Wii U - General Discussion Thread

I know that eshop games are tied to the system and can be played by any user, but what about prepaid cards. Can any user, use the balance, or just the one that entered the card? What about download history, can a second user go to the eshop and redownload stuff?
 
[quote name='theflicker']I'm pretty curious to see how well it will integrate with my Uverse box.[/QUOTE]

Same here with my DirecTV box.
 
Will TVii do anything with basic antenna cable with no cable boxes? It would be really sick if we could record TV and to the Wii U 's hard drive and then play it back just like a DVR since basic cable doesn't come with a DVR and our household isn't interested in upgrading any time soon.
 
[quote name='SaraAB']Will TVii do anything with basic antenna cable with no cable boxes? It would be really sick if we could record TV and to the Wii U 's hard drive and then play it back just like a DVR since basic cable doesn't come with a DVR and our household isn't interested in upgrading any time soon.[/QUOTE]

Not sure about the first question (which I'm curious about myself), but they've already said that the Wii U won't function as a DVR in any capacity.
 
[quote name='screwkick']Apparently 90% of functionality is not available tomorrow. Way to go nintendo. So glad I returned this sorry ass console.[/QUOTE]

Delayed tv functionality definitely has me regretting buying this video game console.
 
Would be nice to enable TVii to change my cable box AND my TV (since the remote option only controls one or the other at a time). Otherwise, I'll be interested to download and install it tomorrow, and check it out!
 
[quote name='theflicker']Delayed tv functionality definitely has me regretting buying this video game console.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, because the primary function of a video game console is TV functionality... (Yeah, I realize you are probably being sarcastic - but I know there are people that really feel this way). While TVii sounds nice in theory, it was not the slightest bit of a factor for me in deciding to purchase the Wii U. So while the delay is slightly annoying I don't see it as that big of a deal. If someone bought it just for TVii (or even as a primary factor), it seems like there are probably better options out there.
 
[quote name='RedvsBlue']Am I the only person who bought a WiiU who gives absolutely 0 fucks about TVii?[/QUOTE]

I never knew about this TVii until Nintendo decided to make a big deal out of it. I'd equate it to Sony spending hours of their 'Wonder book' crap, instead of telling us about the Vita during E3.

I couldn't care less about it. However, we all know that they should really be working on improving the OS, instead of this useless feature (to me).
I know when I want to watch TV, and I have zero interest in turning on my Wii-u to help me do so.
 
[quote name='dragonjud']I never knew about this TVii until Nintendo decided to make a big deal out of it. I'd equate it to Sony spending hours of their 'Wonder book' crap, instead of telling us about the Vita during E3.

I couldn't care less about it. However, we all know that they should really be working on improving the OS, instead of this useless feature (to me).
I know when I want to watch TV, and I have zero interest in turning on my Wii-u to help me do so.[/QUOTE]

Apparently the featured territory for Wonder Book is Europe, we're (U.S.) more of an afterthought.

Eh, at any rate, unless its part of a firmware update, I'm not even sure I'll download TVii. I don't have a cable box and I only have amazon instant streaming so it doesn't seem like TVii will even do much for me anyway.
 
[quote name='io']Yeah, because the primary function of a video game console is TV functionality... (Yeah, I realize you are probably being sarcastic - but I know there are people that really feel this way). While TVii sounds nice in theory, it was not the slightest bit of a factor for me in deciding to purchase the Wii U. So while the delay is slightly annoying I don't see it as that big of a deal. If someone bought it just for TVii (or even as a primary factor), it seems like there are probably better options out there.[/QUOTE]

Good grief, excusing away features before they've even dropped is dumb. It's an important feature. Maybe not to you, but it is to Nintendo, which counts for something.

One of the big selling points -- and this is Nintendo's doing, not an interpretation -- of this console is that it is a kind of media center, in N's way of doing things. They've been actively promoting the ability to continue gaming on the tablet if/when someone decides they want to watch TV. Furthermore, the launch announcement devoted a lot of time to TVii, which is to say that it wasn't filler. (For an example of genuine filler, see N's enthusiasm over the Lego whatsit.)

