Wii U retail impressions?

[TheLump]

US price excludes sales tax, typically 8%, putting the price to consumers at $215. UK sales price is +20% VAT, so price sans tax is ~£140. That's $225 for the UK vs. $200 in the US like-for-like sans tax. Factor in that the Kindle Fire HD is really £159, the comparison is $213 for the UK versus $199 in the US. We also have better mandatory warranties, so manufacturers have to add an amount of insurance money to each unit sold to cover failures. A purchase in the US typically includes optional warranty with the retailer (although often very good from the sounds of it, with people trading old hardware for new when slims come out etc.

But we wouldn't pay Sales tax having a US item delivered to the UK, would we? I thought Sales Tax was dependent on which State you were in. Shouldn't be added to International goods, so we could probably still get it cheaper. I suppose there might be duty or whatever once customs get a hold of it - but in my experience ordering from Amazon.com thats not always taken (I am in the Channel Islands so I'm not liable for VAT, which might explain this) The saving grace for me is that I dont pay VAT on Amazon.co.uk - so I shouldn't complain. Its just very tempting to get a US version for roughly the same price, get games sooner etc...

We're no longer as universally price-gouged as we used to be. Some devices like TVs have a significant 'EU tax', but not always.

Its certainly not as bad as it once was, granted. Being British I just like to moan alot I guess

I've heard this in the console business, but I still see RRP figures quoted in stores offering discount. eg. ShopTo has a 3% discount on a Wii U bundle with a figure crossed out. We've also seen a change in the UK (and EU?) market where RRPs are typically set very high so that retailers can offer large 'discounts'. Maybe that's actually old-skool left-over EU gouging RRPs meeting competitive online retailers?

Yeah I've also noticed Nintendo goods "marked down" from RRP. But they genuinely dont set one (in response to their slap on the wrist for 'price fixing' with the Wii - I think). When they announced the EU launch date they confirmed retailers will set the price. I guess this is why we saw GAME going with £329 for the Premium with other retailers as low as £279 for pre-orders. It was frankly a bit of a mess.



Retail Impression Update: I now have a new "WiiU" Branded RemotePlus and Nunchuck. Really liking the build quallity on this stuff. i dont know if its just the matte finish on the lower half or if it really is sturdier but it feels nicer to hold than the old ones. No rattley buttons either.

Still no console though...

 

[Rodéric]

That system update took an hour...

What happened to the days you just got the console out of the box, plugged it, inserted a game and pressed the power button ?

Barely played since I don't have a TV and my HDMI PC screen doesn't have sound ^^
I'm still impressed by the way the padlet (pad/tablet) can be used as some kind of "window" into another world, ought to lead to interesting things.

P.S.
That padlet is much lighter than expected, quite pleased with it.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

But we wouldn't pay Sales tax having a US item delivered to the UK, would we? I thought Sales Tax was dependent on which State you were in. Shouldn't be added to International goods, so we could probably still get it cheaper. I suppose there might be duty or whatever once customs get a hold of it

Yep. You should pay import duties, which varies depending on the item, and then tax on top of that. If you're not being slapped with duties, you're either being lucky or Jersey is misbehaving.

Edit: Found this awesome tool after a lot of searching through mindless Tax talk (must remember to search Google for calculators in future!)
http://www.dutycalculator.com/new-import-duty-and-tax-calculation/

Apparently consoles are duty free, so it's just VAT on the retail price+P&P and insurance.

 

[TheLump]

Yep. You should pay import duties, which varies depending on the item, and then tax on top of that. If you're not being slapped with duties, you're either being lucky or Jersey is misbehaving.

Edit: Found this awesome tool after a lot of searching through mindless Tax talk (must remember to search Google for calculators in future!)
http://www.dutycalculator.com/new-import-duty-and-tax-calculation/

Apparently consoles are duty free, so it's just VAT on the retail price+P&P and insurance.

Haha. Jersey is always misbehaving. Luckily I'm covered by the much more friendly and squeeky-clean Guernsey Could be just some wierd Channel Islands thing but I have only paid some duty once on an NFL Shirt, but never since and nothing on some items from Amazon (also NFL merchandise funnily enough!)

Awesome - That calculator will be a god send! Cheers for digging that up

Just done a quick calc of a $349 Premium console. Comes out as £282 with VAT Incl. $25 shipping - so you're correct it doesn't save much (£17). However because I'm not liable for VAT here I actually would only pay £235. If I just buy straight from Amazon UK and get the VAT off is £239. (£4!!!)

So in summary - if you live in the Channel Islands or a VAT free zone - buy a US WiiU premium and save enough to buy a pint!

Incidentally - just noticed the Basic pack is $349 on Amazon - why so much?

 

[TheLump]

Ok just watching some of this JP Nintendo Direct stuff. Some things which I think should ahve made the US/EU launch:

TVii: already discussed - should have been day one as it is in JP. Looks great (althought the JP version is butt ugly compared to the US one).

