No, apparently not so much. I thought it was only used as a secondary screen and for multiplayer. If that's true and most games end up supporting it, I'll end up picking one up for sure.

I just read an article that said that Wii games may be playable on the gamepad only too. That's really tempting considering I'm 40 hours deep into Xenoblade and will probably still be far from done by the time the U launches.

Games have been set at $59.99

You mean like Twilight Princess was for the Wii?

I just can't seem to find anything about the Wii U to be particularly excited about

How about : "I certainly don't feel the need to buy this thing any time soon, so I essentially have an extra $300 to put towards the next Playstation or Xbox console"?

How would you play Wii games on the gamepad without a wiimote/nunchuk? I realize that games like Xenoblade use the classic controller, but what about games that don't?

This pretty much confirms that I'll buy the system....when it comes at a manageable price.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/b-Pq5KrxWVk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Who knows if they'll even allow you to use a hard drive? They never did with the Wii. If they don't, it's going to be really disappointing since SSDs are getting to the point where they will be affordable options for console storage. I hope the Wii U isn't stuck with slow SD cards.

And regarding the types of games they'll sell, this is going to be the generation where you'll be able to buy any "full" game digitally if you want (not just some of them). Then again, this is Nintendo, so you never know what they'll support.

They will allow an external hard drive actually:

"You can plug in a full-on three terabyte hard drive if you want."

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/09/13/ni...ion-explained/

Good, but is it USB 3.0? And can you actually use it for games? I'm guessing the answers to both of these questions is no, but we'll see.

why couldn't it be for games?

I don't know much about Wii and Wii U in general in terms of the internal memory but...what kind of restriction does the Wii have for starters? I don't do nothing special w/ mine aside from playing disc games.

Oh crap, they announced Pikmin 3. Damn them. DAMN THEM!

Well, maybe I'm just too cynical about Nintendo and how tight they are with this stuff. I mean, they won't even let you transfer your Virtual Console games to a different system (without contacting them and having them do it).

They allow you to use an SD card on the Wii, so I suppose the hard drive could be used in the same way. However, the point seems to be to fill it up with your own media, so the drive would have to be readable by a PC. That certainly won't be the case if games can be stored on it.

Unless the games are stored in a special partition? Perhaps you could format the drive on the Wii U, specifying how much space you want reserved for game storage, and the rest would be something standard like FAT32 or exFAT (I doubt they'd get a license for NTFS).

By then Bayonetta 2 will be clearanced out too...

I feel for game developers, but at this point I don't see any reason to get single player games like this at launch, since they all drop like a rock in price within a few months. Though if I get a Wii U (and I'm weak to new consoles, so if I can get one I probably will), I'll probably get it just to play something...

It's published by Nintendo, so does that mean that it's not just a timed exclusive (like RE4 was)?

I think the game I'm most interested in is Lego City Undercover.

I'd rather go ahead and sell my Wii now, but I assume I have to have both the Wii and Wii U to transfer all of my VC games.

some more system tech details:

Preorders are up for in store pickup on bestbuy.com

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Wii-U/Wi...at274600050016

Amazon only seems to have the games... why is that lego city undercover a hundred bucks?

That price for the lego game is just a placeholder. I've seen amazon do that before.

The other wii u games are priced appropriately, though. Does the lego game come with something else?

It's $59.99 on gamestop, so I think Amazon's price is just a placeholder.

lol I wouldn't trust ordering this from Best Buy's site.

Nintendo has a record of the stuff we've purchased online. Why not just allow us to re-download it?!

Everything You Need to Know About The Wii U (That Nintendo Was Willing To Tell Us)

The new Wii is called the Wii U. It's coming out in America on November 18 and will cost $299, not counting hidden costs.

Nintendo blasted out a ton of news about it today. But they didn't tell us everything.

Here's What We Know
It's $299, for the basic version that includes the console (which is way more powerful than the Wii and somewhere in the ballpark of the PS3/Xbox360, give or take... probably better, not worse), the GamePad (the signature of the system, a controller with a 6.2-inch screen, two analog thumbsticks, a forward-facing camera, a bunch of face buttons and a gyro sensor), 8GB of on-board memory, AC adapters for the console and controller, a sensor bar (take that, Japan) and—surprise!—an HDMI cable. It's white. It does not come with any Wii Remotes, which will be used in many multiplayer games. Hopefully you have some. They need to be Wii Remote Pluses. Want the full specs? Here you go.

It's also $349.99. That's if you buy the Deluxe Set, which has all of the above, though with 32GB of on-board memory, a console stand, a charging cradle for the GamePad and a membership in something called the Deluxe Digital Promotion (DDP!), which will provide discounts for digital downloads, through 2014. The Deluxe version comes with Wii U flagship game Nintendo Land packed in.

They made a thing for it called TVii that is both a crime against the English language and a new service for letting users watch streaming video from sources like Hulu, Netflix and YouTube on the Wii U GamePad, even if someone else in the house is using the TV that the Wii U is hooked up to. It'll even pull stuff that was DVR'd on your TiVo.

You'll be able to play the next Call of Duty on the system, and, better, this game, Black Ops II will let you play split-screen across your TV and the screen on the GamePad. Here's proof.

Bayonetta 2 will be exclusive for the Wii U. We don't know when it's coming out, but the sequel to the super-sexy action game isn't just a steal from the Xbox/PlayStation playbook but a potential answer to the question: "What will grandmas enjoy on the new Wii?"

Nintendo Land and New Super Mario Bros. U are Nintendo's only confirmed launch day games (man, there better be more). Nintendo Land is a virtual theme park of Nintendo-themed attractions includes a cool Metroid riff.
New Super Mario Bros. U looks awesome.

Nintendo has declared that some 50 games will be out in the system's launch window, which opens on November 18 and closes on March 31. Those games include ZombiU, Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101 (Formerly Project 100, Assassin's Creed III, Mass Effect 3, New Super Mario Bros. U, Lego City Undercover, Wii Fit U and a lot more. Here's the whole list.

There will be a new Wii U game from the people who made Xenoblade and a Warriors Orochi game. Also, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate.

The Wii U will offer a sort of gamer's social network called MiiVerse.
GameStop will take your current Wii of your hands for $50.

Here's What We Don't Know (Yet)
Which games are actually coming out on launch day, other than Nintendo Land?
The cost of a second GamePad. No launch games appear to support one, but the system can. Maybe Nintendo held this back from America after revealing that an extra GamePad will cost an extraordinary half of the cost of a basic Wii U bundle in Japan (which, if you do the math, means that the controller kind of actually costs the same as the console sans packed-in controller.)

The cost of Wii Remote Pluses? These will be required for multiplayer in Nintendo Land games and will be the preferred controller option, along with the Wii Nunchuk, for many games. Remote Pluses go for $40 now. The tech is getting old, so maybe Nintendo will cut people a break? Or they'll assume they have them from their Wiis.
The price of games?

We'll have plenty more about Wii U in the hours and days to come. We've got people playing the system right now!

http://kotaku.com/5942991/everything...ing-to-tell-us

Because they don't have a way to deactivate the old copies. You're punished for their short-sightedness.