As an ex-employee from GAME, I can assure you that there's nothing to be worried about for the grading. For those unaware, Grade A basically means brand new in box or opened but is in pristine condition.
Grade B is opened, usually has a box and may have like 1 or 2 scratches/marks on the console. There will be little to no dust on the console itself.
Grade C is a couple of noticeable scratches/markings and may carry a bit of dust.

Certainly in the store i worked at, we are very strict on our grading and there is a very fine line between grade c and not acceptable...like if there are too many scratches on the console we wont take it, likewise any removal of warranty stickers or port covers are immediately rejected. We also take a look at the controller as well and if there was the slightest thing wrong with it (joystick is a bit sticky or loose, scratches, marks, weak/squeaky triggers etc.) then the entire console is rejected for trade in also.

Next comes the testing, in our quieter periods (i.e. not at xmas when we have hoards of "entitled" customers who want to buy the latest COD or BF for their little ones) we usually spent 30 mins testing each console and that covers everything...how fast it turns on, if it reads a disc, how well it reads the disc, any loud noises emitted by the fans, network connectivity etc. if it passes then we finally format the console and give it a final grade.

Also remember that you get a 12 month warranty (1 free repair/replacement) should anything go wrong so there's that for an extra piece of mind.

Anyway voted hot, the console may be dead but there is a huge treasure trove of gems that are to be played should you pick one up :smiley:

It's taken a new console to come out for prices to finally drop - i think you've missed the point of the statement

Good (current) price, but "Grade C" sounds a bit scary. I don't suppose they are that price in store, so you can check what a "Grade C" looks like?

Well, obviously your kids aren't crack heads

Only buy from Cash Convertors if you want garbage gear! All the smack heads sell their crap at Cash Convertors, and the staff don't know the difference between a disc drive and a tarmac drive!

Hi m8 whats the dock like ?( been delivered yet?) you got a link?

Recieved mine yesterday after collecting from the Manchester store - It turns out to be the Zelda limited Edition version of the Wii U (without the game, unfortunately). Packed in Game branded box, but complete with all wires and expected items. I'd say its in really good condition for £99 - no scratches on the game pad and not many sign of wear-and-tear on the console itself. Bargain for me!

Noticed these are back down from £149.99 to £129.99 now. Just rang Game about my dodgy power cable, told me can either return the whole thing or try my local store on the off chance they have a spare one. Reasonably happy with the console overall so a bit annoying.

Mine arrived today too. No charging cradle. No stylus. Pretty bad condition. Z grade. Lots of scratches and scuffs on console. Quite few on gamepad. Trouble with these consoles is the glossy finish. I think most of the scratches and scuffs are probably from handling by staff and stores rather than users. I could live with both of these things. But there is a noticeable deep scratch on the screen about 1cm near the bottom. But now that I've noticed it, I can't stop seeing it! If it didn't show when the thing was on, wouldn't bother me. And as always, there was a complimentary pubic hair trapped between the screen and the housing that I need to tweeze out. Don't know if I should keep just to play the very small handful of games I'm interested in.

Mine arrived today, via My Hermes, not DPD as the email.

No official box, but was packed in a Game branded box, with a lot of plastic wrapping.

So I got the console, gamepad, power cable, HDMI cable, sensor bar and the gameplay charging cable.

Was expecting the gamepad stand but can pick up on eBay I guess. Was also expecting a Wii Remote. It it wasn't advertised with so not annoyed!

General condition is good, I'm happy to have it just stay on my shelf whilst being used, gamepad was in good nic too.

I did have Mario Kart preinstalled so that was a bonus :smiley:

Mine came too, everything sliding around inside the box nicely. Same contents again. Gamepad actually in decent condition, no scratches on the screen. Quite a few scratches and scuffs on the console though, they've even managed to smear the Wii U logo half off. Can live with that, but of more concern is that as I was plugging it all in I discovered that where the console power cable joins the connector it's worn through, to the extent that bare wire is visible. Don't really fancy an experience quite that electrifying! Hopefully can just get the power cable swapped.

Ours arrived, same as above, however a free meal included it seems. The gamepad is not only full of scratches but food leftover bits that have dried all over the front and back. Checklist says cleaned haha.

Definitely going back as there are also large deep scratches all over the gamepad screen and a huge chip on the console.

