Wii U - General Discussion Thread

I don't see myself playing any Wii games so I guess I'll do without it for now. I've got SM3DW, Zelda, SMBU+Luigi, Pikmin 3 and Nintendoland. So far so good.
You might want to keep that sensor bar out for Pikmin 3, unless you plan on playing it with the gamepad only. I found the remote + nunchuck, while using the gamepad as a map, to work best.

 
Finally

We haven't played them all yet but do any require the pointer? The ones we've played just made you hold the wiki remote sideways and worked fine.
The Metroid one is fun and uses the pointer if you are playing multiplayer. I suppose if you play it single player you can be the gamepad player. We've only played it multiplayer so far so remotes (pointer) were needed.

I started playing Windwaker finally and I have to say that the control layout on the gamepad leaves something to be desired. Maybe I just need to get use to it, but having to reach below the right stick to tap buttons feels awkward and I felt my thumb cramping up before long from bending it awkwardly down to the buttons. If I held the gamepad lower it was fine, but then when I need to use the right stick I have to move it back up. Anyone else having trouble with this?

 
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Metroid Blast uses Wii Remote Plus, so it doesn't use the Pointer, which sucks, since you have to recalibrate a lot.

I'm enjoying NES Remix so far, though I hate Clu Clu Land and Golf >_< I feel like I'll never get all of the Rainbow Stars in those and on Excitebike #10. UGH.  Overall, it feels very hit and miss, since some games really don't seem to fit into the concept well, or whatever the concept is, it's very scatterbrained.

I do love the Stamps though, and it continuously makes me want them to be there on an OS level, and not in-game.

 
coolz481 said:
You might want to keep that sensor bar out for Pikmin 3, unless you plan on playing it with the gamepad only. I found the remote + nunchuck, while using the gamepad as a map, to work best.
I played with Pro Controller + Gamepad as map. That is far better (to me) than having to touch a remote + nunchuk which I avoid like the plague ;).
 
I played with Pro Controller + Gamepad as map. That is far better (to me) than having to touch a remote + nunchuk which I avoid like the plague ;).
This is how I did it as well. As close as we're going to get to the classic GC controls.

 
Metroid Blast uses Wii Remote Plus, so it doesn't use the Pointer, which sucks, since you have to recalibrate a lot.
Are you sure it doesn't use both? I have not had to recalibrate a lot. Maybe you are trying to play it without the sensor bar?

I ordered a Wii Fit Meter. So I guess I'm going to be sitting on the balance board and pretending to exercise…. ;)

 
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Metroid Blast uses Wii Remote Plus, so it doesn't use the Pointer, which sucks, since you have to recalibrate a lot.

I'm enjoying NES Remix so far, though I hate Clu Clu Land and Golf &gt;_&lt; I feel like I'll never get all of the Rainbow Stars in those and on Excitebike #10. UGH. Overall, it feels very hit and miss, since some games really don't seem to fit into the concept well, or whatever the concept is, it's very scatterbrained.

I do love the Stamps though, and it continuously makes me want them to be there on an OS level, and not in-game.
I need to get an eShop card next time I'm out. NES Remix looks really good. Glad to hear it's fun.

 
Are you sure it doesn't use both? I have not had to recalibrate a lot. Maybe you are trying to play it without the sensor bar?

I ordered a Wii Fit Meter. So I guess I'm going to be sitting on the balance board and pretending to exercise…. ;)
It controls like Skyward Sword, which doesn't use the Pointer for Aiming. It's supposed to use the Pointer for automatic calibration, but it doesn't quite work all the time.

 
Well I've only played Metroid Blast a few times, but so far I've had no problems with calibration. Calibrated when we started and that was good for the entire session. No recalibration needed.

 
Got a Wii U pro controller yesterday. It's a pretty damn great controller. If the triggers were analog I'd put it right up there with the best controllers ever. Very ergonomic, 80 hour battery life etc. much more comfy to use than the game pad so I'll use it in any game that doesn't require the gamepad or use it in a way that really enhances gameplay.

In hindsight Nintendo should have probably launched with a pro controller and Wiimote inside the box and made the controller and optional accessory bundled with Nintendoland. They'd probably be much better off now if they launched at day $250 with those controllers and NSMBU bundled.

