16 replies to this topic

[alan123]

I have just been to my local Game store as they had a 'Lock In' event this evening (the shop doors are locked, they let you in & then lock the doors behind you) they had Wii U's you could play on & also had a Nintendo Rep on hand for questions etc.

Firstly i was told by a Game staff member that the latest thing they have been told is that they will be opening at midnight for the launch, this is the majority of stores though & he said he was unsure is every store would be opening at midnight, the news coming though is that most will open but a actual finial decision by the store manager is needed, but mine will be so i was told, there will also be special offers available not sure what they will be though, the best advice is to go in the day before & ask on your local store.

While i was there i was talking to the Nintendo rep about some of my concerns, the power of the CPU, the lack of power for the USB, third party software.

CPU - I was told that she & Nintendo are aware of comments by developers about the power of the CPU & that Nintendo were working with all developers to get the best out of the hardware, she could not give me specific information on the CPU though because she did not have any on it.

USB (powered HD's) - She said she was not aware of this problem.

Software - Nintendo will do everything is can to get the best software onto the Wii U.

Impressions of the Wii U,

The unit itself was pretty quite, i could not hear any fan noise over the sound of the game (Zombi U) music/audio,
The unit is pretty small, it does show up fingerprints though because of the black gloss finish,
The menus seemed to load ok, they didn't seem to take very much longer than the PS3/X360, but they were not as fast, i think this was a updated console but i do not know,
The game-pad is a ok size actually it didn't feel to big at all, it is pretty light as well, i did shake it about & couldn't really hear a rattle (there was quite a bit of noise in the shop though),
The screen is pretty responsive to touch & movement,
One thing i did not like about the game-pad was that when you hold it vertical for certain games, the ridge underneath is on the left hand side & after a while it will dig into the fingers a bit.


Overall impressions were good, it seems like a solid unit, the game-pad will take getting used to having to look at it & then back to the TV but in time you will just get used to it, the controller does show up fingerprints very easily though, in the end it is the games that will make or break the Wii U, my only concern is the issue with the USB power for my HD.

Games i played, NintendoLand about 3 single player games & one 2 player game, i also played a bit of Zombi U & it looks & plays great, it was limited though because you could not play it when children were in the store as it is a 18 rated game.

You local Game store may have a 'Lock In' event of their own, got told via a text message because i have a Wii U on pre-order, they have also been Tweeting from their local store accounts, they also have notices in the shop window.

I did overhear another customer asking about pre-orders & the shop assistant said that all white versions had sold out but they had some Zombi U packs still available, this was my local store so yours may be different.

If anyone has any questions i will try & answer them.

[Nintendo]

Well, I'm glad you found it good, that's reassuring.
Bit dissapointed with the un-comforts of the gamepad

[alan123]

Well, I'm glad you found it good, that's reassuring.
Bit dissapointed with the un-comforts of the gamepad

It is only uncomfortable when you hold it vertical like you hold a mobile phone, i think with time you could find a more comfortable way to hold or grip it, most games you hold it horizontally & to my surprise if felt fine, it didn't feel big or heavy at all.

I did try & take a few photos but they did not want me to take any.

[Nintendo]

It is only uncomfortable when you hold it vertical like you hold a mobile phone, i think with time you could find a more comfortable way to hold or grip it, most games you hold it horizontally & to my surprise if felt fine, it didn't feel big or heavy at all.

I did try & take a few photos but they did not want me to take any.

Ah, I see. That's good. I'm so glad, haha.

Yeah, I can imagine.

[Gamejunkie]

With all due respect a Nintendo rep is going to tell you what you want to hear and not neccessarily what is true. I'm not saying the rep was lying but you should take what they say with a pinch of salt.

[alan123]

With all due respect a Nintendo rep is going to tell you what you want to hear and not neccessarily what is true. I'm not saying the rep was lying but you should take what they say with a pinch of salt.

