Nintendo beat their fans to the punch and delivered the first unboxing video of a Wii U on the Internet in the latest Nintendo Direct installment. Donning white gloves as if he was handling the Stanley Cup, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata carefully removes and showcases each piece of hardware that comes with the Wii U Deluxe set, one by one.
The downside to the nearly one-hour video is that it is made for Japanese audiences and there is no English translation. That’s a shame as Iwata digs deep into the Wii U’s online features, reveals the WaraWara Plaza and how it functions, and generally shows a lot of new nifty functionality we didn’t know the Wii U and GamePad had – until now.
Some interesting features presented visually that don’t require a translation are the ability to transfer virtual console games from Wii to Wii U via an SD card, and the ability to pause a game running on the GamePad, open a web browser, and surf the web to your heart’s content or as long as the GamePad battery lasts. This latter feature will prove especially handy when looking for cheats for FAQs for the game your playing. Instead of running off to a computer to do a little research, you can do it right from the GamePad and seamlessly return to the paused game without missing a beat.
Nintendo of America released a truncated version of the new video that runs just over six minutes long. It focuses on the WaraWara Plaza and new Wii U Chat feature, demonstrated during the first official test with Iwata and NOA President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime. It would be nice if Nintendo opened up the sandbox a little and offered a Skype app for cross-platform chat, but that would undermine their own proprietary chat software.
Be certain to watch both of the new Nintendo Wii U videos below whether you already pre-ordered a Wii U or are on the fence. It’s hard to believe Wii U makes its North American debut in less than 11 days.