Speaking if which, u beat NSMBU last night and started working in getting all the star coins. Already got all the secret exits as cleared every stage through the end. Also caught Nabbit in every world. So I just need to get the star coins and I the star road levels.

Great game. Best 2D Mario since SMW.
 
TVii is one feature I do not get. It seems terrible. There's not TV grid, which seems ridiculous. Instead I get what appears to be an entirely random selection of shows. And then I pick one of them and tap Tune and it tunes to a channel I can't receive (I'm using an Antenna). I set my favorite channels but it ignores them. So dumb. And in any case without a TV grid it's pretty much useless to me.

 
TVii is one feature I do not get. It seems terrible. There's not TV grid, which seems ridiculous. Instead I get what appears to be an entirely random selection of shows. And then I pick one of them and tap Tune and it tunes to a channel I can't receive (I'm using an Antenna). I set my favorite channels but it ignores them. So dumb. And in any case without a TV grid it's pretty much useless to me.
There is a grid view, its just not set by default. The shows that appear are set by you during the intial setup when you select your provider and favorites. I setup TVii for my parents and they like it since its a better then using the standard cable box guide menu but the problem they have with it is the speed. The app takes way too long to open and everytime you go to another app on the gamepad it closes TVii so you have to sit through another 20 or so seconds of loading before you can use it again. Doesn't the Wii U have like 2GBs of Ram? I dont see why the Wii U doesn't run apps like this one in the background.

 
I'll bite - how do you get the TV grid? I didn't do the "setup" thing, I just went into the settings and set it to antenna and picked favorite channels. I started to do the setup thing but it wanted me to pick favorite shows and I didn't give a damn about any of the ones it showed, so I just stopped. LOL. I guess I need to just pick something anyway. I will try it.

 
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I'll second the remote function, it's convenient, especially since the consistency in volume between inputs on my TV is all over the place and every time I switch to the Wii U I'm reminded half a minute later that the volume needs to go down.

 
I'll bite - how do you get the TV grid? I didn't do the "setup" thing, I just went into the settings and set it to antenna and picked favorite channels. I started to do the setup thing but it wanted me to pick favorite shows and I didn't give a damn about any of the ones it showed, so I just stopped. LOL. I guess I need to just pick something anyway. I will try it.
Just tap on Live, it will give you other sorting options.

 
I bought a Wii U Pro controller, and I'm trying to figure out why.  

I booted up a Virtual Console game, and I discovered there is no way to use the VC controls from the controller.  It needs the gamepad in order to save or resume a restore point.

I also somehow expected the d-pad and face buttons wouldn't be so big or spread apart.  After all, the controller is smaller than the gamepad, so I thought the controls would be smaller.  (How in the heck do kids use this thing? I have average hands.)

I really like the Wii classic controller.  I don't know why it feels different to me, but it does.  Using the gamepad or Wii U Pro controller (also, why is it called "Pro"?), I suck at Mario.  The way I play it, I'm almost constantly holding down the run button.  This is fine on a SNES controller, on the classic controller, or on the Wiimote, but it doesn't work for me on the gamepad or Wii U Pro.

Oh well.  It's a great controller otherwise, and I'm sure I'll make use of it, but I guess it's back to the Wiimote and Wii Classic Controller for me.  Feel like I kind of wasted some money, bcause as nice a controller as it is, I didn't "need" it, and now I don't find it preferable either besides.  I'm sure it'll be great for Wii U stuff when I don't want to use the gamepad, and it's fine for games where I'm not trying to hold a run button and hit a jump button at the same time.  In fact, even Super Mario 3D World is oddly fine with it, just not Super Mario World, Super Mario Bros., New Super Mario Bros Wii U...

Thanks for listening to me whine.

 
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I have no issue holding run and hitting jump in NSMBU with either the gamepad or pro controller.

Other than the triggers not being analog, the pro controller is one if the best pads I've ever used. Everyone's hands and preferences are different of course though.
 
I have no issue holding run and hitting jump in NSMBU with either the gamepad or pro controller.

