New Wii U System Update Goes Live Across Europe, North America and Japan

The gamepad has a sensor bar on it so you can point at that

WTF Totally didnt expect this!!

Yup, that should be possible, as AMR says. As the Wiimote doesn't even realise what you are pointing at, but only cares that it's two infrared sources.

@SanderEvers Fortunately (and surprisingly) the Gamepad has a sensor bar built-in! It's right in the area around the Gamepad camera. I try it myself playing some Super Mario Galaxy 2 there and it's great! It doesn't look stretched, it looks nice and smooth and the sound is pretty good as well. It has a lot of little changes and improvements this update. The biggest IMO since Wii U launch. Let's hope Nintendo announces good stuff to go together with this update tomorrow.

Really glad they added USB-keyboard support (Wii-Wireless-Keyboard, woohoo!) and PDF-support; that makes the browser a lot better! )

This update is awesome!

off tv play just became 1000% awesomer.

Great update!!

I wish they had made the gamepad buttons get detected as a classic controller or a gamecube controller, for those games which don't use the WiiMote pointer control or motion detection. Maybe next time? Great update though!

Yeah, I hope they let the Gamepad work as a classic controller at some point. I really want to play Xenoblade on the gamepad only

I need more money!!

that's all fine but where is dad account system

Wasn't this update supposed to bring faster menu loading too or is that included under "improvements to overall system stability and other minor adjustments"?

Superb update. Nintendo, you guys rule!

So uh... what do you do, hold the Gamepad with your feet and use the Remote/Nunchuk/Controller with your hands?

Kinda feels like that's a pointless feature without the ability to actually use the Gamepad as a controller on Wii games.

They added an option to let people disable using their nintendo network ID outside of Nintendo hardware. It could be something they might do if they added a unified account system.

I mean if they added a unified account system, nothing on the WiiU would change in the system update, it would just need website support and a 3ds update.

I think that a unified account system will come next year though.

If they allow the gamepad as a classic controller in wii mode (future update), no one will buy wii u virtual console games anymore. So I think this is not going to happen.

@KongFu The extra features, such as the ability to remap the controller, are well worth the two bucks to upgrade from Wii to Wii U.

@CaviarMeths Nintendo will soon sell us two extra arms to hold the gamepad, don't worry...
The Gamepad has all the buttons we need to play and the touch screen can stand in for the wii remote pointer... but they'll never do it.

I don't know why, but I am MINDBLOWN by the fact that you can now play Wii games on the GamePad. I didn't even know the GamePad had a sensor bar built into it! This update has blown me away so far. Looking forward to tomorrow's Nintendo Direct! Keep me mindblown, Nintendo! Please don't let me down!!

@CaviarMeths Just put the GamePad on the stand.

@andreoni79 lol, that would mean having to recode every single wii game, good idea! You can rest the gamepad on the stand, you know..
On topic, anyhow, great update, unexpected. The thing I really wanted, though, was the unified account system... Hopefully next time, eh?

Playing Wii games on the GamePad is a feature we always should have had. It's a little awkward setting it up on the stand and using a separate controller, but it's a great feature to have if you need your TV for something else or just don't want to waste as much power. I'm really happy they finally added support for USB keyboards, because using the stylus isn't optimal, and even the Wii had keyboard support.

Gd stuff, this will work well for games like nsmb that dont require much pointing,want an account ystem though, my new 3ds that had all my tranferred games on it broke afew days ago an is on the way for a repair ,nervous its gonna come back with it memory wiped:( it really does need an account system!

Worthless, hope this wasnt the "big" update they have been talking about.

@andrea987 For games like DKCR or Kirby's Epic Yarn where you hold the wiimote as a nes controller remapping the buttons would be very easy. For games like Zelda SS or Metroid Prime, playing with the Gamepad has no meaning...

@andreoni79 I tested it with skyward sword this morning while my kids had breakfast. It was easy to use and a welcome feature for those of us who got deluxe packs with stands included. Plus it means I don't need control of the TV to play my Wii VC collection of castlevania games. I just wish they had sped up game launch times as promised, firing up splinter cell still takes the exact same time as loading Jet Set Willy on my zx spectrum 48k

Awesome!!!! Thanks Nintendo
I hope you guys get the account thing sorted out eventually though

This update is a beauty. Love it love it love it. Keep them updates coming.

