The Good, Bad and Ugly of Wii U

[robometal cowboy]

The Good, Bad and Ugly of Wii U
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I'm having a blast with the Wii U. Now that the day-one update is available, we're seeing the true potential of the system. Of course, we're also seeing some things that have us scratching our head and wondering what Nintendo was thinking.

As many of you know, I'm an easy-to-please guy. Not much gets under my skin. That's why I don't have any big-time complaints about the Wii U. Would I like NNID migration? Sure I would, but it's not a deal-breaker for me. Do I care that the touch screen isn't multi-touch? Doesn't bug me one bit. Am I mad about the patches/updates the system needs? Maybe in the future I'll be miffed, but I think it's expected at launch.

If you're looking for an article that breaks down all the good stuff, along with MODS BAN ME PLEASE issues and supposed items that need fixing ASAP, hit up the feature below.

Article here

[LegendofSantiago]

Thankfully most of the negative is patchable. Hopefully Nintendo will fix that soon

[Mike_Intellivision]

I will be interested to see if other console releases get the same tone/treatment for often minor or expected issues.

Mike from Morgantown

-- who is not coordinated enough for dual touch.

[GeneticRepoMan]

I think when going into a console launch you better expect things to not be 100% up to snuff. No console, Nintendo or not, has ever been perfect. Some are better than others, but if you can't put up with the glitches then you should really wait.

I won't have my Wii U till Christmas, but like Santiago, RMC, and the article states, it seems a lot of the current issues are patchable/fixable which is very good to hear.

From what I've read, Nintendo did good.

[tnicks]

I have my issues with the system, but none of them are deal breakers. There is so much potential for growth and improvement that I am still excited for the future of the system. If in 6 months I see no improvement, I will become concerned.

@Mike_Intellivision

I'm sure when PS4 and Xbox 720 are released there will be no such issues and everything at launch will be perfect...

[jlatimer11]

@Mike_Intellivision

I'm sure when PS4 and Xbox 720 are released there will be no such issues and everything at launch will be perfect...

I asked the question yesterday on whether or not the media was this hard on the 360 and PS3 and apparently they weren't.

I wonder what the response will be if the PS3 and 360 are $350-$400 and don't include any sort of BC.

[Chosenoneknuckles]

@tnicks Oh definitely. The RRoDs, Overpriced Launches, Hacking Scandals and taking away of BC never happened...

The mania [and sub-frequent falling to earth of power expectations with higher price-tags] of the PS4 / X-Box 8 will be fun to see unfold.

[gojiguy]

The biggest problems with the Wii U for me are the BC problems. Wii mode? Really? VC isnt integrated? neither is wiiware?

The Wii U PRo controller doesnt work with wii games?

You cant transfer all save data from the wii and you have to redownload games on your sd card?

You have to launch the wii shop channel separately in the wii mode? It's not integrated into the eShop?

Come on, Nintendo... this is 2012... these are basic things. Look at what you did with the 3Ds. Do that.

[mshope10]

I love my wii-u its just incredible!c.o.d
black ops 2 plays amazing on it.and Nintendoland has just amazing graphics and is better then people can grasp without playing it.

but this is a very fair article probably the most fair on the net.some if the bad is true like slow os.but I believe it will be better in the long
run.

[mshope10]

I love my wii-u its just incredible!c.o.d
black ops 2 plays amazing on it.and Nintendoland has just amazing graphics and is better then people can grasp without playing it.

but this is a very fair article probably the most fair on the net.some if the bad is true like slow os.but I believe it will be better in the long
run.

[Windsor]

The Wii U Pro controller doesn't work with Wii games?

It doesn't?! Dang it. Disappointing.

[jlatimer11]

The biggest problems with the Wii U for me are the BC problems. Wii mode? Really? VC isnt integrated? neither is wiiware?

The Wii U PRo controller doesnt work with wii games?

You cant transfer all save data from the wii and you have to redownload games on your sd card?

You have to launch the wii shop channel separately in the wii mode? It's not integrated into the eShop?

Come on, Nintendo... this is 2012... these are basic things. Look at what you did with the 3Ds. Do that.

Someone suggested that the reason they sandboxed the Wii mode was to prevent older Wii hacks allowing free access to the Wii U system.

[soccerfan384]

Like RepoMan said, I really think things will pick up by next Christmas. Come E3, Nintendo will reveal their major 1st party games for that 2013's holiday season, which I think might include the next 3D Mario? (Galaxy 1 came out the during holidays in 2007 and Galaxy 2 came out in 2010. I hope the next 3D Mario is Holiday 2013). And if the other two plan to reveal their consoles, Nintendo needs to be prepared.

