Analysis: The Wii U Launch Part 2 Turning on the System

So you bought a Wii U, now what?  Well if you bought a launch Wii U, then your first boot is greeted by one of the most daunting day 1 software updates in history.  Initially the press was unable to complete their reviews of the hardware because this patch, which enabled core system components like MiiVerse and the digital store front Nintendo eShop, was not available until hours before retail released the console into the wild (Engadget story the day the patch went live: http://goo.gl/AVBOS).  The patch was bulky and slow to download, and confusion and/or bad luck during the install caused some gamers to accidentally brick their consoles, which means render them inoperable (source: http://goo.gl/dDZ4z).  Truth be told I tried to find an article stating when the day 1 patch was included in the retail shipments of Wii U.  I want to believe that anyone who buys the console moving forward no longer has to do this, but unfortunately I do not have anything supporting that.  The software should be a more recent version in retail now than what early adopters dealt with.

Getting past the patch issues, what happens next?  Unlike former Nintendo systems, on the Wii U users get to create an online account that allows them to access MiiVerse and the Nintendo eShop.  There are some quirky things about how Nintendo implemented user accounts.  For starters there are no system level achievements (something gamers who have experience with Steam, Xbox, or PlayStation have gotten used to seeing).  Also your accounts are tied to your console, which means unless you contact Nintendo for assistance with a legitimately busted system, your purchases, save data, etc. are stuck on the hardware you created your account on.  This also differs from some system, such as Xbox, where you can look-up your account on a friend's system and move your ID over for multiplayer sessions.  Doing a Google search for this topic brings up a myriad of articles focused on what happens if your console breaks as well as what happens if you buy a used console (search results: http://goo.gl/MjCJq).

The good news is that most of the scary stuff is out of the way.  The good stuff is more fun to talk about.  For starters, taking a step back and looking at the hardware, the Wii U is much sleeker and entertainment center friendly than previous Nintendo machines.  The GamePad itself is sturdy.  The buttons feel good, and the device is not too heavy.  You can check the system out at demo kiosks in most major electronic stores and GameStop locations, so I will not belabor the design here nor will I deep dive into the tech, which is pretty interesting in and of itself (check the Iwata asks hardware edition for some cool details http://goo.gl/bF4Z9 or check out iFixit's teardown http://goo.gl/HS0Ij).  One additional note though, all Wii peripherals are meant to be compatible with the system.  I honestly have only used my Wii-mote during the system transfer process and while playing Nintendoland, but Wii-motes, the motion sensor, the Wii Balance Board, etc. should all be compatible with your Wii U system.  The system does play Wii discs, albeit through a built in emulator.  I kind of lied before about being done with the scary stuff, but this part is optional.  If you owned a Wii and opt to move your content to a Wii U, there is a system transfer process that is honestly more trouble than it is worth.  Not all games are transferrable (Lost Winds refused to transfer from my system http://goo.gl/tijzv), and the content that does transfer as well as your ability to play Wii discs are all driven by an emulator as I mentioned before.  You basically have to switch your console into Wii compatibility mode via an application on the home menu.  The process takes quite a while, and it may not be entirely worth it.  The Wii U cannot play GameCube games, so some people may prefer to just keep the Wii connected if they still use it for an extensive library of Virtual Console games, any WiiWare titles that do not transfer, or to play GameCube discs.  The only other note on hardware I have is that you may also want to purchase a separate hard drive.  The Wii U comes in two SKUs, Deluxe and Basic.  Even the Deluxe only has less than 30 GBs of storage available for game data, which is not much for digital game buyers (storage details: http://goo.gl/OLlzZ, external hard drive guidelines: http://goo.gl/DqLqk).

As far as applications go, there are some decent ones baked into the system as well as some cool stuff available on the Nintendo eShop.  As usual Nintendo charm is apparent in everything.  The music is relaxing on almost every menu you navigate to, and the interface is intuitive.  One thing you will notice right away is the Wara-Wara plaza.  This is the main screen where Miis congregate across systems.  You will be treated to the most popular MiiVerse posts here, and you can set what type of games you want displayed in the plaza via parental controls (I had to swap to child friendly titles after the ZombiU stuff kept popping up).  There is a great article with Nintendo developers and executives explaining the motivation for this type of social platform on a gaming console or as they call it "an empathy network" (http://goo.gl/bIynY).  It goes into more detail than I will, but some of the features include posting screenshots from games you are in, liking posts from other uses (called "Yeah" in MiiVerse), and more recently filtering content based on who actually owns the game or who you are friends with.  The features are actually very similar to communities in Steam for PC gamers.  It can be a lot of fun aside from the excessive "should I get this game?" posts and the small percentage of users begging for "Yeah" responses.  They are constantly updating and improving the social aspects based on feedback as well.