Panorama View: Integrated with GoogleMaps - this shows of the GamePad concept beutifully. Will sell a few systems i beleive as people love Google Street View. This is almost a more interactive Street View and although gimmicky and actually not that useful - has that "Oooooooh, Ahhhhhh" factor. Appears to be Spring '13 in JP: Should've been day one everywhere.

Game & Wario: Some incredibly inventive uses of the GamePad. Would probably do a much better job than current games of selling the concept - especially to casuals. This game should have been front of the queue.


Nothing Earth shattering - but all things which would have been perfect to launch a new console with a complex USP like the GamePad. I'm beginning to think they released about 2 months too early.....

All of the above, with fixed loading time & stability issues on the O/S, plus Rayman Legends, Pikmin and Lego City Undercover would have spelled a much better launch all round. Ifs and Buts indeed.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

So in summary - if you live in the Channel Islands or a VAT free zone - buy a US WiiU premium and save enough to buy a pint!

There is also the issue of warranty support. If what you buy needs replacing, you need to deal with Amazon US I presume, so there's a little more of a gamble. The 20% saving may be worth it, especially on hardware that should be extremely reliable.

 

[Grall]

Game & Wario:

What is this?

All of the above, with fixed loading time & stability issues on the O/S

It's entirely possible the slow loading is due to dog-ass slow onboard flash memory. Just see how long it actually takes for the machine to write the new firmware update once it's actually been downloaded. It takes bloody ages on that stage as well.

So this might be why one gig of RAM is reserved for OS use, to precache apps from that snaily flash, except the OS doesn't seem to be doing any pre-caching (yet.)

plus Rayman Legends, Pikmin and Lego City Undercover would have spelled a much better launch all round.

Yeah, all of those three please and colonial marines...

 

[TheLump]

There is also the issue of warranty support. If what you buy needs replacing, you need to deal with Amazon US I presume, so there's a little more of a gamble. The 20% saving may be worth it, especially on hardware that should be extremely reliable.

Yeah thats a good point. Best to find out just how reliable it is first

What is this?

A bit like Wario Ware Smooth Moves for the Wii. A collection of completely mindless and random (but fun) minigames.

It's entirely possible the slow loading is due to dog-ass slow onboard flash memory. Just see how long it actually takes for the machine to write the new firmware update once it's actually been downloaded. It takes bloody ages on that stage as well.

So this might be why one gig of RAM is reserved for OS use, to precache apps from that snaily flash, except the OS doesn't seem to be doing any pre-caching (yet.)

Could be. Any word on what this new update has/hasn't fixed? out today presumabley.

Yeah, all of those three please and colonial marines...

Oh my, forgot about Colonial MArines. Another game which should sell a few people on the concept (even if its the most obvious use ever ) Ho-hum, at least theres stuff to look forward to right now.

 

[Grall]

A bit like Wario Ware Smooth Moves for the Wii.

Is it pretty much for multiplayer only, or does it work as a game when alone too? Many such minigames-type games (like the rabbids games etc) aren't really suited to singleplayer.

Could be. Any word on what this new update has/hasn't fixed? out today presumabley.

I read the loadtimes haven't been addressed. I can't tell myself because the console has been downloading for the last half hour or so, and it's only 55-60% done so far. Ridiculous. I thought sony had slow firmware updates, but the wuu beats them by a mile and a half...

Oh my, forgot about Colonial MArines. Another game which should sell a few people on the concept (even if its the most obvious use ever )

You're thinking about the motion tracker? Well, it may be obvious, but it looks like it's really effective too, at least from what gearbox themselves have been letting on in demos and pre-views and such. They're not at all biased though, of course!

Edit:
Downloading the firmware took roughly 40 mins, then writing it was at least another ten minutes, so total not far from an hour for the whole process. Anyone thinks this is at all reasonable? Loadtimes seem roughly the same, post-update I might add.

Btw, not sure why I have to boot up wii mode to use my virtual console purchases. Why can't I buy/use these in wuu mode as well (so the bloody pro controller works for them)? This makes no sense. Is nintendo to stop releasing virtual console games now or what, since it seems they're not going to support them under their new wuu regimen? Actually I've no idea if they've released any VC games in months. It was a long time since I last used my wii; I've been waiting (for naught!) for the wuu instead of using that old clunker of a gamecube in Apple's clothings.

 

[TheLump]

Is it pretty much for multiplayer only, or does it work as a game when alone too? Many such minigames-type games (like the rabbids games etc) aren't really suited to singleplayer.

I presume multiplayer is the big focus. Alot of the minigames are purposfully very silly - so might lose some of its appeal playing alone! I'm not entirely sure though.

I read the loadtimes haven't been addressed. I can't tell myself because the console has been downloading for the last half hour or so, and it's only 55-60% done so far. Ridiculous. I thought sony had slow firmware updates, but the wuu beats them by a mile and a half...