Other than the triggers not being analog, the pro controller is one if the best pads I've ever used. Everyone's hands and preferences are different of course though.
Yeah, I don't get why it's such a problem for me. Looking at the Wii Classic Controller, it does not seem that much different.

 
I booted up a Virtual Console game, and I discovered there is no way to use the VC controls from the controller. It needs the gamepad in order to save or resume a restore point.
I'm able to get around Wii U interface using nothing but the Wii U Pro controller. The only place it doesn't work is in Wii mode. Then you have to use the Wii Mote and various plug-in controllers.

I like the Wii U Pro Controller better than the Game Pad for many games. If the Game Pad is nothing but a reflection of the screen then I prefer the Pro Controller - just less bulk.

 
I'm able to get around Wii U interface using nothing but the Wii U Pro controller. The only place it doesn't work is in Wii mode. Then you have to use the Wii Mote and various plug-in controllers.
You've found a way to restore and suspend points and save them, then? For me, when I open a VC game (in Wii U mode) with the Pro controller, instead of going back to where I'd closed it, it goes to the title screen, and there's no way to access the create/restore suspend point functions. When using the gamepad, you have to touch the screen to access these features, but the fact that it won't even open the game to where you closed it (because there is no way to hit the "reset" function without a gamepad) leads me to believe these abilities are entirely inoperable without a gamepad. Silly choice.

 
Updated sales figures should be announced in their financials on January 29th.

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/schedule/index.html

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Forgot all about new games!  New game case thing, too, I think, or was that always there?  Some 3DS game called Spin Six, too.  Uh, and Mario's Cement Factory.

Think I'll stick with F-Zero...

 
Spin Six is DSiWare which means I'll probably pass. I might get all the others though - first time in a while I'll have redeemed for a game.
 
Forgot all about new games! New game case thing, too, I think, or was that always there? Some 3DS game called Spin Six, too. Uh, and Mario's Cement Factory.

Think I'll stick with F-Zero...
I got F-Zero after people said it held up reasonably well. 6 spin is, based on reviews, a rip-off of bejeweled except instead of lining up 3 of a gem, you line up X numbers of a number where X = that number. So line up 2 number 2's, 3 number 3s, 4 number 4's, etc. Seems lame. I'd rather just play bejeweled.

 
Bummer, I thought F-zero might be one other than the original that we got for $.30.

I wonder why they didn't do a Luigi pouch for the YoL. 

 
WHELP  My predictions for the last 14 months are close to coming true. 

The Wii U may be discontinued soon and they may be moving to smartphones and/or 3rd party development.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-17/nintendo-forecasts-net-loss-on-stagnating-sales-of-wii-u-games.html

“We are thinking about a new business structure,” Iwata said at a press conference today in Osaka, Japan. “Given the expansion of smart devices, we are naturally studying how smart devices can be used to grow the game-player business. It’s not as simple as enabling Mario to move on a smartphone.”

 
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WHELP My predictions for the last 14 months are close to coming true.

The Wii U may be discontinued soon and they may be moving to smartphones and/or 3rd party development.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-17/nintendo-forecasts-net-loss-on-stagnating-sales-of-wii-u-games.html

“We are thinking about a new business structure,” Iwata said at a press conference today in Osaka, Japan. “Given the expansion of smart devices, we are naturally studying how smart devices can be used to grow the game-player business. It’s not as simple as enabling Mario to move on a smartphone.”
It was bound to happen but I think expanding in the smart devices market could be a double edge sword for them, they'll see a spike in sales but at the cost of potentially undermining their 3DS market.

 
It was bound to happen but I think expanding in the smart devices market could be a double edge sword for them, they'll see a spike in sales but at the cost of potentially undermining their 3DS market.
I'm sure that if they discontinue the Wii U platform that they'll move to third party development on consoles. As for mobile, they would likely continue to put out their 3DS console and games on it but also put a couple of games out on iOS and Android to test the waters. I would assume that they would put out a $20+ game and a game that's maybe $5 and see how many sales they get from each. When you think of the fact that there is an install base of hundreds of millions (if not over a billion) mobile devices, it doesn't take a large price as long as you can do the volume.

Their infrastructure fail this Christmas doesn't help them either.

