Wii-U thoughts so far

[Ziggy]

Not all flash memory is equal though (comparing Wii U internal flash to a USB stick, and ect). That's probably what Nintendo is concerned about. Not just write/read speed, but the quality of the memory and how long it'll last. You can have a SanDisk Extreme (or whatever a known good brand is) that'll last as many reads/writes as the internal memory in the U, or a really cheap off brand from WalMart that wouldn't last long regardless.

[Sarge]

Very true. Although I can't see where one would be writing a ton to the devices, so I think it'd just be more drive reliability than anything. But some drives are definitely made with cheap memory, and I'm sure Ninty doesn't want to deal with the headache.

Not that external hard drives are overly reliable, either. It's not a question of when a hard drive will fail, but when, and it's hard to predict.

[Exhuminator]

You can have a SanDisk Extreme

Just want to chime in to say, I've got one of these (the 64) and use it every day and it is extremely reliable with excellent read/write speeds. I recommend it.

[Ziggy]

Not that external hard drives are overly reliable, either. It's not a question of when a hard drive will fail, but when, and it's hard to predict.

Just keep an eye on the SMART values. The thing that sucks about the U though is that you can't just plug two drives into a PC and Ctrl+A on one drive then Ctrl+V on the other drive, since the U formats the HDD to a file system that Windows and Mac can't use. I don't know how easy (or hard) it is to copy all the data on one drive to the other on the U.

You would just have to plug the HDD into a PC to check the SMART values every so often. Wouldn't it be cool though if the U could check the SMART data for you? Even if it just gave you a simple pass or fail and not a full read out, that would be very useful.

[disrupture]

Thanks for all the useful infos

[RyaNtheSlayA]

So I assume a lot of you are probably Smash fans. Anybody care to explain to me why so many of ya swear by the GameCube controller for the game? I mean, the GameCube controller is supremely comfortable but it has a lot of little oddities that i'm not so sure would be good in a fighting game, like that awful dpad. I just find it a bit strange how many Smash fans refuse to use anything else, especially considering how excellent the Wii U Pro controller is.

[pepharytheworm]

So I assume a lot of you are probably Smash fans. Anybody care to explain to me why so many of ya swear by the GameCube controller for the game? I mean, the GameCube controller is supremely comfortable but it has a lot of little oddities that i'm not so sure would be good in a fighting game, like that awful dpad. I just find it a bit strange how many Smash fans refuse to use anything else, especially considering how excellent the Wii U Pro controller is.

If you played smash then you know it doesn't play like a typical fighter. The games have been built with the NGC controller in mind since the NGC version. If you are really good at a fighter you usually want to use the same control layout. I played with a gamcube pad on the Wii after trying the other options first. I will likely do the same on the WiiU, but I will still give the other options a fair chance. I actually hope I like the gamepad the best.

[Ziggy]

So I assume a lot of you are probably Smash fans. Anybody care to explain to me why so many of ya swear by the GameCube controller for the game? I mean, the GameCube controller is supremely comfortable but it has a lot of little oddities that i'm not so sure would be good in a fighting game, like that awful dpad. I just find it a bit strange how many Smash fans refuse to use anything else, especially considering how excellent the Wii U Pro controller is.

Because Brawl was able to use the GCN controller, just like Melee, people have been using the GCN controller for Smash games for years now. If only for a matter of familiarity, those people would want to continue using the GCN controller.


I said it a few times on various threads, but I've never been into the Smash games. Not that I don't like them, I just never had any one to play them with and they're really the type of game that's the most fun when other people are in the room. I was thinking about picking up the new one when it comes out, hoping that I can sucker people into playing with me. Since I never really played the games, I have no controller preference. I was thinking, if I get the new Smash, that I would probably just use the Pro Controller.

Though whether I get the game or not, I'm planning on getting the USB GCN controller adapter. If I get Smash, it'll allow me to have more controllers to use for multiplayer. If not, I'm hoping that some one will get it working on the PC. Or down the road, maybe people will hack it to work with the Wii U. Or get it to work with GCN loaders in the vWii. I guess you could say I want one just for the potential possibilities.

[irixith]

So I assume a lot of you are probably Smash fans. Anybody care to explain to me why so many of ya swear by the GameCube controller for the game? I mean, the GameCube controller is supremely comfortable but it has a lot of little oddities that i'm not so sure would be good in a fighting game, like that awful dpad. I just find it a bit strange how many Smash fans refuse to use anything else, especially considering how excellent the Wii U Pro controller is.

The GameCube pad is the worst controller in Nintendo's entire history. The d-pad is terrible, which is inexcusable considering Nintendo held the patent on the damn thing. The button layout is awful with the weird shapes and the one so much larger than the others. The z-button location is just plain stupid, the analogue portion of the triggers are too stiff. Even the shape of the controller is uncomfortable...

...and yet, Smash Bros was built around it, people got used to it, and then the fanbase has held Nintendo hostage to the damn thing ever since -- so much so that Nintendo has made a USB breakout box specifically for connecting GC controllers to the game!

Rant over. Let them use the awful controller and be happy I guess -- it's not as if there aren't other options for those who think all the GC controllers should be cast into the fires of Mount Doom. Perhaps some wizard can reforge them into a better controller -- oh wait, that happened, it's the Wii U Pro controller...demonstrably their best modern controller. At least in my scenario there are no more GC controllers.

[Sarge]

I always thought the GC controller was a bit odd, but the worst controller they've ever done? Oh no. The N64 controller wins that battle every single time. And most of my gripes about it are to do with the awful, awful analog and not enough in the way of sizable face buttons. (But even it wasn't terrible, just not as optimal as I'd like. Replace that analog with a GC-style analog and things get better!)

Really, the GC controller is just fine, and it's pretty comfortable for me, for whatever reason. I pine for one more L-trigger, and yeah, a bigger d-pad would be nice. But even the d-pad was basically the same as the one on a Game Boy Advance, and I played a ton on that system, so I was already used to it.