Mine arrived, no box,(just generic game box),
Console & Charger
Gamepad & Charger
Sensor Bar,
no other accessories, instructions, or game installs ( no expecting this)

NOW console has quite a few large scuffs and scratches and is missing flap that covers sd card
Game Pad looks fine and Buttons so far responsive
sys is on 5.5.1
not got any WiiU games , only tested Wii games...
undecided if to keep -------


time to look at WiiU USB helper

Hermes notification here too, grrr

any one heard from DPD , order was shipped 2 days ago , usually get a text

scrap that just had an email, bloody Hermes are delivering it says another 24hrs

Well..what i've gone and done is, i bought a third party dock on ebay for £7.99. The dock also comes with spare wii remote rechargeable battery packs and it has 2 empty slots for the wii remotes to charge as well as the main gamepad. I really REALLY prefer charging docks over just sticking the cable in directly. All my goods end up with scratches around the charging port where i've missed the hole a few times :confused:

You can't pick these up for £99 used though, not even on the bay. So i think its a good deal regardless.

Why not try popping back and saying it don't work? then they'll swap it for you.

Had mine delivered to my local store as they were out of stock. No charging cradle or stands, not exactly clean. Wish i hadn't bothered now. Think it'll be going back.

Yeah usually get a text with 1hr slot from DPD , not had a jot , my see if they can track it for me on twitter, as don't want to go out / or have to stay in again tomorrow

Are these being shipped by DPD or Hermes? My order and despatch mails say DPD Tracked (but doesn't list a tracking no), but if you check the FAQ on the Game site it says they use Hermes for orders up to £149.99 :neutral_face:

Gutted I missed this. Been hoping to get one since the Switch was announced

You're not missing much tbh!

Hunk of plastic with charging passthrough.

Can pick them up for pennies on fleabay.

Oh..

In that case, i am missing the gamepad cradle. Ah well.

As in... all accessories.

I just mean it's complete really.

Wii U GamePad.
GamePad stylus.
GamePad Cradle.
GamePad Stand.
Console Stand
AC Adapter.
Sensor Bar.

All the jive.

All accessories..as in?.

All accessories. All boxed.

Pretty much mint tbh.

Might have just got lucky obviously, but if this was listed on Amazon it would have been at least "Very Good".

Mines just been shipped, Did you get all accessories/boxed??

Only just got despatch confirmation.

Mine has arrived.

Looks new!

Sorted!

I like how it now says: WAS £159.99...

No it wasn't it WAS £149.99 then £99.99 and now £149.99. Cheeky.

Black console (32GB) has now gone up to £149.99 whilst the white one (8GB) is still at £99.99.

I'm just gutted I didn't get the 32GB one yesterday as that would have been a steal.

seems like the online price is still £99.99 but the store prices are back at £149.99

99.99 is an absolute bargain... Paid £116 on ebay for mine boxed about 2 weeks ago... And it was in pretty crap condition.. So **** i missed this! And was an older model... But he did leave a copy of Splatoon in the console though!....:wink:

A Wii U.

Assume it will be about Tues/wed before any one receives their online order---- as most replies are from store pickup

wonder what everyone will get

Went into a store to grab one of these finally.

Condition was as expected really. The gamepad was in surprisingly good condition though. Bit of dust inside the vents which a quick hoover sorted out. The console was boxed in Zombi U box. Unfortunately didn't come with any preloaded games, or even a SD card for that matter.

Honestly wasn't expecting the box, but i guess the chap behind the counter went into the back room and grabbed me the best looking one possible. So worth asking if you're picking one up instore.

seems like this is supposed to only be 99 quid for this weekend but i wonder if this will be the new second hand price at game.... if so do CEX lower prices to match?

will be £20 by christmas no doubt

Live Chat said it been shipped to the store so couldn't cancel, hasn't arrived yet. I just ended going down there & buying a B Grade one instead, I'll just get the other one returned when it turns up. I think I did the right thing, this one is the Mario Kart + Splatoon bundle console so Mario Kart was pre-installed, plus it says Wii Sports Club has been purchased in the estore. There's not a scratch on the game pad/screen, quite a few light scratches on the console though but that's no biggy. I was planning on going to CEX to buy Mario Kart for £20 after picking up the one ordered so I now saved £10 by buying a B Grade one which I knew it was pre-installed on for £10 more. The guy in Game said Mario Kart come on a disc with this bundle, I took one like at the box which states it's pre-installed on the front & thought "If you say so mate".

