The Wii U ( WiiU ) Thread

[ryu]

so is it really compatible with wii component cables?

[Friendly]

This launch sounds like a real clusterfuck.

Friendly, what am I looking at there? Just looks like a random list of games.

Apparently the Miiverse developers made a stupid mistake, allowing admin access to the miiverse system by regular users without requiring any login/password. One neogaf user found out about it and had a look at everything that was hidden inside, taking screenshots. He didn't actually do anything bad, even though he could have: http://i50.tinypic.com/9sb0ut.jpg

Looks like Nintendo saw the thread at neogaf, because after about 2 hours they locked him out and closed the backdoor.

[renardqueenston]

the update downloaded pretty quickly on my end, thankfully. i picked up a basic model on the premise of "i just wanna play the disc games", hahahaha

Tank! Tank! Tank! is a great port. it pretty much sold me on the Wii U in the first place and it's doing a great job holding up. tons of fun. no online on this one but the local is a riot.

so is it really compatible with wii component cables?

yes! i'm using the Wii component cables on mine. it also works with the composite and S-Video cables, and all other Wii accessories like that.

[Friendly]

i picked up a basic model on the premise of "i just wanna play the disc games", hahahaha

Releasing the 8 GB model seems like a really terrible idea by Nintendo, considering that ~5 GB alone are used up by the operating system and that virtually every disc-based game seems to get updates which have to be downloaded. When I buy a Wii U, I'll definitely opt for the 32 GB model.

8 GB in 2012, what were they thinking? That's such an obvious design flaw. (Just like Sony's 16 GB PS3 Super Slim Euro version).

[Marc]

Just been reading the Eurogamer review of NSMU. It mentions so many things that I loved about SMW that its almost sold menthe console for that one game. Announce an F-Zero or Pilotwings and im in.

[njiska]

Wow. GT released a comparison video of Arkham City Armoured Edition vs. the original PS3/X360 releases. Some of it looks the same, but at other times the textures are really, really bad. I know this is a launch port and should be no sign of quality, but it's shocking nonetheless. I'm hoping Digital Foundry will do a report.

http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/jxkc ... comparison

[mesh control]

More importantly: frame drops

[Strider77]

I take a big ol' fart on the Wii-U

[Friendly]

Don't kid yourselves. Eventually, most of us will buy one anyway.

Hopefully by then the consumer-hating, children eating, fascist, communist region lock will be defeated.

[mesh control]

All the current Wii HBC exploits (Smash, Indiana Pwns, etc) work on the Wii U, allowing the Wii portion to be region free.

The U upscales Wii games to 1080p too.


/nintendo marketing

[antron]

I hear you will be able to purchase and download Gamecube titles, but you can't play them from disc? Is this correct?

[Friendly]

I hear you will be able to purchase and download Gamecube titles, but you can't play them from disc? Is this correct?

That is correct, and the reason why you are supposed to keep your old Wii. New Wiis have no Gamecube backwards compatibility, either.

This is the new Wii, which is to be avoided:

[antron]

I don't get this. Isn't a Wii just an overclocked gamecube, with more ram and new controllers? If the Wii U can play native Wii titles, then how could it not play native GC ones (same for the new Wii)?

Is this just about not having GC controller ports? Therefore the in-game instructions must be updated to not cause confusion? Seriously.

[Friendly]

I suppose they left out some specialized chips that were needed to play GC games in order reduce production costs.

Just came accross this info regarding Wii U's RAM speed:

Wii U: 12.8 GB/s, separate eDRAM pool
360: 22.4 GB/s, eDRAM for framebuffer
PS3: 25.6 GB/s main memory BW, 22.4 GB/s graphics memory BW, no eDRAM

At least it has more RAM than PS360 (2 GB).

[null1024]

I don't get this. Isn't a Wii just an overclocked gamecube, with more ram and new controllers? If the Wii U can play native Wii titles, then how could it not play native GC ones (same for the new Wii)?

Is this just about not having GC controller ports? Therefore the in-game instructions must be updated to not cause confusion? Seriously.

I guess it was a matter of support and testing. The Wii's hardware is entirely a superset of the Gamecube's hardware, just clocked better. If I can recall correctly, the only major difference was that the Wii had a couple security related chips it used in Wii mode, plus whatever inputs the Wii has that the GC doesn't [SD, USB].

Also, the ports. No point in producing GC compatible stuff when it doesn't make you any money -- you'd be playing GC games or using your GC controller for Wii games instead of playing Wii/U games and buying a new Classic Controller. All the people who want to play Gamecube stuff still have an older Wii or a Gamecube [which is dirt cheap - the going rate is only $30 - because Wiis play pretty much everything the Gamecube does]. It doesn't profit Nintendo enough to include the ports and support. It adds value to the product, but ultimately, is just seen as a cost that can be cut from the console.

I'd say it's like how the DS removed GBC support, but the GBC's main CPU was some custom Z80 variant [read: expensive because it was rather different from a ordinary Z80, which is cheap] that was disabled during GBA mode [so, it was a cost that got cut]. The GC -> Wii isn't that situation at all though, which is disappointing.

