Nintendo Wii U Review: The Hardware, Software, Games and Features
By Karla Robinson
November 20, 2012
November 20, 2012
Engadget reviews the Wii U, Nintendo’s new $300-350 ecosystem that looks to combine stylus, microphone, motion-recognition, touchscreen and physical controls for one involved gaming and media experience.- The console itself “looks almost exactly like the original Wii,” albeit a little longer, rounder, and outfitted with an HDMI port and more powerful internal processing.
- “Like the GamePad it supports, the Wii U console is glossy, fingerprint-loving plastic,” notes the review. “The dust and cat hair in our test apartment love the exterior of the Wii U. We do not.”
- The GamePad weighs 1.1 pounds, but is comfortable to hold. On average, the battery life lasts 3.5 hours and takes 2.5 hours to recharge. The device has NFC connectivity and can be used as a universal remote to do basic commands for “most” HDTVs.
- “Sadly, overall, the GamePad controller gives off a relatively low-grade impression; it looks and feels like a toy,” suggests the review, which provides additional details regarding software and available games.
- “Nintendo promised consumers a modern HD gaming console, and the Wii U — what’s there of it thus far — delivers on that promise. Games look gorgeous (HD Mario!), the risky controller [separate from the GamePad] is another successful control innovation and there’s a ton of promise on the horizon. What’s missing, sadly, is a huge part of the puzzle — so huge, in fact, that it’s impossible for us to pass judgment on the whole package just yet.”
- “Without Nintendo Network, Miiverse, Nintendo TVii, or any streaming/on-demand video content — not to mention promised backwards compatibility — the Wii U doesn’t compete at all with even last-gen consoles (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 just became last-gen, in case that isn’t clear),” explains the post. “But Nintendo launched a patch just four hours ahead of launch containing at least some of that functionality, so we’re reserving judgment until we’ve spent time with its post-update features.”
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