Topic: Question about Wii U's.

[jestercolony]

So me and my brother are thinking about getting a Wii U. Now from what I understand, it is a whole new console (an updated version of the Wii?) So I have a few questions before getting one...

1. Does it play Wii games? (I wanna be able to play Zelda TP/SS and Metroid Prime Trilogy)
2. Does the regular Wii controller work for the system?
3. Does the current LCD controller that is with it, work with Wii games?

I know it sounds like a stupid question, but its something I've been considering.

[Lelygax]

1. Does it play Wii games? (I wanna be able to play Zelda TP/SS and Metroid Prime Trilogy)
2. Does the regular Wii controller work for the system?
3. Does the current LCD controller that is with it, work with Wii games?

1. Yes, it enters in "Wii Mode" and acts like a real Wii if I understood it right. But anyway, yes you can play them.
2. Yes, in fact you use them for multiplayer since this Wii U Gamepad is meant to be used only for the first player.
3. No, because it enters Wii mode.

[RichterB]

So me and my brother are thinking about getting a Wii U. Now from what I understand, it is a whole new console (an updated version of the Wii?) So I have a few questions before getting one...

1. Does it play Wii games? (I wanna be able to play Zelda TP/SS and Metroid Prime Trilogy)
2. Does the regular Wii controller work for the system?
3. Does the current LCD controller that is with it, work with Wii games?

I know it sounds like a stupid question, but its something I've been considering.

Lelygax answered the questions, and as I understand it, the Wii Mode mentioned is sort of like an emulator that is built into the Wii U system to allow backwards compatibility with the original Wii's game library.

But this raises all sorts of questions. Do you think Nintendo has done a good job promoting Wii U as a new system (which it is, in the same way that PS3 was an update of PS2, or XBOX360 was an update of XBOX)? From what you've said here, and I mean absolutely no offense, it sounds like people are still confused about what the system is, and it's been out almost an entire year now, I believe. I'm just curious, and I open this up to everyone here, in your opinion/experience, do you think a lot of people are thinking that Wii U is an optional add-on device for Wii, like, say, the Wii Balance Board?

Honestly, the thing holding me back is a definitive game experience. For me and my tastes, the library is already better than XBOX One or PS4 for the foreseeable future. There's a handful of titles out and coming out by the end of the year that look entertaining, but I think I'm waiting to see what's going to happen with the new Zelda (not Wind Waker HD) and Metroid (which it was recently hinted is not even in development yet). Plus, the 3DS is tempting me.

[Lelygax]

They did a good job, but not good enough since not everyone notice these things easily. I think the same thing can happen with PS Vita TV if they dont explain it very explicitly in a TV advertisement.

While some people dont understand but try to ask someone or do some searchs, a lot of people out there acts like they know everything and doesnt even try to discover the truth xD

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

But this raises all sorts of questions. Do you think Nintendo has done a good job promoting Wii U as a new system (which it is, in the same way that PS3 was an update of PS2, or XBOX360 was an update of XBOX)? From what you've said here, and I mean absolutely no offense, it sounds like people are still confused about what the system is, and it's been out almost an entire year now, I believe. I'm just curious, and I open this up to everyone here, in your opinion/experience, do you think a lot of people are thinking that Wii U is an optional add-on device for Wii, like, say, the Wii Balance Board?

The fact that we still have confused people means that the Nintendo Marketing Team has not done a good job.

The Wii-U is to the Wii like the X360 is to the XBOX.

It is a new HD Console, with a built-in backwards compatibility mode called "Wii Mode".  When you enter Wii Mode, the system acts like a Wii console.  The signal is still better than the original Wii, though, since it's being passed to the TV via HDMI instead of Component.

It is doing this in a similar way as to how the Wii could enter "Gamecube Mode".  In the old Wii, when in Gamecube Mode, none of the Wii features worked.  Similarly, when the Wii-U enters Wii Mode, none of the Wii-U exclusive features work (Wii-U Pro Controllers, Wii-U Gamepad Controller).  To exit Wii Mode, in the Wii-U's Wii Menu, there's a "Wii-U" option which will turn off the virtual Wii and return the system back to Wii-U mode.

The Wii-U is not an accessory, peripheral, or add-on to the Wii.  It is its own upgraded powerful HD-Gaming Console (again, akin to X360 vs. XBOX).
It is stronger than an X360 and a PS3, but not as strong as the upcoming XBone or the PS4.

I hope this further enlightens the original post's question.

[jestercolony]

Thanks for the info guys (: Really helped!

[Inccubus]

I'd only like to add that it is 100% backwards compatible because Wii Mode is an exact copy of the Wii's original software. Everything that worked on Wii works in Wii U's Wii mode and they even made special apps that let you transfer all your downloaded content from your Wii to your Wii U's Wii mode. So you don't even have to re-download anything. It is a one way transfer unless you softmodded your Wii.

Also, like Jorge mentioned, the image on Wii Mode is clearer because of the HDMI cable, but beyond that Wii Mode is up scaled to the Wii U's higher resolution too. So far I've played NSMB, Xenoblade Chronicles and a few others and they all look way better than before. Almost like HD remakes, but not quite.

