GiftedGimp

It enables Ranking, Spotpass and In game Miiverse posting of Photo's and captions (when Miiverse channel goes live)

@Farmboy74 It would be good of all WiiU games gave you option of direct eStore purchase, eCode from several retailers or disc copy. Got a feeling it will only be for 1st party retail releases, possibly extended to include eStore only games.

In the UK the Patch to enable Miiverse and Spotpass and rankings is live. Just awaiting the Miiverse section to go live as still get error trying to post via in-game photo/caption function.

@Farmboy74 Yeh got 2tb seagate, your right Lego is 20-something gb, Luckily my broadband connection to WiiU with HDD allows around 1gb to download evey 10mins, aprox (Internal memory is double that for some reason). I brought NSMBU on disc before eCodes came out and Nintendo Land I got with the premium WiiU.
I like digital, as its more convenient of off-screen play and Saves wear on the optical drive. (The most common failure in consoles) Wish eStore pricee were lower but thats where eCodes from game come in... shame they are only for first party titles so far.

@Samurai_Goroh In Japan the 360 has always had very poor sales. Worldwide the overall sales figures for the same time after launch puts WiiU nestled inbetween 360 and Ps3, with the 360 selling the most.
Nintendoomers often don't think about the launches of past systems, but it was so long ago if they were now 20yrs old they would of been 12 back then, probably getting thier chosen system as a Xmas/Birthday present.

@banacheck March 2014 onwards will be telling time. Xbone/Ps4 will have inreased system sales till January (all systems have the launch frenzy).
March onwards things should of settled into the status quo, barring any system selling releases that crop up for all 3 system which will cause system sales spikes from time to time.

@Farmboy74 Lego City, Monster Hunter and Game & Wario and Now Pikmin3.
The eCodes are cheaper than eStore plus you get GAME reward points, and Nintendo have gave me the Nintendo Premium Points for the full eStore price (less vat). Or so far they have anyway.

Been playing tonight, fantastic game recommend using WiiMote for controls but you still need the gamepad. Of Course the game pad supports Off-Tv play and you can still use the WiiMote if you are in front of the WiiU sensor bar when playing Off-Tv. I will also say if you didn't like Pikmin 1 or 2 this will not be for you, there's a few changes and additions but essentially it plays the same as always.
Getting it this early has ment no Miiverse functionality though due to no Miiverse patch going live... I doubt it will turn up untill Midnight Thursday Night tbh, when the game hits the eStore.
Since I've got my Premium reward points for dl codes purchased from Game in the past, which you are supposed to get for eStore purchases it seems logical that being the digital copy with Pikmin 3 I'll still get my Premium reward points and it will still count for the Wonderfull 101 promotion.. although time will tell for sure.

Used my GAME reward points to get this for 31.98 and now ots downloading the 4gb of gaming goodness.
Hope NL are right about still qualifying for W101 discount as thought it was only if you brought Pikmin from eStore. Although obviously I'm downloading from eStore I've actually brought it from GAME.

@Peek-a-boo as @Suicune said plus whats even worse, when the dlc is already on the game disc.

If a game is great then DLC to expand that greatness is always welcome.

@Lin1876 Because of Localization for the EU Earthbound isn't a Standard VC release. I would imagine that so everyone was treated fairly, and because they knew due to fan demand over the many years it would still sell, Nintendo decided to set the pricing of Earthbound slightly higher in all territories.
Very few people are complaining about Earthbounds price point but had they only charged a higher price only in the EU then Nintendo would now be getting a lot more complaints.

@Expa0 Some People have brought a WiiU because of Earthbounds Release, and considering People have paid $100 and even a LOT more than that for the cart on Snes proves Earthbound IS a selling point for WiiU with the game costing $10 or regional currency equivalent

The price is fair imo, A new idie game with retro 16bit visuals often cost £10-£15. Yes this is a VC title but its a huge game, and for us in the EU its a first time release. Also unlike other VC titles this doesn't feel like your playing old game. This could be down to never playing Earthbound before, but I've got other VC titles that I've never played and they feel old.

Tbh I've not seen any pricing comlaints on Miiverse, I'm sure there are some but overall people seem to accepted it in the case of Earthbound.
I have seen 2 seperate post where people have said they brought a WiiU for Earthbound and sure enough by checking thier few Earthbound Only posts and profile it's obvious to be te case. No/few yeahs, following/followers etc.
Maybe the extra costs are to cover re-licencing of Music (Anyone else notice Monty Python theme at the very start?) the Players guide and localization for all the eu countries its been released in.