 
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I'm sure that if they discontinue the Wii U platform that they'll move to third party development on consoles. As for mobile, they would likely continue to put out their 3DS console and games on it but also put a couple of games out on iOS and Android to test the waters. I would assume that they would put out a $20+ game and a game that's maybe $5 and see how many sales they get from each. When you think of the fact that there is an install base of hundreds of millions (if not over a billion) mobile devices, it doesn't take a large price as long as you can do the volume.

Their infrastructure fail this Christmas doesn't help them either.
The numbers do indeed look pretty bleak but the previous projections were let's say slightly "enthusiastic". Not to sound cliche but this is a make or break year for the Wii U and Nintendo. At this point, if sales don't turn around over the next fiscal year Nintendo will have no choice but to go third party. I guess they can release a few of their retro library and DS games on iOS and Android just to test the waters. That might buy them some more time.

 
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WHELP My predictions for the last 14 months are close to coming true.

The Wii U may be discontinued soon and they may be moving to smartphones and/or 3rd party development.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-17/nintendo-forecasts-net-loss-on-stagnating-sales-of-wii-u-games.html

“We are thinking about a new business structure,” Iwata said at a press conference today in Osaka, Japan. “Given the expansion of smart devices, we are naturally studying how smart devices can be used to grow the game-player business. It’s not as simple as enabling Mario to move on a smartphone.”
Almost every time that Blasterman posts, I watch this video clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9L0fS7ZgAJA

 
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They aren't going third-party.  They may change their strategy a bit but nothing that drastic.  I also don't think they are going to abandon or discontinue the WiiU - eventually Zelda and a proper 3D Mario will be released.  Maybe we get a kick-ass Metroid and a few more exclusives.  They will eventually sell enough to make a profit like always. 

If anything, I think that the WiiU was an experiment leading up to them unifying the portable and home consoles.  Eventually they will release a DS powerful enough to display in 1080p on your TV.  Imagine not having a WiiU but being able to play all the same games across the WiiU and 3DS whether you are at home or not.  The WiiU is essentially a home version of the 3DS anyway.  This will allow them to focus on one device that captures 2 markets.

 
The numbers do indeed look pretty bleak but the previous projections were let's say slightly "enthusiastic". Not to sound cliche but this is a make or break year for the Wii U and Nintendo. At this point, if sales don't turn around over the next fiscal year Nintendo will have no choice but to go third party. I guess they can release a few of their retro library and DS games on iOS and Android just to test the waters. That might buy them some more time.
I don't think it's anywhere near that doom and gloom for Nintendo. Just for the Wii U.

Nintendo is sitting on mountains of cash after the raging success of the DS and Wii. Losses are never good, and the Wii U is a definite failure. But there not at the point where they have no choice but to go third party. They're not in the situation Sega was. Sega had an ok success with the Gensis, but the Saturn and Dreamcast sucked in sales and they never had a successful portable. So when the Dreamcast tanked, they had no cash reserves and were done.

Nintendo just needs to figure out how to best ride out the Wii U for another couple years, make as much money as they can selling first party software on it to keep losses as contained as possible, and take the time to really plan out what they want to do with there next hardware rollout. I'd still suggest the above. Consider some portable/console hybrid if they can get it out for $250 or less. If not, keep the handheld at $150, the console at $200 and keep them on the same architecture so every game can be ported to both platforms so they're not splitting their development resources across two platforms. Think of the library either the 3DS or Wii U would have if every first party game across both was playable on either platform.

The other major thing that's needed is a huge change in leadership. People like Iwata and Miyamota are just too old and out of touch with the current gaming market. They need much younger blood at the top making decisions if they're every going to get back on track in the game industry.

As for the mobile stuff, I would expect to see a lot of ports since most of their games wouldn't work well with touch screen controls--other than some DS games, things like Tetris Attack/Planet Puzzle League etc. I'd expect to see them make casual games (think simple stuff like Angry Birds, Candy Crush etc.) featuring their characters. They're dumb to not do so as those games don't cost much to develop and would likely sell very well as Nintendo games are safe bets for parents to let their kids buy on their phones, tablets and iPods.

 
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