Wii U seems to be a console that no one asked for. It barely meets the current specs of the Xbox 360 and PS3 a full six years + after those consoles launched. What a bunch of dumbasses. As seen in the "Story of the Wii" I linked in another thread, Wii got lucky with the motion controls and should have been dead last generation. They won't get lucky again this time.
I thought Nintendo catered to dumbasses and tech idiots. Their consoles look like romper room toys for tots. Why in the fuck would you force people to download a monster patch right off the bat? Most of their target audience is on food stamps and probably uses dial up.Wii U’s Firmware Update Hitting Right Now [UPDATE]
Stephen Totilo
A firmware update appears to have finally become available for the Wii U, a little later than Nintendo personnel had predicted. Pre-release Wii U systems are now able to at least begin downloading the update. I'm trying to download it right now and will let you all know how it goes and what features become available.
Without the firmware update, Wii U systems have been unable to go online, connect to Nintendo's Miiverse, or even play Wii games and transfer data from Wii games. That functionality should be included in this update. I'll keep you posted.
The system launches in five hours.
UPDATE: It's one hour later and the download's progress bar is up to the "g" in "Downloading data for update..." Potential Wii U owners might want to plan accordingly. The system can't be used during the firmware download.
While the next gen Xbox and PS4 machines will potentially support 4K screens, Nintendo's BRAND NEW console is struggling with current HD. Not surprising, only laughable...but then again, you people said 480p was just fine so maybe you can play these games in that res for some respectable frame rates.Bad Port or Bad Hardware? We’re Already Hearing Complaints About Wii U Visuals.
As Nintendo's first high definition console, Wii U will join the neverending, nothing-really-proven debate between the PS3 and the Xbox 360 over which console's visuals for whatever multiplatform game are superior. Some people are convinced it's a bad port, others are convinced it proves inferior hardware.
It doesn't sound like Mass Effect 3 or Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge are the best candidates to show off the new console's graphical capabilities. 1Up, in its review of Mass Effect 3, said the game "seems a lot less visually stable," than the Xbox 360 version, with choppy frame rate, "rougher" animation and even worse audio in the game's spoken dialogue.
Nintendo hardware needs to fade away and the company needs to license it's games to other platforms. Of course, it will stick around because Wal-Mart blue light special shoppers will grab the cheapest thing they can find.
some quotes from reviews:
There are also downsides, of course. For one, having a console controller that needs to be recharged every few hours is a downer, and a big change from previous consoles. The disruption this causes to a weekend gaming session is not to be underestimated
The onboard speakers are a nice touch in games that use the gamepad as a true second display, or when the music syncopates itself so it's augmented by the gamepad's speakers. But when they're used to simply mirror the main sound (like in Madden or FIFA) it creates an weird distortion effect. And the vibration effect in the gamepad is simply awful—it sounds like someone buried a buzzing iPhone in the middle of your controller.
The gamepad's screen isn't a great display—your phone's or tablet's is probably way better—but its sheer size and functionality make up for that. The color seems a little flat compared to the HD screens we tested it with
Oh oh, mom and pop and aunt petunia aren't going to like this as much as bowling on the Wii!One of the reasons the original Wii was so immediately relatable was that its tech-demo-cum-launch-title Wii Sports used such familiar metaphors. You would swing a golf club or baseball bat, or you would roll a bowling ball. Your aunt and uncle could pick up a Wii Remote and immediately have some idea of what to do. The Wii U's demo title, NintendoLand, needs to explain itself a little more. Its incessant tutorials are a pretty apt metaphor for the fact that you're going to need to explain how games work to your mom and dad. It can feel like a step backward in how we interact with video games, especially Nintendo's.
It can be annoying playing games that aren't based around the Wii U's non-standard tech (a good and necessary thing!), but you're constantly compelled to use the touchscreen for stuff that could just as easily (or often more efficiently) on the main screen. Just let us play the game, and chime in with something useful if it's actually useful.
I also can't stop thinking about the Kinect. Dance Central Just Dance 4 is a launch-day title for the Wii U. It's probably a testament to how much we like pretend-dancing (where no one makes fun of you for actually trying!) that the game remains pretty damn fun even with just the Wii Remote. But it's not the same. The Kinect is the logical technological successor to the Wii's nonstandard interaction with your console, and even the current version sort of makes the Wii U look outdated
Well that sucks. Xbox finally got that under control with their updated consoles. Don't want to go back to the jet engine sounds.Seems to run a little bit louder than other consoles, which is a very minor note, but I noticed it whirring above the sound in games (and my idiotically loud radiator) a few times.
People are saying the 8GB version is left with 3GB after the initial monster required download...3GB?**The console requires two asterisks on its list of current capabilities: 1) its internal storage, in either the 8GB or 32 GB models (neither of which really offer that much space) is simply too small to support the post-release content offered by most major video games from the likes of EA, Activision or Take Two; 2) support for peripherals, specifically voice-chat headsets is, initially, limited.
That, along with a pretty weak launch lineup isn't a good sign.What I have tested and am downright puzzled by is why it takes 15-20 seconds to move from the Wii U's main menu to any of the system's apps, even the basic system settings one. It's bizarre and inconsistent with the otherwise swift operations of the system's GamePad-to-TV graphics transfer or its various pause-menu functions. Backing out of the system setting app or, say, the log of a user's play time forces another 15-20 second load. There's something going wrong on the system menu level.
The current (real) consoles have lasted 7 years. Wii U barely meets 7 year old specs. Where will it be in just a few years, much less 7 years? In your closet with the Wii.A new generation of Xboxes and PlayStations is set to be released next year. Publishers and developers are already making games for them. This leaves the Wii U either launching at a really good time that enables it to seem well-stocked with good games right away-or it leaves the Wii U arriving so late that it might be back in the situation the Wii has been for the last couple of years: so under-powered and unloved by the development and publishing community that most blockbuster games aren't even developed for it.