Topic: Help a PushSquare interloper...

Evening folks.

Regular from PushSquare here looking for a bit of Nintendojo advice.

I've managed to win myself a Wii U Premium with Mario Kart 8. The plan is to put it up for crimbo for my nipper, but she's not going to have any proper Internet access at her mom's house, so I'm wondering if I should set it up beforehand.

Are there any mandatory/recommend updates/patches for the console itself on first boot that are better to have than not?

Any help would be appreciated.

Ta.

There were some updates even when I got it close to launch and a bunch more have been added since then, so to be safe, yeah I would set it up beforehand.

Congratulations. It will be also better to set it up beforehand so you can link/create the Nintendo Network ID, add a Mii, etc.

Thanks everyone.

She has a 3DS, again, never been online. Would they communicate without an Internet connection?

@KalofKRYPTON: Not sure what you mean by communicate but if you are talking about something like the PS3 and Vita, the 3DS and Wii U don't have crossplay except for a few games like Monster Hunter Ultimate. Eshop purchases are separate for both systems as well.

Absolute best thing you can do is try and get it all up-to-date beforehand, particularly if it's going to be a Christmas present. Set it up, connect it to the internet, and run a check for the latest software updates. That'll get the firmware well and truly up-to-date for Christmas morning. Updates for any of the games themselves aren't as vital, since you can run past the update screen and go right on ahead with the game while the update downloads, then it'll install once the game's been turned off, ready for the next time it's played.

That said, I think the system will probably ask you to create a Nintendo Network account and a Mii when you first connect it to the internet. Not sure how you'd get past that, unless you just create an account for your daughter beforehand - maybe her mum could help with some of the details for that, like for the email address and such. It's a minor stumbling block, perhaps, but still one worth sorting out so that the console's all ready!

Anyway, that aside, if you're somehow able to get all the patches done beforehand, that'd be a winner. There's going to be at least one BIG firmware update this year, and it'd really be best to get that on if possible.

I expected the response to be more like this to the "dark side." kidding...

Again, thank you.

Not thinking anything like remote play, but I could get the Mii stuff and the 3DS registered, I take it I could assign that ID and Mii etc to the Wii U?
Or do they not share accounts?

I noticed 'Wii transfer' in the feature list, she has a Wii, again, never connected to the 'net- but I assume that's more Mii/game save transferring to the Wii U?

@KALofKRYPTON: Yeah you can take her Mii off of the 3DS and copy it to the Wii U but you will need internet connection, same with the Wii transfer you will need internet connection on both systems. The Wii U has a Wii mode where you can play Wii games on the Wii U and all the transfer does is make is so your VC, Wiiware games and games saves from you Wii will be on the Wii U. The only thing though is once the stuff is transferred from the Wii to the Wii U the info will be erased from the Wii.

Ha.

The thing I like about PushSquare, is that fanboyism is largely not an issue. Seems the same here too. I am a total Sony w#*re, shamelessly

You can bet on MK8 having the latest necessary update. You will be able to play essentially out of the box, no problem. PUT IN THE DISC before connecting and creating an NNID (useless if you aren't going online to play or purchase games). It's this or download for up to a few hours (for an original launch Wii U).

Many Wii U games have updates of varying importance available, but from my experience they all play relatively fine un-patched. You can always expect Nintendo-published titles to function well without being patched, however. Far as I know, almost every patch Nintendo has released has either fixed a few minor bugs/exploits, or more likely, prep the game for DLC.

Wow, that's...odd.

Ok, the Wii will have to stay as it is and I'll have to try and get hold.of her 3DS without her missing it!

Will the Wii U system set up and install updates without creating/transferring a profile?

Ah, that answers that, so disc in with no connection should install the latest update... Awesome.

PUT IN THE DISC.

If you read anything I ever say, let it be these words. You are getting bad advice. Nintendo consoles, as you've already discovered, do not require an internet connection to play games and function perfectly well. Nintendo always puts any necessary system updates on the discs of their most recent releases.

Honestly, if you have no interest in online play or digital purchases, do yourself a favor and avoid the headache. You could connect both systems to create and share an NNID, but that's the only set worth taking at this point. If desired, Miis will be shared through a local connection.

EDIT: Whew, you heard me. That's a relief... I always cringe when I hear stories of people waiting to update their Wii U before enjoying it. The stories of people bricking launch systems impatiently unplugging during an update... Yikes. And just because they connected to the internet before just playing their games.

It will only take a few minutes to transfer the Mii from her 3DS to the Wii U you can probably do that when she is asleep or at school or something like that. You might find this guide helpful

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2012/11/guide_transferring_y...

Why don't you just create an account and just set things up from there? Multiple profiles are supported.

@ACK

Thanks. I'll do that.

Last hypothetical then.

The WiiU aught to be delivered at the end of the week. If I run a setup using just the MK disc the system is, as of then, as up to date as it can be with no Internet connection with no Mii or NNID set.
Come crimbo (or whenever) her Mii from her 3DS can then be shared and set as the main 'account' for the WiiU?

Mario Kart 8 will at least have 3.1, because 3D World had 3.1. It is very possible that Mario Kart 8 will have 4.0, though.

As @ACK said, just put in the disc. It always contains a somewhat recent version of the OS. You can update at a later time, if you really want to.

@Everyone

Thanks for all of your help.

I've really been thinking about this in completely the wrong (connected) terms.

About the Wii transfer... You only need to bother if she has VC or WiiWare purchases she wants to transfer over to the Wii U. I've gleaned that she doesn't (never connected), so this is a completely unnecessary step. Otherwise this process will transfer (and erase) all save files from the Wii. Don't bother, because this data can be shared via SD cards.

The only consideration is whether she wants to move her save file from a game like Smash Bros. Brawl over. Online-enabled games cannot have their data copied and have to be transferred.