Being finally able to play Wii games from the GamePad is obviously a huge feature. Haven't tested it yet but the games should look nice on the lower-resolution screen.

@ICHIkatakuri
Do you have to use the wii remote for the Wii VC games too?

No input on the GamePad is very disappointing, and makes it hard to appreciate the otherwise cool feature to output Wii games to the GamePad.

But I guess there's still hope of them announcing this afternoon that they've laid the groundwork for a unified account system in this update.

@dumedum OVER 9,000%!

I like the USB keyboard support. MH3U will be so much smoother.

@andreoni79 yeah, if you touch the gamepad buttons you get a message saying it doesn't work at all in anything. Just think of it as a small TV with built in sensor for your wii

@hiptanaka

I don't you really can make the GamePad fully compatible with Wii games that way, since you'd have to re-program every game in the library.

This is incredible news, why do I have to be at work
Wonder what Wii games look like on the gamepad

@cookiex They could make the system recognize it as a classic controller.

@hiptanaka

That would still make it incompatible with 70% of the game library.

I think it's still a pretty cool feature. Game pad with a wii mote and a pro controller = Xenoblade and Fire Emblem in bed. That actually makes the Wii U a more tempting purchase than any of the games released so far

Am more tempted now...........still would like to see Tvii in Europe (Iplayer I use too) then I am sold. Still playing Wii and going through lots of games on it, so its an upgrade thing for me really.
Great update by the sounds of it!

I suppose we can now mount the WiiU gamepad on a Wii Rifle - with both nunchuk and wiimote motion controls - and play Resident Evil 4 .

Ha, that would be fun in a dark room.

Well... that's really, really cool. I like this a lot.

@ICHIkatakuri

You must have the "BASIC" model.....
See what I did there?

The browser keep improving, awesome! It would be over the top if silverlight would work but since its microsofts software I dont see it coming. I'm not that into tech but a homemade Nintendo silverlight substitute would be sooooooooooo nice

Last Week my Wii U got the "Red blinking Light of Death"... I sent the console to Nintendo, they did everything they could but they couldn't rescue my game save data...
All Goldmedalls in NSMBU (got all of them) are gone... all the Stars in career mode in Sonic All Stars racing are gone...pikmin platinum challenges...

They made a game of opening the eshop, LOVE IT ALL!

First the positive, it's nice to finally have a new console update, well done!

But, for me Wii games now playable on the Gamepad is a massive missed opportunity by Nintendo yet again, having to use the Wii-mote just makes it feel pointless to me, for example games like Donkey Kong Country & Punch-Out!! that use basic controls would be a perfect fit for using only the Gamepad.

Other than that, biggest disappointment by far is still no news on Gamecube coming to the Wii U VC, come on Nintendo, Gamecube games would sell by the bucket load on the VC, what on earth are you waiting for? pull your f,ing finger out. PLEASE!

This is by far a brilliant update. I've been waiting forever for off TV Wii mode play, and now it's possible! Now I can play all of my VC collection and Wii library in bed. Here I come to beating you Xenoblade!

Tried out off TV Wii play today and it's great! Plug in a classic controller and you're all set for off TV VC games too (which they've fixed the aspect ratios.) Lots of nifty small features added too. The browser is much better, eShop has a new song, Miiverse has a cool loading screen, eShop has a little minigame on the loading screen. Can't say I've noticed faster load times though, which were promised.

@CliffordB That would not be included in an update and they might blow us away today

this is great, does this mean I can also play games from the wii virtual console on my game pad???? If not thats ok, this is still amazing news

@Yellowgerbil I so hope your right, but, sadly I won't be holding my breath, I don't mean to go on I truly love Nintendo, but, sometimes they really frustrate me when they continue to ignore the obvious, and that is that Gamecube on the VC would be a massive hit, so many Nintendo fans want this feature, I just don't understand why we're all still waiting for it.

Super Mario Sunshine, Luigi's Mansion, Star Wars Rogue Squadron II, just a few games off the top of my head, just imagine playing these on the Gamepad, now that really would be something to get excited about.

