worrying about in the other thread? I just want to know what it means for how long the system will be able to keep up with the PS4/NextBox

it means general purpose gpu. A gpu that you can run general use computation on. all that means REALLY is that it is a gpu designed after 2009 or so, so it has Stream(or CUDA in nvidia terms) processing cores. Calling it a GPGPU is really weird and something no one does. It's basically a useless nothing term without actual numbers behind it. Honestly, it probably won't ever be able to keep up with the ps4/720.

Also, does anyone else find the the lack of info about online disturbing? I'm kind of hoping that's just the general japanese aversion to anything online gaming... but still. The info out of japan this morning is not filling me with confidence.

and having a full GB of RAM dedicated to a console OS has to be a joke or something.

[cortjezter]

not that i could afford one in the near future anyway, but i definitely can't get it here in japan until after a price drop. yikes. good thing i already have some wii remotes, etc.

i noticed that there wasn't a separate price shown for the download versions of nsmb and nl... hope that was just an oversight.

[gtt]

not that i could afford one in the near future anyway, but i definitely can't get it here in japan until after a price drop. yikes. good thing i already have some wii remotes, etc.

i noticed that there wasn't a separate price shown for the download versions of nsmb and nl... hope that was just an oversight.

if you think nintendo is going to have different prices for downloads vs retail... I have several bridges to sell you. And several NES games at 5 dollars a pop. Gotta get those phat digital margins.

[MoldyClay]

Also, does anyone else find the the lack of info about online disturbing? I'm kind of hoping that's just the general japanese aversion to anything online gaming... but still. The info out of japan this morning is not filling me with confidence.

and having a full GB of RAM dedicated to a console OS has to be a joke or something.

Considering Japan is having a 2nd Nintendo Direct in a few hours, no. We're probably going to get online info then.

As for the full GB of RAM, do you not have a 360? I don't know the case for PS3, but the 20GB Xbox 360, for example (from way back when) only actually has 13GB of free space. The other 7GB are taken up by excess nonsense from the system itself and set aside for updates and stuff.

So 1GB feels like nothing to me in comparison. I feel like I'm in the future.

What I want to know most is if/how we can transfer over Online saves. That was one of the worst decisions they ever made. Especially since it affects games that aren't even online, and just have leaderboards (Sonic Colors, Darkside Chronicles, etc.). Do they really expect people to redo Super Smash Bros. Brawl from scratch on Wii U? Or can we actually move our saves over?

i noticed that there wasn't a separate price shown for the download versions of nsmb and nl... hope that was just an oversight.

Considering the fact eShop 3DS games are full retail priced, I think you already know the answer to this and just don't want to accept it.

[gtt]

Also, does anyone else find the the lack of info about online disturbing? I'm kind of hoping that's just the general japanese aversion to anything online gaming... but still. The info out of japan this morning is not filling me with confidence.

and having a full GB of RAM dedicated to a console OS has to be a joke or something.

Considering Japan is having a 2nd Nintendo Direct in a few hours, no. We're probably going to get online info then.

As for the full GB of RAM, do you not have a 360? I don't know the case for PS3, but the 20GB Xbox 360, for example (from way back when) only actually has 13GB of free space. The other 7GB are taken up by excess nonsense from the system itself and set aside for updates and stuff.

So 1GB feels like nothing to me in comparison. I feel like I'm in the future.

What I want to know most is if/how we can transfer over Online saves. That was one of the worst decisions they ever made. Especially since it affects games that aren't even online, and just have leaderboards (Sonic Colors, Darkside Chronicles, etc.). Do they really expect people to redo Super Smash Bros. Brawl from scratch on Wii U? Or can we actually move our saves over?

i noticed that there wasn't a separate price shown for the download versions of nsmb and nl... hope that was just an oversight.

Considering the fact eShop 3DS games are full retail priced, I think you already know the answer to this and just don't want to accept it.

I'm talking about MEMORY. as in RAM. you are talking about storage. honestly, if they aren't going to include a multiple hundred GB storage solution in the box, I don't care, I'll use an external.

HALF of the system ram is dedicated to the OS. A full GB in this case. For a console, that's bloated.

[KingBroly]

From what information I can gather, it basically means that whatever you can do at the OS level can be done in-game as well. This includes internet browsing, messaging, voice/video chat, etc. Then again, it might have something to do with the streaming technology as well. Iwata also said (and this is what you either forgot to or won't include in your posts) is that Nintendo will most likely open up some of that space for games later on.

If you haven't been paying attention to Xbox 720 rumors, you'd realize that 1gb for the OS isn't that bloated since that's rumored to be 2gb, maybe more.

[gtt]

From what information I can gather, it basically means that whatever you can do at the OS level can be done in-game as well. This includes internet browsing, messaging, voice/video chat, etc. Then again, it might have something to do with the streaming technology as well. Iwata also said (and this is what you either forgot to or won't include in your posts) is that Nintendo will most likely open up some of that space for games later on.