Edit:
Downloading the firmware took roughly 40 mins, then writing it was at least another ten minutes, so total not far from an hour for the whole process. Anyone thinks this is at all reasonable? Loadtimes seem roughly the same, post-update I might add.

Btw, not sure why I have to boot up wii mode to use my virtual console purchases. Why can't I buy/use these in wuu mode as well (so the bloody pro controller works for them)? This makes no sense. Is nintendo to stop releasing virtual console games now or what, since it seems they're not going to support them under their new wuu regimen? Actually I've no idea if they've released any VC games in months. It was a long time since I last used my wii; I've been waiting (for naught!) for the wuu instead of using that old clunker of a gamecube in Apple's clothings.

I had a quick read at lunchtime. Some saying that O/S load times have improved by a few seconds (not much) and returning to the home screen is snappier*. Supposedly its mainly fixed some known stability issues.

*Edit: Although many now saying its no different. I suspect this was just to fix stability issues more than anything else.

I'm not clever enough to know why it has to boot up as a Wii to play Wii stuff. They could have at least let you play previously purchased Virtual Console stuff from the Wii on the WiiU menu though - again I dont know if thats technically possible/feasible. Someone on here will be able to answer that though.

You're thinking about the motion tracker? Well, it may be obvious, but it looks like it's really effective too, at least from what gearbox themselves have been letting on in demos and pre-views and such. They're not at all biased though, of course!

Yeah I think its a great idea. Almost perfect for the GamePad really!

 

[Gitaroo]

any work around for rgb full range?

 

[Grall]

It doesn't do fullrange? Wth... Ok, creepy uncle Google to the rescue: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-wii-u-backwards-compatibility-analysis

How utterly disappointing! Even more Nintendo fail, affecting Euros only apparantly, if that's a comfort to anyone...

 

[Rodéric]

Another hour spent on system update yesterday... oh joy...
I really hate consoles turned into media centers !

Bought Trine 2 (already had it on PC) on the Wii U, it looks nice, gamma is wrong though, waiting for the patch.

System update improved things quite a bit.
Still only played a little Trine 2 and a few Nintendoland attractions.

 

[JasonLD]

Just got Wii U Deluxe at local Gamestop. Only took me three different locations to find one. Hopefully an update doesnt take too long lol.

 

[TheLump]

Just got Wii U Deluxe at local Gamestop. Only took me three different locations to find one. Hopefully an update doesnt take too long lol.

Welcome to WiiU! Mine arrived today (finally)

so far, so impressive. Build quality is great. I have to say it actually feels like an expensive product. Wasn't expecting that at all.

Touchscreen is actually nice and responsive. The only issue I've found is if you type quickly (as I do) it might miss a letter.

Colours, resolution etc all seem really good to me!

Menu load times (to system menu etc) are pretty long (12 seconds-ish) App loading are about on par with my ps3 for Netflix and the store (about the same as Lovefilm and PS Store loading time imo) I reckon it seems longer because of all the white screens in between loading! Grrr.

Will update as I go. I'm very impressed with ZombiU, Nintendo Land, NSMBU. 3x very good titles to start with imo. And just d/lded Trine 2 which is also great fun so far. Happy days

 

[JasonLD]

Just got home and hooked up. As expected, update is taking forever. Still about 10 mins to go.
Build quality is really good. Controller is lightweight but doesn't really feel cheap. Touch feels lot more responsive than one on 3DS.
So far, so good, can't wait to run some games on it.

 

[Rodéric]

I used the 'padlet' through a wall, that was fun. ^^
I should have the time to play ZombiU this week-end.
I was quite impressed by the "padlet" used as a window in NintendoLands, moving it around with zero lag and perfect motion sensing to see in-game surroundings, I wonder how well it can be used in games, maybe for puzzle games...

 

[Arwin]

I used the 'padlet' through a wall, that was fun. ^^
I should have the time to play ZombiU this week-end.
I was quite impressed by the "padlet" used as a window in NintendoLands, moving it around with zero lag and perfect motion sensing to see in-game surroundings, I wonder how well it can be used in games, maybe for puzzle games...

Handheld have plenty of examples of using that in games already. Works quite well for a number of things, including for instance sniping.

 

[Gerry]

I came across this thread on neogaf. Sounds like Nintendo are restricting the purchase of 18+ content to the hours of 23:00-06:00 in some European zones.

Sounds bizarre. Still reading the thread taught me something about how strict Germany are when ordering 18+ content by post. You learn something new every day.

 

[DuckThor Evil]

I came across this thread on neogaf. Sounds like Nintendo are restricting the purchase of 18+ content to the hours of 23:00-06:00 in some European zones.

Sounds bizarre. Still reading the thread taught me something about how strict Germany are when ordering 18+ content by post. You learn something new every day.

Wow that is something else. I'm usually at sleep during those hours