Finally before wrapping up this installment, I want to heap some praise on Nintendo for dramatically improving its digital store.  The Nintendo eShop (same name as the 3DS Nintendo eShop; however, they are not currently connected nor do they share accounts or currency, stay tuned for news from Nintendo on that front) contains a lot of first day digital games, some great Indie titles, and soon a full Virtual Console.  They are releasing Virtual Console games one per month for 30 cents leading up to the full Virtual Console launch later this year.  I believe Kirby's Adventure is the current 30 cent title as of this writing.  You can also connect your eShop account to Club Nintendo for great rewards including games and physical products.  Nintendo has run Club Nintendo for a long time, and it is a hidden gem.  The rewards are often times rare merchandise or full games, and it is easier now than ever to get credit for hardware and game purchases (you can also take surveys on the games you buy for additional points).  This is separate from Nintendo's "Digital Deluxe" promotion for early purchasers of the Deluxe Wii U SKU (for details on that promotion go here: http://goo.gl/eqIdB).  Club Nintendo has been around for a while and hopefully will continue on for a while.  Nintendo posts "How To" videos on their YouTube channel on some of these services, and I linked one related to Club Nintendo for reference.  How to connect a Club Nintendo account to your Nintendo eShop data: http://goo.gl/jtnwA.  Nintendo has significantly bridged the divide with Indie developers with this console, which will be a great content generation source moving forward (source: http://goo.gl/jY5DH).

The future is bright for the system software.  The eShop continues to get content, MiiVerse is coming to smartphones and tablets (source: http://goo.gl/3M7iS), loading times will be improved with a couple of planned system updates (loading times to be discussed in a future installment), and the full Virtual Console will launch later this year.  I got a little long winded on this installment of the Wii U launch analysis, but if you have questions about the system not covered above, feel free to sound off in the comments.

- Scott

Analysis: The Wii U Launch Part 1 Media and Consumer Criticism

In November of 2012, Nintendo launched the Wii U, its first high definition home video game console.  The primary message of Nintendo's marketing campaigns and expo presentations focused on the asymmetric gameplay capabilities permitted by the new tablet controller, the Wii U GamePad.  Despite the excitement surrounding Nintendo's famous franchises making the leap into HD, the console launch has been somewhat marred by customer confusion, cumbersome system software, and a lack of exciting games.  Originally Nintendo stated that the console "launch window" would run from November of 2012 through March of 2013, and now that March 2013 has come and gone, this series of articles is being written as one Nintendo fan's thoughts on what went right with the launch and what went wrong.

Nintendo originally announced the Wii U in 2011.  The console had to be re-introduced at E3 2012 due to widespread confusion over what the system actually was.  The naming convention ("Wii U" versus "Wii 2" or a different name altogether) as well as Nintendo's focus on the GamePad peripheral made consumers and media alike claim the new system was not a new system at all but instead an add-on for the original Wii.  Most recently at the 2013 PAX East expo, Nintendo handed out what have been deemed as "absurd" and "embarrassing" flyers promoting its latest console over its previous one (source Kotaku: http://goo.gl/xiDW7).  This just further proves the identity crisis Nintendo has caused for itself.  Focusing more on the hardware and not just the controller or branding the system a little differently could have helped this substantially before it happened, but it is what it is.