If you haven't been paying attention to Xbox 720 rumors, you'd realize that 1gb for the OS isn't that bloated since that's rumored to be 2gb, maybe more.

2GB for a console OS is beyond bloat. This isn't winxp these machines are running. And the RAM the pad's video is probably going to have to come out of whatever ram is allotted to the game just because that will be the ram that the game application can get at. There is no reason on a console to have an OS that requires more than 256MB of ram. And that's just being generous for streaming video/video chat. A second or two of load time is ok nintendo, especially when you will do it anyway behind a 4 or 5 second transition animation.

and a nintendo promise of what will happen in the future is worth very little to me at this point.

[KingBroly]

Considering how poorly the XMB and Dashboard are optimized nowadays, a few more bytes wouldn't hurt. You're forgetting about full on multi-tasking, which is something that the other consoles just don't do. With 360 you have very limited functionality in the blades and messaging/voice chat, and with PS3 you just have the XMB/text messaging while in-game. With Wii U, you get a lot more functionality while in-game than the current gen consoles. But I'm telling you that 720 and PS4 will act in the same way, with ram dedicated to the OS for full-on multitasking.

[gtt]

Considering how poorly the XMB and Dashboard are optimized nowadays, a few more bytes wouldn't hurt. You're forgetting about full on multi-tasking, which is something that the other consoles just don't do. With 360 you have very limited functionality in the blades and messaging/voice chat, and with PS3 you just have the XMB/text messaging while in-game. With Wii U, you get a lot more functionality while in-game than the current gen consoles. But I'm telling you that 720 and PS4 will act in the same way, with ram dedicated to the OS for full-on multitasking.

And I'm telling you it won't be HALF the memory. and they could get away with their "full on multi tasking" with 256MB for the OS. They just want to keep it all loaded at all times so there is no loading times.

Ram is cheap, they should have gone all in with 4GB on top of whatever they think their OS needs. which is where I think the next gen consoles will roughly be.

[KingBroly]

Ram is cheap, they should have gone all in with 4GB on top of whatever they think their OS needs. which is where I think the next gen consoles will roughly be.

Oh Lord, not this crap again. You clearly don't understand console ram vs. PC ram.

The extra ram will also allow them to add new features in the future in case they see it as a necessity. You know why PS3 doesn't have cross-game chat? It's because they gave that ram up to developers before they started thinking about it.

[ddddd]

The whole 1GB RAM is probably needed for "suspend mode" of games that need a lot of game RAM.

[gtt]

Ram is cheap, they should have gone all in with 4GB on top of whatever they think their OS needs. which is where I think the next gen consoles will roughly be.

Oh Lord, not this crap again. You clearly don't understand console ram vs. PC ram.

The extra ram will also allow them to add new features in the future in case they see it as a necessity. You know why PS3 doesn't have cross-game chat? It's because they gave that ram up to developers before they started thinking about it.

you think they are sourcing magical ram that is vastly different from ram in PCs? I'll bet dollars to donuts that they all end up using regular ol GDDR3 or 5 ram. I'm basing my 4GB number on where I think Mid range video cards will be in 2015. I think ms and sony will want to go at least as long next gen as this one, and they will built machines that will preform at where mid range PCs will be halfway through the cycle.

The whole 1GB RAM is probably needed for "suspend mode" of games that need a lot of game RAM.

that isn't amount specific. they could do that with 1MB of an OS. (the split on 3ds for example, is 32MB OS, 96MB game.)

[iTzNintendo]

Hyped for the console! Getting the premium no doubt!

[Mirr0rR3flection]

Wow its releasing sunday November 18.

[KingBroly]

BAYONETTA 2
BAYONETTA 2
BAYONETTA 2

YES
YES
YES

[Blazing Warwolf]

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate! Finally! I need my MH fix!!!

[Mirr0rR3flection]

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate! Finally! I need my MH fix!!!

I'm gonna get it for sure. It'll be my first Monster Hunter BTW. ^_^

[J0RdAnN]

Okay so price,launch, and titles can be checked off the list. Nintendo TVii seems sort of interesting. And some good non Nintendo IP exclusives but that still leaves Online, When being able to transfer Wii VC and WiiWare games be available (it's only confirmed for Japan). And MiiVerse. Also what the hell is Retro up too?

[Broken_Cartridge]

Okay so price,launch, and titles can be checked off the list. Nintendo TVii seems sort of interesting. And some good non Nintendo IP exclusives but that still leaves Online, When being able to transfer Wii VC and WiiWare games be available (it's only confirmed for Japan). And MiiVerse. Also what the hell is Retro up too?

Online specifics will probably be given after the console launches. Nintendo didn't detail Online for the 3DS until it launched.