@PS4WiiU Tell that to those Japenese gamers who have been buying WiiU systems for Pikmin, and those western gamers who are getting a WiiU for Pikmin.
It may not be a massive system seller, especially in the west but it doesn't need to be due to the many upcoming games due this year and Q1 next year being games that will sell systems, the biggest arguably being Mario Kart.
I've seen 2 Miiverse posts where people have brought a WiiU because of Earthbound being available for it, I would never of called Earthbound a system seller even if it is for a minority of people. Any game is that gets people buying a system for it is a system seller, and those games can and often are not the games you'd expect, wether it be a VC game, or a cult game (in the west at least) like Monster Hunter or Pikmin or a popular franchise like Mario Kart or Zelda.

Pumped for this, loved the first never played the 2nd. Great review NL.

btw.. There are quite a few other games that let you to use the gamepads touchscreen functions while using a pro controller or WiiMote. Ac3, and Darksiders are two titles I can immediately come to mind, but I know there are others.

I'll refere to Post #34 I made earlier, but surley this couldn't just possibly be simply a case of remaking a game only the current gen systems?
No Ps4, Xbone or WiiU versions announced and given the Wii is backward compatable with GC games and its not a HD machine there is no reason to remake a HD version for Wii. That leaves the current gen Ps3 and 360 systems as platforms to bring a cheap remake to.
People are reading far too much into the misleading headline of this story, which should Simply of read: 'Soul Calibur II HD Online Not Announced For Next-Gen systems... but that would of given away that this story is a Null Subject.

Its not announced on WiiU, nor has it been announced for Ps4 or Xbone.
This story could have an alternative headlines - Soul Calibur II HD Online Not Announced For Next Gen Systems or Soul Calibur II HD Online Announced For Current Gen Sytems.
At least untill something was worth reporting, i.e, if a Ps4/Xbone version was to be announced in the future but leaving the WiiU out.

I buy digital most of the time anyway, especially with the premium reward scheme and was getting Pikmin 3 from eStore anyway. Having said that I was still on the fence about buying 101, but with the 30% discount on top of the premium reward points I'm now going buy 101.

@theblackdragon With respect, if you look through previous posts then certain people are all over Negative stories but as soon as something positive is published then they are dicrediting it in someway.
It gets to a point its more like trolling than posting opinions and if someone is trolling then they will attract attention to themselves that they may not like. Yes it may be not in the Spirit of how NL want thier site to be used but surely Trolling is not what you wan't either?
Add that certain people being negative here havn't bothered trying to be negative on the follow up article that has very positive, factual weekend only sales figues nor actual said something positive or simply commented then it's pretty obvious what thier intention is when posting negativity.
To carify I agree that posting your opinions, good or bad, is a good thing, and shouldn't be policed or criticised as everyone has an opinion and the right to express it. However theres constructive posting and disruptive posting, and some people cross that line from between constructive into disruptive.

Maybe Nintendo should of done a Pikmin 3 WiiU bundle. Imagine if they did and included a limited edition Pikmin Figure, Keyring or Something and seeing as a lot of Japanese gamers go mad for collectable figurines and such like WiiU hardware would have sold even more over there, these past few days.
Don't know how much something like that would effect Western Hardware sales though.
But given how well Pikmin is selling and effecting WiiU hardware sales Nintendo seemed of missed a Marketing opportunity in Japan.

@ThomasBW84 I could see the trend last a few weeks in Japan. Anything like here in the UK, Payday is a week or 2 away for most which is always the optimum time when people will buy games.

@Magotoo Its a big game for Nintendo, especially in Japan, I't could be classed more towards a cult game in the West, but those who ever tried the past 2 games for the most part realised that beneath the looks is quite a deep and challenging strategy game.
Maybe P3 wont be quite as challenging due to not having a set amount of time to complete the story but then there seems to be plenty of new additions to the game to make-up for it.

Unless unlike in EU/USA who don't yet track digital games sales and Japan do then I'd imagine quite a few more copies of Pikmin would of been sold than listed due to digital sales.

Big jump in WiiU hardware sales, just under 3x more since Pikmins release. Some people will put out negative spin about it, but at the end of the day it is a significant rise even if temporary, but one that will be replicated in next few months, and into early next year as more key franchises get thier WiiU release.
Although Nintendo titles will hardly make Sony/MS fanboys turncoat on thier systems those who like to own a Ninty system along side thier Ps3(4)/Xbox and those still waiting to upgrade from Wii as these titles are released in the west and hopefully we will see a decent rise in the WiiU's sales, maybe even close to how the system sold in its first few monthsof release.

@Peach64 Everytime something positive, you come along and try to turn it negative. If Software/Hardware are on par with when NSMBU was released in Japan then thats a big increase. Back then WiiU was selling well Worldwide, especially in Japan. Were not talking a couple of hundred extra units here.
Pikmin alone wont suddenly turn the WiiU fortunes around on its own worldwide but along with NSMBU, MH3U, Mario3D, Donkey Kong, Mario Kart and a few other titles it will attract alot of new WiiU owners, Worldwide.
Its Worth remembering that unless something drastically has changed in Japan the WiiU's only real home console its going to be fighting is Ps4, Xbox has never sold well in Japan and key Nintendo franchises have a extremely loyal following in Japan.
As for 'WiiU severley lagging behind every other system'.. thats because every other system has been available for 7/8 years... not 7/8 months.

