This is a great console for playing the pre-Switch library of Nintendo Games as it is pretty easy to softmod and has HDMI output for ease of use compared to the Wii.
I would recommend Click and Collect if you can - The first one they gave me in the previous deal looked pretty rough, but they had three others in stock so let me pick another one that is in near-mint condition.
Away from the house and everything ?
No. The gamepad has no real CPU or memory of its own, everything is just beamed from the console unit.
I have tried to mod it, could never get it to work :(
Try asking on gbatemp, they're very helpful there
Thanks, will try.
Pretty easy, there is an entire site dedicated to it (Just google wii u hacks)
Only advice is when doing the browser exploit load a bunch of web pages first. This creates more cache and for some reason reduces the likelyhood of it freezing during this step.
Thanks, Kasp.
Yeah I sold my modded wii u for $350. It's pretty valuable.
Gumtree?
Yeah I modded mine and it's super handy.
Can grab literally any game, DLC, update you like.
Sus out gbatemp and wiiu usb transfer tool - great tool.
All of that for $78 is great value.
Could never get the USB transfer tool to work.
I used the Haxchi exploit no problem but can only play super Mario and Luigi.
Can’t figure out how to get the backups to a external USB drive and get them to work. All I get is a black screen.
If you have young kids, and aren't ready to fork out for a Switch, this is a no brainer!
That's what I did.
Except for Odyssey, Wii U has almost all of the best Switch games, and they look and play pretty much the same, but cost a third of the price.
It also has several the Switch does not have, like Super Mario 3D World, probably the best family co-op game of all time, and easily the best multiplayer Mario game ever.
For gaming with your kids at home, it's honestly a better console than the Switch (for a fraction of the cost).
Agreed, nothing on the switch is a major missing point on the WiiU for now.
Apart from Odyssey which people have mixed thoughts about
I already have a Wii. Did I need this as well?
If you want to play HD games, and play some games on a portable screen around the house, then yes. All of your games and accessories will also work on this. Plus this can play a stack of old stuff via Virtual console.
you wont NEED it, but it helps, you get HDMI over wii games, i had both wii and wii u, i sold the wii for almost nothing and kept all its accessories because they are compatible with wii u.
also the game pad lets you play most wii games on the controller so if the TV is taken over by the kids you can still play on it
Mod your wii and sell it, you will easily get back more than what you pay for this unit here. That was what I did last year.
They're not really worth anything now, so you got lucky
I think they still worth some bucks after modding as apparently some people are not that tech savvy. U can check on ebay to see how much they are sold for.
@truetypezk: Not enough extra to be worth the time to do it. Don't forget to minus all the fees you'd need to pay if selling on ebay too.
Well.. I’m not sure exactly where your question comes from, but many people just assumed the Wii U was just another version of the original ‘Wii’ but it is in fact the next generation console…. eg. Playstation 2 vs Playstation 3. The name of the console didn’t do Nintendo any favours in marketing.
True, and even though I knew that I think it DID factor into my thinking.
In true ozbargain fashion any doubts I had about the necessity didn’t stop me buying one.
Is the Netflix app still allow you to browse on the game pad while watching on the TV? That was awesome but think I read they changed it.
No, unfortunately, it's just standard Netflix interface mirrored on both screens now. They couldn't be bothered maintaining a separate fork of the app I guess
Ah that sucks because it was a cool feature. I would have picked one up just for that almost.
Agreed, you can spend hours browsing netflix and not actually watching anything. At least that way you can put the first mildly interesting show on qnd see something while you tag shows.
Please enter a quantity of 0 or less
huh? Then if I put in 0 or negative, ebay says
Please enter quantity of 1 or more
Why don't they just say "sold out"?
Did you try 0.5?
Thanks. Order and only paid $39.20!
Which half did they send you?
Did you try 0.5
No that breaks both rules.
I did try entering "i", to see if they would send me an imaginary Wii, but it was too complex.
Underrated comment. Try "j" instead, it's electronics after all…
This with Mario Chase (one of the mini games on the Nintendoland disk), plus three friends and a carton of beer will guaranteed be the best night in!
Plus 4 friends. 4 can play on the TV and one can use the Wii U gamepad.
