Wii U arrives in NZ

The next-generation is finally here, so take the day off work, close the curtains, lock your doors and put your social life on hold: the Wii U has arrived in New Zealand.

Perhaps you needn’t go that far, but the launch of the Wii U is still pretty exciting – especially seeing as it launches with 24 titles already available for the console.

As usual we Kiwis are among the last in the world to experience this new device, but its launch in other parts of the globe has been less than perfect.

The launch issues are so serious that Nintendo president Satoru Iwata actually apologised to those who had bought the console for the issues, including a large patch required to access online features of the console.

“Personally I think that users should be able to use all the functions of a console video game machine as soon as they open the box,” he told IGN.

“So I feel very sorry for the fact that purchasers of Wii U have to experience a network update which takes such a long time, and that there are the services which were not available at the hardware’s launch.”

Iwata also says he expected the controversy and doubt that currently surrounds the Wii U gamepad and interfaces.

“[Nintendo] aims to create something better than what is already available in the world. We believe this can happen by creating something unprecedented.

"Since Game & Watch and NES, all the Nintendo hardware has been developed consistently under this philosophy.”

He expects that controversy to last a short period, before the innovations made by Nintendo once again become the norm.

“The bran new user interfaces that Nintendo invented often faced sceptical views before a hardware launch, but wound up becoming de facto industry standards.

"It is challenging to communicate attractions which are hard to understand unless you actually touch and experience them yourself.”

So, Kiwis, now that you can finally touch and experience the Wii U for yourselves, we’d like to hear your thoughts – how trend-setting is the Wii U? Comment below and let us know what you think.