@taffy Because Sony put cash towards developers/publishers that make cross-play games that participate in buy one you get the other free.

@Wheels2050
'Be honest, it's not like you would have bought this anyway - people on this site constantly go on about how they only ever buy first party games anyway.'
Not everyone thinks this way, but your right a majority do. The fact is it's not so much thw userbase size of the WiiU thats effecting 3rd party decisions to bring games to WiiU, it the % of WiiU owners who buy 3rd party games for the system.

@Will-75 No it doesn't they are digital. On or Off.. no on a bit, on a bit more, on full.
F1games are hardly a shovelware games, by any stretch of the imagination it would be great if Codies brought it to WiiU but would be a different game due to the lack of analog triggers. Same as the Ps3 version was a different game depending on if if you used the duak shock controller or a force feedback steering wheel due to the extra feeling you got in terms of grip, under/oversteer and traction.

Love or hate it, ZombiU is one of the few games that shown that the Gamepads second screen can add a lot to a game, at times it even built up the fear, looking down, away from the tv screen at the gamepad screen to see where that 'ping' was coming from while not being sure if it was a Zombie about to attack or a harmless rat, or bird.
Ubisoft have shown great support this year for WiiU, with exception of Just Dance I've brought all of Ubi's games so far either for myself or the Kids and plan on buying the titles they have yet to release on WiiU.

If Steve Hood is refering to a 'very different game' due to the power of WiiU then this is obviously a bs reply. He could be refering to the lack of analog triggers of course but even thats not fully legit, they did F1 2012 for the Vita which doesn't have Analog triggers, although it the Vita does game rear touch pad which may of been supported on the Vita's F1 2012 though. Putting the Accel/Brake on the right stick would be an option as would gyro controls which would make F1 2013 a very different game on WiiU.
No doubt Codies could bring it to WiiU if they wanted to, but probably wanted to see how F1 Race Stars sold.. which unless something drastic was done to the game was unlikely to sell well on WiiU regardless of WiiU's Userbase size due to it being, at best, only Average as a game when it was originally released on other platforms.

Depends, Waiting for reviews and Miiverse comments but might download Smurfs for my kids, Its a 3rd party title and I'm getting Pikmin and Splintercell for myself over the next few weeks. Being £31 its not a bad price either.

Agree that the eShop retail downloads should be cheaper than disc versions. But this problem is universal psn and xbl also.

GDC will be to encourage developers/Publishers to develop on WiiU by showing off thier development kits/tools and framework, lets hope with some success. Gamescom will be when there will be any game announcments (if there's any to be made).
Its good Nintendo are attending these events though, as it shows the public and industry Nintendo are doing what they can to push the WiiU... even TV advertisments are being shown more often just lately.

Right price point, right amount of content, Sony, MS and every developer should take note of how Nintendo added LuigiU as dlc.
I would like to see some new CoinRush/Challenge levels as dlc though, but understand that Nintendo would be accused of holding back content.. after all it is the norm within the industry hence why so much dlc these days is already on disc and you actually only get a unlock key for for your money.

@triforcepower73 Yeah I remember that poll, and I was never going to boycott Ubisoft or Rayman for going multiplatform. For a few reasons, not least Ubisoft actually being the biggest supporter and defender of WiiU at that time.
Things are looking dire for WiiU & 3rd party support, partly due to publishers fanboy-like mindset towards MS and Sony and Partly due to the publishers that have been showing WiiU support not having thier games supported by WiiU owners.
I really do hope things change on both fronts of Publishers supporting WiiU and WiiU owners supporting 3rd party releases As I am happy in all regards with WiiU except the 3rd party support and although I'm not keen on the idea I may find myself buying a Ps4 towards the end of next year for those titles missing from the WiiU's lineup. Fingers crossed this time next year 3rd party support will not be issue.

Getting this day one.. I want Pikmin and will try to get it on launch but at the end of the day Pikmin is a Nintendo title who won't ditch WiiU, where as Ubisoft are already thinking of turning away from WiiU. Can't blame them, they've been strong supporters of WiiU yet few Wiiu owners are returning thier support.. Really hope things change with the titles Ubisoft are still set to release through the year it will be a shame to see yet another 3rd party dissapear.

@banacheck WiiU update didn't brick the system, Turning off the system, either intentially or or not during the install did... which applies to every device that has updateable firmware.
A couple of Ps3 Firmware updates and MS has had one from memory have bricked systems withput outside influence... I know I lost a Ps3 because of it.