It really is great fun, we've had many good nights with NintendoLand
This will play Zelda Breath of the Wild?
yes
yes same as switch version
Thankyou. I think it's sold out now
Sort of. I have both the Wii U and Switch versions - content-wise, they're the exact same game. But the Wii U version suffers from much more frequent framerate dips, it plays at a lower resolution, and you can't really take it on the go which is a large part of the appeal of the Switch version.
The Wii U version isn't too bad if you have no other option, but I don't think I'd recommend that anyone play it over the Switch version if given a choice.
Wii U version might have been better if it utilised the gamepad as the sheika stone tablet. It’s obvious that it was meant to be used this way but was cut possibly so the Wii U edition isn’t superior to the Switch’s
I agree it’s the same ‘version’ but it’s better on Switch… only saying this so the commenter doesn’t get it and assume it’s identical in performance / graphics.
Yeah
Great console. Cannot fault. 5/7.
Damn sold out.
Pretty sure by OzBargain users exclusively
Nah not worth it.
I got my Wii from cashies for $30 in 2014.
Homebrew took around 30 mins. Hundreds of games for $30 is pretty good.
If you can get one for $20 or less plus a wiimote that's worthwhile otherwise I wouldn't bother (keep an eye on gumtree)
Just picked one up with 2 Wii motes for 25 at the salvos. Came with some other BS, worth 25 bucks
Ozbargained.
Yer Wii’s u can pick up for anything between free and $15-50
End of last year I saw 4 ppl giving away Wii’s and others with Xbox/360’s.
Sorry, grammar isn’t my strong suit. Yer, Wii’s, u can***
Back in stock
got one for pickup thanks, bargain. Hopefully it's not dinged up but I guess can just return it if so?
This is still available I just bought one for 85 with delivery. Pick up was also available at a few stores.
BACK IN STOCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!
system glitch ?
Premium model would be better, but it's still a good price.
Bought one a few months back, just to replace a dead Wii. So much more potential than that, but I'm yet to mess with it.
Whats better about premium? They are selling them for 20 bucks more or so
More internal storage
But its still bugger all, you Wiil almost definitely need an external drive anyway
Comes with a sensor bar (for wii games), a charging stand for the gamepad and 32GB internal space instead of 8GB.
I read the basic also comes with the sensor bar, and the charging stand doesnt add much value IMO.
The only reason beyond convenience for the 32gb might be if there were some hacks that couldnt run in the 8Gb, but i havent heard of any and doubt they exist, why would someone want their Jack to only run on a fraction of the hardware after all?
@Jackson: The Basic does not come with a sensor bar: https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Wii-U/Hardware-Features/Hardware-…
You have to instead prop the gamepad up in front of the TV (and leave it powered on) as it has infrared lights built into it that provide the same function as the bar. Then of course it constantly falls over because they didn't include a bloody stand…
Thanks
Thanks got one for delivery
I’ve got one of these and was about to get rid of it as my son never used it. How do you get the games? Do you get them online with an account and pay monthly etc? We have a couple of Wii machines that we are also getting rid off but do we have to keep them for this unit to work? Thanks for any help, we were given it new but without any instructions so never used it.
Buy the games at JB/EB Games/Ebay/Gumtree or the Nintendo Online store.
Added Bonus - there is no cost for Online Play unlike the Switch where it requires Nintendo Online subscription
Ok? My comment is removed while the top comment is about soft modding and “unlimited potential”?
Depends if people report it I guess. Mods probably don't read threads
Just switched it on and tried to do anything with it and it just says move closer to the console, can’t connect to the console. So I suppose I need to keep a console? Can I connect it to wifi and play online games instead?
You talking about the gamepad? It’s just a controller. You need a console to use it
Gone again
Any suggestion how to pay using EB Games credit card? Thanks all
You gots to go in store and pay full price unfortunately. eBay deals, even for their own store, won't be matched by EB.
yes thanks !
Thanks, got one when it came back in stock. The kids broke the old one when they were little so they will love this, still got all the old games and controllers.
Is EB refurbished usually good condition or can they come scratched up?
From the couple of used items I've bought from EB games it means 'same condition they came in as, no effort to perform even basic cleaning'.
My wii u was in basically perfect condition condition.
Lucky dip, I think. My Wii U was pretty good. They came with stickers you can stick on the machine to cover any blemishes.
"Please enter a quantity of 0 or less"
means out of stock
Try -1 and see if they will pay you?
If you enter -1 you have to send them your Nintendo.
