Th
e Wii U was released on November 18, 2012 and if you didn’t grab one already it may be too late to get one for Christmas 2012. Wii U is the newest console to be released from Nintendo and is the successor to the Wii. It is the 6th console from Nintendo starting with the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985.
The Wii U comes in two different flavors a white colored version with 8 GB of internal storage for $300; and a black colored version with 32 GB of Flash storage for $350, which includes the game Nintendo Land, Wii U stand, and a dock for the GamePad. An HDMI cable, sensor bar, and GamePad are included with both versions.
We purchased the Black Wii U and New Super Mario Brothers Wii U, are pleased with that decision. For $50 the inclusion of Nintendo Land, extra storage space, and GamePad doc seem like a no brainer. New Super Mario Brothers Wii U is exactly what you would expect out of a Mario game but also has great new options thanks to the GamePad.
Our 7 year old son says this is “the greatest console EVER released.” He loves both Nintendo Land and New Super Mario Bros. U
games. He played with this thing as long as we would let him the day of release. But don’t be surprised when you find your kids still playing the old Wii games on the new Wii U. Makes a dad wonder why he just got done waiting in line for 6 hours.
Our 11 year old daughter is not easily impressed and wasn’t very excited for the Wii U release. After playing with it for a few hours she has changed her mind and really enjoys the new GamePad and the new experience it brings to the games.
As a dad and hardcore gamer, after waiting in line for 6 plus hours I have a few issue I hope will be addressed in future updates with the Wii U.
· The load time between menus can be as long as 20 seconds. This seems like an eternity in today’s world of super-fast computers.
· The firmware update required when you get the Wii U home takes around an hour. This feels like a long time when all you want to do is play, so plan accordingly. The good news is that you can hold off on this upgrade until later if you wish to. I read a few articles warning users not to try and interrupt this upgrade in any way because it can cause your console to become totally inoperable.
· If you have a Wii already you can transfer your purchased content, save games, and Mii avatars to the new Wii U but according to the instructions that will delete all of your content from your Wii. I am not happy with this solution. We will be keeping the Wii as an upstairs Netflix box and for a place for the kids to escape when the family room is occupied so we would like to keep some stuff on the Wii and move other stuff.
· The limited storage space given the price seems like a major oversight. Even with the 32 GB black console downloading full games directly to the Wii U(which is now an option) will quickly fill that space. Luckily this can be addressed by purchasing an external hard drive, but that seems like a pretty unnecessary expense.
I think that Nintendo did plenty of great stuff with the Wii U as well. The new GamePad brings a new and exciting way to play. It seems to have a ton of different options to make your gameplay different and fun. I think the coolest feature is that you can play some games totally from the GamePad so when mom and dad want to watch TV the kids can continue to play.
Nintendo has always been the family friendly choice for gamers. I think the Wii U continues that great tradition and seems to have more choices for the older more hardcore gaming crowd. My family has always enjoyed the multi-player options available on the Wii and now with the Wii U some games can have as many as 5 players. Wii Sports was the go to game on the Wii and I think that Nintendo Land is the go to game on the Wii U. Nintendo Land has turned out to be a great multi-player experience with both co-op and competitive options to keep everyone happy.
Even with the frustrating things outlined in this review, if you can still find a console to pick up this holiday season I would definitely recommend this console. Over the next few months when the consoles become more readily available I think this will be a very popular option.
– Allen Hart, CWAHM
(Jill‘s husband)
