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[IrishNinja]

that OP is hilarious, there's some very real & legitimate stuff in there sandwiched between "STAND CONTROVERSY?" and the police lights

...they could have done basic things like let the gamepad stream Wii content as well, but decided not to.

fair points about the hyperbole & real problems like the accounts currently being locked down (god i hope that's addressed soon), but this bit - does having the Wii run in a sandbox/distancing itself from the WU proper for fear of hacking kinda go in the way of this? again though i guess i wasn't really expecting any real work to be done on products that've already been sold, because i don't see that very often (patching trophies into old ps3 games, the death of the 360 BC effort, many things on nintendo's end etc).

Someone in the thread claimed their Wii U was loading quickly. Why is mine this slow?

Only real complaint I have about the system right now.

holy shit i have to echo others here & say your shit is unusually slow billy, might want to have that looked into

RROD was not a problem at launch.

i wasnt there for it, but if it somehow wasn't, it was damn sure a very large problem not long after

 

[DigitalRicket]

Everything seems to be working much better for me today. Miiverse, home screen, etc., seem fully functional and fairly snappy.

Same here. On launch night everything seemed super slow, but all of today (Monday) my entire experience has made a 180 turn. Super quick access to Miiverse, no hiccups in load times or getting things to display.

I've owned every major console release from the past 15 years, that includes the 360 and PS3, and I had no quarrels selling my 360 and PS3 and finally sitting joyfully on a Wii U and PC for gaming (and 3DS for handheld). I'm into just about every genre of gaming and the lack of party chat for shooters means nothing to me, nor does the ability to move things over to another console -- Nintendo records all your purchases for Wii U (just like 3DS and Wii), and if anything major happens they can simply allow you to transfer licenses over.

Regardless about all the hardcore grievances people have with the system, and early alarms to call the demise of Nintendo, I'm satisfied with my purchase and have been having a blast with Mario, Nintendo Land, Assassin's Creed, and Epic Mickey -- which is the reason why I play on a console in the first place... for the GAMES.

 

[MarkusRJR]

Everything is loading much faster, especially MiiVerse. I'm still having loads of crashes though (where I have to unplug the console). I've had 5 today. Hopefully they update the console to add some stability.

 

[Seik]

Everything is loading much faster, especially MiiVerse. I'm still having loads of crashes though (where I have to unplug the console). I've had 5 today. Hopefully they update the console to add some stability.

At this point it makes me wonder. I've been using my WiiU intensively (around 10 hours) since yesterday and I never had a single crash, freeze or anything. Wait for an update, but if the problem persists I'd recommend you to send it back.

 

[Ashes]

At this point it makes me wonder. I've been using my WiiU intensively (around 10 hours) since yesterday and I never had a single crash, freeze or anything. Wait for an update, but if the problem persists I'd recommend you to send it back.

How long does the controller battery last?

 

[Seik]

How long does the controller battery last?

Around three hours, for example: I used it fully charged this morning for like 30 minutes before work, then 3 hours straight (BLOPS2, Miiverse, browsing) a few moments ago and at the end the battery light was on, so I plugged it.

 

[Terrell]

Console launch disappoints subset of users, news at 11.

You'd think some of us would have identified a pattern and expected this or something.
Adding online to the mix has only made things worse, across every manufacturer. (see: Apple Maps, PSN on day one, etc.)

 

[AzaK]

Given they have time for that, yes. This is not always feasible with hard deadlines (let's tell our hardware partners we need to delay a month) and you would obviously know this. It has to work before you start tuning it.

I do, I just guess I have more pride in my work. The slow load times (that everyone seems to have) is not a satisfactory thing to let through unless you have planned and executed very badly.

 

[Septimius]

I do, I just guess I have more pride in my work. The slow load times (that everyone seems to have) is not a satisfactory thing to let through unless you have planned and executed very badly.

I'm a mere web-developer, and just from that, I can tell you this isn't true. The load-times can have been a bug introduced in a build close to launch, it can have been a myriad of other things too. Pride in your work is really irrelevant when dealing with such huge projects.

 

[Ashes]

Around three hours, for example: I used it fully charged this morning for like 30 minutes before work, then 3 hours straight (BLOPS2, Miiverse, browsing) a few moments ago and at the end the battery light was on, so I plugged it.

Oh my. I don't think I would like to get used to this. 3 hours is too little for me. Thanks for the honesty. A typical evening results in a recharge. :/

I suppose I could plug it in as my sofa is next to a socket. And the same in my bedroom. But on principle this would lose marks. Lots and lots of marks.

 

[Neff]

It's staggering how ready and willing people are to believe that corporations aren't interested in appeasing customers.

 

[Drugula's Wrath XXX]

All those issues are trivial. Common people HD Zelda... HD!