Getting past the identity issues leads many people to a frequent complaint against Nintendo from non-fans of their products.  Nintendo is often accused of focusing on gimmick controllers and not bleeding edge hardware.  I have never had an issue with this (though I heartily dislike motion controlled Zelda), but people are frequently confused by new input devices.  Nintendo's GamePad (pictured) is actually very close to what Nintendo has done with the DS/3DS hardware in terms of gameplay concepts.  They provide asymmetric ways to interact with game worlds.  Many developers have yet to fully capitalize on what is available, but flashes of brilliance can be found in games like ZombiU and Lego City Undercover (to be further addressed in future installments of this series).  Nintendo's famous game designer Shigeru Miyamoto has spoken at length about two screen capabilities, and the company has pushed for this ever since they provided capabilities to connect Game Boy systems to the Nintendo GameCube years ago (Miyamoto interviews with Wired and CNN respectively: http://goo.gl/9ZMCS, http://goo.gl/CW423).  I tend to agree with the legend, let's give developers time to make the tablet sing.

From a sales perspective, the numbers match the criticism detailed above.  The system is constantly selling lower than the 3DS, Sony Playstation Vita, and Playstation 3 in Japan, while in Europe and the United States Microsoft's XBOX 360 is dominating it.  European retailers tried a price cut to stimulate sales to no avail (source My Nintendo News: http://goo.gl/WsN9U).  Quite frankly the price is not terrible, but the software needs to be better.  Several games have missed the launch window, and a large portion of the games that made launch are lackluster ports missing DLC or games that have been available on other consoles for months.  The software will be there eventually, but it is not there yet.

Over the next several installments of this series I will be digging into the hardware itself, the system software, and the current game library (both digital and retail).  Feel free to let me know if you agree or disagree with the analysis in the comments.

- Scott

The Alphabet Challenge

Let me start by saying I cannot take credit for this idea.  I have been tracking my video game collection and completion progress over at the fantastic Backloggery web site.  I highly recommend the site for anyone looking to keep track of not only the video games they own but how often they actually play through them.  The creators of the site do regular live stream events, and the community has a lot of great people in it, which leads me to this idea I found while browsing some of the other collections listed on the site.

I saw a common theme on a handful of user pages.  It seemed as though some of the players were taking the alphabet A through Z and picking a game out of their collection to play and beat based on the title matching the specific letter they were on.  For instance you would count Gears of War as a [G] title.  My understanding is this is a creative challenge to encourage people to play through games they might otherwise not be playing.  It also encourages putting a dent in that particular player's backlog (for my specific backlog you can go here).  After some consideration, I realized I lose focus on games I am playing too often, and this would be a fun undertaking to keep me disciplined.  As a result, you can find my personal "Alphabet Challenge" below.

I only have games I currently own listed, and these are all games I have not yet finished previously.  All of the games are console games or PC games that I spent money on or was gifted.  The only empty letters are Q and Y because I could not find any game titles in my collection that start with those letters surprisingly (I may have some legacy games I am missing, but regardless I pulled from the consoles I currently have out and operating).


Alphabet Challenge 2013
[A] - Assault Heroes (360)
[B] - Bayonetta (360)
[C] - Crimson Shroud (3DS)
[D] - Darksiders 2 (Wii U)
[E] - Epic Mickey (Wii)
[F] - FTL (Steam)
[G] - Gears of War 2 (360)
[H] - Half Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax Ultimate Boy(Steam)
[I] - ilomilo (360)
[J] - Jamestown (Steam)
[K] - Kid Icarus Uprising (3DS)
[L] - Little King's Story (Wii)
[M] - Megaman ZX Advent (DS)
[N] - No More Heroes (Wii)
[O] - Odin Sphere (PS2)
[P] - Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Darkness (DS)
[R] - Resident Evil: Revelations (3DS)
[S] - Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
[T] - Toki Tori (Steam)
[U] - Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom (360)
[V] - Vagrant Story (PS)
[W] - Wizorb (Steam)
[X] - Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii)
[Z] - Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (Wii)

I do not have a deadline to complete this list, but obviously I hope to finish these games this calendar year.  I still plan on playing games not on the list, but at least one or two of these games needs to be underway in parallel.  I do not plan on going in order, since I am actively playing a few of the titles listed already (specifically Crimson Shroud for 3DS and Wizorb on Steam).  I also reserve the right to exchange a game on the list for another title of the same letter if the original proves to be a drag.

Wish me luck!
- Scott

Extra Life 2012 Review, A Huge Success

Our team wanted to take this opportunity to again thank all of our family and friends for the support through encouragement and donations for last week's Extra Life 2012 marathon.

