Rumour: Nintendo Is Recalling Wii U Basic Bundle

I suspected something like that, even if you never use the 8GB internal memory for anything else than the OS and store all your downloads on an external HD, with incremental patches and new features to the OS added I imagined that 8GB would be too little for the future. So I guess it makes sense, but again it's something that does leave a big fat smear on Nintendos "Wii U Vest". Ill get the white 32 GB model as soon as it's available!

Now I'm wondering whether they made the basic set in the first place just to boost the look of the 32GB model. Then there's the possibility that I've had in mind for awhile that the minds at Nintendo thought they were going to get casual players who owned Wii's before only to find out that all of those people have flocked to tablet and phone gaming so the only people left to buy the console are die hard Nintendo fans. Methinks this is also a reason why we don't have Wii Fit U, like, right now. All speculation of course, but if I'm right it means that Nintendo are about to focus a lot more on the core Nintendo audience in the coming years.

I wonder what this would mean for us poor saps who have had the basic model since launch?

Since they announced a white 32GB model in japan, i guess they scrap the tiny white 8GB versions over here and replace them with the new 32GB, making it the standart WiiU version.I dont think that we will see something bigger.

@skjia
You have a collectors item! Go you!
It shouldn't negatively affect you in any way.

If they're rolling out a 32 gig white model thy kind of have to scrap the 8 gig model. Imagine the confusion at stores then!

I bought the 8gb because it was cheaper and I needed a new media drive so I had a spare hard disk anyway, so I don't feel hard done by. I do agree that having two different specs didn't make a lot of sense - certainly not when you're launching a new machine!

the 8 Gig model was a bad idea from day one, this is definetely a good move, but the Wii U needs much more if its ever to bounce back

I just picked up a Basic Bundle

8 GB is pretty woeful for a modern home console. PS3 super slim has 500GB and it's about $50 cheaper than Wii U premium. I think they need to bundle in a game that people will want with the console too. NSMB U w/h Nintendoland would be the obvious choice, and its the combo they should've sold the console with in the first place....

they will probably call them back, upgrade the flash disc and then make a white premium edition

@withoutdk There is no doubt that is what Ninty will do. Get all the 8gb wiiu's back, update the flash storage and repackage them to the 32gb, send back out into the wild and sell them.

I really want an Orange WiiU, but the chances of them releasing an orange one and the changes of me upgrading for a new shell are pretty slim, but it would look awesome!

Why was it that Ninty didnt include a HDD again?
PS3 super slim has a 500gb HDD and its €299 max here.

@withoutdk
Sounds right to me. NEW and unopened. Yeah should be simple change over upgrade to the box. I can see it now,

@readyletsgo

they stated that most people have an external hdd.. and that people would prefer using that i have too many .. so for me that is good enough... i am more a disc-man than a hdd-man

@orravan85

yeah... but it is probably not for the worst... the customers will benefit from it in the end... i am glad i bought mine... the limited zombie u edition.. but i was too expensive... today it is about 160£ under the price i paid.!
but i am a fan boy.. and support nintendo.. have had a nes, and i still have a boxed snes and such... the mario franchise outpowers the power of PS4 and xbox...

Well they tried it out, and now they know for sure what people want. The one with a decent amount of internal storage space...

Good. It was a terrible idea from the start to offer two new consoles called "Wii" anything while having one look aesthetically very, very similar to the old Wii.

$299 Deluxe model incoming after E3, and hopefully they scrap the white one entirely in the US. This system has an indentity crisis in America and little things like that white color have not helped.

@Alienfish they made it if you cant afford the other one.

white one needs a completely different one. Include game of your choice and put in a pro controller, price it at $350 so that gamers have 2 decisions! (oh yeah 32gbs)

About time Nintendo realized that the basic bundle was a bad idea.

http://www.vgchartz.com/article/25099... Nintendo might not ever get it when it comes to there consoles do they even care anymore wii u still failing the psvita is overtaking it now

Considering that the 8gb was mostly left in the stores while people favoured the 32gb model that Nintendo might as well recall and upgrade the 8gb models to repackage as a 32gb Sku.
Those who have brough the 8gb should be ok for a while, but at the very least should be prepared to buy a cheap HDD, going into the future, but I suspect a majority of 8gb owners already have a Hdd tbh.