On 5 year old hardware + 5 years time = 10 year old hardware.

Not to mention the fact that we don't know how much better the X720/PS4 will be on the graphics end.

 

[Vinci]

Wow. So are there any positive reviews/impressions for this thing? You can't blame us for all the doom and gloom when all of the discussion is about the underpowered hardware/glitchy OS/janky ports.

A suggestion: Avoid any thread with a title that references hardware. Go into those and all you will see is doom and gloom. Go into impressions threads on some of the games, on MiiVerse, on family gatherings, etc. - you know, actually interacting with the thing when it's not loading, you'll generally get more favorable impressions.

This, of course, depends on what you want to see. Only reason I'm in this thread is because it isn't specifically about hardware.

On 5 year old hardware + 5 years time = 10 year old hardware.

Not to mention the fact that we don't know how much better the X720/PS4 will be on the graphics end.

Those systems don't have Zelda.

 

[Binabik15]

All those issues are trivial. Common people HD Zelda... HD!

I thought HD is overrated and graphics don't matter?

HA!

 

[Vinci]

I thought HD is overrated and graphics don't matter?

HA!

To be fair, he is prioritizing playing Zelda on a weaker console over whatever the hell shows up on the other two.

 

[Scofield94941]

I'm loving the WiiU but this thread brought up the feelings how great the Gamecube launch was. I can't believe all we got from Nintendo was Nintendoland and NSMBU. The last real Nintendo launch before that was Zelda so it is kind of weird that there was only 2 games at launch with all that development time. Pikmin 3 not being at launch really left a small void from Nintendo but I am patient in the end. Just loved me some gamecube, I remember setting it up on christmas day and playing Pikmin, Rouge Squadron, Luigi's Mansion and Super Smash Bros...good times

 

[Jak140]

I can't say I'm that surprised, the WiiU has looked like hot garbage from day one and the more we learn about it the more my initial impressions of it are confirmed. And I say this as someone who has owned every Nintendo console and portable generation save the snes and virtual boy.

 

[Hiltz]

I'm loving the WiiU but this thread brought up the feelings how great the Gamecube launch was. I can't believe all we got from Nintendo was Nintendoland and NSMBU. The last real Nintendo launch before that was Zelda so it is kind of weird that there was only 2 games at launch with all that development time. Pikmin 3 not being at launch really left a small void from Nintendo but I am patient in the end. Just loved me some gamecube, I remember setting it up on christmas day and playing Pikmin, Rouge Squadron, Luigi's Mansion and Super Smash Bros...good times

Well, Iwata admitted that Nintendo intentionally delayed the release of some of launch games, likely Pikmin 3 along with maybe one other (Game & Wario/Wii Fit) to 2013 due to the plethora of third-party launch support ! Well, look on the bright side, Wii U's launch window is probably going to be better than how its 2012 lineup turned out. Reggie even teased us earlier today that there may be some new announcements for launch window to me made. Hopefully, it's not just another late current-gen port (probably is!).

 

[IrishNinja]

I'm loving the WiiU but this thread brought up the feelings how great the Gamecube launch was. I can't believe all we got from Nintendo was Nintendoland and NSMBU. The last real Nintendo launch before that was Zelda so it is kind of weird that there was only 2 games at launch with all that development time. Pikmin 3 not being at launch really left a small void from Nintendo but I am patient in the end. Just loved me some gamecube, I remember setting it up on christmas day and playing Pikmin, Rouge Squadron, Luigi's Mansion and Super Smash Bros...good times

i agree with an awful lot of what you're saying (GC had such a fantastic lineup at that point) but to be fair, that Zelda was an upkicked port, and not even the definitive version as a result.

if they'dve dropped Skyward Sword with a more traditional control scheme, half of GAF would sing its praises before playing it and feeling how awkward/tacked on that felt to the game's design, much as wiimote TP felt for me, i'd imagine.

 

[Fabrik]

I'm bookmarking this thread. So much quote potential for later.
The same kind of bullshit overreaction like the Wonderful 101 unveiling or Bayonetta announcement. So sad.

 

[thehypocrite]

I'm bookmarking this thread. So much quote potential for later.
The same kind of bullshit overreaction like the Wonderful 101 unveiling or Bayonetta announcement. So sad.

Don't hold back, tell us how you really feel.

Personally I think that all the issues in the op are real, however Nintendo is trying to appeal to a different audience than me, one that's not coming to GAF to get opinions, an audience that may not care about these issues as much to not get the latest Mario 2d, they're forced to do this because of their past choices, time will tell if it fails or succeed.

 

[Sulik2]

So from reading that first post I am glad I didn't buy one. Sounds like I will be waiting for the inevitable hardware redesign and price drop.