With all due respect a Nintendo rep is going to tell you what you want to hear and not neccessarily what is true. I'm not saying the rep was lying but you should take what they say with a pinch of salt.

Yes i agree, but i would find it hard to believe that Nintendo were not working on the issues i raised, the USB though there is nothing that can be done, some people were asking about the slow OS etc but it was hard to concentrate on what was being said while playing !

[Sketchy]

This is awesome i have my Wii U on pre order from GAME hopefully, they will have a lock in at my local store. I know they are haveing a midnight launch event which I will be attending!

[Crackkat]

Guys come to Hyperjapan event in London this weekend to try out the Wii U yourself and thanks for the heads up about game stores, will check my local one

[SoldMyWiiUAndLeftTheForums]

I went to the lock in event at 6 till 8, I got a text message too, lol, my GAME is suprisingly openeing for a Midnight Launch, even though I was told other wise, I played a bit of ZombiU too, but I had the same problem with children in the store, played Nintendo Land and I was very surprised actually might have to pick this up, The GamePad is completely awesome, it is so comfortable to hold and yeah, the OS seemed really fast and it did not bother me at all. I HAVE SOME NEWS THE OP DIDN'T POST: My fears were confirmed even though the US have got it and Australia are getting it on release day Scribblenauts Unlimited is NOT a release day title in the UK, I don't know why, but the Rep confirmed it and GAME do not have it in thier books, bit dissapointed with that one so I'll have to pick up another game now, but still the Wii U is EPIC and next week can not come soon enough, LOOK HERE ON GAME SOLIHULL's TWITTER PAGE, in the photos section THE DUDE IN THE TAN JACKET IS ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, I'm Playing the Pikmin Mini Game On The GamePad: https://twitter.com/...er.com/pe56pmFr

Edited by UnchainedGoku, 21 November 2012 - 12:57 PM.

[Joshua]

With all due respect a Nintendo rep is going to tell you what you want to hear and not neccessarily what is true. I'm not saying the rep was lying but you should take what they say with a pinch of salt.

That's very true. When I got to try out the Wii U at an experience both there was one lady that was over-exaggerating everything.

[Ringo_Scar]

I decided to pass the event up as i have no desire to play before release. I am not a fan of being teased so i will just wait until release day. There is definitely something weird with Scribblenauts. Like i said in another post, at amazon we had it listed to arrive with all other opening day stock over a 4 day period but As of last night it had been erased from the list, It was the only game to do so. My guess is that it either was originally planned or European Stock lists just followed the fact that it was released on Opening day in the US and will be in Australia.

[Gamejunkie]

I never got a text message but then again one of my two preorders is with GAME online whilst the other is with Shop To online. I'm going to cancel the GAME preorder anyway as they are are charging more for the console. If the Wii U actually had an MSRP in the UK and GAME was selling at that price and it wasn't more then about £5 over other online retailers I would have bought from them. As it stands they are charging £25 more then Shop To so I rather buy it from there.

[reef7009]

Come on hmv! Wheres ours?

[Nollog]

I have just been to my local Game store as they had a 'Lock In' event this evening (the shop doors are locked, they let you in & then lock the doors behind you) they had Wii U's you could play on & also had a Nintendo Rep on hand for questions etc.

Firstly i was told by a Game staff member that the latest thing they have been told is that they will be opening at midnight for the launch, this is the majority of stores though & he said he was unsure is every store would be opening at midnight, the news coming though is that most will open but a actual finial decision by the store manager is needed, but mine will be so i was told, there will also be special offers available not sure what they will be though, the best advice is to go in the day before & ask on your local store.

While i was there i was talking to the Nintendo rep about some of my concerns, the power of the CPU, the lack of power for the USB, third party software.

CPU - I was told that she & Nintendo are aware of comments by developers about the power of the CPU & that Nintendo were working with all developers to get the best out of the hardware, she could not give me specific information on the CPU though because she did not have any on it.

