Wii-U thoughts so far

[isiolia]

In my eyes, Microsoft were the abnormal ones this gen when it came to proprietary data. The PS3 and the Wii both used user upgradable storage solutions.

MS did add (limited) USB storage capability in 2010, allowing the use of thumbdrives (I think technically it can use USB HDDs too, but with a max data size of 16GB it's a waste to do that).

To their credit, MS has probably most consistently improved their console over the life of it (though, arguably, they also left themselves the most room to do so). The PS3 dropped a lot of features along the way - PS2 compatibility, SACD compatibility, Other OS support, most of the card slots (well, from the 60GB, the 20GB never had them, or Wi-Fi for that matter), and so on.

The Wii, notably, dropped backwards compatibility with the newer "Family Edition" console, which has been the standard model sold for about a year now.

Had the 360 not been rushed to market before the other two, it's possible that the initial feature set would have been better. For its part, the machine has only ever gotten better, as opposed to the competition. Though, the competition also didn't have anything on the level of the RRoD fiasco

[BoringSupreez]

If you missed out on the deluxe pre-order, now is a good time to get one!

$800 already? Boy, they aren't wasting any time.

[equalsign]

In my eyes, Microsoft were the abnormal ones this gen when it came to proprietary data. The PS3 and the Wii both used user upgradable storage solutions.

MS did add (limited) USB storage capability in 2010, allowing the use of thumbdrives (I think technically it can use USB HDDs too, but with a max data size of 16GB it's a waste to do that).

To their credit, MS has probably most consistently improved their console over the life of it (though, arguably, they also left themselves the most room to do so). The PS3 dropped a lot of features along the way - PS2 compatibility, SACD compatibility, Other OS support, most of the card slots (well, from the 60GB, the 20GB never had them, or Wi-Fi for that matter), and so on.

The Wii, notably, dropped backwards compatibility with the newer "Family Edition" console, which has been the standard model sold for about a year now.

Had the 360 not been rushed to market before the other two, it's possible that the initial feature set would have been better. For its part, the machine has only ever gotten better, as opposed to the competition. Though, the competition also didn't have anything on the level of the RRoD fiasco

I wasn't aware of the USB thumbdrive and external HDD things. That's pretty cool. I agree that MS most consistently improved their console. Like you, I recognize that this is in part because they left a lot of room to do so. Still, the modern 360 is a very impressive console with a very strong feature set.

The PS3 did drop many features. Some of them I didn't miss, though the SACD support and backwards compatibility were huge losses for me. The Wii's loss of backwards compatibility was disappointing, but the great majority of units out there support it.

The RRoD was another thing that turned me off of the system. I may be the exception, but every friend of mine that had an early 360 had it red ring. Admittedly that's only counting 5 people.

I was also severely disappointed with the quality of the early Wii units. Myself and two of my friends bought the Wii the day it came out. That friend that bought the 360 got screwed with his Wii. Many of the launch Wii units had a problem that prevented them from getting the first system update. Because of this, he could not get SD card functionality on his unit and Nintendo told him he could not transfer his save data. He had to send his new console back to Nintendo, wait a week to get a replacement, and then start all over on Zelda: Twilight Princess (losing some 40 hours of progress in the game).

All of our units stopped reading dual-layered game discs within 3 years. Nintendo used to charge 80 USD for these laser repairs that were due to their choice of bad parts. To avoid the cost, my friends took Nintendo's recommendation and tried the Official Wii Lens Cleaning Kit. Immediately after using it their Wiis stopped reading discs altogether. When Nintendo decided to start repairing the lasers free of charge, they told my friends that they'd still have to pay 80 USD for the repair because their units couldn't read discs at all (even though this was only because they used the official lens cleaning kit). We all felt pretty betrayed.

In our eyes Nintendo had always produced quality hardware. We thought that we'd be safe buying their hardware day one, but we were wrong. I'm not taking my chances on that again. I do tend to still defend the PS3 because I think it was by far the most reliable home console this generation.

[ZenErik]

Yea. Sometimes there are issues that come with early adoption. But that's just a risk that some of us are willing to take. But you've got me thinking. Since there are no must have titles at launch that tickle my fancy I may as well wait a while and see how reliable the hardware is.

[brandman]

If you missed out on the deluxe pre-order, now is a good time to get one!

No kidding, this is 2006 all over again:

http://kotaku.com/5943490/

http://kotaku.com/5943516/

Both GameStop and Best Buy have ran out of Pre-Order stock for the deluxe model of Wii U. Well at least you could try and pre order one at a best buy store, but I don't think the same applies to GameStop.

[BoringSupreez]

BB sold out already?! I'm so glad I didn't waver this morning when I ordered!

Anyone who wants the deluxe model, Toys-R-Us and K-Mart still have them.. For now.

I wonder how long until the basic model starts selling out?

[equalsign]

I think it would really be an advantage to Nintendo if the WiiU manages to sell out and become impossible to find this holiday. The press coverage would help people understand that the WiiU is its own system and a new thing, not just another accessory for the Wii. I'm not trying to imply that Nintendo is doing this on purpose. Just saying.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

It's not sold out in stores. Both Best Buys I called had the majority of their pre-orders left. It's only sold out online.

That said, just got back from pre-ordering my Deluxe model. Forgot to pre-order NSMBU but whatever.

[ZeroAX]

[Dakinggamer87]

It's not sold out in stores. Both Best Buys I called had the majority of their pre-orders left. It's only sold out online.

That said, just got back from pre-ordering my Deluxe model. Forgot to pre-order NSMBU but whatever.

I'll be checking my Best Buy and Fry's stores tomorrow. Thanks for the tip!! I already got the Wii U Pro controller and New Super Mario Bros. U pre-ordered.