 

[Gadirok]

So from reading that first post I am glad I didn't buy one. Sounds like I will be waiting for the inevitable hardware redesign and price drop.

I'm going to wait until there's actual software worth buying for the console. Might have to wait over two years for that.

 

[jmls1121]

I'm going to wait until there's actual software worth buying for the console. Might have to wait over two years for that.

ZombiU and NintendoLand are well worth the price of admission.

 

[Aquamarine]

ZombiU and NintendoLand are well worth the price of admission.

Bayonetta 2 + Rayman Legends + The Wonderful 101 + NSMBU + NintendoLand + ZombiU are well worth the price of admission.

That, and Nintendo's full force of 1st and 2nd party developers. Everybody from Intelligent Systems (Paper Mario, Fire Emblem, Advance Wars) to Monolith Soft (Baiten Kaitos, Xenoblade), to Retro Studios (Metroid Prime, DKCR) to Nintendo EAD Tokyo (Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2) is going to be developing for that console, and I can't wait to see what kind of masterpieces they conjure up for it.

 

[m14]

I can't speak for the technology but I was worried when I realised Nintendo haven't held a glamorous, celebrity filled launch party for Wii U. Has a console even been launched if it hasn't been pictured with Jason Biggs or Pete Wentz?

 

[btrboyev]

Bayonetta 2 + Rayman Legends + The Wonderful 101 + NSMBU + NintendoLand + ZombiU are well worth the price of admission.

That, and Nintendo's full force of 1st and 2nd party developers. Everybody from Intelligent Systems (Paper Mario, Fire Emblem, Advance Wars) to Monolith Soft (Baiten Kaitos, Xenoblade), to Retro Studios (Metroid Prime, DKCR) to Nintendo EAD Tokyo (Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2) is going to be developing for that console, and I can't wait to see what kind of masterpieces they conjure up for it.

To be fair, you have no idea if games that are unreleased are the worth the price of admission.

I bought a Wii U because I like video games and I know the system will have games that I don't want to miss out on. It's really quite simple for anybody who enjoys gaming. I happen to still enjoy Nintendo games at 34 years old.

 

[Synless]

At this point it makes me wonder. I've been using my WiiU intensively (around 10 hours) since yesterday and I never had a single crash, freeze or anything. Wait for an update, but if the problem persists I'd recommend you to send it back.

In with you, not a single crash/freeze or any problem whatsoever.

 

[iyox]

Why are there so many opinions from people who clearly don't have a Wii-u? I guess this is a release day thread for those sans system.

As for my impressions, and issues encountered... I have not encountered any system locks or any other major issues. The OS was sluggish Sunday, but seems to have improved considerably since then. The only reason for which, I can assume, is that the OS doesn't wait for the app to load before doing network calls for miiverse content (or some other network resource). It would be interesting to see how the OS performs when disconnected and if there is any substantial decrease in load times for various apps.

Otherwise, I have been quite impressed with the system and have had a blast playing Mario. Playing on the gamepad while someone else uses the TV is really cool. The process of moving from TV -> Gamepad-> TV, whether in game or in an app like Netflix is really seamless and, for right now, endlessly cool.

 

[bryehn]

OS is still slow as shit for me. access to miiverse is a bit smoother (still at least 12-15 seconds) though and warawara plaza finally started to work.

 

[digita1alchemy]

I only skimmed the thread but I just figured I'd add that I bought a Wii U and I am extremely satisfied with it. Rather than micro analyzing the RAM in the system, thinking about future what-if scenarios involving my console and NNID or timing how long my gamepad battery lasts, I've been playing the games I bought. And I'm having a lot of fun. And it seems like most people on Miiverse are having fun too. So there's that.

 

[onipex]

So far I am problem free. The console is great and Nintendo Land is pretty fun. The load times seem to be better or are not bothering me anymore. I'm posting this from the Wii U and the browser is great too. Nintendo needs to iron some things out but I'm loving this console so far.

 

[plagiarize]

So from reading that first post I am glad I didn't buy one. Sounds like I will be waiting for the inevitable hardware redesign and price drop.

yeah, that Wii hardware redesign sure was great wasn't it?

this isn't a Nintendo hand held. why are we expecting some superior second version? I mean, yeah, the Gamecube and Wii both had hardware revisions... and both of them cut out features without adding any.

the majority of the issues are software (and are issues). the existing Gamepads have room for much bigger batteries, so that can be solved without a hardware redesign too. my 3DS didn't need to be replaced to resolve the hard locks that was getting at launch.

wait for system updates. wait for the games that interest you. hell, wait for a price drop if you want, but waiting for Nintendo to make a hardware revision on their consoles may not be a good idea if we're going by past trends.

