# Nintendo Wii U **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 7, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nintendo-wii-u/584654 "2011-06-07T19:56:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nintendo-wii-u/584654/81 "2012-09-22T15:43:55Z")
> [@smoke](#): > > So if we have backwards compatibility, transfer of virtual titles, etc., the Wii U would be destined for the basement from day 1. I’d certainly visit it often, but how many visits will it be before I discover a tablet with a cracked screen? What are they going to retail for on their own? The Wii U Tablet won’t be sold on its own until sometime next year, but if you break it, Nintendo will replace it “for a fee.” Naturally, they’re not ready to say what that fee is yet. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nintendo-wii-u/584654/82 "2012-09-22T17:46:03Z")
Can I use the regular Wii U controller to play Wii games or do I have to buy a Wii Remote or a Wii U Motion controller? [Moe Howard] Wii U…[/MH] ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nintendo-wii-u/584654/83 "2012-09-22T17:53:13Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > Can I use the regular Wii U controller to play Wii games or do I have to buy a Wii Remote or a Wii U Motion controller? > [Moe Howard] Wii U…[/MH] All Wii games require the same Wii peripherals they always have. They cannot be controlled with the Wii U GamePad. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nintendo-wii-u/584654/84 "2012-09-24T16:40:08Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Nintendo has never cared much for graphical superiority. The fact that the Wii U uses the Wii peripherals pretty much puts to rest the idea that Nintendo is trying to get rid of Wii games. How soon we forget the Nintendo 64. My point is that they are lying about it not being possible, and the only reason I can come up with is that they plan to make remakes, which they’ve done a ton of in the past. Why do you think he’s lying about it? If they don’t care about graphics, why not just say that? Also, AFAIU, the Wii peripherals will be in use for Wii U games, too, even though the system doesn’t come with them. The odd logic is that, despite marketing this to other console owners, they expect that most people who buy this will already have a Wii. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nintendo-wii-u/584654/85 "2012-09-24T21:19:42Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > How soon we forget the Nintendo 64. > > My point is that they are lying about it not being possible, and the only reason I can come up with is that they plan to make remakes, which they’ve done a ton of in the past. Why do you think he’s lying about it? If they don’t care about graphics, why not just say that? Huh? What are you babbling about? The Wii U GamePad cannot be broken apart into two pieces, which is essential for more than a few Wii games. That’s why Wii games require Wii peripherals. And what exactly are they lying about? Nothing related to Wii-to-Wii U remakes has been announced or denied yet. And yes, the Nintendo 64 was a graphical powerhouse and marketed as such. But only in competition with the Super NES. Nintendo didn’t acknowledge the existence of Sega or Sony in those days. And they barely talk about MS or Sony today. > [@](#): > > Also, AFAIU, the Wii peripherals will be in use for Wii U games, too, even though the system doesn’t come with them. The odd logic is that, despite marketing this to other console owners, they expect that most people who buy this will already have a Wii. No Wii U game will require Wii peripherals. This was specifically said by NOA President Reggie Fils-Aime. Some Wii U games will require Wii peripherals for optional multiplayer modes, but all single-player games will be playable with the Wii U GamePad. ---
**Author:** ![amaguri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@amaguri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amaguri)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nintendo-wii-u/584654/86 "2012-10-01T16:04:02Z")
I enjoyed the Wii, but if you ever look at any emulation threads, Wii games in HD are often STUNNING. The art direction is frequently many times more impressive than anything on PS3 or 360, for whatever reason. So on that basis alone, I’m kinda stoked about the Wii U and will likely get one at launch. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nintendo-wii-u/584654/87 "2012-10-01T16:06:54Z")
> [@amaguri](#): > > I enjoyed the Wii, but if you ever look at any emulation threads, Wii games in HD are often STUNNING. The art direction is frequently many times more impressive than anything on PS3 or 360, for whatever reason. So on that basis alone, I’m kinda stoked about the Wii U and will likely get one at launch. From what I hear, you better pre-order fast if you want one on day one. I’m going to wait a long time before I think about getting one. ---
**Author:** ![amaguri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@amaguri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amaguri)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nintendo-wii-u/584654/88 "2012-10-01T16:21:38Z")
so we’ll leave it up to the fates to decide 🙂 also worth noting, Amazon is currently having some unspecified dispute with Nintendo and refuses to sell any of their hardware… so that’s one less potential option! ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nintendo-wii-u/584654/89 "2012-11-18T09:31:21Z")