@TheAdza Mario Kart 8 wasn't pushed to next year as Nintendo never said it was due for release this year.
As far as I know Nothing from Nintendo has been officially announced for this year only to be pushed back to next.

Nintendo only Stated the next update as a Summer update, and didn't give a specific date or month. End of September isn't that far off the Summer season.
Besides MS and Sony and every game publisher has announced something at sometime to be realeased during on season or another only for it to be a month or so into what is technically the following season.
Jeez, End of September/Begining of October is virtually on the transition from Summer to Autumn (Fall).
Nintendo owners just want to be negative at the slightest reason it seems, maybe its a knock-on effect from the general media negativity towards Nintendo gradually wearing away peoples will to actually not be negative towards Nintendo.

@FineLerv I was simular, In fact probably will seem strange to some but I hardly ever played through games more than once or ever 100% completed any game on Ps3, having moved on to a new game to earn more trophies, but on WiiU I have played through several games at least twice and 100% a few games, Lego City, NSMBU as examples and working on 100% other games.
Not having Achievments, for has liberated my gaming mindet.. I'm not looking at games at the perspective of What achievments need to be earned anymore and enjoying the games for what the games themselves offer.

@FineLerv I'm not against achievments/trophies but they do override the gaming experience.There's too many people who rush through a game just to get as many achievments as fast as they can rather than explore and enjoy the game... I even know people who knowingly brought very poor games simply because it was easy to get all achievments/trophies.

I'd rather have a system update delayed and working properly. Firmeware updates have a history of bricking systems when they are not tested properly and the more a firmware update adds the higher the risk of bricking systems.
I'm guessing rather than add 2/3 spaced out smaller updates adding a few new features Nintendo are trying to get a majority of the systems new features out in one big update.

VGZ, NPD etc all track physical copies, they (at the moment) can't track digital sales and rely on offocial sales of digital copies being supplied to them. NPD are soon going to be tracking both physical and digital sales.

Wonder if originally Nintendo saying No, was more a case of Nintendo not saying Yes and people jumping the gun before Nintendo decided.. Maybe Nintendo even got quoted out context by saying No decision yet or Not at this time or something.
Or Maybe they did say No all along and change now thier minds. So many Attack Nintendo articles around , most of which are over exagerated or unfounded its hard to tell the ligitimate negative Nintendo news from the trash reporting.

@element187 I mean in worse case scenario, and yeah is as extremely unlikely, as is Nintendo putting games out on other devices/systems. Something they have always made clear that they wouldn't do.
Alternative option, again in worse case scenario, scale back with WiiU to a minor system giving it some but little support while attempting to reach the mainstream 'core' gamer (hate that term 'core gamer... in reality there is no such thing.. but thats a different discussion) with a new system with standard controller, and all about power but little/no innovation. (As in Xbone/Ps4).
Sadly its the times we live in which is Nintendo's worse enemy, Nintendo like to offer something new with innovative possibilities but for the most part Gamers just want the Better graphics and yearly CoD games. If the Wii was on par in terms of specs of ps4 and was released now rather than back when it was I very much doubt that system would have the success it has had.

I'd expect in a Worse Case scenario Nintemdo would Ditch WiiU hyper-early, and go all-or-nothing by releasing a new system with more than enough power to out perform Xbone/Ps4 and designed to apeal to the core gamer, standard controller etc, before putting thier games out in the wild.

With a bit of thought then yes the touch pad could introduce new game types, especially mp games if/when dual gamepads can be used.
Thing is, Given that for the most part Command & Conquer type RTS and any type of PC game that involves much use of keyboard shortcuts to manage inventary item etc, don't really work on Consoles with traditional controllers, or at least as effortless for the console player as the PC player I am suprised that nobody has brought these typically Mouse/Keyboard games to WiiU. With a bit of work, a row of 'f key' short cuts at the top of the gamepad screen and the rest of the screen could be used to select groups of units, buy tapping/circling chosen units on gamepad and setting thier movements/targets again by tapping the on gamepad map, (using a rts game type as an example). Sure beats having to hold l1+l2 using the left stick to draw a box around a group of units, press A to select, while holding l1+l2 use the right stick to scroll to your target/destination for your chosen units and press A again.
Yes Pikmin is out soon, but there are numerous RTS games, RPG's and MMO's on PC aswell as other game types not usually associated with consoles on pc that woukd work well with the WiiU gamepad controller, better than traditional console controllers.

Accurate Review, Although I am still enjoying replaying Pilotwings. I guess those of us old enough to remember the original release will get more enjoyment from Pilotwings than those younger but mostly as its a reminder of how the Mode7 really made this game work and WoW us, back in the day.
Getting Pilotwings64, or even better PilotwingsU released on WiiU would be great and really hope to see one or better still both come to WiiU at some point.