So after 10 years of gaming almost exclusively on PlayStation, I'm getting bored of it and decided to come home to good ol' Nintendo. Initially I wanted to wait for NX, but I can't wait any longer, I'm pretty excited! I'll get a Wii U next week, either the bundle with Mario Kart and Splatoon or the one with Xenoblade X. Whatever, I have a few questions about the console:

- Do I need Internet for the Wii U? How large is a firmware update? I only got a mobile connection at the moment and very limited traffic.

- Is Splatoon any good without online functionality? I played the game at my local store and it was fun, but I wonder if it has enough SP content.

- Can I play Wii Games without getting a Wiimote? Especially Mario Galaxy 1 and 2. Still haven't played those.

- Can I play Xenoblade X solely on the GamePad? My wife loves to watch TV in the evening and it would be awesome if I could keep playing at those times.

Thanks a lot for your help in advance!

You really should just wait a few months for the NX reveal, but all on you of course!

-I guess you don't "need" it but it's extremely helpful to have. Online play and lot's of great digital games.

-Splatoon is garbage without online.

-Naw you need a Wiimote.

-Yes but be warned the text is ridiculously small.

"Do I need Internet for the Wii U"
Yes. Mario Kart 8 & Splatoon, will make you "need" to have internet access for your wii u.


"Is Splatoon any good without online functionality?"
No, its focus is its a multiplayer shooter, without that, just skip it. (but get net access instead, and try it)


"Can I play Xenoblade X solely on the GamePad?"
Gonna say thats a no (cant read text ect). You wouldnt want to play it that way anyways.

Unless you get a super sweat deal, I wouldnt invest in a new Wii U now.

Find a cheap used one, from a user, thats played all the games he/she wanted too on theirs and is looking to sell it.

Theres not much games in the future to look forwards too, on the Wii U, so theres alot looking to sell them (while they still can).

-You need to do updates. Later you dont neede it if you dont want to play online games.

-Splatoon has very solid SP campaign, but of course true value lies in online play.

-No you cant. But good news is that you can use it Wii Remote for Wii U games aswel.

-Yes you can.

1. Yes , you need internet. Fortunately, you don't need to pay.

2.splatoon's main focus is multiplayer. It's pretty boring by yourself.

3. You need a wii remote(or wii pro controller) to play wii games. Don't worry though. They're very cheap.

4. Xenoblade X sometimes relies on the TV as well. Not sure how you'd be able to play just with the gamepad.



Bonus: what do you think you're doing? You're getting a wii u but aren't getting Sm4sh as your first game? :P

I would easily say that Sm4sh is tied with the Street Fighter series for best fighting games of all time. It's that good. It's a must buy. Unfortunately, the 40% off deal for it ended a while ago. Still worth 60 bucks though, no question about it

Odin the firmware updates are fairly large if you are getting a wii-u new in the box which has been sat on a store shelf for a few months/year, it would be best if you could get your hands on a system which is pre owned just because the user will have updated it at least beyond the initial firmware, it is a couple of GB if you're getting a old system, mobile data will cost you a ton to update it.

I am going to echo Einsam on this one, the NX reveal is soon, I would most certainly hold up for that if you can, if you're gaming on the PS4 right now and want some Nintendo action you could always pop onto the store and pick up Super Star Wars from the SNES :) some good Nintendo Nostalgia on a Playstation, or if Vita is your console then you could get Adventures of Mana, the remake of the gameboy title Final Fantasy Adventure which just launched yesterday.

See Sony bring you titles from Nintendo machines too!

Late to the party but hey, means you have ano excellent backlog.

Everyone has answered your questions but I'll toss in a few,things.

First, you can actually play Wii games off TV. Now if they require motion controls this can be problematic. But games like Xenoblade, New Super Mario Bros, etc work rather well. You have to use the Wii mote still but you get a set of stands that let you setup the game pad as a sort of mini TV.

Second, if you missed out on Zeldas, the Wii U is great for catching up. Twilight Princess HD and Wind Waker HD are fantastic and Skyward Sword is worth checking out via backwards compatibility. Also, the Wii U virtual console let's you get some classic Wii games cheap, like Metroid Prime Trilogy.

Also, I will defend the XCX off screen play. Once you familiarize yourself with the game systems the text size is less an issue. But then I have really good eyesight so maybe it's just me :P.

Edit: I suppose I will come out and say that waiting for the NX reveal is probably a good idea.  Nothing wrong with the Wii U, but it is at the end of its life. 

Also if just you just want Nintendo games then a 3DS might be better. Cheaper and more games.

Yeah, there's a whole bunch of games I want to get and Smash is one of them. But I have to choose between 3-4 for the beginning. I can't just go out and buy 20+ games all at once. ^^

I was actually pretty shocked to see just how many good games are available on the Wii U. I think there are more games I want than on PS4! I just never noticed it, because I didn't care.

Hm, maybe I can update the system in the store. My local media markt has free Wi-Fi, maybe I can plug the Wii U in for some time and download the update. I'll just ask them. Or I'll carry the console to a friend with Wi-Fi, should be fine as long as it's just that one time. Haven't made too good experiences with pre-owned hardware, so that's not an option for me.

Sounds good, I also have a very good eyesight, so I should be fine.

I could wait for the NX, but what the hell, I want to play all the gems on Wii U anyway and the 300 bucks for the system won't kill me. Also I collect consoles anyway and get everyone sooner or later. I even got an N-Gage for crying out loud! =D

I already have a 3DS but there aren't too many games anymore which I'm interested in. And I'm not willing to pay another 200 € just to get a New 3DS and Xenoblade. =/

Thanks for all the input, I'm still pretty excited. =)

Make sure you get TMS too... that's really one you don't want to miss out on. Great RPG.