Wii U Console Basic Set - White

(Quick note: If you're worried about this in comparison to the Deluxe version, I wouldn't worry. I have two games downloaded onto the hard drive already, did all the updates for the console, and I'm still doing fine on storage. You can use a USB flash drive or external hard drive if you need more space.) I decided to pick this up after borrowing my friend's Wii-U and playing it for a weekend. I already have an Xbox 360, but I was ready for something new. The PS4 and Xbox One look great, but the Wii-U is in it's own category of creativity. People call it gimmicky (to each their own), but I happen love the tablet controller and it's extra functionality. You can play full games on the tablet alone and even watch your video apps on just the tablet. Pretty awesome if you're trying not to wake your roommate. Something worth noting here; I am not a "Nintendo fan boy". I don't even really care for Mario games and I've only played one Zelda game in my life. It sounds odd I know, but even I am pleased with this console. There is a great line up of games coming out for this thing in the next year or so (aside from your typical Mario stuff). I'm currently playing Scribblenauts: Unlimited, Nano Assault Neo, and Street Fighter 2 Turbo. The Miiverse is actually a pretty neat social network built fully with a profile, friend requests, follows, activity feeds, etc.. You can post screenshots of your game, mid-game, to the Miiverse and seamlessly go back to your game. You don't have to close the out of the game or anything. You can even pause mid-game, bring up the Wii menu, open the internet browser (which works great and so far, better than the IE app on the 360) and do whatever, then close out and go right back to your game. Gamers are pretty picky nowadays, but by my standard: this IS a next gen console, people. Also, the e-shop is very clean and easily laid out, filled with great oldschool games and new games alike to download directly to your console. It seems very secure as well. Now is a good time to pick one of these up because the game line up is much stronger now than it was at launch and this thing is really going to take off in the next year. Indie games are jumping to the Wii-U along with some big AAA games. You won't be sorry! (coming from a gamer who doesn't like Mario).

got my very anticipated wii u a day or 2 ago but was too sick to get outta bed......so im reviewing it now. i got the 8gb white set with a copy of transformers prime and im amazed-i havent been amazed by a console game since n64-mario 64 but so it was a nice surprise. the whole concept is amazing to see running in real time on the dual screen format in hd. ive read al the load time issues but if you want the system to not get bogged down simply save games as few as poss at 1 time and use sd cards for external storage. mine runs faster than my gaming pc. i really got this system initially for 2 games so im not worried about storage space. if you wanna run this off a router PLUG IT IN DIRECTLY....idk wth nintendos deal is but their devices simply suck at picking up wifi-period. this has been the case since the ds, i never even tried to play the gc using wifi but im sure id have had the same prob. for the price i think either of these (white 8gb or black ??gb- idk the spec but it has nearly 4 times the storage capacity) is a great buy. the processor blows the ps3 and 360 outta the water and that isnt reflected to badly in the price. the handheld display/control unit is just too cool for school. tf prime is even better than the xbox 360 war for and fall of cybertron games. control is smooth like butter and the game has unlockable chars, areas, ect ect. its easily the best launch title UNLESS you want MORE smb, cant wait for the dragon quest mmo (wii/u exclusive) that gets stateside release in feb or mar (its already running in japan and after ff14s bs i very much wanaa play an mmo that isnt run by gold sellers. depending on how it plays i may pick up nintendoland but as of now im happy with what i have (im still playing xenoblade for wii as well so i have no shortage of things to do here. anyway 5 stars guys...ty for your honest and fair price transaction.

I liked the Wii and as soon as my old Wii broke, I decided it was time to upgrade to the new Wii U. I had a tough time deciding between the basic set and the deluxe one. In the end, I went for the basic set because I already had a lot of controllers and stuff from my Wii, and I simply wanted to replace the broken Wii with the new one. After buying it, I thought that the price value of the deluxe set was more than worth it, but decided not to request a change (I'm sure that Amazon would have been very helpful if I requested the change, as has been in numerous occasions of other purchases I've done). The thing is, I'm happy with the product. I still have to buy a Wii U game to test it fully, but here are a few things I already like: 1) Comes with Netflix pre-installed, and it works. On my old Wii, the Netflix app was constantly crashing, on the Wii U, it works like a charm. 2) Almost all Wii U games that you can buy at a retail store are available as a download, which I find excellent as I don't have to go to the store anymore and hope they have the game I want. (Only problem with this is that I can't take my game to play on another Wii U as the download is locked to my Wii U; and also, the 8GB hard drive will not have enough space for my games, I will have to attach an external HD, but this isn't so bad after all). 3) The new controller that allows me to keep watching Netflix (or playing games) even if someone wants to use the TV for something else I find extremely nice!! I can keep watching of playing!!!! The only reason I didn't give the system 5 stars is because I feel the system is slow for loading apps. I liked the old Wii that was fast for moving between apps. On the Wii U, every time you close an app, the Wii U has to load again, and some times it takes more than 10 seconds!!!! Also, the Wii emulation requires that the Wii U resets itself, as if it has to shut down the Wii U system and restart the computer with the Wii system (which I'm guessing is what actually happens). This means that to play a Wii game I have to start up the Wii U, wait until it loads, then wait until the Wii U menu loads, then wait for the Wii U to restart, and finally, wait for the original Wii system to load. All together, it takes quite a while, and since I have a lot of Wii games, this is what I'm doing most of the time. So, it would be nice if the system was faster at loading things, that's why I gave it 4 starts.