This could lead to a big sale of the 8gb model, and could generate a lot of sales.

neither sku is really selling and 8 gigs would of been ok 9 years ago

hmm well yeah seems like they will lauch the newer updated white model but when you think about it.... it kinda sucks for those who bought the basic model at the same time it sucks for those who bought the black model cuz the new white model has upgraded stuff =|

What about us early adopters that have the deluxe version.i hope they dont come out with too good a better offer even though im not 1 to complain cuz I actually love my wii u

Been predicting this for a few months now, wonder what took them so long? E3 announcement I guess? Really wish they were doing a big presentation so that people who don't watch NDs would also find out about it.

As for why this existed in the first place - I obviously don't have any inside knowledge but hitting the $299 price point in the US seems like the one and only reason.

As for the title - "Nintendo Is Recalling Wii U Basic Bundle" - what exactly was "bundled" in it? I don't think you can call putting the controller in the box a "bundle".

As for the source - "...all stories will need to return...". Stories? Is that a Kotaku translation error?

Can they really rebox these w/ 32GB storage? I'm guessing the memory is hardwired to the MB so they sell these in other countries cheap and just produce new ones for the US and EU.

Pikmin 3 bundle or bust.

The real question is: will early adopters receive some kind of Ambassador bonus when they 'relaunch' the white Wii U systems?

"I wonder what this would mean for us poor saps who have had the basic model since launch?"

@skjia It should mean absolutely nothing. This looks like Nintendo is preparing to put out a 32gb White model and don't want the public confused on the matter so they are pulling back on all the unsold inventory.... But I don't feel like a poor sap, i Intentionally wanted the cheaper version so I could add my own storage solution. The idea of paying $50 more for 24gb of el-cheapo flash memory rubs me the wrong way when you can buy a 32gb SD card for $15.

It looks like we got a new collectors item!

Wouldn't doubt that the premium version is going to be released over here. 8 GB (with only 3 usable) is just too little for a console. Even with Nintendo's stuff, which seems to have less data usage than other consoles.

I got the white one because I WANTED WHITE. Yes, 8GB is not enough. But I think I still would have to end up getting an external drive if I had the 32GB version.

Great... I feel like I got kinda duped. Should have gone with deluxe....

I don't really understand why people who own the 8gb basic model are moaning about this recall. It was your decision to not spend an extra 50 bucks and get higher memory. It was your decision to opt out of how much value you get for your money and put the color of a console higher on your priorities. Nintendo doesn't owe you anything. This isn't like the 3DS price cut. They're recalling the basic models and most likely selling them for a higher price with upgraded memory.

As long as there isn't actually a problem with the system itself, I don't have a problem.

I have a Basic Wii U because, like others, I wanted a white Wii U and not a black one. I can deal with the smaller hard drive (because I had a spare external hard drive), don't buy anywhere near enough games digitally to take advantage of the digital purchasing thing, and didn't need the other "extras".

I don't think people who bought the deluxe need to get snippy at Basic owners, but I also don't think Basic owners need to necessarily complain about it. I'm certainly not. If it's that much of an issue, I'll upgrade, but unless there is actually anything extremely wrong with my system, I'm fine with what I have.

It's a great business strategy. They are going to reduce the price of the better set to $300 and keep 32 gig flash drive as standard to grow their online market. They may offer a larger drive for $350. This is a good move because they can advertise as a traditional console which will dominate the negative feedback regarding the always online component and soliciting practices of the new systems. It's remarkable and will continue the Nintendo dominance into the current gen. Just need more mature games to retain last gen adopters that are getting older.

Considering Nintendo already plans to sell the white 32GB model as well, might as well just get rid of those puny white 8GB model.

I assume they're going to swap-out the 8GB of storage for the 32GB units. Better then re-manufacturing a butt-ton of consoles. Also, a word to the wise: if you're a hardware collector, pick one of these up ASAP - it'll become the rare version. Not sure how many basics were sold, but it's definitely a scarce amount.

