Topic: Should I pay a warranty for my Wii U?

Okay so I picked up my Wii U at Best Buy the other day and the girl at the register asked if I wanted to add a 1 year warranty, which costs $80. She also said that the gamepad is touchy and that since Nintendo doesn't sell individual gamepads yet, I'd have to buy an entire new system should something go wrong.

Of course such a thing sounds a little fishy, so I'm asking you guys. Is the gamepad really that fragile? (and keep in mind that I'm the only one who uses it, and I treat it as if it were made of glass). Also I have 15 days to decide, which would give me just enough time to gather the cash necessary since I have almost nothing at the moment. But since I'd rather not spend another $80 (which would be about the amount I'll earn over the next week and a half) when I have more important things to attend to, I need your opinions on whether or not it's worth the cash.

$80 for warranty? Geez, I wouldn't. I dropped my gamepad twice by now too and it works fine. 1 year just doesn't seem worth $80 either. If you're gonna need a replacement it's most likely going to be way later than that.

Best Buy wants your moola. Nintendo covers your WiiU with a one year warranty, gamepad included. Unless something goes wrong with the WiiU/gamepad that is in every way your fault (such as hitting it with a hammer), you are able to send it to Nintendo and they will repair or replace it for you.

I'm not sure what the BestBuy warranty covers, but so long as you take care of your system, that $80 could be much better spent on games.

Ya, just go through Nintendo if something happens that's your fault. It's pretty durable though, so you shouldn't worry. I never cover my stuff by a warranty at stores.
I only used to do that so I could get a refund a couple years later when there was nothing really wrong with it. Maybe whe they sell the Gamepad separate, but not for the one with your console.
4 more months of warranty for registering at Club Nintendo, too.

I'm paying a warranty for every console I get. 2-3 year ones if I can. I've had too many consoles break on me last gen...

It's still better to go through Nintendo IMO. It costs $80 for them to repair stuff usually anyway, then the warranty renews for another year.
So if my Wii U breaks out of warranty, I can pay $80 to get it fixed and they give you another warranty.

EDIT: Plus, Nintendo NEEDS to have your console to transfer your account, so if you went through the store, you would lose all your purchases.
As much as people complain, it's actually better to go through Nintendo with the way they run things.

I have a warranty on my Wii U and 3DS.

You dont need a warranty from Best Buy thats just a scam to get more of your money. You have one from Nintendo and that is good enough. Besides I think if you register your Wii U with CN it also extends your warranty iirc.

Oh and dont worry the Gamepad isn't that fragile she was just trying to scare you so you would get the Best Buy warranty. And if something should go wrong with the Gamepad I have heard from people on other sites that Nintendo will just replace the Gamepad for you if it is still under Nintendo's warranty.

I'm quite familiar with the tech used and it is not 'touchy' at all. You will be fine Also I'm pretty darn sure Nintendo products come with an automatic 1 year warranty.

I've only had three problems with Nintendo consoles failing in the past
1) Nintendo DS Lite would not turn on. Never got it fixed, but this is the only TRUE system failure I've encountered with a Nintendo product
2) Nintendo 3DS wouldn't read games. It was still under warranty (because Nintendo automatically gives you an automatic 1 year warranty). So I mailed it to them and they fixed it and sent it back free of charge!
3) My mom tripped over a Gamecube cable when I was playing Super Smash Bros. and my Wii flew into the wall and broke...lol. I had to pay $60 or so to get it repaired but that's because it was physically damaged.

OTHER THAN THAT, Nintendo products are extremely reliable. My SNES still works and I still play it occasionally! Same with my N64, and both of those were purchased before I was even born. My Gamecube, Wii, original DS, etc. all still work with no problems, so I don't think you need to worry about purchasing an extended warranty. Just a scam in my opinion.

You're not buying an extended warranty. Nintendo covers a 1 year warranty on the product so there's really no need for your to purchase an extra.

I figured it was an obvious money grab on BB's count... So I'll just leave well enough alone.

Also a somewhat unrelated question, how do I register my Wii U (and Nintendo Land) on Club Nintendo? I've looked several times and haven't been able to find the codes. I have linked my Wii U to CN though, but I don't know where to go from there.

Anyway, thanks for the help guys, I really appreciate it.

If you got the Nintendo Land bundle than you can't register it with CN. As far as your Wii U goes I think all you have to do is link iirc. If not just type in the serial number.

Club Nintendo I believe will automatically recognize you got the bundle, and you'll get the quizzes for NintendoLand in due time.

i still have warranty on all my nes, snes and genesis consoles!

If it were a PS3 or 360 I would consider it if it were a 2 or 3 year warranty (not for $80 though), but since you will lose all your downloads by getting a new Wii U through Best Buy I don't think it would be worth it. Like others have said, just go through Nintendo if you have any problems. It would probably not be much more than $80 to have it repaired through them, plus you can keep all your downloads. Nintendo makes very durable hardware, so as long as you take care of it you should be fine.

Aw, in store warranties, playing on people's emotions. Such a good money maker for companies. I have never had a video game console break. In fact I couldn't tell you the last time I had an electronics problem. Here's what I do when I am offered extended warranties. Every time someone asks me to buy a warranty, I keep the money and put that money in my own fund (collecting miniscule interest) and have enough in a fund to replace my electronics if and when something needs to be replaced.

I wouldn't worry too much about the gamepad breaking since it seems pretty durable. You can watch this to get peace of mind....

3DS is kinda flimsy, I can understand a warrantly on that. But my GamePad doesn't have a scratch on it yet. And I have wood floors, plus I've dropped it a couple times. I wouldn't get it, and if you have carpet floors, there really is no reason whatsoever to get one.