that does look pretty badass

Wow, I've been on the fence and still am, but that goes a long way in helping my decision to buy it or not.

Looks good, but my fear is that it s going to be similar to the good games on the Wii, where I'm always thinking "this game is good, but it would be better with a normal controller".

EXACTLY. Thanks for that video and the link to Wal-Mart...but there's still nothing here that I see as a system seller. I played the thing at PAX Prime and it really just seemed like HD Wii to me.

I'd really like to play the New Super Mario U but I don't need to spend over $400 to do that. When the new Zelda hits in 2014(?) that may draw me in, unless they release some other exclusive title that is a must own before then.

In Japan, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is cheaper as a download by $9. I wonder if that's how it will be in the US too. If you go the download route, be prepared to buy a lot of extra storage. The game is 16.7 GB.

http://www.siliconera.com/2012/10/25...nload-version/

My local Best Buy and Gamestop got demo units in, and I tried out the GamePad. Overall it feels okay, but I really don't like the way the right analog stick and the ABXY buttons are laid out. Just feels weird.

Getting a chance to try it out made me feel justified in skipping the WiiU at launch, even though it'll be the first Nintendo console since the Super NES that I won't be buying on launch day. I was a Wii defender, but I'm still not sure I fully understand what Nintendo is going for with this new system.

It's up for preorder on Target...

http://www.target.com/p/wii-u-32gb-d...m_1_2&term=wii

I am anticipating a flood of systems available after x-mas due to the resellers returning all their unsold systems. Based on SD a couple of people already have 10+ preorders...

If Nintendo had a brain in their head they'd have every retailer stocked to the gills with Wii U's... getting a Wii at launch was a pain and for months it was scarce. I don't believe this product will have that following and making it scarce won't improve demand IMO.

Played some Rayman on the demo unit. The game is gorgeous. I wasn't really sold on single player using the tablet. It's just bulky(albeit not uncomfortable) and the button layout (flipped with the analog) felt awkward. The bumper buttons felt further away than on the PS3/360 pads. Grasping a traditional controller for a platformer that requires such precise controls is just more intuitive and the way to go.

I was with a friend and jumping into co-op where he was on the tablet I was on the Wiimote was seamless. So seamless I'm not even sure what triggered it. Unfortunately using the Wiimote/Nunchuck combo was even less intuitive than the tablet. Ideal scenario would be Pro controller for one and the tablet for the secondary person but I doubt that will be an option. Control gripes aside, Ubisoft seems to have given more thought to the second player than NSMBWiiU. It seemed like it could be fun playing with the tablet.

I tried rayman at BB and I really don't know why they're demoing a game that won't be out on release day. I need to go back to GS and try NSMB.

GS has Mario? That's where I played Rayman. It was the only working demo. The rest were vids or whatnot.

I think he was playing mario. I only noticed it on my way out the door. I'll have to go back and check.

I just gave in while in Best Buy. I noticed they had it set up, no one was there, and I had to get my hands on it. The system is a lot longer than I imagined, so that was odd. I love how the controller feels in my hands, and the screen is incredibly responsive. Like other places, the only demo was Rayman. I loved it, LOVED it. It felt so satisfying playing that game that it totally sold me on it. It looked great as well, obviously. My hype for the system has just increased. The latest hands on information about Mario has me that much more pumped as well, not to mention the awesome ZombiU video I posted above. I can't wait.

Has it been confirmed 100% which controllers will work with the Wii U? Can I use any of my original Wii remotes? Can I use an original Wii Remote with the Motion+ adapter? Can the original classic controller be used at all?

I have a Zelda Wii Remote+, and then I have the add on that I can use for a second one while I wait to buy an official Wii U remote. I have heard mixed things and was wondering if any of you know for sure yet. Thanks.

Do Wiimotes now come with the + functionality built in, or do they still use adapters? At the Wii U event I attended, most of the games used existing Wiimotes, and I didn't noticed adapters attached to any of them.

The new ones have + built in.

The ones with it built in say Wii Motion Plus Inside below the Wii logo at the bottom.

I don't think those are happening. It looks like the original wiimote + is just being repackaged. Spoilered for size.
The classic controller will work with the same games it currently works with and any games that future developers make to support it.

Tired the Rayman at BB, I liked it, except for when they made you use the touchscreen - didn't care for that at all. Also, the controller didn't feel good in my hands. Regardless, this system, as all others, will live and die by it's games, and so far, it seems to have a decent batch.

I had a chance to mess around with the Wii U demo they have set up at my local GameStop. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The price is still more than I am willing to pay for it. It may be something I pick up once the price goes down in a year or two.

Okay, I'm not clear on how transferring stuff from the Wii to the U works. I have a shit-ton of VC games (that I still play) on the Wii, but they're all on a sim-card. Can I just plug that into the U and be up and running?

I don't think any of us knows the answer to that, but I'll lay down some logic...

Shouldn't be able to, no. Unless they changed the Wii's system, the sim card was encrypted. You couldn't transport those VC games from Wii to Wii for piracy reasons.

The way it's been reported to work earlier in this thread from various press conferences and interviews is that you'll need both the Wii and the Wii U connected to the internet because the Nintendo MCP needs to facilitate the transfer because we can't be trusted and they never, until now, had a unified online ID. Whether or not that unified online ID will be credited with your prior purchases during this transfer so that when the Wii U2 comes out in 2018 you won't need to still have your Wii U is unknown.

It's like how you transfer DSWare stuff from a DS to a 3DS - you need them both until the process is complete.