Some WiiU Advice
RahnalH102
the Green Devout, Veteran Monster Hunter, Creature EnthusiastNew Mexico Icrontian
in Gaming
I couldn't wait till March for Monster Hunter so I bought a WiiU over the Holidays. Very interesting and lots o' fun, but nothing is perfect. The following are a few things that would have been handy for me to know before hand, and I'll share with you prospective WiiU owners. If you already have one feel free to share your own advice.
Allow Some Setup Time
A lot of features and software come with the WiiU in both versions. Many of said features are not instantly installed and ready for use as well (at least for mine they were not.) In the initial setup of the system you will get an option to connect to the internet (assuming you can.) If this is done it will automatically check for a System Update. As of this post, your WiiU will likely be the base 1.0.0 U version. Currently it's up to 2.1.0 U. This will have all the Miiverse, TVii, and even the shop software in it. So it's a tough spot if you have no internet at the time. It's a very connected system. You'll still be able to play your games and what not, just no online features.
Now even when you can perform this System Update there is still more to do afterwords. Namely creating Miis for the users, creating Nintendo Network IDs and linking them to the users, setting up all the other software such as the shop, TVii, etc. It will take up some time. A lot of this setup seems like it could have already been done by Nintendo but hasn't for some reason.
Despite all this, if what you're interested in is playing a game you can get the initial setup done, skip the System Update, and get to jumping, dancing, shooting, stabbing, Bat-a-ranging, or what have you.
Storage
This should have been an obvious one to me but I didn't think about it till after I started downloading Tekken from the shop.
Tekken Tag 2 is about 15gigs, I got a Deluxe WiiU so I have 32 gigs to spend in the system itself. Seems awfully small when I took nearly half of it away with just one game. So to put this simply, if you plan on downloading games, stick to small ones unless you have a large SD card or USB storage device to throw at it ( I believe an Ext HDD can work with this, but have not tested yet.)
Wii Transfer
This is normally a good idea, however there are some limitations. Namely this: The WiiU is not backwards compatible with GameCube games, therefore no GC controller slots. SO if you have a favorite Wii game that you prefer the GC controls to (SSB: brawl per say) then you won't be able to use that control scheme anymore since the data is not transferable.
A work around to this: have the files of the games you want to play on the WiiU on and SD card and when in the mood for those pop it in. This can be troubling since most game files cannot be copied over from the Wii system memory, but it doesn't hurt to check as I've had some become copy-able but others not.
Those are the main hitches I've encountered with my WiiU so far. I'll post more if I find any more.
Allow Some Setup Time
A lot of features and software come with the WiiU in both versions. Many of said features are not instantly installed and ready for use as well (at least for mine they were not.) In the initial setup of the system you will get an option to connect to the internet (assuming you can.) If this is done it will automatically check for a System Update. As of this post, your WiiU will likely be the base 1.0.0 U version. Currently it's up to 2.1.0 U. This will have all the Miiverse, TVii, and even the shop software in it. So it's a tough spot if you have no internet at the time. It's a very connected system. You'll still be able to play your games and what not, just no online features.
Now even when you can perform this System Update there is still more to do afterwords. Namely creating Miis for the users, creating Nintendo Network IDs and linking them to the users, setting up all the other software such as the shop, TVii, etc. It will take up some time. A lot of this setup seems like it could have already been done by Nintendo but hasn't for some reason.
Despite all this, if what you're interested in is playing a game you can get the initial setup done, skip the System Update, and get to jumping, dancing, shooting, stabbing, Bat-a-ranging, or what have you.
Storage
This should have been an obvious one to me but I didn't think about it till after I started downloading Tekken from the shop.
Tekken Tag 2 is about 15gigs, I got a Deluxe WiiU so I have 32 gigs to spend in the system itself. Seems awfully small when I took nearly half of it away with just one game. So to put this simply, if you plan on downloading games, stick to small ones unless you have a large SD card or USB storage device to throw at it ( I believe an Ext HDD can work with this, but have not tested yet.)
Wii Transfer
This is normally a good idea, however there are some limitations. Namely this: The WiiU is not backwards compatible with GameCube games, therefore no GC controller slots. SO if you have a favorite Wii game that you prefer the GC controls to (SSB: brawl per say) then you won't be able to use that control scheme anymore since the data is not transferable.
A work around to this: have the files of the games you want to play on the WiiU on and SD card and when in the mood for those pop it in. This can be troubling since most game files cannot be copied over from the Wii system memory, but it doesn't hurt to check as I've had some become copy-able but others not.
Those are the main hitches I've encountered with my WiiU so far. I'll post more if I find any more.
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Deluxe Digital Promotion
This promotion is only available to you if you buy a WiiU Deluxe Set (the black one.)
Through this promotion for each software you download from the Nintendo eShop through your WiiU Deluxe, you gain points back that will add up to in-store credit you can use to buy more software.
Example charts they have are $59.99 USD = 599 points. 500 points = $5 USD. Same for Canada. It isn't showing me European prices. I'm leaning towards that being I've only been given North American version of the info.