So don't pretend like it doesn't matter just because it distorts the perception you feel others should have of the console. If Nintnendo's home consoles are restricted this generation to being purely first-party game machines, their goose is cooked in the home console market. They've got to succeed with something else, they need a foothold for the generation after this.
 
Good review for that weirdo SNESiimote controller. The shoulder buttons aren't as good as they could be, and it is NOT meant to be a Wii U Pro controller (I think there was confusion on branding because the review specifically points out that this was never actually advertised). However, the Wii U can sort of be tricked with the controller, so you can get away with using it with, say, New Super Mario Bros Wii U, something you can't actually do with the Classic Controller (as the Wii U sees it as a Wiimote).

However, apparently everything else is great about the controller, including the Dpad. I'm definitely going to pick one up now and try it out with Brawl.
 
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I was pretty shocked to see the decent review for that controller. I really expected a let-down. I'm guessing it will get savaged by the public review-wise, though, since I expect a huge amount of people will assume it's a Wii U Pro Controller. I get what they tried to do, but it really needed to be clearer.

In regards to the media center thing... biggest pet peeve with the Wii U so far? The constant spinning noise (or the fan or whatever it is) when a disc is in. I've stayed away from using the Wii U as my Netflix box just because I'm too lazy to get up and take the disc out.
 
I thought about using it as my Netflix box but was annoyed that I couldn't navigate the system or other Netflix menus while videos played. I like to browse while stuff is on like I do with my iPad when I use it on my ps3.
 
[quote name='Strell']Good review for that weirdo SNESiimote controller. The shoulder buttons aren't as good as they could be, and it is NOT meant to be a Wii U Pro controller (I think there was confusion on branding because the review specifically points out that this was never actually advertised). However, the Wii U can sort of be tricked with the controller, so you can get away with using it with, say, New Super Mario Bros Wii U, something you can't actually do with the Classic Controller (as the Wii U sees it as a Wiimote).

However, apparently everything else is great about the controller, including the Dpad. I'm definitely going to pick one up now and try it out with Brawl.[/QUOTE]

This is fantastic news. I was hoping to use this in place of the teathered classic controller for Wii VC games.
 
Well, if it can't replace a Wii U Pro Controller then I'll pass. Really disappointed in that. I am also confused that it doesn't appear to have the motion controls in it. That makes it not very useful for NSMB either...
 
[quote name='dothog']Good grief, excusing away features before they've even dropped is dumb. It's an important feature. Maybe not to you, but it is to Nintendo, which counts for something.[/QUOTE]

I'm not excusing anything - it was a reaction to people saying they regret buying the console because of this small delay. If that was all you were buying it for then maybe you shouldn't have bought it at all - that's the point. Presumably most CAGs, at least, bought it for the fucking games, and not for TVii regardless of whatever marketing Nintendo did. You can argue that it is a mistake in terms of marketing to the general populace (which seems to be the basis of your whole post). But that's not what I was talking about. I stand by the notion that for most CAGs it is (or should be) a very minor feature.

And also, I can game right now while someone is watching TV. That doesn't require TVii - so one of the features you said Nintendo proclaimed is already there and is a nice one - what's your point with bringing that up?

But getting back to your last point (that they need to have something beyond first-party games to succeed): that may or may not be the case but that is all beside the point. TVii will be coming so that will be a feature of the console at some point. I'd argue that it will have very little effect on their success one way or the other, but since you seem to think it is so important I don't understand the issue. It willl be there and 2 or 3 years down the road if it is an important part of the system no one will care that it came out 1 or 2 or 3 months after launch. Thus a small delay should really not be anything to gnash teeth over and say the system is doomed as a result.
 
The problem is that Nintendo does this over and over again, they promise a feature and it either doesn't come out on time or it doesn't come out at all. When you purchase a console at launch you are buying a promise of things that will come out. Also with a new console purchase at a premium price, you just expect the promised features to be there when they say they will be there.

I can expect a week delay, but this is not a week, this is much longer. If the feature is not going to be out on time then don't say it will, also don't promise us Dec. 8th and then deliver on the 20th, if its not going to be out on a certain date then don't say it will be. What this does is it makes gamers not trust Nintendo when they consistently say a feature will be out on Day x and it doesn't come. Most of the people who bought this console at this point are hardcore gamers who keep up.
 