Someone will probably make an attachment to the Wii U Gamepad so you can stick the Wii Remote under there or something...

@Paperluigi You can, but only if you have the necessary controllers that work for the Wii console to play them. I did a bit of Super Smash Bros from the 64 on the gamepad. It was awesome.

@Lunapplebloom Playing in bed? Post a me a picture of you holding the wiimote, the nunchuk and the gamepad at the same time. With this update the gamepad become just a second screen.
Good for someone, pointless for many others.

That´s great, I can now play wii games on the gamepad only. Let us use the gamepad controls to play wii games too so I could now play xenoblade confortable in bed
I´m not the only one that was hoping for the unified account, but hopefully next update.
Did N confirm they are going to do it?

@Lunapplebloom

thanks, I have to give it a go

I thought this up day was going to further improve load times?

So we just need to plug a pro/classic controller in a wiimote controller to play a N 64 VC game on a WiiU controller? I'm a little confused...

It's a fantastic update, but not being able to use the Gamepad as an optional Wii (classic) controller is disappointing, maybe next time

@andreoni79 No need to hold the gamepad at the same time, since I have the stand that came with my deluxe set. It may be just a second screen, but it's useful to me, since the TV is just in the other room next to me. Not denying that it is not useful for some, but for me, this is fantastic.

@Paperluigi You're most welcome. Hope you enjoy.

The Wii U it's also faster, i tried opening three different things:

1) Going in menùs seems now like 2/3 seconds faster
2) Miiverse opens also 2/3 seconds faster
3) Tried The Wonderful 101, seems like from all faster loading times you get to wait 10 seconds less till you arrive in the real gameplay from when you booth up the game. (Don't know if it is like so because it's an exclusive, so it's built for the console and adapted to it)

Really great, surely it's because today there's a Nintendo Direct, this is the only thing it's not address in the article but you also got plenty of informations i didn't know.
4PM for me, Italy, let's see some games that are coming and maybe a surprise exclusive for every console and i will be a happy hippo.

I'm glad they got this out of the way. Good update no doubt and now it's time to bring it on home with the unified account system and the gamecube vc games.

@Lunapplebloom I've that stand too, but I just can't imagine pointing a wiimote a that tiny screen... As I sad, it's great for those who need at second screen, but it's clear that they won't let us use the gamepad as a controller for VC games just because they'll ask extra money for that issue when it'll come. Just ridicolous, as the fact that there's still no GBA games for 3DS while we Ambassadors have them since years...

Good ol' human nature. Focus in on the bad and blow it up, completely ignore the actual good parts.

@Tysamu It's a dirty job, but someone has to do that, you know. I love Nintendo, but it's always a business company. Don't tell me that's nothing wrong, for example, with asking € 60 for the DD of Zelda...

YES! Super Smash Bros Brawl on the gamepad!

This is a step in the right direction, it's definitely a smart move to support lots of playstyles and provide this ease of access.
Now, in true Nintendo fashion, I'm bracing for the bad news that's sure to come.

Nice update, why are people complaining about what they didn't get? Its one update of many not the final update lol.

The account system is the only thing stopping me from going full digital so I hope it comes soon. Well that and the love for awesome game covers I like to have on my shelf.

So doe Dolby Pro Logic II work for Wii U now, too? I know that was a common complaint, as well as dual cord use.

I'm finally able to play Wii games in surround sound on Wii U. I never had a receiver or HDTV when this stuff was new, so it's somewhat of a catch-up now that I do.

GamePad support is nice, too. I just don't see myself using it unless I'm absolutely stuck without a TV for whatever reason.

Has anyone tried using the Wii-mote and Game Pad as a mini TV in a different room / floor to the actual Wii U System ?
I assume the Wii-mote still has to communicate with the Wii U System. I am sure the range of the Wii-mote is not as far as the game pad

Phenomenal update. I see Nintendo isn't playing around. The Wii U will look even better to those that hasn't purchased it yet. Again, great update.

Now let's see how this Direct goes.

@andreoni79 Using the touch screen as the Wii Remote pointer is a terrible idea.

