Standing a Wii/WiiU up vs laying flat.

[SpaceBooger]

I have limited room to keep my HDTV consoles (to avoid little grubby hands). I used to have my Wii connected and standing up so there was enough room for it and my s-vid Saturn.
I now have a Wii U and for fear of overheating I have it laying flat and my Saturn boxed away.

Here is how it used to look with the Wii

Now that shelf is empty except for a Wii U.

My question is if I recreate this setup with either a Saturn or Dreamcast (standing up the Wii U - it's the deluxe version with the stands) will it damage or be bad for the Wii U?

[RyaNtheSlayA]

I wouldn't worry about standing the Wii U vertically. While it's potentially harder on the disc drive in that orientation, I think modern ones will be fine. You really don't have to worry about the Wii U overheating. The thing's TDP under gaming is like 35 watts. Barring some sort of other hardware failure it would be extremely hard to get the thing to overheat. It also has a lot of open vents.

[EllertMichael]

Wii U doesn't seem to have an issue with overheating. I've had mine on for a good while in both standing and laying flat configurations and it's always been cool to the touch around the vents. It's the stress on the disc drive that I was worried about.

I got the Wii U deluxe set that came with the feet and originally had it standing up to save space. My disc drive was clicking and clacking like crazy loud while playing Arkham City

So I rearranged everything once again to allow the Wii U to sit flat

Now I hardly ever even notice a sound coming from the disc drive.

All the promo shots for the Wii U and even the way the logo on the front is orientated makes me feel like Nintendo means for you to lay the console flat. (Unlike the Wii that is always vertical in photos and logo.) I used to lay my Wii flat because of the disc drive, but now I just keep it standing because I rip my games to the external HDD so I don't have to worry about stressing the disc drive anymore than it already is.

[Lazer]

I've got my Wii and Wii U laying flat. I am not comfortable with having any system vertical. I have no logical reason for this, I'm just following my gut. Of course, I have plenty of room to lay them flat.

If I remember correctly, the Wii disc drive was very noisy when I had it vertical. But then again it's always noisy.

[BogusMeatFactory]

I had my wii standing and for so many years had no issues. With the WiiU standing, there was a bit of excess disc drive noise I noticed on certain games. It wasn't too much of an issue, but I had a new setup so I had to lay it down. With it down, there isn't any excess heat or anything.

[fastbilly1]

How much height do you have in that cubby? I am going to imagine it is about 12 inches, so you could get a wireframe rack that is about 4inches tall and put the Saturn ontop of the Wiiu. Enough space for both heat dispersion and for the Saturn cd opener. Or reverse it and put the Wiiu on top, but you would need a much taller rack.

[CRTGAMER]

All the promo shots for the Wii U and even the way the logo on the front is orientated makes me feel like Nintendo means for you to lay the console flat. (Unlike the Wii that is always vertical in photos and logo.)

I always wonder why the newer Wii consoles are flat as a default. Even the newer mini due to its design is better at sitting flat. There must be a reason, maybe it is something about the disc drive geometry more reliable when not balancing a game disc?

I've got my Wii and Wii U laying flat. I am not comfortable with having any system vertical. I have no logical reason for this, I'm just following my gut. Of course, I have plenty of room to lay them flat.

Feel the same way. Flat just seems more stable, less chance of a console tipping over. At least the Wii has a decent base for the vertical location for those who have a tight shelf. Breathing room for air circulation could be another factor for keeping the Wii vertical.

Not sure about the WiiU, do any slots get covered if vertical? Every display I have seen including the before launch showing at the Comic Con has all the WiiU consoles in the flat horizontal position.

Hey there are slots at the "vertical bottom"!

[Hobie-wan]

One consideration is that a vertical system can fall if the cabinet is bumped.

[SpaceBooger]

How much height do you have in that cubby? I am going to imagine it is about 12 inches, so you could get a wireframe rack that is about 4inches tall and put the Saturn ontop of the Wiiu. Enough space for both heat dispersion and for the Saturn cd opener. Or reverse it and put the Wiiu on top, but you would need a much taller rack.

That is a great idea!

[Gooseberrysoda]

Mine stands on its side- 0 problems so far. I've had it since the end of summer.