Nintendo again took to the internet this morning, livestreaming Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata unboxing his own Wii U, and giving us even more details about the fast approaching console.
Iwata (naturally) chose to pick up the sexy black premium Wii U package (let us know which one you’ll be gettting!). Aside from the console and gamepad, you’ll also get an HDMI cable, and a nice charging stand for the tablet style controller as well as one for the console itself. His edition also included a beta code for the next Dragon Quest title (though I can’t verify if that will be included in North America).
I am so envious of this man.
He went on to explain that each Wii U console will support 12 separate user accounts (finally!). Each user will have individual console settings and game saves, as well as bookmarks and play history. Multiplayer progress will also be synced across appropriate accounts. This is freaking exciting, I hated the lack of this on the Wii!
Even more awesome details would be revealed before the end of the broadcast: you’ll be able to pause your gameplay and jump right into a web browser on the GamePad (hopefully for something like Geekscape or Gamefaqs, and not for an adult video fix). The gamepad can of course act as a universal remote as well, and should allow you to control all of your media peripherals. As previously demonstrated, you’ll be able to send content from the gamepad screen to the television screen to share it with others in the room.
I am unbelievably excited for this controller.
Another piece of fantastic news: it appears as though Friend Codes are no more! Instead you’ll get a much less clunky (though still pretty clunky sounding) Nintendo Network ID, which should be usable between multiple Nintendo consoles, and even smartphones and web browsers. It certainly sounds interesting and I can’t wait to try it out myself.
Seriously Friend Codes, burn in hell.
I’ve saved the best for last: this one is going to rock you to your very core. Karaoke is coming to the Wii U. KARAOKE! A standalone microphone peripheral will be available at some point in the future. Karaoke will be a subscription service and cost about $25 for a 90 day pass. A subscription will grant you access to the entire catalog of songs, which is an interesting (and fantastic in my opinion) way of doing things. This has only been announced for Japan at this point, but hopefully it will make its way to North America!
The Wii U launches in just 11 days. Will you be getting one?
You can also watch the unboxing for yourself if you’re so inclined! Check it out below! It’s an awesome watch and reveals even more small tidbits!