Really the Wii U is in a similar situation to the 3DS in it's first year. All the naysayers said it was the end of Nintendo back then, too. I for one am glad I got a Wii U. I love it. It's been really useful too. It's like buying a 1080p HD game console, with an upgraded Wii, a tablet, a multimedia hub, and a universal digital remote all at once. Yes, that whole thing Microsoft was fapping over with the XBONE having all this tv accessability? Nintendo already did that.

Speaking of the remote... it's stupid but that's one of my favorite features. The gamepad can control my TV and my cable box so I don't even have to use my remotes for the most part any more. (There is room for improvement, though.)

[Abnormal Freak]

Just bear in mind that there are no GameCube controller ports, so the few Wii games that utilized them can no longer. Except there's a third-party adapter that apparently causes the GC controller to be read as a Classic Controller (plugs into the Wii Remote). Just ordered one and hoping it works well.

[Abnormal Freak]

GOT A WII U QUESTION O' MY OWN.

I'm really liking Wii games on it. Upscaled to 1080p, better color and clarity through HDMI. It's like I'm seeing these games with a fresh set of peepers.

What I'm wondering is if I should pick up Twilight Princess on the Wii. I have it on GameCube but it's such a pretty game, it would be great to play over HDMI, and in widescreen. However, I heard speculation that it's not natively 16:9? That they just added more viewing space to the sides but stretched the pixels out horizontally. That's my biggest concern right now, if there's any truth to that. If it's widescreen but essentially doesn't offer any more resolution than the GCN game, but perhaps looks worse because the pixels are rectangular, that's a problem considering my main reason for wanting to slap down $20 is for image quality. I'd rather just play the GameCube version over component than have wonky grafix.

[Inccubus]

Looking at youtube video I think that claim of stretching is, in a word, bullshit.

[Abnormal Freak]

I hope that's the case. I'm a little wary just because Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition screwed me over. Rather than do a true 16:9 port of the game, they simply nixed the black bars on the GameCube release (which comprised much of the 480 res since the GCN game isn't anamorphic widescreen) making the Wii game super low res and shitty. I did a comparison where I zoomed in on the GCN game and it looks identical. (Thankfully the 720p PSN/XBLA version came out so it's not a problem anymore.)

[Abnormal Freak]

Unfortunately, I think it might be true. Picked up the Wii version in the hopes it'd look stellar, but it really does look like it might be a 640x480 image stretched to 16:9. Even though it's going through HDMI, there's an overall blurry sheen to it that I'm not noticing on the GameCube version through component (on the Wii), and details seem less defined. When I move in close to models and textures and go into first-person mode, jaggies don't appear to be as crisp on the Wii version (being played on the Wii U) when I switch back and forth between inputs. When I stretch the GameCube version to 16:9, it has a similar kind of look; and when I squeeze the Wii version to 4:3, it looks more crisp like the GameCube version, but obviously distorted since there's a wider field of view.

It could just be my eyes playing tricks on me since I've already gotten it into my head that the Wii Twilight Princess may not be natively 16:9, but it really does appear to be the case. When I can get right up to Ilia's face and see sharper outlines around her model and around the eyes (more jaggies), and texture on her face that appears more detailed, I think it's safe to say the Wii version really is a 4:3 image that proportionately looks 16:9 when viewed as such, but is in reality the exact same resolution as the GameCube game and not a proper widescreen image.

Actually, now that I'm looking up details on the resolution of the Wii, it sounds like its max res is 640x480 but when set to widescreen, it's essentially a 16:9 image in a 4:3 resolution. So no Wii games are true 16:9—not in the sense I'm thinking of it anyway, where the resolution would be 854x480 (or whatever slightly lower res the Wii would actually use if it were "true 16:9"). Meaning, widescreen Wii games don't have a pixel aspect ratio of 1:1 but something wider.

I...guess I expected and always assumed something more out of the Wii. If it's really just a 640x480 resolution morphed to 16:9, I'm a little saddened. And I threw $20 down the shitter if that's the case. D:

[Lelygax]

Not really if its better for your eyes.

[Gecko]

Incidentally, the answer that the WiiU gamepad doesn't work in Wii mode has recently been made not entirely correct.

There's a new WiiU update that allows you to use the WiiU gamepad instead of your TV for Wii mode. Well, it shows up on your TV too, but you can play with the graphics and sound coming from your gamepad for off-TV play. Though the buttons don't work. You have to use the standard Wii controllers. The WiiU gamepad has a built-in sensor that works like the sensor bar hooked up to the Wii/WiiU, so you just set it up and use it as your TV if you want.

Just thought I'd bring the topic up to speed with recent updates.

Speaking of the update and Wii mode though, you no longer have to adjust the TV to get virtual console games in the correct aspect ratio! That actually excites me even more. They just play correctly when you select them.

[Abnormal Freak]

Speaking of the update and Wii mode though, you no longer have to adjust the TV to get virtual console games in the correct aspect ratio! That actually excites me even more. They just play correctly when you select them.

Hey, cool. I wonder if my years of bickering about it on Club Nintendo surveys paid off. ;p I noticed the off-TV play had the correct aspect ratio, didn't notice it was that way on the TV also (since I turned it off).

Hopefully a future update will enable you to actually use the GamePad as a controller also for Wii and Wii VC, and have the option for custom button mapping. Two-button games need to be played with Y and B, no exceptions.