Great update. How is no one talking about the fact you can now play your wii virtual console games on the gamepad? No longer need to update your virtual console games, unless you really want miiverse integration.

Didn't take long for people to start moaning over how its apparently not the big update because they didn't get a feature they want, but then again, I shouldn't be surprised

Cool update! But I doubt I'll take advantage of this anytime soon... No fair.

Anyway, this makes me more hyped-up for the ND today! Can't wait!!!

@boynerdrambling You still get save states and button remapping if you update them.

@Emblem My Wii Remotes can connect from much further away than my GamePad, not sure whether that's just me. Also, I've done it with Pikmin 3 at my desk and I was pleasantly surprised with how nice it was. Now I can do it with Pikmin 1 and 2!

Unified account system really needs to happen before the years end
I would then consider buying a new 3DS XL if they did

@kenzo Oh lawd, I need that!

Yes Yes Yes

@VolcanoFlames. You won't take advantage of any of the updates? Huh! You must not really use your Wii U then

Two new features, when you hover over a link on the web, it asks whether you want to play the video in the page.
When you download something, it shows how many mega bytes it has done out of the total e.g. 10/1000 . Finding new things everywhere

@JimmyC Here is some updated information from Nintendo’s Network Services Agreement:

The Network Services may permit you to transfer some or all of your data, information, account balances, and Digital Content between Nintendo Devices that you own, or between your Network Accounts. Please refer to the User Manual for more information on this feature.

I tried out Some wii Games on gamepad and it really is amazing!! GoldenEye With classic Controller works perfect online!

Bloody brilliant update! Especially this for me:
"Users can choose to output sound through an HDMI cable, non-HDMI cable, or both cables at the same time"
We had a gaming night at the cinema I work at a while ago, but because I didn't have the foresight to buy something to split the HDMI signal into phono cables beforehand...we had to play the Wii U in silence (except for the GamePad audio that is, but that didn't exactly fill the screen).
The Wii U turned out to be more popular than the PS3 and 360 in the end anyway I'll have to see if I still have some cables from the old Wii that will fit; if so in future we'll have the glorious Nintendo tunes to match the massive HD graphics!

@Bessestad I know right, maybe I lost something - and I don't have wii games anymore so all that stuff is pretty lost on me- but wtf?!?!?! Everyone is talking about this is the next coming... I can only hope that NintendoID enable/disable stuff in settings will be talked about later this morning.

I mean seriously my mind is blown but not for the same reason everyone else's has. I was looking forward to unified system as well, for me it would be perfect as I have two Wii U in different rooms, and being able to sign in and have my saves in either would have been mind blown - even though I can do that with my Xboxes since dawn of time lol

I just don't get it, I'm grateful for all the little things, better browser support, that actually comes in handy, that Wii Chat sounds like a system chat is that what I'm understanding or do they just mean video chat allows you to be tethered to gamepad with headphones.

ANyway I'm updating right now and can only hope the direct will shed some light on all this, by the way it's close to a year and although unlike everyone else I wouldn't mind dual gamepad support. Games don't support it baloney, in basic terms I have madden, fifa, CoD, which can defenitley use two gamepads... ANyway too early to keep on ranting going back to bed as Nintendo servers seem to think that 700MB on a 50MB pipe should take more than 30 minutes.

I've played Pikmin 3, Luigi U and Injustice with a 2nd controller using the U pad as a screen, so this seems good to me. The alternative would be updates of code for all the Wii games to change the control system which is logistically impossible.

@Lunapplebloom Now you have one less excuse for not playing Strikers with me, "dear sister". >:3 Seriously, I see more Wii online playing with friends in the future thanks to this.

Cool update, fixes here and there, improving things little by little. I like this method.

I ran the updated browser (NetFront NX 3.0) on www.html5test.com and it tops the charts in the console realm! Doesn't match up to PC browsers yet, but its getting close!

I really love the GamePad support for Wii games; so convenient! Also "Support for Dolby Pro Logic II Surround Sound when playing Wii software" is something I've been wanting for a while! Metroid Primes going to be even more amazing.

I can play Xenoblade and Last story in my bed ?

Gods be praised!

Why can't they fix Netflix!

