Wii-U thoughts so far

[RCBH928]

Wii mode outputs to the gamepad now. Off TV Wii games but you obviously still have to use a Wiimote. This is pretty cool. My wife watches football which bores the shit out of me. If I want to play a Wii game the gamepad essentially functions as a small TV. I imagine it is a better resolution for Wii games than the HDTV as well. It would be nice if they could have figured out a way to map controls to the gamepad itself but I believe Wiimotes utilize bt technology while the gamepad uses wifi. Maybe they can get around this eventually?

You can use the browser while in game now too apparently. This way you can upload screenshots directly to a forum or blog. Pretty neat.

Wii in the controller makes me think about getting a Wii U, so i can play the VC games

[Violent By Design]

You guys here about the slamming pre order DLC bonus you get with Sonic Lost World?

http://blogs.sega.com/2013/10/01/pre-or ... tra-lives/

That's right, 25 EXTRA lives.

[ZeroAX]

You guys here about the slamming pre order DLC bonus you get with Sonic Lost World?

http://blogs.sega.com/2013/10/01/pre-or ... tra-lives/

That's right, 25 EXTRA lives.

Something tells me they'll try to sell extra lives as DLC at this rate. Well....they do it on some cell phone games, right?

[Ziggy]

So I haven't owned the U that long. I only once tried viewing a YouTube video in the web browser and it caused my console to freeze. I had to hard power off. I read a bunch of people report the same thing on Miiverse.

The 4.0.0 update "fixes" it, but it doesn't make YouTube videos work in the browser. When you click play on a YouTube video, the screen just scrambles and says something like, "This video cannot be played on this device." OK, so I guess Nintendo made it so that would happen instead of freezing. At least they fixed the freezing problem.

Now, there's the YouTube app. I haven't used it but I'm sure it plays YouTube videos perfectly fine. But is this why Nintendo didn't bother to get YouTube videos working in the browser?

I have viewed videos on other sites such as IGN and GameSpot, those have all worked fine. Why can't YouTube? I'm hoping Nintendo will get it working in a future update. Until then, I suppose I don't mind. I like to pause a game and use the web browser to figure out things about the game. Occasionally, YouTube is the best answer. I don't believe you can launch the YouTube app while a game is suspended, so it would be nice to get YouTube working in the web browser eventually.






BTW, here's the deal with version 4.0.0 from Nintendo's website...

Version 4.0.0 U, available via an Internet connection, includes the following improvements:

New Features:

A feature to output video and sound to the Wii U GamePad when using Wii Mode¹
Users can choose to output to the TV and GamePad, or just the TV
A feature to automatically receive recommended software and demo titles from Nintendo using SpotPass
Support for USB keyboards
An option to disable use of a Nintendo Network ID on non-Nintendo hardware, such as PCs and smartphones
Support for Dolby® Pro Logic® II Surround Sound when playing Wii software

Changes to Wii U Menu:

Added a friend list icon to the Wii U Menu for easier access to the Friend List

Changes to System Settings:

An option to automatically receive recommended software is now available under "Internet"
A setting to select which cable outputs sound is available through "TV"
Users can choose to output sound through an HDMI cable, non-HDMI cable, or both cables at the same time. Click here for instructions
A setting to adjust the hourly interval in which standby functions are performed is available under "Power Settings" when Standby Functions are enabled

Changes to Wii U Chat:

Added the option to view a friend's profile on Miiverse when sending or receiving a chat request
Users can now chat using a headset connected to the Wii U GamePad

Changes to Internet Browser:

Pressing the R or L Buttons on the Wii U GamePad will skip video playback forward/back a small amount of time
Holding the R Button will speed up video playback
Ability to save username and passwords for websites that require login²
Ability to launch the Internet Browser during gameplay and upload screenshots
Added support for viewing PDF files³
Added features intended for website developers that allow the user to enable developer tools and set user agent

Improvements to system stability and usability:

Further improvements to overall system stability and other minor adjustments have been made to enhance the user experience



¹ Wii software displayed on the Wii U GamePad cannot be controlled by the GamePad. This feature only allows Wii software to be displayed on the GamePad. A Wii Remote Plus or Wii Remote is required to play Wii software titles.

² Users can delete saved usernames and passwords from the Internet Browser settings.

³ Sometimes data may not be displayed correctly depending on the size and format of the PDF file. PDF files cannot be saved.

http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/system ... -gi-update


I didn't know you can look up past versions too, that's nice.

[Ziggy]

So here's a cool thing I just figured out about the U and external storage...

It's well known that if you run out of room you can use an SD card via the SD card slot or a USB storage device to expand your storage capacity. The SD card slot is limited to 32GB SDHC cards, although I suppose they could allow SDXC cards in a future update. But until then, if you want more than 32GB to expand your storage with, then you need a "USB storage device." I don't know about you, but when I hear that I automatically think of an external USB hard drive.

It dawned on me just now that you could possibly use a USB flash stick or a memory card (such as SD, CF, or other such) with a USB adapter. I put it to the test. I put a spare 8GB SDHC card in my USB adapter and plugged it into the Wii. A window popped up and asked me if I'd like to format the device (when I unplugged it, it told me not to plug or unplug USB storage devices while the console is powered on). So I'm assuming you can just use whatever over USB. Since you can get up to 128 and 256GB USB sticks, and 128GB SDXC cards, it's a viable option (if you even need that much space) in addition to a hard drive.

I'm only planning to expand my storage if and when I run out of the console's storage. But it's nice to know that I can use a USB stick or memory card. For one, they take up much less room. And also, they're powered by the console. No extra thing to plug in, no extra thing to turn on/off. I like it. It also keeps the SD card slot in the front freed up in case you wanna use it to transfer saves to a buddies console or use it for pics or music or something.