Stats from the Event

Originally we had set our goal low because we did not know what to expect.  We had a goal of $250 to start with, which I increased when Nick joined the team to $325.  When the dust settled after the event we had a total of $590 in donations.  This is great for a couple of reasons.  For one we were overwhelmed by how strong our circle of friends and family supported Children's Medical Center.  For two it gives us a solid goal to set next year.  We have a baseline now, and we know what to shoot for in the future (and believe me we plan on doing better than $590 next year for sure).

To put some context to the number, the coordinators at Extra Life told us that each registered participant brings in an average of $100.  That is a good number considering we had over 15,000 registered participants this year, so hopefully that statistic held up.  Based on some rough math and the last number communicated to the teams, the event raised over $1,930,000 across over 15,000 gamers, which is a little over $120 per participant.  Amazingly an estimated half of registered participants may never raise a dollar due to various reasons, so that average is even higher if $0 participants are factored out.

On our team we started three individual fund raising pages.  Right now we sit at $590, so split that by three to get an average of $196.67 per participant, well above the average.  We were also 3 out of 132 participants to play for Children's Medical Center.  Those 132 (or more if more joined after hospital data was provided) pushed Children's Medical Center into the top 25 hospitals by funds raised.  Out of over 2,300 teams, our team ranks in the top 650, which is pretty good for a first attempt.

Lessons Learned

I also wanted to talk about some of the lessons we learned this year, since it was our first try at gaming for charity.  One thing I certainly want to do next year is diversify our hospitals.  We have a lot of relatives and friends in Louisiana, and our hospital was in Texas.  The Louisiana folks still supported heavily, but local community is always easier to rally around.  Expect to see several hospital options from our team next year.

We also had three separate pages for the same hospital.  Even though we had three people actively seeking donations, I want to simplify that next year.  Look for one page per hospital we support.  Our team will discuss that next year when we prep for the event.

We also learned plenty of lessons about playing games for 24 hours.  Surprisingly we did not even come close to our planned games list.  24 hours is not as long as you might suspect when playing engaging games.  We'll simplify our list next year.  Out of my personal list, we played Skylanders, Lego Batman 2, Mario Kart, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II, Shatter, Halo Reach, Left 4 Dead, Crazy Taxi, and Red Dead Redemption, along with a few Android games Joshua played.  That is roughly 2 and a half hours per game, with the most played games being Lego Batman 2 and Halo Reach. Additionally we learned that the entire team hit a wall at the exact same time (from about 2:30 AM to 3:30AM was when that wall hit for each of us).  We may look to rotate in at that point or take snack breaks or something.  That wall was vicious.

I think one positive I will try to maintain next year was the types of updates I provided via Facebook and Twitter.  I tried not to inundate everyone with random game details, but instead focus simply on what games we were playing at the time and the people who were playing them.  Any feedback on the updates would be welcome, but everything I have heard was pretty positive.

Finally look for a higher goal next year.  We shot low and hit high this year, but we do not want to make it easy on ourselves.  We expect to match and surpass our totals next year.

Final Thoughts

Finally I wanted to let everyone know the donation pages will still be active for a few days more.  We will no longer be actively seeking donations, since our planned event has passed.  However, if you would like to donate feel free to visit our team page here: Shoot Many Bad Guys.  The page will be taken down prior to end of the year for various reasons by the event coordinators.  The slate needs to be cleaned prior to any 2013 events for various tax and reporting reasons.

Thanks again everyone for the support.  In the meantime we plan to utilize this blog to cover video games our team is currently playing.  If you want to read any reviews from our team, feel free to check this space.

Until next time.
- Scott

Game Time!

We are live and underway with Extra Life 2012!  Follow this space today or any of our players' Facebook or Twitter feeds to get all the details.

There is still time to donate.  Head over to our team page and select any of our participants to donate to Children's Medical Center of Dallas.

-Scott

The Cornucopia Approach to Marathon Gaming

We are just two days away from this year's Extra Life Gaming Marathon!  The Shoot Many Bad Guys team will kick things off just before 8AM on Saturday Oct 20 this weekend.  I wanted to communicate our plans for the big event to our friends and family, since you all have been the ones supporting us as we do our best to bring in donations to the Children's Medical Center.

