Coffee Beans
Nintendo is set to release the first big Wii U system update next week, with a second big system update planned for the summer.
What will this first Wii U system update fix? Well, Nintendo
released a video in March showing the update should improve loading times when exiting from Wii U games to the system's main menu.
Other than improving Wii U loading times though, Mr. Iwata
just addressed some other features that the Wii U's "Spring System Update" will address when it releases next week. In a
Nintendo Direct this morning (April 17th), these are some of the features said to be addressed with the update:
1) Adds ability to copy/move data between two USB HDDs.
2) Download and install software in the background, while playing games.
3) Download and install updates, even when the system is off.
4) Software updates can automatically start downloading, without having to start the game.
5) Holding the B button when turning the system on, will jump you straight to the Wii U's Wii Mode channel.
Also, Mr. Iwata said the Wii U's Virtual Console service will become available next week, the day after the system update. (I'm guessing next Thursday, April 18th for the Virtual Console, April 17th for the system update?)
While these five updates are nice, what are some things that I think should be patched to make the Wii U a better system overall? What are (at least) five things that Nintendo hasn't mentioned the Wii U patch(es) will address, that I think could/should be? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look!
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| My Trine 2 Wii U data, so far... |
The Brew
1)
Sharing "Daily Log" Data - I could tell you that my
Trine 2 "Play Time" is 49:20, and that I have "played" it 64 times. Or, I could show you my
Trine 2 Wii U data like the image above. Nintendo doesn't like the Nintendo Channel (and, several other Wii Channels they're getting rid of), but does that mean I shouldn't be able to post my recorded Wii U game-play data to Miiverse? Apparently, yes. While the Wii U tracks how many hours and times you play a game (or, use a particular application) in the
Daily Log channel, you can't post that information to Miiverse using the sytem's photo capture option like some games offer. While I doubt Nintendo will introduce a Wii U Nintendo Channel like the Wii has (or, soon to be had),
I think it would be nice if Wii U owners could post Daily Log images to Miiverse. It would allow Wii U owners to share their most played/used games and apps during a month, and if a game doesn't provide the number of hours played on the save file, it could be a good way to get an idea of the average hours played for a game.
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| Possessive. Not descriptive. |
2)
Freezing - Winter is over, but my Wii U console is still freezing. Sure, it's only occasionally, but even as I typed this, it was sitting frozen. I hopped on
Assassin's Creed III Monday morning to get my save file stats, and posted them to Miiverse. Upon attempting to exit Miiverse, my Wii U system froze,
again. The Wii U system freezing up would not be such a big issue to me, IF the system functioned as it's supposed to function when it freezes. It doesn't though.
Still having to unplug my Wii U console when it freezes is annoying (and slightly concerning), when I should be able to simply hold the "Power" button for a few seconds to fix the freezing problem instead. Mr. Iwata did not mention the Wii U freezing issue in the Nintendo Direct a few months back when he mentioned Nintendo was working on improving the loading speeds and he didn't mention it in today's Nintendo Direct, so I'm a little concerned that this issue might not be able to be patched. I really hope I'm wrong, for a number of reasons, but
I just find it odd that Nintendo would wait until this patch (or the summer one) to make the Wii U function as it should have when it released.
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| Room for keyboard shortcuts? |
3)
Copy/paste/keyboard options - The 100 character limit posts in Miiverse might be tough to use sometimes when trying to answer a question, or post up some thoughts on a game.
One thing that would make this limit not so bad though, would be a simple copy/paste option for text. Let's say you type out your full Miiverse message, and the text gets grayed out that is over the 100 character limit, but you have an option to "copy" some of it. You would simply copy the text over the limit, and post a new comment pasting the additional text to it. I'm surprised the copy/paste option wasn't in the Wii U's original Miiverse OS, because it is an option in the Wii U's Internet Browser. Speaking of the Wii U's Internet Browser, a GamePad keyboard update that would be an improvement I think, would be adding a ".com" button to the Internet Browser keyboard. Sure, it's only a few extra taps on the GamePad, but I think little things like a ".com" button, and perhaps some other keyboard shortcuts, would be appreciated.
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| Nintendo needs to copy/paste the Copy/Paste Browser buttons to Miiverse. |
4)
The "Energizer" disc drive - I mentioned back in November, in my "
Caffeinated Thoughts on the Wii U" post, the freezing issue and the disc drive issue. The disc drive issue, like the freezing issue, still has not been addressed. If you don't know, the Wii U's disc drive is constantly is reading/spinning the game disc when one is in the system.
It doesn't matter if you are just using the Wii U for Netflix, Amazon Video, or any other non-game application, if there is a game in the Wii U's disc drive, it is spinning. It's like the Wii U's disc drive is an Energizer Bunny of sorts, in that it just keeps going and going, or spinning and spinning in this situation. I know some Wii owners had disc drive issues, and I received my PlayStation 3 from a friend because the disc drive had stopped working. I really hope that Nintendo updates the Wii U so the disc drive is not constantly reading/spinning the disc, when non-game Wii U applications are being used such as Netflix, Amazon Video, Hulu, or even the Internet Browser. The Wii's disc drive does not constantly spin if a disc is in the system and Netflix or another non-gaming Wii Channel is being used, so I would imagine Nintendo can patch the Wii U for fix the issue.
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| Give yourself these Wii U eShop games, as "gifts"! |
5)
Gifting Wii U eShop games - Did you know you could give Virtual Console and WiiWare games to other Wii owners as "gifts"? Did you know that you cannot give Wii U eShop games to other Wii U owners as gifts? I think it's odd that Nintendo didn't include the gifting option right from the beginning.
I hope they make "gifting" Wii U eShop titles a new feature, as I do like to give things away from time-to-time on the site, and I can think of a few eShop titles that would be at the top of that list right now:
Toki Tori 2 and
Trine 2.
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| Gift options shown for WiiWare games. One already owned, one not. |
Questions
Are there any other Wii U system improvements you would like to see Nintendo address with the first big system update next week, or perhaps in the update planned for the summer?
If you're into programming, is there any reason Nintendo can't address the Wii U's hard reset option (holding the Power button for a few seconds to turn the system off), with a system patch? Like I mentioned above, I just find it odd that has not already been patched.
