Monday, November 19, 2012

Raise your hand if you picked up a Wii U yesterday

To those of you with hands raised: Which bundle did you buy? And which games did you pick up alongside your shiny new console?

Sadly, I won't be adding the Wii U to my collection until sometime in 2013. In fact, I may wait until this time next year to purchase Nintendo's new system--although I could be swayed by, say, a summer release of a localized Dragon Quest X.



Oh, who am I kidding? It's more than likely that the five-punch combo of New Super Mario Bros. U, Nintendo Land, Pikmin 3, Wii Fit U and The Wonderful 101 will push me to pick up the darn thing before next autumn, but I'm going to do my best to hold out until then (mainly because of the ton of awesome 3DS games that are set to be released throughout 2013).

Still, I'd love to hear what those of you who decided to buy a Wii U on launch day think of it and its games, so please share your stories, opinions and more in the comments section of this post.

27 comments:

superphillip32 said...

The horrible ports by third parties, the issues with the OS and online, and all of the other problems are making this launch look absolutely horrid to me. I had a little enthusiasm for the system, but most of it is now gone.



Ah, well. More money for games on systems I already own.


(I'll probably get a Wii U for Christmas and be very happy with it, which will make this post look hilarious in hindsight.)

Tony Sadowski said...

Pre-ordered my Deluxe Set the day the release date was announced. Spent last night futzing around with system settings and Mii's. Came with Nintendo Land of course, and I bought New Super Mario Bros. U!

I loved the Wii and was pretty much pre-sold on this one. Excited to see where Nintendo takes us Wii U. Plenty of 1st & 3rd party stuff already intrigues me.

Chalgyr said...

I will likely own one eventually. That being said? Very little about this system has appealed to me from a 'day 1, gotta have it' standpoint and I have too many other games on other consoles I need to catch up and beat first. :)

thegaygamer.com said...

Well, I can't say I'm surprised by the horrible third-party ports, Phillip. Hopefully it's just because they were rushed, though, and not because the companies who made them just didn't care about putting out a quality product.


As for the rest of the issues: I'm not *too* surprised by them either--mainly because this is kind of new territory for ol' Nintendo. That said, the news about slow load times and other glitches/issues is disappointing, especially when you consider the company's history of positive hardware launches.


I do think the OS and other issues will be fixed (via a patch/update) shortly, though, so I wouldn't worry too much. Also, if the comments I've heard from friends who got a Wii U yesterday are any indication, I have a feeling you'll enjoy your system quite a bit :)

thegaygamer.com said...

Thanks for your comment, Tony! So glad you're enjoying it so far. I spent more time than I'd like to admit watching videos of the eShop and Miiverse and whatnot, and I have to admit I'm feeling envious of all of you folks who snagged a system yesterday. Anyway, I can't wait to hear what you think of Nintendo Land and NSMBU!

thegaygamer.com said...

You sound a bit like me, Chalgyr. Actually, the system appeals to me quite a bit, but I still didn't feel the need to make sure I had one day one. Some of that was due to the 3DS' rather spotty launch, though--because of that, I'd prefer to wait until the kinks have been worked out, etc., before picking up a Wii U myself. And like you said, waiting a while allows you to catch up on all of the games and systems you already own!

superphillip32 said...

Right. I'm also certain the issues stem from Nintendo's inexperience.

For one, I'm really wanting to play Nintendo Land. I was in the camp that thought it would be really fun and not garbage (or whatever loaded term was use), so reading that it's great makes me excited.

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly!

thegaygamer.com said...

Oh, yes, I'm excited about Nintendo Land, too. I really liked the mini-games that I experienced during Seattle's Wii U Experience event (the Animal Crossing and Luigi's Mansion ones), so I was looking forward to it based on that alone, but hearing all of the positive reactions to it on line (Twitter especially) has me even more stoked.


As for getting back to you so quickly: You're very welcome! And thank YOU for the comment :)

apricotsushi said...

My feelings exactly!

apricotsushi said...

I'll raise a hand for my mom! She's getting the deluxe set. Yeah, pretty crazy. It'll be fun to try out Nintendo Land with her and the rest of the family in December when my husband and I are visiting... I did go to that Wii U experience event yesterday and honestly didn't feel particularly grabbed by the system even then, I so I think I'll be happy with my massive pile of 3DS games and will continue to play Wii catchup well into next year.

thegaygamer.com said...

Ah, I can't wait to hear how that goes for you, Anne. Playing Nintendo Land with you parents and husband should be a telling experience, I think.


Also, there's nothing wrong with using this time to enjoy your 3DS(es) and spending a last bit of quality time with your Wii, if you ask me! I'm planning to do the same :)

diaglyph said...

