Wii U Launch Day Resource Round-Up

A new era of video game consoles kicked off at midnight with the launch of the Nintendo’s dual-screen wielding platform, the Wii U. Whether you’ve already run to the store and picked one up, or still aren’t sure whether you see a new Nintendo console in your future, you probably have a lot of questions about it: “What exactly can this thing do?” “What games should I buy?” “Do I really need to download that day-one patch?”

First of all, the answers to those three answers are: “Right now, it plays video games.” “Generally, speaking stick to console exclusives like Super Mario Bros U. and ZombiiU.” Lastly; “Technically no, but without the patch you won’t be able to play online, buy games via Nintendo’s E-Shop, or play Wii games, among other things.” Those answers, however, barely scratch the surface of everything you should know about the platform, so we’ve compiled a list of resources so you can all of the answers you need.

1. A Nintendo history lesson, as a prologue to the Wii U (Wired)
2. What can Wii U do before you download that massive day-one patch? (Polygon)
3. A complete list of every Wii U game available today and in the near future (GamesRadar)
4. How To: Transfer your Wii game saves to your Wii U (IGN)
5. An inside look at the guts of the Wii U gamepad (Twitch.TV)
6. Nintendo’s terms of service for MiiVerse are hilarious (Kotaku)
7. Jeff Ryan, author of Nintendo’s corporate biography, picks apart the Wii U (Kill Screen)

Now that many of your questions have been answered, (we hope) it’s time to tackle the big question: Should you buy a Wii U? Reviews of the console have been a mixed bag. Positive or negative, every review so far comes with a serious caveat; that Nintendo’s inability to ship a fully-functional console isn’t indicative of a company that will make good on their promises of significantly improved third-party support and comprehensive online features. While Joystiq’s JC Fletcher liked what he saw, but concedes that the console “doesn’t feel exactly like the ‘next generation.'” One of the few scored reviews from a gaming site, Polygon gave the box a 6.5 out of 10.

Interestingly enough, hardware-centric tech sites like Gizmodo and TechCrunch have generally been a little more lenient than their gaming counterparts, though they’ve taken issue with their own set of problems. Both The Verge and Engadget, for example, are concerned with the quality of the gamepad’s construction.

For all the negativity, however, there was also plenty of optimism about the console’s core features. Apparently the act of “cutting the cord” and playing Wii U games solely on the portable gamepad screen works so well, that some reviewers may prefer playing games that way. Kotaku editor-in-chief Stephen Totilo, calling the console “a bold new player” is excited that Nintendo has finally made a machine that has the same features as the competition, while showing the potential to become something more.

In the end, the thing that will determine whether or not you buy a Wii U, at least this year, will be your love Nintendo and their games. As with the Wii, the best thing Nintendo has to offer right now is the promise of their own unique games. Though that may change as more features and new games become available, as of today the Wii U is a Nintendo product for Nintendo people.

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