I purchase nintendo consoles for Mario and Zelda. There were a few other Wii games I really liked (Dawn of Discovery, Dead Space Extraction, Goldeneye), but the wii was mostly regulated to shelf space. I purchased the Wii U for Windwaker and Mario 3d World which are both great... Back to the original Wii. I hated the picture quality. I used component cables for an HDTV and then upgraded to an HDMi hookup which was an improvement. But the picture quality never looked good... A couple of weeks ago my son grabbed Epic Mickey (mediocre game) of the shelve and begged me to play it. When I popped it in the picture quality of the cut scene was AMAZING. Once I started playing the quality went down, but still it was a HUGE and I mean HUGE improvement over the original Wii picture quality. This seemingly unknown fact of how great the Original Wii games look on the Wii U is the reason for this review. I cannot believe more people are not talking about how great Wii games look on the Wii U. It has given me the impulse to purchase a bunch of wii games that I ended passing on because I did not like the wii. I plan on getting The Last Story, Xenoblade Chornicles, the boy and his blob, Bully ect. Currently replaying Super Mario Galaxy and it looks great! Overall a great console and I highly recommend it.

As you can see there is dust, hair, staining, and blemishes on the product itself. Also, I'm pretty sure new cords don't come wrapped in such a fashion as seen with the sensor bar. In the video we see the console start up and there is a Mii character already created indicating that this is certainly a used product. Then, the whole thing freezes. I tried this twice. The product doesn't even work! I sent it back and received a refund, but was still charged $67.49 for a restocking fee, which goes to the seller. What kind of business is this?

I received my Wii U and proceeded to immediately plug it in and start playing, after a while I decided to update it to access the Nintendo store where I reached the first issue with this console. There are 2 Xbox 360 systems, a PS3 and 4 computers in my home, they work perfectly with my router, the Nintendo Wii U on the other hand had a spotty connection and would fail to download the update. After contacting Nintendo support their solution was for me to change the configuration on my router, the wireless broadcast channel, and told me to try them all until I found one where there wasn't any interference. Although the process is really simple I found it ridiculous for a new electronic to require this kind of setup. On a side note I found the load times for the main menu to be incredibly long. For two weeks everything was fine, on July 10th however an new update came out and received error code 162-0002 in the middle of the installation part of the update, after attempting a couple more times I resigned and started searching online for the cause of this error. To my surprise Nintendo had no information on the error code and I could only find it in a couple of forums where other users where complaining about the outcome. From what I collected from all forums this error can and will only occur during updates, there is no clear reason behind it besides a poorly design software. The most shocking post mentioned how Nintendo instructed the owner to send his console in for repairs at which point the formatted the console and returned it to the owner saying that the console was modded and therefore the owner had breached warranty so there was no available repair (the owner denied anything of the sort in his post), the issue with the console being formatted and unable to update is that any prior purchases and installed items in the Wii U are lost and since one can not connect to the store because the firmware is not up to date the purchases can no longer be downloaded. After reviewing all information available online I contacted Nintendo attempting to find a solution. After talking for a while I was told that the only solution for this error was sending the console in for repairs, I did not feel like this was an option as they also told me that my save data would most likely be lost and I had logged over 100 hours in Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and Nintendo has made it impossible to extract save data from the Wii U. After calling Nintendo a second time they offered me a $20 credit on the Nintendo store once the repairs to my console had been completed and after considering this I decided to contact Amazon instead to return my console. I will be buying a new Wii U and hope I don't stumble upon this issue or any similar one in the future but according to Nintendo error code 162-0002 can occur to any console during an update weather it's the first update ever or or the next one they launch. Overall I feel the Wii U has a lot of potential and really good games, hopefully Nintendo will find a solution to errors like this without having the customer to send their consoles in for repairs. If a customer buys a new item he shouldn't be forced to have it repaired 2 weeks after buying it.

I love the product and will really enjoy using it when all the necessary parts to make it work come together. Unfortunately the Amazon description of the product is very vague and there is no information telling you that you need to purchase additional controllers if you wish to play the sports game. The game pad does not make for a satisfactory experience. Furthermore there is nothing to tell you that additional controllers need a motion sensor, which does not come with some of the accessory controls and must be purchased separately. We were able to find what we thought were the right controllers at Wal Mart - but the packaging was very deceptive and the motion sensors were not included. Second trip to Wally's discovered that they did not stock those sensors. Had we known these parts were needed we and they be listed in Amazon we would have purchased them. In fact we did order an additional controller through Amazon at time of the purchase, but now we have no idea if it will include the needed motion sensor or not. It is sold by a second party and has not arrived yet. So our birthday party for the kids bowling tournament will not be happening as the game is non functional for the lack of parts. The need for additional controls and sensors should be explained both with purchase of the console and the Sports Pak of games Nintendo sells. Very disappointing and very un-Amazon.