A lot of other Extra Life participants are very focused in their gaming goals this weekend.  I have heard a lot of teams are streaming games or will be attempting to play through individual games during their marathons.  All of that sounds exciting, but as first timers our team was looking for some variety in our marathon.  What we decided to do was play a plethora of different titles across Microsoft's XBOX 360, Sony's PlayStation 3 (and possibly PS2), Nintendo's Wii and 3DS, PC, and even Google's Android OS for smartphones.  Needless to say that gives us plenty to choose from, and if I feel the need I can always play Sega's swan song system the Dreamcast or hunt down my Neo Geo Pocket.  If anything we will need to be careful not to spread ourselves thin!

I will be tackling some family friendly games during the day with Joshua, including Skylanders for Wii, Lego Batman 2 for XBOX 360, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episodes 1 and 2 on Steam, and even some Pokemon for 3DS.  Look for us to crank up the online multi-player at night with games like Gears of War and Halo Reach.  It would not be October without a little Halloween influence, so in the early morning hours we are planning on some darker titles like Dead Space 2, Limbo, and Left 4 Dead.  Obviously the titles we actually get to play are subject to how our timing with the marathon is going and whether we can keep our eyes open for that long!  This sample list is just to show everyone we have a lot in store for this weekend's event.

We will do our best to post frequently to Facebook and YouTube and encourage everyone to keep an eye out for some fun updates throughout the weekend.  Originally we were considering some self-deprecating updates, but we never got much feedback on those.  Some people think more donors will show up if humiliation is involved, but I guess that depends on who is donating.  We'll see if we can work some humor into our updates, but most importantly we will do our best to convey how grateful we are to all the support we have.  Hopefully our participation, and the event itself, continues to grow and develop year to year.

We are almost ready for game time!
-Scott

Extra Life Wants You ... To Play Games!

John and I had the privilege of participating in a conference call yesterday with the Extra Life event coordinators from Children's Miracle Network as well as some of the folks involved in the event this year.  We heard some interesting facts, and we are excited to share some of the details.

One of the really interesting focal points of the discussion was that Extra Life needs more people.  The coordinators know that a lot of effort is focused on sponsorship and requesting donations, but they wanted to encourage all of us to recruit more gamers to the cause as well.  Once you average out the total sponsorships per participant, it comes out to about $100 per gamer.  Considering that we are over 9,600 gamers strong with 15 days to go, that is a lot of money for the kids!  The goal this year is to find 12,000 gamers by the October 20th event date.

Here's how you can participate.  If you would like to play games for kids in need on October 20th (or any date, more on that in a minute), then all you have to do is create a sponsorship page on the Extra Life website.  The coordinators gave us some great tools to help you get started.  To do a fast registration, follow this link here.  This is the quick registration form that allows you to get started and complete registration when you have more time.  You will receive an email at the address you enter with details on finalizing your sponsorship page.  If you have time to fully register right away, just go to the main page registration flow found here.  If you are looking for a team to join, feel free to join John and I with "Shoot Many Bad Guys."  We are open for anyone who would like to join us, and you can select any hospital in the Children's Miracle Network as your charity (i.e. it does not have to match the rest of the team).  Just select "Shoot Many Bad Guys" from the team list during registration if you need a team, or feel free to start a new team or join another team if you know someone else involved.

Here are some notes on event registration.  The coordinators made sure to emphasize this is an inclusive event.  The core purpose of Extra Life is to generate funds for children in need in the Children's Miracle Network hospitals.  They need everyone's help, and no one will be turned away from supporting the event.  This means that the 24 hour marathon does not have to be 24 full hours if you cannot commit to that.  Some people are not able to commit to that amount of time, whereas some people actually play longer (some folks mentioned full weekend long marathons during the conference call).  Any game can be played for any amount of time, this include board games with your family.  The whole idea is to bring gamers together for a great cause, and any amount of time spent playing games with friends and family for kids in need is welcomed.  The coordinators also made sure to reiterate that if October 20th is not good for you, then pick a different day.  October 20th is the national event and the target sponsorship date, but there is some flexibility.  The sponsorship pages will be available for some time after, but the goal date is October 20th.

If you have any questions feel free to get in touch with me, or, more importantly, if you or someone else wants to get involved, then share the information and encourage them to get started!

- Scott