And thus the basic model will join the ranks as one of gaming's many bad ideas.

This kinda gives more proof that Nintendo wants to bring the 32GB White Wii U coming to Japan to NA and Europe as well, great move on their part! I would rather purchase a 32GB White Wii U with the stands and Nintendo Land, than just a 8gb white system for only $50 less

Eh, I actually bought the basic set because where I live the black set was hard to find at the time. That's not really fair to anyone who bought a basic set and got stuck with 8 GB of space. Doesn't matter, I bought a 32 GB flash stick and it works great on my Wii U.

I wanted a white one, but I was forced to buy the black one. Too much better for too little money difference. :-/

One thing they should do is expand the ambassador program to people who bought the basic set. Given the idea is to promote eshop sales, I'm note sure I understand the point of only rewarding part of the Wii U userbase; especially given how small it is!

Nintendo should've learned from Sony that a crappy version of a console won't sell well.

I never even considered getting a Basic.

8 gigs in an hd era is just sad

I pre-ordered my white one because every site was sold out of the black ones. Little did I know I could just walk up and buy one the day of the launch. Oh well. With my external hard drive hooked up, and lack of good games to download, I'm not too worried about it.

Thats weird I actually have one but I don't expect it to be a collectors item because of this.

great, put it to sleep. With the choice it's hard to imagine why one would get it besides the other being sold out. Heres to hoping it's 32 with a game and then add a new one with even more. That was one of my biggest gripes at launch. I know it's expandable but its silly to require you stick things on for the most basic downloading.

If I buy car I expect not to have to buy an trailer just to put my groceries in it no matter how efficient it is.

Well this just sucks.

What's wrong with moaning exactly? I got the white basic bundle because of the black deluxe being sold out practically everywhere near here for a while and didn't think the extras were enough to wait on at the time. It should be relatively understandable in a case like mine. I was lucky enough to snag the last white one during Black Friday at that so that seemingly made up for it. For freaking sake...

I'm actually waiting for a bundle that captures my attention.
I'm not buying a Wii U until they release a bundle containing a Gamepad with the new battery (and hopefully a rechargable WiiMotePlus along too)

Sweet! got my shiny basic bundle that no one can take away :3

I got my white 8gb new off ebay for $250 locally (no shipping cost) so I don't feel ripped off. Thats what the Wii Cost me when I got it back in 2007.

I had an extra 500gb laptop hard drive I hooked up and now I have more space then the 32gb models.

I don't see the point of 8gb or 32gb. 8 will make 32 look bigger, but 32 is nothing by todays standards. Anybody who is going to download stuff will need a usb hard drive eventually.

I'm happy to have the white model because it matches all my wiimotes and other accessories.

For the people who's saying that Wii U Basic sucks I beg to differ. I really want one because I am really poor and I'm trying to find one used so I think it's am marvelous idea for the poor people who loves NINTENDO like I do.

Either way, I ain't buying that thing unless Nintendo or retailers lower the darn price on it! (I love Target, cause they did drop it by 50 bucks) And hurry....Sonic Lost World is just above the horizon..~

I bet they're just going to pull them back so they can replace their hard drives and sell them as premiums

8 GB's is rather a low amount. I should buy a sd card or whatever they are called.

@P-Gamer-C
And I assume you say the same thing about a 4gb xbox 360 right?

Nintendo denied a recall of the 8GB model in a statement to IGN. Here's the quote and the link. ...

"There is a current misperception about Wii U hardware. To clarify: Nintendo is working with its retail partners to simply rebalance the stock of the White 8GB and the Black 32GB Wii U models in the market. Consumers looking for either model will continue to find them available."

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/05/wii-u-basic-recall-imminent

About time, nobody should be cursed with losing out on a game and crucial beginner data to hold you over when you first get the console. Nintendo is probably recalling the white Wii U's so that they can modify them to save money from making a new batch of White Wii U's.

Wouldn't surprise me since it sells the worst!

Its to the point now were they should think about not making consoles and just focus on handhelds