The time to send a message to Nintendo was to not buy it at launch.

That's what I did, that's what I'm still doing, and for shit's sake, I have NO IDEA what everyone else's excuse is.
 
Sold my Wii to get a Wii u but then backed out because it was shown the wii u specs hardly match up against ps3 and 360

I really think nintedo blew it on this one.
 
Eh, same as Wii, I really don't put much into graphics. I bought it for the unique experience of it almost being like a console/portable hybrid and the overall experience of the tablet. Don't care much about the other like online, TVii, or achievements. For me, the WiiU is exactly what I wanted and I'm happy with my purchase.

If the next PlayStation and Xbox are just better graphics I'm not really sure I'll be interested.
 
[quote name='Tiako']Sold my Wii to get a Wii u but then backed out because it was shown the wii u specs hardly match up against ps3 and 360

I really think nintedo blew it on this one.[/QUOTE]


That is 100% BS, lol.
 
Yes I know we have become a want it now society but if I pay $350 for a console I expect to get what I have been promised. I have not bought it yet but I am here to see if I might want to buy it.
 
Played around with TVii for a minute tonight. Seems like it could be cool if they ever get their act together and incorporate receiver support so i can actually use the channel changer.
 
[quote name='Deader2818']That is 100% BS, lol.[/QUOTE]

No it is not. You just refuse to look at the specs


Wii U CPU and GPU specifications. Marcan says that the Wii U processor has a clock speed of 1.24 GHz which is roughly less than half the speed of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The Wii U GPU apparently runs at 550 MHz, which is the same speed as the PlayStation 3 and slightly faster than the Xbox 360.
 
[quote name='Tiako']No it is not. You just refuse to look at the specs


Wii U CPU and GPU specifications. Marcan says that the Wii U processor has a clock speed of 1.24 GHz which is roughly less than half the speed of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The Wii U GPU apparently runs at 550 MHz, which is the same speed as the PlayStation 3 and slightly faster than the Xbox 360.[/QUOTE]

Clock speeds mean nothing really. That's like if I have an 8800GT clocked at 950MHz and a GTX680 clocked at 800MHz. Yes, the clock speed on the old card is higher, but the 680 is gonna smoke the old 8800 in every conceivable way.
 
[quote name='Tiako']No it is not. You just refuse to look at the specs


Wii U CPU and GPU specifications. Marcan says that the Wii U processor has a clock speed of 1.24 GHz which is roughly less than half the speed of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The Wii U GPU apparently runs at 550 MHz, which is the same speed as the PlayStation 3 and slightly faster than the Xbox 360.[/QUOTE]

Clock speed is a bad argument here. They are different boxes with different architectures. It just isn't a common metric.

Look at intel chips from generation to generation. The newer chips will have lower clock speeds, but are more powerful than their previous versions.

Anyway- sorry your purchase didn't work out. Maybe we will run into in one of the other console forums.
 
[quote name='Tiako']No it is not. You just refuse to look at the specs


Wii U CPU and GPU specifications. Marcan says that the Wii U processor has a clock speed of 1.24 GHz which is roughly less than half the speed of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The Wii U GPU apparently runs at 550 MHz, which is the same speed as the PlayStation 3 and slightly faster than the Xbox 360.[/QUOTE]

It's the 90s all over again!

MIPS is a better comparison, but still not great.
 
[quote name='SEH']Clock speeds mean nothing really. That's like if I have an 8800GT clocked at 950MHz and a GTX680 clocked at 800MHz. Yes, the clock speed on the old card is higher, but the 680 is gonna smoke the old 8800 in every conceivable way.[/QUOTE]

I don't know why you're talking about cars here. The fact is that the Wii U is probably no more powerful than an over clocked NeoGeo, every single game on it is old and therefore not fun, and Mensa is awarding free memberships for everyone who posts on an Internet forum that they're not buying one. These are all facts and should be added to the original post.

