Wii U 2021 System Update

[Ziggy]

Just wanted to let everyone know that, surprisingly, the Wii U had a system update released in March 2021. As with the past several updates, the only description is "Further improvements to overall system stability and other minor adjustments have been made to enhance the user experience."

https://en-americas-support.nintendo.co ... te-history

Apparently the 2021 update is only something related to SSL, and not anything that will improve performance or anything like that. And it doesn't sound like this update would affect homebrew in anyway. But it prompted me to look up the update history, and I was surprised to see that the Wii U was receiving almost yearly system updates until 2018. I guess I haven't turned my Wii U on in a few years.

Anyone still gaming on a Wii U in 2021? I really enjoyed the Wii U when it was Nintendo's latest console. But I guess I haven't used mine since getting a Switch, and all of the U-to-Switch ports definitely doesn't help! I just turned on my Wii U to check and see how much of Mario Kart 8 I had completed (I abandoned it when I got the Switch port) and was surprised to see an update happening in the background.

[Gucci]

I was and still am a fan of the U. I have a bunch of games for it. It’s just not hooked up because my focus drifted to other gaming related things. I don’t have a Switch and it isn’t something I plan on getting.

On thing to note with these updates is it usually tries to fight CFW. I don’t know much about that aspect on the U but that’s what I typically suspect what these updates really are for.

One thing I wanted to mention is the DS games from the eShop: I have a couple of them and the handheld only mode does a pretty great job with the two screens on one thing. One large screen with the bottom screen being smaller and to the side. But for games that focus on the bottom tough screen, you can switch the sizes up. If anyone does decide to play DS games on the U, get yourself the stylus that came with the DSi XL.

[Golgo 14]

I was looking at the early part of the Switch Discussion Thread for some reason today, and I think this prediction is nicely on track.

Screen Shot 2021-07-10 at 6.16.26 PM.png (147.02 KiB) Viewed 12609 times

[prfsnl_gmr]

I’m concerned about how many games have been ported to the Switch. I was hoping the Wii U would be more like the Saturn, which still has a ton of exclusives, than the Dreamcast, which has almost none. Still, though, I’m a nerdy gamer, and I still love my Wii U!

[Golgo 14]

It's weird that the Wii U's stock has risen while it has lost its exclusives. In the past couple years, a bunch of top shelf Wii U titles have been ported to the Switch, but the Wii U's average price in that time has gone up about 50%. Part of that is due to the fact that the prices of video games & collectables have soared in the past year, but I would have expected the Wii U to be pretty immune to that with the Switch stealing its thunder.

I kind of get it, though. I don't have a Switch and I was looking at its games to see if I could justify buying one. Turns out most of the Switch titles I'd want, I either have already on the Wii U, or I can easily pick them up for about a third of the price of their slightly upgraded Switch versions.

Also, like the Dreamcast, the Wii U's library is so small that I imagine it'll be attractive to collectors looking to get a full set of a system's physical games.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Also, like the Dreamcast, the Wii U's library is so small that I imagine it'll be attractive to collectors looking to get a full set of a system's physical games.

Calling Elkin!

We have one member with a complete NTSC set whose actively tracking down imports. It’s very impressive.

[Ziggy]

I love the Wii U, it's a unique experience that the Switch cannot emulate. Mainly, the dual screen nature of the Gamepad. Features exclusive to the Gamepad were done well in many games. Here are some examples that I was most fond of...

Wind Waker - The Gamepad screen can display the map, meaning you can constantly check the map without ever having to pause. This was especially useful when sailing, but also in dungeons. You could also use the touchscreen to effortlessly change items on the fly, again without ever having to pause the game. And the most unique aspect, the Tingle bottles with Miiverse integration. What a unique thing that was. It was incredibly fun finding bottles, as well as making your own. I especially loved to find bottles when there was a time I had to sail but didn't feel like making the trek. Pick up a few bottles along the way, then read those messages all while sailing to your destination. It made backtracking fun.

Super Mario Maker - I LOVED using the touchscreen for this game, and I had an absolute blast with it! Using the stylus and touchscreen to build levels is TONS better than using a standard controller. But I loved how you could instantly just look up and game on the TV with traditional controls, especially for play testing your own levels. I was so excited to get Super Mario Maker 2, but I never got into it because of the controls. I know I can use the Switch in handheld mode to build levels with the touch screen, but then that means I can just quickly play test on the TV screen. So I never really played the sequel. Enough time has passed since I've played the original, I should really just give the sequel a chance and learn to use it with a controller. I know I can "Switch" between handheld and dock modes, but I'd have to get about and walk across the room to dock it, and pull off the controllers, then do the reverse to go back to handheld mode. That procedure is great in normal situations, but not something you want to do to repeatedly test 2 seconds segments of a level. So, yeah, The Wii U was the perfect console for this game. If the sequel also came out on the U, that's the version I would have preferred.

Captain Toad Treasure Tracker - I was wondering how this game would work when ported to the Switch, and overall I think it works great. There's some levels that require you to interact with object via the touchscreen. The Switch can use a pointer via motion controls from the Pro controller, and this works well enough (also in other games like Super Mario 3D World). But there are a couple of levels that are sort of on-rail shooters, and you would aim with the motion controls from the Gamepad in the Wii U version. In the Switch port, you have to aim with the joystick and it makes these levels much harder (to 100% anyway) because of it.


I never really thought about it like this until now, but yes, the Wii U is sort of in the same territory as the Dreamcast. At least, in regards to being short lived (shorter than expected anyway) but with a great library that is loved by fans. I haven't checked the prices of U stuff recently, but I had noticed that hardware prices went up but game prices went down. All of the games that got Switch ports (or already had other ports) were dirt cheap last I checked. Give it a few years, I bet the hardware will be crazy expensive and the game prices will go up.


Can anyone tell me what the homebrew or CFW scene is for the Wii U these days? I'd be interested to setup HDD loading to keep wear and tear off of the optical drive, or be able to backup save files.


I was too poor to buy a Wii U when they first came out, but then I finally got the Wind Waker bundle when it was released. I love that limited edition Gamepad. The regular old black gamepads just look so plain and boring to be whenever I see them.

[Gucci]

I have the Windwaker bundle too. Got super lucky and was able to buy a backup Wii U from Nintendo’s direct store a few years back. That one came with Mario Kart 8 with the two DLCs.

Love that gold outlining on the game pad. One thing I wish I was able to get another of is the Pro controller. Those things are nice to use when you want to preserve the game pad (mine somehow has a scratch on the screen). Also a second extended battery for the game pad.

Also: the Wii U is Nintendo’s Dreamcast except it didn’t sink their hardware division.

[Ziggy]

I also got a backup Wii U from Nintendo, a refurbished one. I have the extended battery pack for my Gamepad. Honestly, I was fine with the stock battery until Mario Maker came out. That's the only game that really REQUIRED me to have more battery life in the Gamepad.

[Gucci]

Do you have a pro controller? The battery life on those are legendary!