@Peppy_Hare
That is a serious pain in the butt. My Netflix account is on hold now and I'm not sure if I will ever continue subscribing if they don't fix it. Whoever is the one to blame.

How long does it takes to download? How long does it take to install? Does the WiiU switch activities much faster or is it not that update yet?

@sackferret Nope. The Wii U can't read GameCube discs or receive input from GameCube controllers, remember?

All I felt for this was... disappointment. Sorry, Nintendo.

@thesilverbrick Wow, I'm an idiot. I was thinking of the Wii using the Game Pad in my head. D'oh!

Enabling PDF files? Does that mean I can view videos on "those" kinds of websites?

@Blue_Yoshi
PDF are document files (like instruction manuals and magazines) usually read by Adobe or something along those lines.

I can now play Last Story with loud volume while my wife falls asleep "YES"

This is a WIN!!!

I did it after maintenance at 8:10 more or less and I love all the new features!!!

Man, I wish they had added a "Classic Controller" mode to the gamepad, i.e., making us able to play Wii games with Classic Controller support by simply using the gamepad. Now that would be awesome.

Anyway, except for the lack of news on shared accounts, this was a great update. Could definitely be a lot worse.

@cookiex What kind of reasoning is that? You can still use the other controllers. Those 30% of games would be playable with just the GamePad, which is awesome.

At last! I don't have a TV and for almost a year I've had to put up with tinny sound from the computer screen my Wii U is plugged into.
I have a Wii -> VGA+phono cable which should hopefully work and let me pipe the sound into my amplifier.
(Tried the VGA cable when I first got my Wii U, the system settings said it was going to work but I didn't get a picture on the screen, so had to use HDMI)

Off to test it now...if it works then I'm going to play my Wii U a lot more than I have done to date!

Would like to see Dolby supported for Wii U through the HDMI instead of Linear PCM. Someday I'll upgrade my Surround sound.

Also need a way to back up saved games. Nintendo Cloud anyone?

@PinkSpider Actually, it isn't exactly like that. Interrupted electricity at random times, restore of electricity at random times, poor broadband(it's fast in the night and in the morning. But then again, I can't risk updating with interruptable electricity..) Currently, I haven't touched my Wii U for over 1+ month now. But anyway, I have my 3DS and.. my portable router to keep me company, so I'm trying to manage.

Nice to see Wii games being able to be played on the Gamepad! Nice step forward. Anyone know if this works with the Wii VC games??

(too bad it don't work with GC games by the way...I've been in a mood for some Mario Party 4 lately and it would be great on that gamepad.

Stoked to be able to play Wii games on my Gamepad screen. w00t!!!

This is a damn good update. And it comes from a non-Wii U owner. But maybe I'll be an owner of one after business picks up with it.

I hope all Wii U owners feel like they get something out of the update. Sounds great!

Very nice, awesome, bravo, yay!!!

All of a sudden the Wii U games became 10% better for me, since now the sound is coming from a proper sound system rather than from the TV speakers =)

In the words of Captain Falcon: YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

I CAN PLAY ANY OF MY GAMES ANY TIME I WANT NOW! WOO-HOO!!!!!

@KongFu You know they could instead focus on new not yet released VC games if they implemented gamepad controls for Wii games which would be more profitable than rereleasing the same games already available on the Wii Shop.

Really impressed with the photo sharing option. I'll be filling facebook up with random nonsense now! :3

I...I gotta go change my pants...This update is...wow!

@sackferret Haha, no problem. I'd be a liar if I said the thought didn't cross my mind for a second, too.

Great update. Sometimes I forget about the upcoming loading performance update. That will be nice. Account features will come eventually as well because of pressure if nothing else and that will be nice.

I like that idea of stylus as pointer on the Gamepad. That could work for a few games in a pinch.

For all you whiners, it's okay to be disappointed and it's okay to demand more from Nintendo and especially let them know exactly what you want. But can we dispense with the childish drama?

"Awful update", "CRAP", "Worthless". Who can take you seriously? Rational people just discount your opinion immediately. Is that what you really wanted? Don't hide your valid concerns and complaints behind your tantrum. It makes the world a lesser place and does nothing for you.

