The WiiU, or, How I Spent My Morning

rpgdemon · 11-18-2012, 10:03 AM

So, I have a WiiU premium edition now.

It's funny, since I wasn't really paying attention to the launch or anything too closely. I played it at E3, I thought NSMBU was fun, and wanted to pick one up sometime, but I didn't know when I was going to do that.

I got home for Thanksgiving on Friday, and realized that I was here right at the launch weekend. So, Saturday, I make calls, drop by places in person, to talk and figure out what's going on with the launch, if they were all pre-sold, if anyone was doing midnight releases, et cetera.

First things first: Nintendo has a huge problem with branding and awareness. The stores I went into, almost no one knew what I was talking about with the WiiU. Conversations often went something like, "Hey, do you know about the WiiU?" "You mean the Wii?" "No, Nintendo's new console, the WiiU, are you doing a midnight launch for it or anything?" "I don't know about our black friday sales for the Wii man, you need to check our flyer. Sorry."

So, I go from employee to employee, wherever they point me to, trying to find someone who knows about what's happening. None of the stores were doing midnight launches, and I found out apparently WiiU availability is tied to 3DS sales. If you sell more 3DS XLs, you get more WiiUs in stock.

So, finally, I get some "straight" answers out of a guy. After he was talking about the 3DS XL stuff, he said he couldn't disclose numbers for how many they got in stock. I had to ask, essentially, "So, how long would the line have to be in order for me to just leave", to get any answer out of him, and he said around 20 people in line, but some of those might be pre-buys. It turned out that the store had 7 premiums, and 7 non-premiums. The attendant also was helpful in saying that a Walmart down the road was rumored to have much more than them, coming in.

So, I now had to get somewhere and camp out in front of the store really early in the morning, instead of getting it at night and going to bed. I figure 5:00 AM was when the rush would come, I'd get there a bit before that, everything would be good. I was entirely right. I got there at 4:20ish, and was the first in line, and the only person until around 4:40-4:50.

At around 7:30, a store attendant came outside to give us tickets to get the WiiU, and I got my ticket, with a little 1 on it, saying that I was able to buy a WiiU delux. Long story short, I went in, got it, and now have it sitting in it's box, waiting to be opened.

So, I really want to write some sort of journalistic article about the whole thing, since there is a lot more story to tell, and a lot more to dig into about the distribution and really soft launch of the WiiU, as well as the branding issues. But the important thing is: The WiiU is here.

Bells · 11-18-2012, 11:51 AM

If you can do videos, unboxing and first impressions are usually a great thing to do. You got any games with it or just the bundle?

Also, at least for me, the WiiU is non-existent until i hear that a new Pokemon Snap is on the way.

Kyanbu The Legend · 11-18-2012, 11:59 AM

And given the mass potential of the Touch screen controller. It's only a matter of time.

Locke cole · 11-18-2012, 12:36 PM

I'm interested in the whole lopsided muliplayer hing.

It'd be cool to see a game where the guy with the tablet controls the layout of a labyrinth, while the guys with Wiimotes spend explore said maze and try to get to a treasure while the guy with the tablet lays traps and summons monsters to patrol certain corridors.

Kyanbu The Legend · 11-18-2012, 02:28 PM

Well it's safe to say Impressed with the WiiU. Also say to say the Pro Controller and Touch Screen Controller (a MUCH better name then U-Pad as it does create the confusion of the U-Pad being a tablet when it's not.) are the default controllers. With the Wii-motes just being secondary controllers.

Locke cole · 11-18-2012, 05:33 PM

Can you run Gamecube games on the Wii U? I forgot if that was a thing or not.

rpgdemon · 11-18-2012, 08:10 PM

It cannot play gamecube games, but there is a virtual console for them.

I haven't actually opened it up yet, believe it or not. In about a week, I won't be able to do anything with it anyway for about three weeks, so I'm in no rush. I just wanted to make sure to have gotten it, in case of the Christmas rush stuff.

Magus · 11-18-2012, 08:55 PM

You should write your will before turning it on. I assume you will be sucked into an alternate dimension of nirvanic bliss as you reach a higher plane of existence. Well, that's what the commercials tell me, anyway.

Kyanbu The Legend · 11-18-2012, 11:03 PM

Whelp seems I may have been right early in my WiiU doom and gloom. It's odd how things went from being one of Nintendo's best launches to one of it's greatest screw ups in the company's history, during a system launch.

Bells · 11-18-2012, 11:24 PM

Puh-lease elaborate!

