Starting from today, Nintendo is supplying 5,000 Wii U kiosks across select retail stores in North America, to allow consumers the chance to try the console before making the big purchase.
Participating retailers include Target, Best Buy, GameStop, Walmart and Toys ‘R’ Us stores in the U.S. New Super Mario Bros. U, Zombi U and Nintendo Land are just some of the games on display, while others may make an appearance. Unfortunately, not all stands will allow gamers to go hands-on with the product, but will have specially created video content that highlights the console’s games and features. Although there are undoubtedly logistical reasons, it seems strange that some won't be able to try some gameplay to really see what the system is all about.
Nintendo has 13 days to persuade you and your family into buying a Wii U, so click here to find your nearest kiosk and try it out for yourself. Let us know in the comments section below if you plan on testing the console out, or have you pre-ordered it already?
Comments 48
I may try out ZombiU when I have the time.
...I played a Wii U and I'm in NA like 2 weeks ago.
Good, now let me try something other then the meh.. Rayman Legends
Although yeah it was only Rayman. So I might have to try it again.
"When she's not doing that, she's making sweet noise with her band, Babel."
Shameless band plug? lmao
Do you have any songs we can check out on a website or something of the likes?
Good that this news is circulating. I still believe it's still is only Rayman Legends that's available to play at the moment. Though at Target all they had was just the videos and no demos whatsoever. Still already have my system down for pre-order, but it was fun to test it out no less. Just picked up some accessories for it at Best Buy as well yesterday.
I was sold long ago. However, it would be nice to try it in the store and see just how awesome Rayman Legends will be.
That would explain why when I went to Target on Saturday their Wii display was gone and a bunch of bargin games was in that spot.
I'm hoping that hands-on demo kiosks will shop up in the UK as well.
If I happen to pass one by I'll definitely try it. We'll see.
There is one that is even relatively close to me and it just has Rayman, which, I have to say, was an amazing demo. I want to play me some first party games, but Ubisoft impressed me.
Got my black unit preordered. But won't be opening 'till Christmas. My willpower is unbelievable.
On Saturday, I was at the mall with my girlfriend and best friend. We were there for various reasons, and at the end of the trip was our visit to Best Buy. I wasn't expecting to see a Wii U demo kiosk, but there it was...
We clamored over the controller- "It's so comfortable!" "It feels so good!" we shouted to one another. We were like the Nintendo 64 kid at Christmas day. I felt a similar sensation to the first time I saw a Gamecube kiosk and played SSB Melee for the first time back in 2001.
Naturally, we hit the home button to check out Nintendoland, NSMBU, etc... but wait- there were only videos? OF EVERYTHING!? Oh, except Rayman. Cool. But not really.
@Peppy_Hare I am in awe of your willpower. D:
I might try out one of the Wii U kiosks if I find one nearby. I already have my Deluxe Bundle pre-ordered so it's not a big deal for me.
I tried out the Wii U kiosk at Best Buy, when I preordered Harvest Moon, they only had Rayman Legends playable, it was a lot of fun though
That's so old news! I played the Wii U at one of these on November 1!
I have a feeling this announcement is basically that Nintendo has finished installing most of them. I wouldn't expect any installations to suddenly have more demos. I don't think that will happen till after launch.
The target installation has no Rayman Demo which is a bit weird. I don't think they have Wii remotes with them yet, so maybe they are taking a cost cutting measure there? Gamestop and Best Buy near us have Rayman installed. Get someone to turn the volume up if it isn't, though. Also, don't miss the reset button sort of above the system if it locks up. The Target by us had a crashing unit.
I LOVED the Rayman demo, myself. Try to play with another real player if you can. The firefly is kind of neat when alone using the AI player, but it comes alive more when other players are involved and you all sort of realize what is happening together. LOVE the rhythm game that uses the traditional controls, you NEED the sound for that. Made me smile from ear-to-ear.
I was impressed with how well the gamepad worked to rotate things by tilting it in the air. It is, indeed, light and the slightest motion is picked up instantly and accurately. I play motion plus games all the time, so I'm not sure why this impressed me, but it did.
I also think it will be easy to trade the GamePad around when we play with family (or let the youngest use it). It's still brighter and more beautiful on the big screen, so you kind of want to experience both.
I could go on, but I'm stoked... too bad I don't have a pre-order yet! :eek:
Oh, and if somebody asks what it's all about and you want to show them, don't miss the little "about the Wii U" button in the corner. It has a more comprehensive set of videos about all the features. The game videos aren't as helpful for that, IMO.
@Peppy: I am in that same boat. Although it will be my kid opening it on Christmas morning.
I would have bought it anyway, but this is still awesome!
I saw the controller and kiosk at a Target last Thursday but it wasn't hooked up yet
Just tried the map link - 5 Targets within 5 miles but the nearest kiosk is in a Best Buy 8 miles away. Though the Target I was in on Thursday isn't listed - no Targets were listed at all on that map within 100 miles of NYC - so the map seems to be Gamestop and Best Buy only. If I didn't have to wait over an hour in line to buy gas I'ld go check them out.