Ultimately, I value the Nintendo Life community as there are so many level headed but passionate people here. I'd hate to see it digress.

wow talk about some update O_O sounds like some interesting features that you would normally look as "small"

Regarding Wii games on the gamepad, I think the bigger picture here is that this eliminates the need for the sensor bar and(with the recent deal Nintendo struck w/ Panasonic) positions the Gamepad to become a hybrid sensor bar/PS-Eye/Kinect device, in addition to being a fantastic controller.

That is one heck of an update. Catching me by surprise as always eh Nintendo. You just made the Wii channel 50% better for me.

People complaining should know better by now. Have they been paying attention to Nintendo at all? Yes we have the gamepad play for wii games and you still have to use the wii remote. If you know Nintendo, you should expect in a future update the ability to play wii games using the gamepad (at least on games that support the classic controller). They are just pushing this out now just so we can at least play something. If you would have rather they waited, we probably wouldn't have seen it till early next year.

...and it works - lovely hi-fi sound!

The eShop music is new, right? Or did it always sound like this and I wasn't hearing half of it before?!

The wii u gamepad should work as a classic controller when playing wii games

haven't played with the Wii off-tv support yet, but this seems like a good update so far. would have liked to seen the ability to launch Wii disk titles straight from the Wii U menu, but oh well...

@ToniK Netflix... Their product. Give 'em hell. seriously, I doubt it would help. My issue lasted nearly 8 months! I had resorted to watching disc based video, then magically one day it allowed me to log in AND watch my movies.

I'd question why use the little gamepad screen on a stand, when you could use a TV to display the picture in Wii mode. If you could use the gamepad controls, it would be a better feature.

A great bonus i didn't think the Wii U would have.

Now i can finally complete loads of wii games i hardly get to play!

Interesting update... is the wii off-tv play good? i mean, does the gamepad works as a controller too instead of only showing what you're playing?

Watching a Youtube video on the Internet Browser has caused the Wii U to freeze and require a forced restart for a while now. I have heard this update fixes that but I have not had a chance to try it myself yet. The Youtube app is garbage. And sadly, as there are no games, watching Youtube on my TV is the only thing I pretty much do on my Wii U now a days.

I sent an inquiry to Nintendo in regards to that issue 4 days ago but like most of my questions I send to Nintendo they are either ignored or I am given a useless customer relations response that doesn't answer my question.

Downloaded it last night! Can't wait to play METROID: OTHER M on the GamePad. Looks like it's a good thing I bought that wireless sensor bar!

@WhiteTrashGuy wiiu gamepad got sensor bar.. You dont need any other sensors.

@CliffordB Because it costs money to bring a game to the VC (according to Pachter), so since there isn't very many Wii U's in the wild, the potential customer base for a vc game is significantly smaller... the more systems they sell the more financial incentive there is to bring more titles to the VC. Either that or the price of VC titles need to go up to make it financially viable to release them faster.

I'd imagine the more complex the game is the more it cost to bring to market (sending it out for ESRB ratings for a more complex game would take longer/manpower/resources to complete)

That's if Pachter is right about it costing money to have a game rated by the ESRB.

@DarkKirby I have problems as well... sometimes when watching a lengthy Youtube video through the browser, my Wii U hangs, but I found if I clear the history and close all the tabs, it seems to work again.

Off-Screen play for the Wii. Fantastic news.

The GamePad communicates over WiFi, while the Wii remotes communicate over Bluetooth. You can't just easily remap the buttons. Wii mode isn't aware of the GamePad at all. The Wii U just clones the image.

Surely it couldn't be that difficult to allow off TV Wii play to use the sticks and buttons on the gamepad? Having to use a separate controller for games like Wario Kart just make the gamepad seem like a glorified TV.

Nice got this today in about 15-20mins great update indeed keep it up Nintendo ~

I just found my Wii U downloading it on its own. Nice features they added!

However, does anyone know how to go straight to the Wii menu? I know you have to hold B down when the console is booting up, but it never works for me. It says "Going to Wii menu" and then it goes to the Wii U menu. Is that a glitch or something?

It had almost downloaded and then it decided to give me an error code. xxxx this xxxx! I´ll try again tomorrow.