Also... what Wii did for Tennis and Golf, the WiiU could do for Fatal Frame and Pokemon Snap. I'm sticking to it

11-18-2012, 10:03 AM	#1
rpgdemon Not a Taco Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 3,313	The WiiU, or, How I Spent My Morning So, I have a WiiU premium edition now. It's funny, since I wasn't really paying attention to the launch or anything too closely. I played it at E3, I thought NSMBU was fun, and wanted to pick one up sometime, but I didn't know when I was going to do that. I got home for Thanksgiving on Friday, and realized that I was here right at the launch weekend. So, Saturday, I make calls, drop by places in person, to talk and figure out what's going on with the launch, if they were all pre-sold, if anyone was doing midnight releases, et cetera. First things first: Nintendo has a huge problem with branding and awareness. The stores I went into, almost no one knew what I was talking about with the WiiU. Conversations often went something like, "Hey, do you know about the WiiU?" "You mean the Wii?" "No, Nintendo's new console, the WiiU, are you doing a midnight launch for it or anything?" "I don't know about our black friday sales for the Wii man, you need to check our flyer. Sorry." So, I go from employee to employee, wherever they point me to, trying to find someone who knows about what's happening. None of the stores were doing midnight launches, and I found out apparently WiiU availability is tied to 3DS sales. If you sell more 3DS XLs, you get more WiiUs in stock. So, finally, I get some "straight" answers out of a guy. After he was talking about the 3DS XL stuff, he said he couldn't disclose numbers for how many they got in stock. I had to ask, essentially, "So, how long would the line have to be in order for me to just leave", to get any answer out of him, and he said around 20 people in line, but some of those might be pre-buys. It turned out that the store had 7 premiums, and 7 non-premiums. The attendant also was helpful in saying that a Walmart down the road was rumored to have much more than them, coming in. So, I now had to get somewhere and camp out in front of the store really early in the morning, instead of getting it at night and going to bed. I figure 5:00 AM was when the rush would come, I'd get there a bit before that, everything would be good. I was entirely right. I got there at 4:20ish, and was the first in line, and the only person until around 4:40-4:50. At around 7:30, a store attendant came outside to give us tickets to get the WiiU, and I got my ticket, with a little 1 on it, saying that I was able to buy a WiiU delux. Long story short, I went in, got it, and now have it sitting in it's box, waiting to be opened. So, I really want to write some sort of journalistic article about the whole thing, since there is a lot more story to tell, and a lot more to dig into about the distribution and really soft launch of the WiiU, as well as the branding issues. But the important thing is: The WiiU is here. __________________ I did a lot of posting on here as a teenager, and I was pretty awful. Even after I learned, grew up, and came to be on the right side of a lot of important issues, I was still angry, abrasive, and generally increased the amount of hate in the world, in pretty unacceptable ways. On the off chance that someone is taking a trip down memory lane looking through those old threads, I wanted to devote my signature to say directly to you, I'm sorry. Thank you for letting me be better, NPF.

11-18-2012, 11:51 AM	#2
Bells That's so PC of you Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: In a Server-sided Dimension where time is meaningless Posts: 10,490	If you can do videos, unboxing and first impressions are usually a great thing to do. You got any games with it or just the bundle? Also, at least for me, the WiiU is non-existent until i hear that a new Pokemon Snap is on the way. __________________ *BELLS STORE : Clothes! You wear* them! Free US Shipping Subscription System? WTF?! Zazzle Black!**

11-18-2012, 11:59 AM	#3
Kyanbu The Legend Local Rookie Indie Dev Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: New Jersey Posts: 5,497	And given the mass potential of the Touch screen controller. It's only a matter of time. __________________

11-18-2012, 02:28 PM	#5
Kyanbu The Legend Local Rookie Indie Dev Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: New Jersey Posts: 5,497	Well it's safe to say Impressed with the WiiU. Also say to say the Pro Controller and Touch Screen Controller (a MUCH better name then U-Pad as it does create the confusion of the U-Pad being a tablet when it's not.) are the default controllers. With the Wii-motes just being secondary controllers. __________________

11-18-2012, 08:10 PM	#7
rpgdemon Not a Taco Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 3,313	It cannot play gamecube games, but there is a virtual console for them. I haven't actually opened it up yet, believe it or not. In about a week, I won't be able to do anything with it anyway for about three weeks, so I'm in no rush. I just wanted to make sure to have gotten it, in case of the Christmas rush stuff. __________________ I did a lot of posting on here as a teenager, and I was pretty awful. Even after I learned, grew up, and came to be on the right side of a lot of important issues, I was still angry, abrasive, and generally increased the amount of hate in the world, in pretty unacceptable ways. On the off chance that someone is taking a trip down memory lane looking through those old threads, I wanted to devote my signature to say directly to you, I'm sorry. Thank you for letting me be better, NPF.

11-18-2012, 08:55 PM	#8
Magus Archer and Armstrong vs. the World Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 7,164	You should write your will before turning it on. I assume you will be sucked into an alternate dimension of nirvanic bliss as you reach a higher plane of existence. Well, that's what the commercials tell me, anyway.

11-18-2012, 11:03 PM	#9
Kyanbu The Legend Local Rookie Indie Dev Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: New Jersey Posts: 5,497	Whelp seems I may have been right early in my WiiU doom and gloom. It's odd how things went from being one of Nintendo's best launches to one of it's greatest screw ups in the company's history, during a system launch. __________________

11-18-2012, 11:24 PM	#10
Bells That's so PC of you Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: In a Server-sided Dimension where time is meaningless Posts: 10,490	Puh-lease elaborate! Also... what Wii did for Tennis and Golf, the WiiU could do for Fatal Frame and Pokemon Snap. I'm sticking to it __________________ *BELLS STORE : Clothes! You wear* them! Free US Shipping Subscription System? WTF?! Zazzle Black!** Last edited by Bells; 11-19-2012 at 03:02 AM.