 

[JazzmanZ]

I think it's time I did put some thought into this.
While There are a few problems with the Wii U include the account system thing and the same saved data for all accounts that can be big problems. They may ultimately get fixed and sorted out, but not for a little bit.

The consumer is not going to be picky about onboard RAM or battery life, as long as the games are good they will enjoy the console with friends, family and themselves.

Also consider this, despite all the doom and gloom in this topic I don't think it's really all that bad, it's easier to talk about the bad stuff thats happening with the Wii U than all the good stuff, you don't see people all the time going "day 3 of wii U, everything is all good so far".

Nintendo has a rocky road to go through, but they should be able to fix it.

 

[jts]

yeah, that Wii hardware redesign sure was great wasn't it?

this isn't a Nintendo hand held. why are we expecting some superior second version? I mean, yeah, the Gamecube and Wii both had hardware revisions... and both of them cut out features without adding any.

the majority of the issues are software (and are issues). the existing Gamepads have room for much bigger batteries, so that can be solved without a hardware redesign too. my 3DS didn't need to be replaced to resolve the hard locks that was getting at launch.

wait for system updates. wait for the games that interest you. hell, wait for a price drop if you want, but waiting for Nintendo to make a hardware revision on their consoles may not be a good idea if we're going by past trends.

The GC had an hardware revision? What did it consist of?

 

[Chiggs]

ZombiU and NintendoLand are well worth the price of admission.

ZombiU is a mess.

 

[MarkusRJR]

The GC had an hardware revision? What did it consist of?

Removal of the component cable output lol.

At this point it makes me wonder. I've been using my WiiU intensively (around 10 hours) since yesterday and I never had a single crash, freeze or anything. Wait for an update, but if the problem persists I'd recommend you to send it back.

Well 4 of the crashes were from Nintendo Land. That game is really unstable. If you check GAF/MiiVerse you can find other people having lock up problems too. The one other crash was from ZombiU. I reached a loading screen and it just froze up. Thankfully I didn't lose much progress. The actual OS is pretty stable if albeit slow.

 

[zerokoolpsx]

Well, Nintendo rushed it out for US to make it before Black Friday. The NiN account lock to one Wii U console is such anti-consumer bs. The average consumer would overlook everything else though.

 

[Bgamer90]

Adding online to the mix has only made things worse, across every manufacturer. (see: Apple Maps, PSN on day one, etc.)

The online integration of the Xbox 360 was great at launch and didn't have any hiccups. This was back in 2005.

 

[optimiss]

Around three hours, for example: I used it fully charged this morning for like 30 minutes before work, then 3 hours straight (BLOPS2, Miiverse, browsing) a few moments ago and at the end the battery light was on, so I plugged it.

What do you have the screen brightness set to? I keep mine on 3 to try to eek out a bit more time. Fir night gaming I could probably go down to 1. I havne't really tried using the power saving mode yet. I hope someone like Anandtech does an extensive battery test.

 

[DjRoomba]

Guys do you really need the battery to last more than 3 hrs for one sitting?? I mean this is Nintendo telling you to take break for a while.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

Guys do you really need the battery to last more than 3 hrs for one sitting?? I mean this is Nintendo telling you to take break for a while.

I decide when I take a break.

 

[Drugula's Wrath XXX]

Those systems don't have Zelda.

The Darksiders series has produced two better games than Skyward Sword this past gen.

 

[Metalmurphy]

Can you play while charging at least?

 

[Steve Youngblood]

Can you play while charging at least?

Yes.

 

[bjb]

What a disaster. Glad I passed.

 

[NihonTiger90]

Definitely not picking one up for quite some time. Seems like Nintendo rushed this and botched their OS/hardware choices. The OS is fixable, but hardware... not so much.

I feel like there's so much potential promise here, though. It could have been far less buggy than what we're seeing.

 

[Oppo]

Guys do you really need the battery to last more than 3 hrs for one sitting?? I mean this is Nintendo telling you to take break for a while.

It's not just consecutive hours.

 

[Brera]

The Wii was a make or break console. Nintendo took risks and from day 1 it was a megahit. The GC was quickly forgotten and the Nintendo is doomed meme quickly died and was long forgotten.

With the Wii-U, nintendo was coming from a hit console. They could have played it safe and released an uber-console and enjoy their 2 year head start. Instead for whatever reason, Iwata decided to take a risk. He decided to make their follow up something even more revolutionary. A big screen HD quality Nintendo DS.

It's early days but so far it's probably the worst Nintendo launch ever.

Poor online
Features missing
3rd parties are luke warm over it.
Reviews are piss poor
No revolutionary killer app


All signs point to a bad generation for nintendo and the momentum may be lost due to a risk that they didn't have to make, a risk that might cost them the next generation?

 

[alr1ght]

You cannot be serious...