USB (powered HD's) - She said she was not aware of this problem.

Software - Nintendo will do everything is can to get the best software onto the Wii U.

Impressions of the Wii U,

The unit itself was pretty quite, i could not hear any fan noise over the sound of the game (Zombi U) music/audio,
The unit is pretty small, it does show up fingerprints though because of the black gloss finish,
The menus seemed to load ok, they didn't seem to take very much longer than the PS3/X360, but they were not as fast, i think this was a updated console but i do not know,
The game-pad is a ok size actually it didn't feel to big at all, it is pretty light as well, i did shake it about & couldn't really hear a rattle (there was quite a bit of noise in the shop though),
The screen is pretty responsive to touch & movement,
One thing i did not like about the game-pad was that when you hold it vertical for certain games, the ridge underneath is on the left hand side & after a while it will dig into the fingers a bit.


Overall impressions were good, it seems like a solid unit, the game-pad will take getting used to having to look at it & then back to the TV but in time you will just get used to it, the controller does show up fingerprints very easily though, in the end it is the games that will make or break the Wii U, my only concern is the issue with the USB power for my HD.

Games i played, NintendoLand about 3 single player games & one 2 player game, i also played a bit of Zombi U & it looks & plays great, it was limited though because you could not play it when children were in the store as it is a 18 rated game.

You local Game store may have a 'Lock In' event of their own, got told via a text message because i have a Wii U on pre-order, they have also been Tweeting from their local store accounts, they also have notices in the shop window.

I did overhear another customer asking about pre-orders & the shop assistant said that all white versions had sold out but they had some Zombi U packs still available, this was my local store so yours may be different.

If anyone has any questions i will try & answer them.

Dunno what a rep would know and how talking would make a cpu better, but...
What's this about a hard drive not being powerful?

[Gamejunkie]

Dunno what a rep would know and how talking would make a cpu better, but...
What's this about a hard drive not being powerful?

I think you're not understanding that correctly. Bus powered hard drives, i.e. those powered by the console may not work as the USB ports do not provide enough power. Using a USB Y cable may alleviate this. Hard Drives that have their own power supply shouldn't be affected. Most portable external hard drives tend to be bus powered for practical reasons as they are portable and most laptops and desktops provide enough power. Most external desk top hard drives have their own power supply but are also bigger in size. Not all bus powered hard drives may work.

[Nollog]

I HAVE SOME NEWS THE OP DIDN'T POST: My fears were confirmed even though the US have got it and Australia are getting it on release day Scribblenauts Unlimited is NOT a release day title in the UK, I don't know why, but the Rep confirmed it and GAME do not have it in thier books, bit dissapointed with that one so I'll have to pick up another game now, but still

that's horsing dirty carp dicks

I think you're not understanding that correctly. Bus powered hard drives, i.e. those powered by the console may not work as the USB ports do not provide enough power. Using a USB Y cable may alleviate this. Hard Drives that have their own power supply shouldn't be affected. Most portable external hard drives tend to be bus powered for practical reasons as they are portable and most laptops and desktops provide enough power. Most external desk top hard drives have their own power supply but are also bigger in size. Not all bus powered hard drives may work.

Oh, I get why the rep didn't know about it then, because it's tomfoolery.
9.99999999999999/10 will work.

Edited by Nollog, 21 November 2012 - 02:00 PM.

[SoldMyWiiUAndLeftTheForums]

that's horsing dirty carp dicks

Tell me about it, I was looking forward to playing that on day 1

I decided to pass the event up as i have no desire to play before release. I am not a fan of being teased so i will just wait until release day. There is definitely something weird with Scribblenauts. Like i said in another post, at amazon we had it listed to arrive with all other opening day stock over a 4 day period but As of last night it had been erased from the list, It was the only game to do so. My guess is that it either was originally planned or European Stock lists just followed the fact that it was released on Opening day in the US and will be in Australia.

I wish I knew whats going on I really want this game.