Wii See U

My step-son got a Wii U for Christmas, so I had to spend the next two hours setting it up for him. Plugging it all in was a fairly simple process. I was surprised to find that the tablet section of the console has it’s own power cord. To date, only one person, a toddler, has tripped over it. I was also expecting to be able to pick up the tablet and go into other rooms with it. I think I got into the hall before it started complaining that it couldn’t connect with the Wii U.

During the set-up, it asked me to provide an e-mail and confirm it about three times, asking me to repeat my e-mail twice each time. This confused me, as the Wii U account is locked in to the console and not your e-mail at this time. I also tried to import a pair of Wii codes I never used but got for free from Club Nintendo, and the system told me they were no in-use at the moment. That confused me more. Does that mean I’ll be able to use them in the future, or not at all? Plus, I had to enter my credit card information and get debited 50 cents, which was then refunded, even though I don’t want to use my credit card to make purchases in their online store. I have two kids wailing away at buttons with no conception of what they do, so it’s pretty easy for me to get charged for products at random on the 360, depending on how up-to-date my points and credit information are.

The overall immediate impression is that the Wii U is a tablet you can play on your TV, if you so choose. You have to play in front of the TV no matter what, so you’re still chained that way. Watching my stepson play the Wii U version of Super Mario, I saw him play exclusively while looking at the tablet, complaining it was too difficult to watch the TV screen, although the same image was being broadcast simultaneously. Since there was only the tablet controller in the box, I had to sit and watch him play the big screen, unable to play. I tried explaining to several people that up to four people could play simultaneously, but of course you need to have more controllers. Not the tablet controller, either, you need the old nunchucks. So you can’t just take your tablet controller and use it at your friend’s house, or get more tablets. This means, that at any point, only one person will have the “good” controller, causing wars to needlessly erupt.

The main-page on the TV screen for your menu is a snapshot of the top games and apps being used online, with drawings and comments. It’s basically like a mini-facebook if you had no filters or choice in “friending” people. You could have no interest, or have, any of the games being shown, but it’s still there. The screen itself is pointless and non-functioning unless you switch it to your tablet.

I still “get” the Wii U. The games still play like a mix of regular console games and DS games. It’s obvious why they made it the way they did: to discourage illegal downloads. All the motion controllers and touch screens are just their way of ensuring you can’t download their games and play them on a computer. People still go to ridiculous lengths to counterfeit their games, but they usually involve buying extra accessories on the black market. It’s still a better method at fighting piracy than DRM and “always on,” management like EA or Ubisoft.