Normally, when I come upon a thread when someone has responded to me a while back, I don’t respond. There’s no point in dredging it up. But this response was just so off the mark that I had to respond. > [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Huh? What are you babbling about? The Wii U GamePad cannot be broken apart into two pieces, which is essential for more than a few Wii games. That’s why Wii games require Wii peripherals. What are _you_ babbling about? Why in the world are you on about the controllers? I just pointed out that the new Wii U exclusive hardware will still work with the old controls. Thus that doesn’t preclude allowing you to use that exclusive hardware to up-res the games, as you can still use the original controls. No one was talking about using the Wii U GamePad for Wii games. I was talking about using the Wii controls to play Wii games on the Wii U with higher resolution. > [@](#): > > And what exactly are they lying about? Nothing related to Wii-to-Wii U remakes has been announced or denied yet. As I mentioned in the post previous to the one you are replying to, the developers lied when they said it was a hardware impossibility. It is not an impossibility, and, in that post, I explained why it wasn’t. Thus the statement was a lie. In the only part of that post that you actually responded to, all I did was post a reason I thought was plausible, that Nintendo wanted to make HD remakes. This is a popular thing to do now and something Nintendo has a history of doing (not HD, but higher graphics). This is also something you wouldn’t want to say, as it makes them sound like moneygrabbers, hence why they lied and said it was just a hardware issue. I challenged you to come up with another reason that he would say it was a hardware issue when it wasn’t. Look, I’ll do your job for you. Obviously it would cost more to do the R&D to make HD compatibility work. Nintendo didn’t want to sound like a cheapskate, so they lied about it being impossible, when they really meant it was impossible given how much they wanted to spend on the device. Heck, I honestly think that makes more sense, now that I think about it. Pity you couldn’t come up with it, and instead had to imply I was an idiot. > [@](#): > > And yes, the Nintendo 64 was a graphical powerhouse and marketed as such. But only in competition with the Super NES. Nintendo didn’t acknowledge the existence of Sega or Sony in those days. And they barely talk about MS or Sony today. Yip, that’s why they made a big deal about their system being 64-bit instead of 32-bit. They may not have named the consoles specifically, but they were promoting their own graphical superiority to them. > [@](#): > > No Wii U game will require Wii peripherals. This was specifically said by NOA President Reggie Fils-Aime. Some Wii U games will require Wii peripherals for optional multiplayer modes, but all single-player games will be playable with the Wii U GamePad. Did you see the word “required” in there? I simply pointed out they could be used. Thus meaning that they work with the parts of the Wii U that aren’t in the Wii. Hence, they are no hindrance to making my proposed “Wii HD” work. The rest was an aside. And, since you seem to have trouble identifying them, the following is also an aside: It would not be impossible to make the Wii U GamePad simulate the Wiimote and Numchuck. It is a touch device, after all. You would use touch to emulate the WiiMote and the gamepad portion to simulate the Numchuck. The only time you’d have to move it would be to simulate shaking or other motion sensitive movements (like, say, bowling or driving). In fact, I’d not be surprised if some games that were originally in development for the Wii but decided to move to the Wii U modified their controls to work the exact way I mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nintendo-wii-u/584654/90 "2012-11-18T13:05:40Z")
Well now that I’ve actually held the controller I have to admit it feels pretty good in hand. Not too heavy and pretty ergonomic. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nintendo-wii-u/584654/91 "2012-11-18T18:04:09Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > As I mentioned in the post previous to the one you are replying to, the developers lied when they said it was a hardware impossibility. It is not an impossibility, and, in that post, I explained why it wasn’t. Thus the statement was a lie. > > In the only part of that post that you actually responded to, all I did was post a reason I thought was plausible, that Nintendo wanted to make HD remakes. This is a popular thing to do now and something Nintendo has a history of doing (not HD, but higher graphics). This is also something you wouldn’t want to say, as it makes them sound like moneygrabbers, hence why they lied and said it was just a hardware issue. I challenged you to come up with another reason that he would say it was a hardware issue when it wasn’t. > > Look, I’ll do your job for you. Obviously it would cost more to do the R&D to make HD compatibility work. Nintendo didn’t want to sound like a cheapskate, so they lied about it being impossible, when they really meant it was impossible given how much they wanted to spend on the device. Heck, I honestly think that makes more sense, now that I think about it. Pity you couldn’t come up with it, and instead had to imply I was an idiot. You’ve answered your own question. It’s a hardware impossibility _based on what Nintendo wants to spend_. You can call that a lie if you want, but it’s a perfectly reasonable explanation. Sony used the same explanation when they removed hardware-based backwards compatibility from the PS2. Things cost money. As for the HD remake thing, I can count the number of “HD remakes” Nintendo has done on one hand. Let’s see, there’s Super Mario All-Stars and Pokemon Red/Green Advance. But if you want to get technical about it, I guess they’ve brought a few SNES games to the DS and a few GameCube games to the Wii. But those weren’t exactly the straight remakes you’re decrying. They either added portability or motion control. Nintendo doesn’t really do “remakes.” That said, look at Sony again. They’ve put out a whole series of HD remakes and gamers like them. Correction, they love them. Your complaints about their very existence puts you in the minority. > [@](#): > > And, since you seem to have trouble identifying them, the following is also an aside: It would not be impossible to make the Wii U GamePad simulate the Wiimote and Numchuck. It is a touch device, after all. You would use touch to emulate the WiiMote and the gamepad portion to simulate the Numchuck. The only time you’d have to move it would be to simulate shaking or other motion sensitive movements (like, say, bowling or driving). It might not be impossible, but it sounds unbelievably crappy. I’m going to go out on a limb and bet that this never happens. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nintendo-wii-u/584654.md?page=4)