IIRC, it's possible to get into Gamecube mode on Wii models that don't have the ports too, and there is a way to physically add the ports back [time-consuming and a pain]. So it is just the ports.

[antron]

If they allowed you to play with the WiiU controllers I see no added cost. Those are the controllers they plan on letting us use for the GC VC games anyway, right? These new controllers basically follow the Nintendo labeling scheme (besides c-stick not being labeled).

Do little discs require special hardware to front load? Couldn't be too much. They must plan on re-tooling the controls on a game by game basis. I recall SM64 on VC having instructions that looked like they had been updated for the Wii's controllers.

[null1024]

If they allowed you to play with the WiiU controllers I see no added cost. Those are the controllers they plan on letting us use for the GC VC games anyway, right? These new controllers basically follow the Nintendo labeling scheme (besides c-stick not being labeled).

Do little discs require special hardware to front load? Couldn't be too much. They must plan on re-tooling the controls on a game by game basis. I recall SM64 on VC having instructions that looked like they had been updated for the Wii's controllers.

They could add disc support after GC VC stuff gets rolled out, unless they are using some kind of emulator that's optimized per-game. Or if they just don't feel like it [very likely].

[steveovig]

Anyone got any NNIDs to share? Mine is Art_Vandelay. Add me fools!

[Ex-Cyber]

Do little discs require special hardware to front load?

To slot-load, I'm pretty sure they do. I recall reading a few dire warnings about 8 cm / 3 inch discs in manuals for slot-loading car stereos and CD-ROM drives. Most tray loaders have a separate indent to center them though.

[njiska]

Do little discs require special hardware to front load?

To slot-load, I'm pretty sure they do. I recall reading a few dire warnings about 8 cm / 3 inch discs in manuals for slot-loading car stereos and CD-ROM drives. Most tray loaders have a separate indent to center them though.

Yeah, they have to be purpose built to support the smaller sizes. It has the do with the mechanism that loads and aligns the disc. I believe the slot loading drive in the PS3 also supports 3" disks.

[BPzeBanshee]

Glad to hear that the "Wii Mode" is still softhackable, but not sure if it'd be for much use other than playing an emulator. I think DVD support via MPlayer CE and the like might've gotten knocked out via hardware updates prior to the Wii U's release anyway but I'm not sure.

If someone has the balls to actually put that to the test I'd be keen to hear about it.

[GaijinPunch]

JP release is 12.08, I'm pretty sure. That's what the TV has been telling me anyway.

[Friendly]

Title updated. Strange how Japan is getting it last. Maybe Nintendo wants to use the rest of the world for beta testing first. Not a bad idea, it would seem.

[Ganelon]

I've got a question about pros/cons of performing the data transfer from Wii to Wii U (US region), preferably from those with firsthand experience. I have quite a few WiiWare games on my Wii. Is there any reason to perform the transfer? I understand that all data will be deleted from the Wii and moved to the Wii U's Wii mode. If I want to skirt the terms of service, I can probably perform a NAND backup in BootMii beforehand and then restore games back to my Wii but that's not my style. Consequently, the question is what will improve or worsen after the transfer.

From what I can tell, the game compatibility itself is 100% because all the original hardware is still in place. You still have to use the same controllers to play those games and have no new benefits from the system itself or the GamePad. The one additional choice I can see is that outside of the Wii's optimal component quality video, you have the additional option of limited range RGB HDMI video, which is not necessarily a plus on all displays. I've also heard of issues (http://techforums.nintendo.com/message/79198) involving lack of surround sound in Wii games and the image in Wii games not filling the full screen. That's a not-so-plus and 2 potentially significant minuses.

I wouldn't mind moving everything over to Wii U since I reckon I'll have it plugged in all the time thanks to its SpotPass "feature" (conversely, my Wii has been sitting in a cardboard box for the majority of its life). But right now, it seems like it's much smarter to avoid the transfer. Does anyone have more info on this matter? Thanks.

[dcharlie]

Anyone got any NNIDs to share? Mine is Art_Vandelay. Add me fools!

NNID : DCharlie

feel free to add me. JPN region :/

[BulletMagnet]

Hopefully by then the consumer-hating, children eating, fascist, communist region lock will be defeated.

Unlikely, as Nintendo appears to have taken the title as not only the first company (IIRC) to region lock a portable system, but the first to region lock a peripheral.

[Ex-Cyber]

Dreamcast supports region lockout of peripherals, but AFAIK it was only ever used to stop US games from using the Japanese light gun.

[BulletMagnet]

Hm, learned something new today! Seems that once again Sega was ahead of its time.

[professor ganson]

So nice to be able to pack away the Wii in favor of the Wii U. Truly an upgrade even if I only ever bother to play kid games on it (with my daughters). The Sega cart racer and the Mario game are both really solid. Skylanders is ridiculous but fun.

[Friendly]

Premium Pack for 75 GBP off on ebay UK:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350680200851

Seller is zavvi (well known online game store).

That's quite impressive (and worrisome), considering it launched only a month ago.