It's here. Nintendo's sixth console, bringing one new controller and two screens to your living room, hit store shelves early this morning in America. As you would expect, there are are successes, setbacks, and tons of questions for the newest piece of video gaming hardware. Kotaku is here to document them all.
What's Inside:
Wii U: The Kotaku Review
The Wii U is the first new video game console in six years. It comes freighted with expectations, and must signal whether it will be a phenomenon like the Wii or a role-player like the GameCube. Nintendo isn't going anywhere, but the question is how far the next Wii can go.More »
Guy Reckons He's Accessed Miiverse Debug Mode by Accident, Can See Other People's Messages
A NeoGAF user claims that, after messing around with the Wii U's Miiverse, his console suddenly allowed him to access the service's debug/admin options. More »
Report: Wii U Cracked Open, System Memory and Speed Revealed
Nintendo, like many hardware manufacturers, was cagey about the final specs for the Wii U, choosing not to reveal the system's overall memory prior to release. Now that the Wii U is out, though, it hasn't taken long for someone to tear one apart and do the detective work themselves. More »
Some Wii U Features Load Fast. Others Do Not.
The Wii U's best trick is its lightning fast swap of the graphics on your TV and the graphics on the Wii U GamePad. The Wii U's worst trick is the absurdly slow loading time users have to sit through when accessing the machine's system menu or any of the applications in it. More »
What to Do/What to Expect:
If Your Wii U Won't Connect To Your WiFi Router, Here's What To Do
When I tried to connect the Internet, the Wii U told me it couldn't find my WiFi router. Seems like other people have also run into issues connecting to their WiFi routers, and one helpful poster found the solution. More »
How To Transfer Wii Data to a Wii U (And Witness The World's Cutest Progress Bar Ever)
You can transfer most Wii data to a new Wii U. This is a good thing, but not nearly as good a thing as the animation that plays when you do this. As soon as it started, I had to grab my camera and start shooting this. More »
Under 18? You Need 50 Cents to Register on Nintendo Network
Nintendo is serious about making Miiverse into an elegant online service for a more civilized age. They want to keep it safe, too, and make sure some adult in the house is aware of what the kids are doing on it. More »
Wii U Owners Bummed Out By Huge Firmware Update
Depending on your Internet connection speed, it could be between 1 and 4 hours before your Wii U battle station is fully operational. Expect this story to resurface again around Christmas morning. When it does, expect it to bubble up where it did last night: Twitter. More »
Day One:
The Wii U eShop Is Live and Stuffed With Games
The Wii U's eShop for downloading games just went live. This thing has a lot more games in it than I'd expected. More »
What's the Gray Market Like for the Wii U? Check Back After Black Friday
As of this writing there are at least 630 Wii Us listed on eBay for minimum bids or buy-it-now prices of $520 or more. Not a one of them has any takers. More »
A New Community:
Nintendo's Miiverse Dreams of a Civilized, Spoiler-Free Online Community
Welcome to the Miiverse, the online community launching today with the midnight release of Nintendo's Wii U, but before you can access it, you must read through the Miiverse Code of Conduct, portions of which may have been paraphrased from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. More »
I'm Adding Friends To My Wii U, And I'm Not Even Using Friend Codes!
The Wii U firmware update that just went live and will be mandatory for any of the system's online features has enabled me to start adding friends to my system. The system is pretty easy. More »
Hey Wii U Owners, Share Your Nintendo Network ID Right Here
New Wii U owners unite! If you've got your hands on Nintendo's new console and you want some new friends for your Miiverse, get in here and post your Nintendo Network ID below. More »
24 Hours Before Wii U Launch, Reggie Surprises The Nintendo Faithful in NYC
Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime did the Jimmy Fallon show on Friday, got some dinner and then... he took a stroll to the Nintendo World Store. More »
Jimmy Fallon is No Match for Reggie in Metroid Blast
Before working the line at Nintendo World's Wii U campout, Nintendo of America Reggie Fils-Aime went back on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to show off the new console and play a couple of games, Metroid Blast in NintendoLand, and New Super Mario Bros. More »
Games:
ZombiU Is Like an FPS Demon's Souls With Zombies. That's A Great Thing.
I've been playing ZombiU on and off for several days. The short-short version is that the game is impressive and is, amazingly, something of a first-person Demon's Souls with zombies. It's very much a roguelike with lots of stat-building and perma-death. This is a very good thing. More »
Ninja Gaiden III on Wii U: Well, It Sucks Less.
When I popped Ninja Gaiden III: Razor's Edge in I was surprised to find, well, an actual Ninja Gaiden game. The combat feels more like Ninja Gaiden I & II, and they even removed the awkward dad-murdering scene. Hey, thanks for that!More »
Nintendo Land: The Kotaku Review
Nintendo Land is no Wii Sports and it is no Super Mario 64. That's the bad news for people who hope Nintendo has once again made a day-one masterpiece for its newest console. The good news is that Nintendo Land is a fun collection of surprisingly well-made smaller games. More »
New Super Mario Bros. U: The Kotaku Review
New Super Mario Bros. U is an extraordinarily important game. It's the flagship title for a new piece of gaming hardware. It's the first-ever high-definition Mario. More »