Umm if I wanted to play wii games I would have still been on my Wii that i sold years ago.
All Nintendo does is add things to make you buy old junk of theirs, suckers people to buy games they already bought 5 times on every other nintendo system. Everytime you see news its about a handheld system or about buying old mario, old zelda, old wii gamnes, olf n64 games and other classic games over and over again.

Add next gen features for your supposed next gen , new console maybe Nintendo? The people that applaud this kind of action are the reason nintendo has fallen way behind.

BTW the browser still sucks. Any other console or even my phone and or tablet can connect to my TV through HDMI and play videos from any website while this still does not support the majority of sites out there. PDF support? who will be using their WII u to read instruction manuals and that kind of thing which is what PDf are mainly used for? It needs more support for streaming video from where we want and making it at least as useful as a phone browser maybe?

"One of the big changes included is the use of Wii software on the Wii U GamePad while the TV is switched off; however it's still necessary to use the Wiimote to control the game that's inserted into the console"

Huge facepalm!!

Wonder if they fixed the problem with my TV/Cable box combination.

The first thing I did after I found out about this update last night was play Metroid Prime trilogy on my Wii U gamepad!! It's awesome to know I can play still when someone else in my household wants the living room TV. :3

Off TV play is interesting for the Wii stuff. I played a couple of WiiWare games and it was okay.

wii gamepad play!!! yes!!!! i play pikmin 3 off tv with a wiimote nunchuck so that'll translate perfectly

Im kind of surprised that Nintendo didnt do this as well with the game pad. Its got everything the classic and wiimote have combined. I think the only problem is that the wiimote and the game pad use to completely different frequency to communicate with the system. The wiimote uses IR as the game pad uses bluetooth. The wii games were not developed to use bluetooth since its not in the games coding. But the communication between console and game pad can still be achieved via bluetooth. Its a bit convoluted but its very understandable. I dont see nintendo achieving the ability to use the game pad as a controller in the near future. Unless wii games (not wii u games) in the future are written to use bluetooth. Just my thoughts.

Just when I got excited about this update, I learned you'll still need the Wii Remote and/or nunchuck to play Wii games. All that would satisfy me is if we could simply play Wii VC games on the game pad.

C'MON NINTY! You can do better than that!

@sofaking wiimotes are IR cameras, yes, but they communicate with the wii using Bluetooth, and they always have. (From the first day of release you could pair a wiimote with your PC, for instance)
It's theoretically possible for Nintendo to make the gamepad emulate a classic controller in wii mode, but who knows whether they'll do it or not.

None of the Wii games will have been coded to use Bluetooth directly either. Nintendo provide developers with a software interface to access the controller hardware without needed to know anything about Bluetooth; the Wii handles all the low-level communication.

Also some people seem to be under the impression that the gamepad is also now a sensor bar, which it is not. I hope you guys haven't spent /too/ long waving a wii remote at your gamepad screens!
All the sensor bar is, is a pair of infrared lights (which you can emulate in another room by using two lit candles, which are also infrared lights).

@eza The GamePad has a built in sensor bar.

Anyone else notice how much more accurate the pointer is when playing Wii mode on the gamepad? I haven't noticed any shaking with the pointer on screen!

@raschi OMG you're right! sorry! how did I not know that? I had been checking it with a camera and didn't see any IR LEDs on it, but now noticed that two IR LEDs turn on when you go into the wii menu...this is incredible!!

..oh wow I wish they had this feature when I took my brand new wii u home for Christmas last year, but only took the HDMI cable and found my parents' TV was too old!

Probably the single biggest reason that the Wii U Gamepad doesn't replicate the Wii classic controller in Wii Mode is to stop people from playing their old Wii VC downloads on the Gamepad easily.

Nintendo would much rather you pay them extra money to 'upgrade' to the Wii U VC versions, after all.

@Beta Then why not just play on the TV. It's on a stand.

@jkvasn Because the TV is in use?

Excellent!

Hmm, well, I did have a fairly comfortable time playing Fortune Street in bed. This is a great feature, but I do hope they can work out a way to use the gamepad like a classic controller.

I know this in in november, but can anyone tell me if this is the update where u had to accept the New User Agreement?