Support NeoGAF

[Canis lupus]

Its been out for a while. The local gamestore finally decided to install a WiiU demo pod. Other than a kid no one was interested to try it out, the pod was hidden between 3DS demo units. The kid left and I got my first look on the new gen of gameconsoles. The Gamepad and its buttons feel very sturdy. The LCD screen looks good, I was spoiled with the oled screens on mobiles and Vita, from my little time with the Gamepad screen it didn't look inferior to them. The single touch is an inconvenience, when I was in the plaza thing I immediatly assumed to zoom in and out with the usual multi touch gestures, instead zooming happens with the +- buttons and moving up and down with the right stick.

The main menu looks clean, but I wonder if it will leave enough room for customization and themes.

The demo unit only had 2 games, Nintendo Land and Rayman Legends. Nintendo Land Plaza looks great and very detailed on the GamePad, however it was not a very straight forward game. How much time do people spend on a demo unit? Will they even realize it is more than just a themepark and consists of many small games? Nintendo should customize the game, chop the minigames out and make them available as small apps. It doesn't provide a good demonstration, wasn't very clear what the game was about. Unfortunatly I closed it down rather quickly as the minigames were not appealing. Rayman Legends looks beautiful, especially on the Pad, people who have seen Rayman Origins on Vitas OLED will love it. It was a SHORT demo that didn't show off much, it had the part where Murphy moves on his own and you have to clear path for him with the touchscreen.

With both games I was confused at which screen to look, people who own the system might say "you'll get used to it", but you won't on the limited time spend on a demo pod. I reckon it will be even more confusing to the casuals.

Going out of apps... why does it take so long? I know it has been discussed a lot, now that I experienced it myself, wtf Nintendo? This for me is the biggest drawback and I will wait with my purchase until this has been addressed.

Overal, I'm of the opinion the demo didn't provide a very good look of the system. Its slow, it lacks content (only 2 games to try out) and its confusing. Nintendo should do a better job showcasing their new system.

 

[fly high ~ayunite~]

That sucks

 

[DragonSworne]

You can access all the games in Nintendoland with the press of a button. It will show you a menu with icons to select the game you want to play.

You don't have to walk around the park...

 

[stuminus3]

Agreed on the kiosk thing, Nintendo's demo stations are doing a terrible job of selling the system. The Rayman demo is AWESOME but best experienced at home. I have no idea why there's barely anything else worth looking at other than some pointless videos you could watch anywhere. I don't see anyone walking away from one of these things and putting the Wii U on their must-own list. In my experience, the exact opposite is true of people who actually get a chance to sit down and experience the system properly, then it becomes a must-have.

They were so full-on with the Wii back in 2006, too - I'm pretty sure their demo stations back then played a HUGE part in making the system so popular. I know I needed one in my life after playing some Excite Truck at a kiosk.

Your topic title is going to attract the wrong sort but I expect you already know that.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

Nintendo Land Plaza looks great and very detailed on the GamePad, however it was not a very straight forward game. How much time do people spend on a demo unit? Will they even realize it is more than just a themepark and consists of many small games? Nintendo should customize the game, chop the minigames out and make them available as small apps. It doesn't provide a good demonstration, wasn't very clear what the game was about. Unfortunatly I closed it down rather quickly as the minigames were not appealing.

So you're complaining about a demo being unclear and unappealing while admitting you spent very little time with it?

Gotcha.

 

[Pitmonkey]

I don't think playing a demo station at a gamestop should warrant the notion of a true "first impression," if I may be honest. But you are fair in saying that the demo left you unamused, and that is not a good thing for Nintendo, no matter how you cut it. Nintendo needs a system seller right now... I'm surprised NSMBU wasn't demoed.

 

[tim.mbp]

At least there are games now. The demo station I tried only had videos.

 

[Glass Rebel]

I had the pleasure of having some nice guy letting me and a friend play the Rayman Legends demo on a kiosk that had only videos. It was a blast and I was really pleased with the game and the hardware in general. I won't buy the system any time soon but I had a great experience with it.

 

[Papercuts]

Is the Rayman kiosk only one level? The wiiu downloadable one has 3.

 

[Pineconn]

You don't even own it? Thread title seemed like a rehash of the buyer's remorse thread, but this is just a I don't like the demo thread. With which I agree—the kiosk is lame.

 

[Fantastical]

At my Walmart there weren't even any demos. It was only the menu and the demos were grayed out. They don't know what the fuck they're doing (my local Walmart).

 

[Wthermans]

So you're complaining about a demo being unclear and unappealing while admitting you spent very little time with it?

Gotcha.

If you can't get someone into a game within the first minute of them viewing a demo unit, that's a problem.

 

[The Technomancer]

If you haven't played NintendoLand (or at least a WiiU game like ZombiU) I'd say your impressions aren't exactly...informative. Rendering judgement on a menu screen doesn't say a lot. I mean, your OP says you played NintendoLand but you don't actually say anything that you tried.

 

[Silas Lang]

Yeah the Wii U station at my local Walmart was disappointing. I only had a few minutes as I was in a hurry, but I didn't even see any demos on it. Everything I saw was videos which is kinda pointless. I can watch trailors online, I wanna try out games damnit!