Anyway, I'm mightily enjoying my Wii U experience so far. I've found the playing community to be funny, thoughtful, and generally kind and helpful, and the games have been tremendously entertaining. I'm very much looking forward to the next couple of years of gaming on this system.
 
Microprocessors have gone to there limitations that GPUs are starting to pick up the slack for them. I don't care what the specs are, I'm not 13 anymore and that argument is totally redundant, I play games for what they offer me in enjoyment not what they look like. As far as I''m concerned first generation games look great to me and can't wait to see what they bring up next.
 
[quote name='skiizim']Microprocessors have gone to there limitations that GPUs are starting to pick up the slack for them. I don't care what the specs are, I'm not 13 anymore and that argument is totally redundant, I play games for what they offer me in enjoyment not what they look like. As far as I''m concerned first generation games look great to me and can't wait to see what they bring up next.[/QUOTE]

I still care about the stuff. I built a pretty top-of-the-midrange PC, and what have I mostly played on it? Angband and FTL...
 
Well a PC is on a league of it's own, I think that is where a lot of people have a hard time understanding a console vs PC. I think people just can't stand the fact that Nintendo built an HD console, being number one for so long is sure to attract plenty of haters.
 
[quote name='skiizim']Microprocessors have gone to there limitations that GPUs are starting to pick up the slack for them. I don't care what the specs are, I'm not 13 anymore and that argument is totally redundant, I play games for what they offer me in enjoyment not what they look like. As far as I''m concerned first generation games look great to me and can't wait to see what they bring up next.[/QUOTE]

Then why bother releasing new consoles or buying them.. Everything should have stayed 2d.

I have a neo geo gold X sitting here.. Rather keep that than a wii u but I really have no reason to since I have a Neo Geo MVS arcade machine
 
[quote name='Scobie']I don't know why you're talking about cars here. The fact is that the Wii U is probably no more powerful than an over clocked NeoGeo, every single game on it is old and therefore not fun, and Mensa is awarding free memberships for everyone who posts on an Internet forum that they're not buying one. These are all facts and should be added to the original post.

Anyway, I'm mightily enjoying my Wii U experience so far. I've found the playing community to be funny, thoughtful, and generally kind and helpful, and the games have been tremendously entertaining. I'm very much looking forward to the next couple of years of gaming on this system.[/QUOTE]


Im talking about video cards, not cars. You have no clue how fucking hard I'm laughing right now.
 
[quote name='Tiako']Then why bother releasing new consoles or buying them.. Everything should have stayed 2d.

I have a neo geo gold X sitting here.. Rather keep that than a wii u but I really have no reason to since I have a Neo Geo MVS arcade machine[/QUOTE]


WTF, are you trying to do? Compare the Wii and Wii U? Those are 2 totally different machines when the Neo Geo Gold X and Neo Geo MVS arcade machine are the same machine in practice.

Do you even understand how a CPU and GPU correlate with each other, the worlds fastest Super Computers have gone to leaps and bounds because of faster GPU technology.

If you want to bring a valid argument go right ahead but I don't get what the fuck your trying to do, my game system plays 64bit and yours doesn't? To answer your question, technology gets better and better especially in terms of microprocessors, I have no idea where we will be in 30 years but a lot has changes from having a bunch of blocks of pixel art. It's like anything else, we want an upgrade and want something better in which I believe we received.
 
[quote name='skiizim']WTF, are you trying to do? Compare the Wii and Wii U? Those are 2 totally different machines when the Neo Geo Gold X and Neo Geo MVS arcade machine are the same machine in practice.

Do you even understand how a CPU and GPU correlate with each other, the worlds fastest Super Computers have gone to leaps and bounds because of faster GPU technology.

If you want to bring a valid argument go right ahead but I don't get what the fuck your trying to do, my game system plays 64bit and yours doesn't? To answer your question, technology gets better and better especially in terms of microprocessors, I have no idea where we will be in 30 years but a lot has changes from having a bunch of blocks of pixel art. It's like anything else, we want an upgrade and want something better in which I believe we received.[/QUOTE]

Sigh, the GPU and CPU are both weak.. It not like the wii u has a an OK cpu and amazing GPU.. It has a weak GPU and CPU..
 