The Wii U has several notable problems that may be a deterrent for some potential buyers. I will run through each of the problems in a list format. -Small Online Community The only game I purchased with my Wii U is COD Black Ops 2. It's fairly easy to find a game of Team Deatmatch or Free For All but the rest of the game modes are severely lacking in total number of players. In fact a few modes usually don't have enough players to even get a game started. The Zombies mode also seems to be suffering from a lack of players. This may change as the console says more units, but currently it's very discouraging. -Poor Battery Life in Gamepad The Gamepad needs to be left on the charge anytime it's not in use. It only lasts a couple of hours before the red battery warning light appears. This will be annoying for hardcore gamers or people with cluttered rooms and a lack of available outlets to have one dedicated to the Wii U gamepad 24/7. Nyko has a battery coming out soon that will double the battery life but the additional cost and legwork is not what you want to be faced with after dishing out $300 for a console. -No 'regular' controller, lack of options with controllers The console does not come with a typical controller. You can buy the Pro controller separately but it's expensive and lacking in features. It doesn't have a headset input and also doesn't have analog triggers. This means that you'll have to use the Wii U gamepad tablet just to have the in-game chat features. I've already mentioned the poor battery life of the gamepad tablet, so you should see how this can be extremely inconvenient. You'll end up with the tablet charging and having an auxiliary cable running to your headset. Cables make for frustration and discomfort. Even if you buy a pro controller, it won't work with some games (NSMBU) and it also can't be used to adjust Wii U settings or browse the eSHOP. I assume it also won't work in various video streaming apps (Amazon, Netflix, etc.). Also, in regards to controllers, keep in mind that only one Wii U gamepad tablet can be used with the machine. It doesn't have support for using two. Lack of options for the gamer is disappointing. -No DVD or Blu-ray support or media support in general You can't use the Wii U to watch DVD or Blu-ray movies. I'm sure most potential buyers probably already have a DVD player and some may even have a Blu-ray player. Still, clutter is annoying and having an entertainment system that can do mostly everything is ideal. The Playstation 3 plays Blu-rays and DVDs and the 360 plays DVDs. There also isn't anywhere on the Wii U menu to go stream videos from a server. The Playstation 3 and 360 both have features for streaming various encodes of music and movies. The Wii U has no such feature. -No ethernet port Wireless for many is unreliable and introduces extra lag. Gamers and consumers in general like to have options. The Wii U does not have an ethernet port and only allows for wireless connections out of the box. You can buy a USB ethernet adapter for wired connections, but again, just like with the pro controller, after spending $300, you feel ripped off when you are left to go buy the rest of the console that Nintendo didn't include. -Poor software, no achievements In comparison to the PS3 and 360, the OS on the Wii U is third rate. On PS3 and 360 it's easy to pull up menus during the game and access many things outside the game like messages and game invites. I've yet to see these options on Wii U. The menu only let's you close software and open up other apps which will quit your game. Multitasking is nonexistant. Another disappointment is the lack of achievements. The PS3 and 360 offer achievements with games that are of course optional. The Wii U doesn't even offer the option. This shows a lack of sensibility from Nintendo. When the Wii brought motion gaming to consoles, Sony and Microsoft came up with solutions for their consumers. Achievements have been around for years now and neither the Wii, 3DS or Wii U offer them. Even IOS and Android have achievement systems for their games. Nintendo seems out of touch with gamers. -Poor eSHOP content, lack of apps There's not much to see on the eSHOP. Only a few pages of retail games and some download exclusives. I realize it's a new console but I expect more. Why is there no longer the Wii News and Wii Weather apps? Sure there is a web browser, but I found the specialized apps to be highly convenient. I'd also recommend free drawing apps to take advantage of the gamepad tablet. For $300 you want to be able to do something with the device your buying. If you buy an Ipod Touch you immediately have access to hundreds of free apps. If you buy a 3DS or Wii U you have access to hardly anything. Perhaps it'd be useless to some users, but the Wii U gamepad tablet has a camera, so why aren't there any QR code readers available? I see a failure to take advantage of the hardware from Nintendo's part. -Third party support Far Cry 3 will not be coming out for Wii U, developers say it's because the game was being produced prior to the console being available to them. Going forward I hope the Wii U has better third party support than the Wii did, but there are no guarantees available. Even Activision has been mum about whether or not the map packs will be made available for Wii U users (already Nuketown 2025 isn't available). --- The console isn't all bad. Playing an FPS on the gamepad tablet may seem impossible or awkward, but it really feels great and is enjoyable. The Youtube app has a great design and makes browsing YT from the couch convenient and comfortable. The TVii feature doesn't really apply to me since I only have basic cable, but I imagine those with DirecTV or Dish Network will love being able to browse what's on without pulling up a menu on the TV and also being able to control their box and TV with one device. In addition games look great on the gamepad tablet and can be played across the house. I've always hated split-screen gaming as I lack the discipline to concentrate on just my part of the screen. With the Wii U you can each have your own screen and the smaller screen isn't nearly as bad when held in front of you. Consider the cost and the future of console gaming and decide what's best for you.