[tnicks]

@Chosenoneknuckles
@jlatimer11

I think things have changed, man I sound old writing that, since the last round of console launches. The amount of influence that websites and reviews have is amazingly more powerful compared to the mid to late 2000, once again feel old writing that, and I think that they will be more critical when the PS4 and 720 get released. Which is good all around. I will never discourage people from being critical, I will call them out when they are dumb. The article is a good one, bringing out some very balanced opinions. Totilo normally is good at that.

Wii U has issues, but I think they all can be fixed.

[changer1701]

I don't have a Wii U yet and frankly am on the fence about getting one. This article makes me feel a little bit better about possibly taking the plunge, though...I don't mind wait time between screens, and I'm used to poor battery life after the 3DS and various Apple products Assassin's Creed and Zombii U are really the only games I'm interested in, though.

[Chosenoneknuckles]

@Chosenoneknuckles
@jlatimer11

I think things have changed, man I sound old writing that, since the last round of console launches. The amount of influence that websites and reviews have is amazingly more powerful compared to the mid to late 2000, once again feel old writing that, and I think that they will be more critical when the PS4 and 720 get released. Which is good all around. I will never discourage people from being critical, I will call them out when they are dumb. The article is a good one, bringing out some very balanced opinions. Totilo normally is good at that.

Wii U has issues, but I think they all can be fixed.

I personally don't see this happening [the PS360 Hacking Scandals were swept under the carpet very swiftly], but, of course, if it does - good.

Despite not getting much but XBLA titles for it, I did get a 360 in the later half of its life. Not really got much to my tastes, so won' be getting its sequel, though.

Jealous of all the fresh indie games the PSN has gotten [Flower, Journey etc.], but I don't care for any of the retail titles [unlike the PS1/2]. *shrugs*

[coffeewithchess]

The biggest problems with the Wii U for me are the BC problems. Wii mode? Really? VC isnt integrated? neither is wiiware?

The Wii U PRo controller doesnt work with wii games?

You cant transfer all save data from the wii and you have to redownload games on your sd card?

You have to launch the wii shop channel separately in the wii mode? It's not integrated into the eShop?

Come on, Nintendo... this is 2012... these are basic things. Look at what you did with the 3Ds. Do that.

Someone suggested that the reason they sandboxed the Wii mode was to prevent older Wii hacks allowing free access to the Wii U system.

One problem. That's a small percentage of the market that would do/attempt/use that. I agree, the Wii Channel isn't the best way to implement it. The Shop Channel doesn't even have everything the Wii Shop Channel does, such as the Nintendo Channel, so it's not even running the full Wii OS/options. Not having the WiiWare and Virtual Console titles on the eShop is a very bad design decision, and should have been there day one. They have had 6+ years to get these things straight, and I am enjoying the Wii U a great deal (the browser is awesome for the kids and using YouTube on it)...that doesn't mean I'm going to excuse them sitting on cash when they should have used it to hire more developers/programmers/coders/networkers/QA people to get this all ready before launch. How much money did they spend building a new R&D building?

[Shaanyboi]

As far as the multitouch thing goes, I was trying AC3 and was looking at the map on the bottom screen. I tried doing the "pinch to zoom" thing, and immediately had this reminder of like "Oh... right. This can't do that..." It's such a basic thing in terms of our modern understanding of touch-screen interaction, and the gamepad just kinda throws it away, dumbing down even the most natural of instincts.

It's not like some deal breaker or something, but it's a reminder of just how limited this thing actually is.

[gatorboi352]

@Mike_Intellivision

I'm sure when PS4 and Xbox 720 are released there will be no such issues and everything at launch will be perfect...

I asked the question yesterday on whether or not the media was this hard on the 360 and PS3 and apparently they weren't.

I wonder what the response will be if the PS3 and 360 are $350-$400 and don't include any sort of BC.

Nintendo is like Apple in that it's an easy target for media and people that aren't fans of their products.

[Fred Duck]

As far as the multitouch thing goes, I was trying AC3 and was looking at the map on the bottom screen. I tried doing the "pinch to zoom" thing, and immediately had this reminder of like "Oh... right. This can't do that..." It's such a basic thing in terms of our modern understanding of touch-screen interaction, and the gamepad just kinda throws it away, dumbing down even the most natural of instincts.

It's not like some deal breaker or something, but it's a reminder of just how limited this thing actually is.

My bicycle doesn't have an engine. Would you call my bicycle limited? They're both design decisions. There's a good technical reason for not having multi-touch: processing delay. There's always lag with a multitouch device as it has to wait a certain amount of time to figure out if you're going to touch it with other fingers. Resistive touch screens will have faster response time, even without a powerful processor behind them.

Is cost a factor? Absolutely, but you can't look at the situation and only see negatives.

It might be second nature to pinch-to-zoom when presented with a touchscreen now but before iPhone, it wasn't common at all. Calling it instinct is a bit of a stretch.