So if you download a big just released game, you'll get $5 back right away (actually seems to be in about a day at least) that you can spend on a little game or save up for another big one.
You'll be able to earn points for this promotion up until the end of 2014, and the points and $5 activation codes you get will last up until at least March 2015.
Should you get a WiiU Deluxe, the site to log onto will be on the corresponding sticker on the box.
Club Nintendo
Unlike the last one, or even this thread, this service applies to all recent Nintendo products. It's free, and all you have to do to earn the
pointscoins in this service is to fill out surveys. Basically, Nintendo is paying you, in Nintendo money, to participate in market analysis surveys.You can register your Nintendo devices and games you've bought to your Club Nintendo account, take a survey on them after some internal processing, and rack up the coins for some Nintendo merch.
The merchandise includes digital products such as screensavers and game software, and various Nintendo themed swag such as a giant Mii AR Card and Mario themed hanafuda cards.
You can also get warranty extensions and other benefits that pop up from time to time.
If you're a fan of Nintendo or at least it's games then this is a nice little reward system for helping them out just by answering some questions.
One day I will play and complete each of my 25-odd games for the Wii. I've still never completed Zelda Twilight Princess. I came home one night in 2007 when the (now) wife was on nights; blind drunk, and having left the game paused, I attempted to guide Link across a giant indoor dungeon on a floating platform. I got vertigo, went and chucked up, turned the game off without saving (it never saved inside a dungeon, you had to teleport out and save there), and lost over an hour's work. I have never turned the game on since. I was near the end of the game with only the Cave of Ordeals and then Gannondorf to beat, so I really must complete the game fully someday.
I haven't tried any shooters on it yet so I don't think you would have to worry about the D-Pad except for those secondary functions like calling in a drop or some ability. That's what happens in CoD right? It's been awhile since I played one.
We only have the bundled game and Scribblenauts thus far. Both are fun, but I personally would like to see more titles.
The streaming so far has been great. The games I've seen have been solid but appeal to different tastes. I haven't transferred my Wii data mainly for one reason:
I'd be forced to play Smash Bros with the Wiimote. I just remembered the controller. I feel so stupid now.It has a good line up of games at the moment, but could sure use more. The main reason I got my WiiU in the first place was because Monster Hunter 3 U was coming out "within the launch window." If it came out later on this year or even next year then I would have waited to buy for either another game or till it got closer to MH3U launch.
A good point to keep in mind is, if you're invested in the Wii with controllers, games, V-Console, etc, most if not all of that will transfer over. For example GameCube controls won't transfer since there are no GameCube controller input slots, but that is dependent on the games you enjoy.
When you're first setting up your WiiU there will be a section that gets TVii ready for you. Making the GamePad a remote compatible with your TV, letting it know what your favorite shows and channels are. Later, when you start up TVii, it will give you 5 options: Favorites, TV, Movies, Sports, and Search. It notes all availability of the show or movie you request. Such as via Netflix, your cable provider, etc. When you select the first 4 you be shown shows that fit what you mentioned earlier in setup first and then other shows that are on now or will be soon. You pick what you want to watch, where you want to watch it, and then it automatically sends you to the right channel or WiiU app. It works well over all but the interface could use WAY better controls. Like actually using the D-Pad or one of the sticks, but no. It's completely touch based and a little too sensitive at that. Parental controls are also compatible with it.
Transferring Wii Virtual console data to the Wii U, is that fairly painless? How about Wii game saves?
The process is a little time consuming, but not hard overall. Mainly Nintendo has you reread the same warning over and over because this transfer is FINAL and your Wii will basically be set to factory default (somewhat.)
It will transfer Wii save data, WiiWare titles, Virtual console titles and saves, add-on content, Wii Points, Wii Shop Channel history, and Mii characters that are not in the Mii Parade.
It will not transfer pre-installed WiiWare and Virtual Console titles, Nintendo Gamecube data, and software/save data that does not permit transfer. Not sure what content in particular that last one could mean.
To start off you'll need the appropriate transfer channels for each system available for free at their own shop channels, an SD card of at least 512MB, and an internet connection. Start on the WiiU's side and follow the instructions given to you. You'll get multiple chances to back out and it will list software that won't be transferred, if you can get it back, and how.
Once everything is set and you commence the transfer to your SD card, an animation of Pikmin carrying your data will occur to help pass the time. Apparently Nintendo systems run on Pikmin power.
At first I was concerned how they would manage wii content, but I actually like how they made that separate to preserve the old UI. Zoe and I experimented a bit and it works beautifully with your old content and game saves, but damn the process is more painful than it needed to be. I guess I'm grateful I can do it at all, but it would have been nice if Nintendo just leveraged a cloud service and an account log in to upload and re download all your saves and virtual console content. It's not like the cloud is a mysterious concept these days. Oh well, what's done is done, I'm up and running.
We NintendoLand, New Super Mario Wii U, and Lego City Undercover is on pre order. We played a little Mario last night. It's amazing how you can take an old gaming concept, give it a fresh coat of paint and it feel's new again for the tenth time. So pleased we bought into the Wii U, hopefully it picks up momentum.