 

[thekonamicode]

New news new thread.

Sorry you didn't have a good experience with the Wii U.

 

[skarabrae]

OP is talking about trying out the Wii U via a demo kiosk, which I feel should be a good enough indication whether or not someone wants the system. If it fails at that, then it's an ineffective marketing tool.

 

[dose]

Similar to other comments here, I took a look at the WiiU kiosk in the local GAME store. You only had access to one video, that was it, no demos at all. Absolutely terrible experience for anyone who wanted to take a look at it.
Surely this is Nintendo's doing and not GAMEs?

 

[shuri]

So now demo kiosks are not valid way to experience and try a gaming console? Is this the new party line?

This is almost as bad as when wii-u owners were explaining the lack of BLOPS2 players online by saying that most copies were waiting under xmas trees. Turkish's impressions are well explained and detailed. I'm not getting why people are complaining about this thread being made.

Nintendo's failure to produce an attractive demo unit is their own damn fault; and Turkish should not have to endure the blasts of overly emotional posters because of that. He was not impressed by the demo unit; and that's it.

 

[Ingueferroque]

I can't believe you said that the gamepad's screen compares to the Vita's OLED. That's just simply untrue.

 

[SaintMadeOfPlaster]

Nintendo is fucking up this launch so badly. I agree that the demo kiosks suck, but they are a terrible representation of what the Wiii U is all about.

 

[RobotMafia]

At least there are games now. The demo station I tried only had videos.

Same as the one I saw at Target. That was disappointing I wanted to see what Nintendoland was like.

 

[pestul]

Thanks for your opinion. I've had one since release and love it. Besides the OS speed, and lack of near-release games.. I do not have any complaints.

I understand it just isn't for everyone.

 

[Tarin02543]

Sadly I have to report a bad Wii U launch in Belgium...stacks and stacks of Wii U systems (basic+deluxe) being ignored by the shopping masses. Doesn't look good

 

[AlexMogil]

It's odd. I wasn't going to buy it until I played Rayman on the kiosk. It then became a Christmas gift for my daughter.

But then again I'm also on the opposite end of the spectrum that I think NintendoLand is just unbelievably boring.

 

[gaming_noob]

I never see anyone trying the WiiU demo. I hang out at my local game store daily for this research

 

[TheExodu5]

If you can't get someone into a game within the first minute of them viewing a demo unit, that's a problem.

No it's not a problem. You won't hook anyone on Dark Souls in anything less than a few hours, and yet it's one of the best games of this generation.

edit: I see I probably misinterpreted this. Yeah, it's a problem for the demo unit. Not necessarily a problem for the game, however. I will agree the Wii U demo kiosk fails to impress, even though the underlying content is great. They should have picked a few choice Nintendo Land games and made those readily available.

 

[Iacobellis]

Agreed on the kiosk thing, Nintendo's demo stations are doing a terrible job of selling the system. The Rayman demo is AWESOME but best experienced at home. I have no idea why there's barely anything else worth looking at other than some pointless videos you could watch anywhere. I don't see anyone walking away from one of these things and putting the Wii U on their must-own list. In my experience, the exact opposite is true of people who actually get a chance to sit down and experience the system properly, then it becomes a must-have.

They were so full-on with the Wii back in 2006, too - I'm pretty sure their demo stations back then played a HUGE part in making the system so popular. I know I needed one in my life after playing some Excite Truck at a kiosk.

Your topic title is going to attract the wrong sort but I expect you already know that.

Yeah, it's weird how Nintendo took a big step back with Wii U kiosks. I remember in addition to the original stations in GameStop (where you needed an ID because the Wiimotes weren't tethered to the unit), my local mall had a space reserved for about six or so more consoles that you could play. I distinctly remember playing Wii Sports there, I think pretty close to the launch. There were Nintendo representatives ready to help and guide anyone, because it was such a new experience. Fun times.

 

[Randolph Freelander]

I never see anyone trying the WiiU demo. I hang out at my local game store daily for this research

I'll add my anecdotal information to yours and combined, perhaps we can publish a whitepaper. I have not seen anyone try a Wii U, either.

 

[Neuromancer]

I agree the kiosks are pretty lame. The one I used a couple weeks ago did not do a good job selling me on the system. The only playable demo was for Rayman and it was hidden all the way to right, I doubt most people would even find it.

 

[Beelzebub]

I didnt care for it at a kiosk either but that didn't stop me. You arent enjoying a true personal wii u experience that'd you get in your own home, didn't actually play games, no Miiverse..etc. at a kiosk the game pad is stuck at it so you don't even have the experience of being able to move around your home and keep gaming, browsing shit, using apps. seeing anything at a kiosk is not an intimate experience, its not like you can have a true personal experience with them..

 

[Always-honest]

i agree with Nintendoland not being a good demo. But it's a great collection of small but deep multiplayer games.

 

[Treythalomew]

The kiosk is pretty bad but I don't think anything about Nintendo Land is hard to use. I played on Christmas with my 12 year old sister, dad and grandmother. It usually took about one round of any game for everyone to get what they were doing and to start having fun.