I'm super excited but have to wait another 9 days till it comes here so I'll come back then or you can make a new post for us that get it later!! I've visited the Wii U experience twice now hehe
Can't wait to see how Miiverse works etc

Lizzi said...

I will get my deluxe set at 30th of november (german release). I'm so excited about it! Especially since I tried Nintendo Land (which will be included) and Pikmin 3 at the Nintendo Experience event. I'm also looking forward to the release of Monster Hunter 4 (I know... it will take ages) and a new Zelda game or Super Smash Bros. (which is in the works). My boyfriend just canceled his Wii U-order because it is too expensive and there are no games he really needs so badly. Besides he can use mine.

thegaygamer.com said...

If you can remember to do so, Igor, come back to this post and share your thoughts. And if *I* can remember to do so, I'll give this post another mention on Twitter (you know, to push new owners like yourself in this direction).


I'm fully with you RE: being curious to experience Miiverse, etc. I've watched a few videos of the OS in action, and all of them had me thinking, "Oh, I can't wait to try that!"

thegaygamer.com said...

Ah, just a few days away for you, too, Melody. I'm excited for you! I can't remember if you've said this before or not, but are you planning to buy any additional games alongside the system (other than Nintendo Land)?


I'm also looking forward to a bunch of the games that are sure to be announced next year, BTW. Have you seen the rumor about a Yoshi's Island game for Wii U? Now THAT is a game that could get me to buy one of the systems sooner than expected :)

Justin Difazzio said...

I didn't get one at launch, and I'm sort of glad. The day it came out I had tooth issues and had to pay for a dentist visit and next week some serious work. Boo. But I'm also glad because I heard about the day one woes, and that would have TOTALLY bummed me out. So...hopefully I can track down a Deluxe set sometime early next year if I don't get one for Christmas (I don't expect to get one, but...we'll see).

thegaygamer.com said...

Oh, Justin, I'm sorry to hear that :( Hopefully the 'serious work' isn't too horrible! Ugh.


And, yes, the day one woes were disappointing. I think they'll be worked out soon enough, though. Certainly by the time I pick up a Wii U, at least.


Anyway, I look forward to you getting one and hearing all about it :)

diaglyph said...

I will!
One of the cool little features of Miiverse is that if you have played a game and you visit a community for that game a type of marker appears on your Mii to show you have actually played it. So if people show up and start slagging off the game you can see if they've actually played the game or if they are purely trolling ;) nice touch!!

thegaygamer.com said...

Ha! I like the sound of that feature, Igor. Why can't we get something like that over on NeoGAF? :P

Kaze said...

Heya, Mr. Gay Gamer! :D My super awesome boyfriend managed to surprise snag me the Deluxe Set as an early Christmas gift!! He apparently made friends with like 3 other grandmas who were waiting in line at our local Target for their grandchildren. lol

We've been having a blast with Mario U and Nintendoland! I haven't gotten a chance to try all the attractions but the Balloon Fight, Metroid Blast, and Pikmin ones are my favorites so far! :D

It's so cool to see Nintendo games in HD! The graphics in Mario U are beautiful!

Dexter said...

I've been tracking Best Buy and Futureshop and saw Wii U go in and out of stock yesterday.


It looks like Nintendo is shipping in waves. I didn't pre-order and was out of luck with a walk-in purchase on launch day due to the campers who stayed up all night.


But I did get one on the 19th after having given up. It has a lot of potential, and I'm not saying this because of the money I spent, I really had a lot of fun. And Miiverse is very interesting.

thegaygamer.com said...

So jealous of you, Kaze! Also, very happy for you :) Congrats! Anyway, sounds like you're liking it so far? Is it weird that I'm most envious of you getting to play Balloon Trip Breeze, or whatever that Nintendo Land mini-game is called? Anyway, we'll definitely have to 'friend' each other once I get a Wii U as well :)

thegaygamer.com said...

Hey there, Dexter! Thanks for the comment :)


It'll definitely be interesting to find out at the end of the holiday shopping season how well the Wii U fares, won't it?


Also, I'm glad to hear you snagged yourself a Wii U -- especially since it happened after you'd given up.


Which games do you have for it at the moment, if you don't mind me asking?

Dexter said...

Nintendo Land, ZombiU and NSMB U, I love Nintendo Land! Pikmin Adventure and Zelda BattleQuest alone are worth it.


:)

thegaygamer.com said...

Oh, that's great, Dexter! What do you think of Balloon Trip Breeze? Strangely (or not), that's the NL mini-game I'm most looking forward to playing.

diaglyph said...

Ok I've written up an entry in my blog about my initial thoughts on the Wii U :)

http://wp.me/p27KCf-9l

thegaygamer.com said...

Great! I'll go read your thoughts now :)