My Gamestop has had a demo kiosk since Thursday. I got to play it last night. The only available demo they had was for Rayman Legends. They had several available trailers for games like New Super Mario Bros. U, Nintendo Land, ZombiU, Tank! Tank! Tank!, the Wonderful 101, etc. But the only gameplay experience I was able to get was with Rayman, which was great, but I was hoping Nintendo Land would be available to play as I feel it would give people a better example of what the Gamepad can bring to the experience. The demo I played had just two levels, one of which used the Gamepad and the other didn't really at all. The Gamepad heavy level was my favorite of the two, and it had me doing simple inputs to cut ropes or tickle enemies so Rayman could navigate his way safely through the level. I feel like it would've been even more fun if someone else had been controlling Rayman, but it was still pretty cool with the AI. I feel like all I got was a tip of the iceberg experience with the gamepad, and it made me really want to play Nintendo Land's minigames so I could experience some really creative ideas from Nintendo themselves. I'm really glad i got the deluxe system preordered.
I really want to try out more games besides Rayman Legends. It's good and all, but it would be nice to play other upcoming games as well, like NSMBU and Nintendo Land.
i love how it says north america yet the only stores mentioned are in the US...where's the canadian love lol already got mine pre-order but have to wait until christmas to open and play it
Why only North America? Britain is important to.
No way I'm touching that thing even one second before I get my hands on my own. I want the magic to be as magical as possible, please!
MAYBE this could convince me to get the Wii U, but I doubt it...
This isn't starting today. I was able to try out the Wii U almost 2 weeks ago!
I saw one at my local Best Buy a while ago, didn't have the time to try it out though.
I tried one a couple weeks ago. The only demo was Rayman Legends, but it was fun. The controller is heavy though. I expected it to be smaller and lighter then it looks in pictures but it almost is bigger and heavier.
I wish ABXY was closer to the edge of the controller. There is just too much plastic in between the edge of the controller and the ABXY buttons. It isn't a system breaker, but I'm sure I'll have too many deaths in platformer games be due to it.
I'm surprised that Rayman legends is the game being demoed at the most stores as it isn't a launch game
@Portista lol, older than what u think. I played one late last month like 2 weeks ago!!! I thought Legends was fun, but I hope they have more demos up before launch!
I found a demo station at my Target, but it didn't have any demos. Just videos, really nice to go hands on with the controller though.
Saw it at a nearby Target yesterday; didn't have time to play with it though
Typical...
None within 50 miles of me
Already pre-ordered 2 deluxe's for me and m nephew. We're going big time!
Me and my family went to a gamestop to get a birthday present and, surprise, there was a Wii U there! Unfortunately I played it for a couple minutes, and walked away, unimpressed.
I've seen this on Saturday at Target. It was the first time I touched the Wii U I was very exited but it didn't let you play anything....it was just videos........
I LOVED the controller. It was thinner than what I thought it would be and the buttons worked great!
Yeah, I got to play one around mid-October. The only demo available was Rayman, though, as the rest were all videos.
I thought the GamePad felt remarkably light. Of course, with that being a demo unit, I can make no assumptions.
I was dissapointed that there wasn't a Mario demo
Already pre-ordered like 8 months ago.
Went to Target today and spent some time with the system - as others have said only the 19 videos and no playable demoes. Oh and the 4 system videos but Miiverse and eShop were grayed out.
I have to say at first the Gamepad felt really good in my hands, lighter than I thought but not cheap. I thought I would have a harder time adjusting to the face buttons being below the sticks after 15 years of dualshock but it felt fine,and the right stick is rarely used in anything I play - no FPS for me. But after a few minutes of messing around I realized there are 2 R and L buttons that I just couldn't figure out how to comfortably hold my fingers on, though RZ and LZ are perfect. Also, A, B, X ,Y have almost no feel to them, like somebody stole the springs. The screen looked great though. I was worried as my 7" Tab 2 screen is nowhere near as nice as my 3.5" iPod Touch but no problems at all with what I saw, and the finger swipes were picked up no problem as well. Of course the screen is plugged in under bright store lights so who knows what it will look like in my dark basement, but I feel much better about the system now. I just hope the developers are smart enough to use the well positioned RZ and LZ instead of R and L.
@aaronsullivan
ditto
I also loved the rayman demo.... even my wife loved the demo.. she want to me get it next year... that's is saying alot for she was not really a fan of origins
Tried the local kiosk this weekend, they only had the Rayman Legends Demo.
@SkywardLink98 I don't think I've ever seen a nice comment come from you on this website.
I finally got the play the Wii here in Australia at the Wii Experience store in Melbourne! There is only 1 of these in each state but it's pretty cool!
Saw one at my local Target. The controller is fantastic. In person, it looks and feels great. I just don't understand why some of them don't let us play games. The Wii U at my Target only allowed video watching, which just seems kind of pointless.
Hands-on is very important!!
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