I haven't read up on this thread since I last posted about TVii (it seems like it never popped up in my subbed threads but all of a sudden there is a lot of chatter!).

But I stumbled upon TVii myself tonight and now I have even less understanding of all the fuss in here. I guess it is supposedly missing features? But I actually thought it was pretty cool as is. I'm not sure what is missing - maybe just the ongoing chat thing? But I thought it was pretty cool to select a show and find out when it is on and if it is currently on to switch the channel to it immediately. It isn't mind-blowing as you could get all that info on a computer and just change the channel yourself, but it is a nice little feature I'll probably play around with a bit. And it might be slightly more convenient at times to use the Wii U rather than fire up a laptop or find the iPad or whatever. The thing is, do I want to turn on a game console to get TV guide-like info? That remains to be seen.

But to those worried about it not working if you have just straight cable (ie, no set top box) I am in that situation and it worked OK. It sort of annoyingly asks you if your input is on the "set top box" (or something to that effect) input (which makes no sense in my setup) whenever you select a show, but I just say "yes" and it changes the channel.

The only problem is that their info for my local cable company is a bit screwed up. On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised to see my podunk cable operator on there at all. They have 2 "packages" to select from and the first doesn't have nearly enough channels and ignores all my "local" HD channels while the second package I guess is the full-blown all HD one that I refuse to pay for. So I guess it won't switch me to the HD versions of ABC/CBS/NBC/PBS/FOX since it only seems to know about the SD ones.
 
[quote name='SEH']Im talking about video cards, not cars. You have no clue how fucking hard I'm laughing right now.[/QUOTE]

I was making a point about the other gentleman's utter ignorance of the meaning (and meaninglessness) of processor speed numbers without having even a layman's understanding of processor architecture, as well as points about some of the other questionable opinions that have been spewed around here.

I think you're doing fine work, but that work in this particular case was akin to trying to teach a pig algebra.

To io re: TVii -- you're pretty much on target here. Here's another nuisance with TVii: scrolling to select options is about the worst I've ever seen in an app. It seemed like you had to hit a "gray spot" just right to be able to scroll through the listing at all.

I went in knowing it was basically an aggregator and TV guide app, but my interest sunk the more I scrolled through to try to find a "favorite" program." I guess it will work for a lot of people and be a nice bonus, but I really don't care to watch television, so it's kind of lost on me. I'm not the target audience here obviously, but that's fine. I bought the Wii U to play games.
 
[quote name='Tiako']Sigh, the GPU and CPU are both weak.. It not like the wii u has a an OK cpu and amazing GPU.. It has a weak GPU and CPU..[/QUOTE]

Not actually true, but you're free to believe whatever you want to make up. Wii U supposedly has a weak CPU and a decent GPU (better than the 360 and PS3).
 
I think they need to make TVii a bit more unique. I can do all the things described with the TV Guide app on my iPad or iPod touch, and for me the channel listings are totally accurate since you just input your location and cable provider. If I want chat about TV shows while watching them I have the Viggle app which actually pays me to use it but that is obviously a discussion for another forum, and the GetGlue app also allows me to chat with others about a tv show while watching it and rewards me with stickers for checking into a show. But if I am watching a TV show I probably don't want to chat about it while watching it, maybe afterwards I would want to talk about it but when its on I want to watch it not watch and chat at the same time.
 
[quote name='elessar123']Not actually true, but you're free to believe whatever you want to make up. Wii U supposedly has a weak CPU and a decent GPU (better than the 360 and PS3).[/QUOTE]

Shouldn't you be basing your arguments on something better than supposedly?
 
[quote name='Deader2818']You input your location and cable provider into TVii as well.[/QUOTE]

I was under the impression that it actually connects to your cable box if you have one, but it appears it works the same as one of the apps I described, and that it gets the information via internet and not anything special from your cable box or receiver.

This would be nice if you didn't have another device that could access various TV apps. Of course I am sure you could also look up this information on a computer, but not quite as useful as an app.

I was also under the impression that it could record TV shows to the console's hard drive, but obviously I was way over my head with that assumption.
 
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