 

[OmegaTreeFish]

Its almost like people don't realise he is just saying the demo unit sucked and not the unit itself sucks.

But that can't be the case because people read threads properly before posting I'm sure.

Demo units have a very small window to impress you. I was in game today with my wife and saw one. Thought I would see what they are about. Here is what I got to do before the wife got bored
Realise there was one working demo (rayman, really doesn't show off its unique feature)
Get a feel for the controller. (Pretty comfy)
See the tablet screen is fine (not great, not bad)
Wonder how you switch to tablet screen only mode (and fail to work it out)

And that was it.

Demo unit was crap.

The console itself might be pretty decent but the demo unit wasn't gonna let me find that out.

 

[thetrin]

I'm surprised I'm saying this, but after getting a WiiU and playing NintendoLand, I consider it a killer app. It's got heaps of content and unlockables, stellar multiplayer, and the controls are far tighter than one would think of gyroscopic control.

Spend more time with it. What you experienced wasn't enough for a first impression.

The demo unit probably should have used the Plaza card interface for NL, but you then lose out on the great theme park experience that is integral to the game's atmosphere.

 

[Y2Kev]

Please discuss the topic and not the OP.

 

[Currygan]

I've had a lot of bad experiences from demo kiosks...worst being a 360 connected to a SDTV

 

[FrostuTheNinja]

I'm surprised I'm saying this, but after getting a WiiU and playing NintendoLand, I consider it a killer app. It's got heaps of content and unlockables, stellar multiplayer, and the controls are far tighter than one would think of gyroscopic control.

I was thinking that too when I finally got to sit down with it. I was completely apprehensive about the title when it was first unveiled but now I'm a fan. Can't wait to dig in more and grab more stamps!

On topic, I've only found demo units helpful for seeing if I like a controller or not. Now that I think about it, I can't really recall of any positive gameplay experiences from a demo kiosk.

 

[Christberg]

Here you go

 

[waypoetic]

Current gen OP, not next gen

 

[Mihael Mello Keehl]

Why dont people play pikmin adventure? Play that and tell me its a minigame I would slap you.

 

[WonkyPanda]

Please discuss the topic and not the OP.

Why don't you lock the topic instead and merge it into the Kiosk thread instead of littering the front page with everyone's opinion. What the hell is a discussion thread for then?

 

[stuminus3]

Yeah, it's weird how Nintendo took a big step back with Wii U kiosks. I remember in addition to the original stations in GameStop (where you needed an ID because the Wiimotes weren't tethered to the unit), my local mall had a space reserved for about six or so more consoles that you could play. I distinctly remember playing Wii Sports there, I think pretty close to the launch. There were Nintendo representatives ready to help and guide anyone, because it was such a new experience. Fun times.

Yeah that's the other thing, where are the rep-guided demos? The one I remember best from the Wii launch was a big multi-screen display at the Eaton Center mall in Toronto, each screen with a different interesting-looking game (Wii Sports, Excite, Red Steel etc) with reps at each station helping people out. I remember it in particular because even Red Steel had huge lines of people waiting to try it out. Maybe I haven't been paying attention but I haven't seen anything like this for the U.

Another thing is, the stations all have a playable demo for a game you can't even buy yet. Urgh.

 

[Christberg]

I've had a lot of bad experiences from demo kiosks...worst being a 360 connected to a SDTV

I had an even worse one, which was it connected to an LCD with a shit scaler via composite cables. Looked like hot buttered arse. Was wondering why the Burnout title I was playing at the time looked much better than the Forza demo they had up.

 

[Criminal Upper]

I have no idea of what the point of this thread was.

 

[remnant]

So now demo kiosks are not valid way to experience and try a gaming console? Is this the new party line?

This is almost as bad as when wii-u owners were explaining the lack of BLOPS2 players online by saying that most copies were waiting under xmas trees. Turkish's impressions are well explained and detailed. I'm not getting why people are complaining about this thread being made.

Nintendo's failure to produce an attractive demo unit is their own damn fault; and Turkish should not have to endure the blasts of overly emotional posters because of that. He was not impressed by the demo unit; and that's it.

And we are just going to ignore the fact that's he is kind of a big Sony fanboy, as proven by the metacritic thread.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

Nintendo Land should have been a playable demo from the start. As beautiful and fun as Rayman is, the average consumer has no idea what the hell it is.

 

[Aquamarine]

I have no idea of what the point of this thread was.

To debate the quality of the Wii U demo kiosks.

 

[Currygan]

I had an even worse one, which was it connected to an LCD with a shit scaler via composite cables. Looked like hot buttered arse. Was wondering why the Burnout title I was playing at the time looked much better than the Forza demo they had up.

lol yeah, those were the days. Super-stretched, blurry Project Gotham 3 demo was a nightmare

 

[SmithnCo]

I was pleasantly surprised. I hope a lot of the games let you play exclusively on the pad.

 

[EloquentM]

Current gen OP, not next gen

So, Not next gen, current gen?