So, that's exactly what I'll be doing if I ever need more memory. Use a USB stick or memory card. I don't know if this was obvious stuff here, but I only just realized it myself. I figured I'd post for any one else that didn't realize this.


edit: Just got from Nintendo's website: http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/system ... torage.jsp

What external USB storage devices can be used with Wii U? To ensure maximum performance between your Wii U and an external storage device, we recommend using a hard-disc drive (HDD) with a dedicated power source (i.e., using an A/C adapter). Due to the wide range of external hard drives, usability and performance will vary. For more information on external USB storage devices that can be used with Wii U, click here.

and then

Can I use a Flash/Thumb drive as an external storage device?

Because these devices have a limited number of rewrites and are not suited to long-term storage of important game data, we do not recommend the use of Flash/thumb drives as an external storage device solution. For best results, we recommend using a hard drive with its own power supply that connects to the Wii U via the USB port on the console.

Commercial Flash memory has a limit on the number of times you can write over it and we don't recommend flash memory devices for long-term storage of important save data.

and then

Can bus-powered hard disc drives be used with Wii U?

Some bus-powered hard disc drives draw more current than the USB 2.0 specification and might not run stably, so we cannot guarantee that such devices will run properly on Wii U without the use of a supplemental power cable called a y-cable that draws power from two USB ports. For best results, we recommend using a hard drive with its own power supply that connects to the Wii U system via the USB port on the console.

IDK, some people use SD cards in cameras that read/write more often than my U would. I think it'd be fine. What do you guys think?

edit: They said flash/thumb drives. USB sticks. Are they not as durable as SD cards? They never said that they don't recommend using SD cards via USB, they just said flash sticks. Also, isn't the U's memory flash? So wtf?

[Dannyslr81]

You guys here about the slamming pre order DLC bonus you get with Sonic Lost World?

http://blogs.sega.com/2013/10/01/pre-or ... tra-lives/

That's right, 25 EXTRA lives.

You know there's 2 pre-order promotions right?

http://blogs.sega.com/2013/09/30/pre-or ... more-18509


one of the comments from someone in Europe about the other promotion:

:Is there anymore North American exclusive content we should hear about? us in Europe are loving to hear about it! keep up the fantastic work Sega."

This better be sarcasm on sarcasm since Europe got the Sonic Generations Collector's Edition while North America got nothing and this is basically nothing


@Ziggy
You sure you can transfer wii u save files to another wii u? Because I tried this on Sunday and I had no such luck doing so(usb storage devices can only be used on one Wii or they have to be formatted if used in another). Tried to transfer a new super mario bros u save file, didn't find any way to do so.

[ZeroAX]

This better be sarcasm on sarcasm since Europe got the Sonic Generations Collector's Edition while North America got nothing and this is basically nothing

If you had been good boys and had supported Sega back in the 16-bit war like we did, and not mostly support Nintendo, maybe you'd get some cool stuff too .

Also that collector's edition was too expensive for what it offered if I remember correctly.

[Ziggy]

@Ziggy
You sure you can transfer wii u save files to another wii u? Because I tried this on Sunday and I had no such luck doing so(usb storage devices can only be used on one Wii or they have to be formatted if used in another). Tried to transfer a new super mario bros u save file, didn't find any way to do so.

No, I am not sure.

I know on the Wii (not U) that you could back up saves to an SD card and use them on another console. I've done this before. The only exception is that some saves are "locked" to the console, but only saves that have online data. My Goldeneye save cannot be used on another console, I've read that Smash Bros is the same deal, etc.

Anyway, I assumed it'd be the same story with the U. I will read up with this and/or put it to the test when I get the chance.

But it doesn't matter anyway, from what I've read it sounds like the U's SD card slot cannot be used to expand the console storage. At least, that's the impression that I got.

I just find it funny that Nintendo suggest NOT to use a USB stick because they have limited writes/rewrites, but the memory in the console itself is flash, so what's the difference? I know that all memory isn't created equal, and some do indeed have longer life cycles than others. Perhaps flash sticks aren't made to last forever, but SD cards and such are made to a higher standard? I always use this in such a debate: The RAM in your computer is written to and read from MUCH more than a USB stick would be if used on a U, and when was the last time you had RAM go bad (not counting defective sticks)? Solid state hard drives are flash memory, and I don't recall the numbers off the top of my head, but they have a ridiculous amount of write cycles. So I just find it funny that Nintendo flat out tells you to use a mechanical hard drive, and doesn't suggest using flash memory.

[Stark]

@Ziggy
You sure you can transfer Wii U save files to another Wii U? Because I tried this on Sunday and I had no such luck doing so (usb storage devices can only be used on one Wii or they have to be formatted if used in another). Tried to transfer a New Super Mario Bros U save file, didn't find any way to do so.

You cannot do this. You can ask s1mplehumar for the details, but when he recently purchased the Wind Waker HD Wii U system bundle, he had to ship his old Wii U and his new Wii U to Nintendo to get the files transferred.

[Dannyslr81]

@Ziggy
You sure you can transfer Wii U save files to another Wii U? Because I tried this on Sunday and I had no such luck doing so (usb storage devices can only be used on one Wii or they have to be formatted if used in another). Tried to transfer a New Super Mario Bros U save file, didn't find any way to do so.

You cannot do this. You can ask s1mplehumar for the details, but when he recently purchased the Wind Waker HD Wii U system bundle, he had to ship his old Wii U and his new Wii U to Nintendo to get the files transferred.

Wow Nintendo must be really paranoid about another twilight hack