That might be a cheap way to avoid listing and FV fees.
https://ebgames.com.au/search?q=Nintendo+Wii+U
Still able to buy from EbGames website… i managed to secure one pickup on store for $12 more than what on ebay
https://ebgames.com.au/wii-u-201337-Nintendo-Wii-U-Mario-Kar…
Someone’s screwed up the pricing on that one. Shame it’s out of stock ;)
Not too bad a deal if you want to preserve a slice of gaming history. I still have mine.
But do know that if your Gamepad dies, your system is dead because you can't buy a replacement Gamepad (I believe you can't even turn on the system without the Gamepad though don't quote me on that). Nintendo doesn't make them anymore, and never offered them for separate sale. You'd have to hunt down a used Gamepad, and how long that will last you depends on how well the original owner cared for it.
It's a shame how quickly Nintendo pulled the plug on this console. In many ways it's a better gaming experience than the Switch (dual screen and touch screen). When they port the Wii U's Zelda games to the Switch, it will be inferior on the switch without the second screen. In fact, they deliberately removed dual screen support on the Wii U version of BotW, because they couldn't have the superior version of the game being on the older console. It would be an embarrassment to the Switch if the Wii U version played better.
By not supporting dual screen (with touch) when playing the Switch docked, I feel that console went backwards. For a TV experience, the Wii U is a better console imo, due to having more features than the Switch.
Fortunately people often brick their systems trying to softmod and flog them cheap on eBay, so finding gamepads isn't too difficult.
You can turn your system on fine without the gamepad. And you can still play most games fine as well. The only time you'll run into a problem is when you're trying to browse the settings which force you to use the tablet, using the web browser, or a game that needs the tablet.
As the console failed pretty early on, a majority of games don't even use the tablet beyond mirroring the main screen at most, so you can get away with just the main console, an HDMI cord, and whatever controller you choose / is supported.
Also I disagree. Nintendo didn't really pull the plug quickly as you say. I mean, it came out in 2012 and they supported it with quality first party game after quality first party game long after everyone else had given up on it. It sucks for third party stuff, but that's not Nintendo's fault. Nintendo gave the thing a tonne of quality exclusive content, NSMB, Mario 3D World, Bayonetta 2, Smash 4, the Zelda remasters, Wonderful 101, Pikmin, Mario Kart, DKC, and so on. They could have actually pulled the plug after a year or two and done a Sega, but they didn't, they kept releasing great games for the people who had one and then finally wrapped the thing up with one of the most beloved (and overrated) games in recent memory, Breath of the Wild, in March 2017. The console got nearly 5 years of first party support, and that's more than many a console before it can even say. The thing failed, it made sense to get out as quick as they could, but they still kept pumping a little bit of life into the guy for years anyway. Can't fault Nintendo for that.
Also I disagree. Nintendo didn't really pull the plug quickly as you say.
It's the shortest lived major home console I know of since.. Dreamcast?
It sucks for third party stuff, but that's not Nintendo's fault. Nintendo stopped making games for it years before the Switch, and moved all game development that was meant for Wii U over to Switch instead. Mario Odyssey was meant to be a Wii U game.
It is very much Nintendo's fault. They made a console that's weaker than its competitors and makes it difficult to port games over to it. To make a Wii U game, it has to be designed specially for that console, and the console's sales weren't high enough to make it worth doing.
Nintendo gave the thing a tonne of quality exclusive content
When I say they pulled the plug quickly, I meant they discontinued making hardware and quickly rolled out a successor. I don't mean that they didn't support it with games. It takes more than games to make a console successful, and Nintendo didn't do those things. For example, a price cut (not a retailer sale). They never did one. Securing some third party exclusives is another tactic Sony have used well. Nintendo got Bayonetta 2 and Devil's Third (LOL), then called it a day.
Can you play old NES/SNES games on the handheld "screen". If this will play Bubble Bobble, in a portable format, I'm in.
It's sold out
just get a 3DS?
![[Preowned] Nintendo Wii U Basic Console $78.40 (C&C) / $85.35 (Delivered) @ EB Games eBay](https://files.ozbargain.com.au/n/35/459835.jpg?h=cfbf7c19)
you should buy this, the special controller is really hard to find on its own and it will be a collectible item in years time due to how rare it is
once soft modded it's unlimited potential, it can virtually play every Nintendo console release prior to it