The Wii U has been with us for some time now and I’ve tried it out on a variety of different families. It’s been interesting to see the different reactions to it. Some people get it straight away while others are more of a slow burn.
As you can see in the Wii U video I recently got a group of families together to exchange tips and try out some more games. This not only meant we could all play together but also offered a chance to talk about the other features of the Wii U. Things like the MiiVerse communications and Family Settings.
MiiVerse, if you haven’t come across it yet, is the social side of the Wii U. You can pause any game by pressing the Home button then select MiiVerse from the menu to drop into a bulletin board forum for that title. You can ask questions about the game, answer other people’s queries, share screen shots and draw pictures. It’s these communication snippets that also pop-up in the Wii U home screen as all those Miis gather around the different game icons.
I had expected Nintendo to offer more social features on the Wii U but not to this extent. There is a real risk here as anyone can draw or say anything. It must be hard to police for profanity or mischievous behavior. However, so far it’s looking like a very safe place for players of all ages — I’m very impressed as this doesn’t happy by accident.
Nintendo Land MiiVerse Forum
The other element of the Wii U that is coming to light now we’ve been playing it for longer is that our kids are using it for imaginative play. While the Wii got them playing together and collaborating, to overhear them playing the Wii U (Metroid Blast for example in the video) sounds more like when they play physical games like Lego or other toys. They make up voices for their characters shout out orders and generally enjoy the role play aspect of the game — something they have pretty much invented themselves.
It will take more time to really see how this new Wii U way of playing pans out. The concept of different players having different controllers isn’t without its downsides — the need for children to take turns on the big controller for example. So far for me and my family the benefits have far outweighed and of this and the kids have settled into sharing the controller.
Families Play Nintendo Land
I’m really looking forward to seeing how Nintendo and Third Party developers use the technology going forward. As the system matures I think we will see a number of unexpected uses of the Wii U Game-pad. I also expect the MiiVerse online world to play a great part in our experience — and wouldn’t be surprised if the feature is mirrored on the 3DS before too long.
The Wii U is available from Amazon from $348.