I think i downloaded it when i was signed in with my NNID if it doesn't show ill just give Nintendo a call see how that goes :smiley: thanks

"Our 12 Month Quality Guarantee

Each of our Pre-owned products come with a guarantee should anything go wrong for you!

All our Pre-owned products come with a 12 month quality guarantee, meaning that no matter what Pre-owned product you buy from GAME, you can be sure that it'll work as if it's new!

Buy Pre-owned in confidence with GAME thanks to our 12 month quality guarantee on all Pre-owned products".

Where does it say 12 months warranty?..


Anyone?

If it's tied to your account you should be able to just go to the eShop & re-download it. If it's not there then it would be tied to the original console.

I don't think Grade C are boxed, so you'd have to turn the controller on and see if the Mariokart icon is there or not - just tell them you want to see the condition of the screen / dead pixels.

I ordered one yesterday but choose click & collect thinking I could just go pick it up as the store had it in stock, they still haven't dispatched it. Totally kicking myself for not just going down to the store yesterday. Would of probably got a better one as well but once I ordered there was no way to cancel it, Live Chat just said it was busy with other customers.

I'm going to go into the store this morning just in case they still have some better ones in stock. Although it all seems a bit of a gamble now learning of the preinstalled games being locked to console. If I could get one with Mario Kart that would save me £20 I have to pay for it used.

I had the zelda special edition with the windwaker download on it, i sold it on but can i re-download the game?? Thnks

Well you sounded awfully angry which seems a bit silly to me. Stop worrying about Nintendo so much, be happy and play your PS4, that's what I do.

The B grade that I bought at lunchtime was in a Mariokart box - I didn't expect the game, but just turned it on and it's all there, so Mario Kart is a bonus for the kids!

I said I wouldn't buy nintendont again. I now have a £100 Mario kart and smash bro machine lol oh and zelda when price drops...

wii u preinstalled games are locked to console, ever after factory reset...I suppose game would mention it and charge more for console with game included...

anyway, I got one with Mario kart loaded for 100 from local ads

I'm not wound up, i have a PS4, it's great.They don't drop support like a stone every two years

might be worth reading this..... looks like the price will be dropping more ?!
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/3003909/rip-wii-u-nintendo-ceases-production-of-console-as-final-game-is-scrapped

still deciding... my game had 3x b grade ones left for 109 quid each

Picked ours up from store too. Happy girls playing all the wii games & using existing controllers. Thanks op and others for advice :sunglasses:

Forget that, was a config error on my part

Just purchased one of these in store too...

Tried to connect to the eshop, and getting following error message:


Is it just me? Or is it happening for others too?

Went into the store today to see the condition before buying, t was £99.99 in store as well thankfully, the console has a few scratches on it and the screen has one very tiny scratch, it's being given to an autistic 7 year old so I'm sure it will come off a lot worse in the end so it will do the job for me, sadly though her sister picked out sonic boom to play on it and it's only when I got home I realised that boom is that awful glitchy game that was rush made

If Nintendo had any common sense they'd make their virtual console subscription-based and available on both the Wii U and Switch. Millions would happily pay £5-10 a month to access all the old classic games. Too much to ask that a company actually give customers what they want?

The sheer vitriol in this post had me chuckling, people get so wound up over video games.

Went instore and grade C looked ok, but grade B says £10 more and pristine, so went for that.
There are just too many great Nintendo games for me to ignore it at this price.

Ahh hhg! I'm meant to be saving money but just went and bought this. Heat :smiley:

Got a brand new one with mario and splatoon a few weeks ago for £145 from Smyths after voucher. Have not opened it yet. This is cold. The thought of a grade c one makes me feel queasy.

Damn, 100 quid for a grade C Wii U? No deal.I mean i picked up a GameCube back in the day new for £100 (when they flogged it) and regretted that, got the Wii and regretted that.Not gettig burned by Nintendo again, if the Switch has a decent market share next year then maybe but looking at the games coming out? Nope, all kinds of nope.No point till 2018 at least

This is me exactly all over. Got the Wii U on release date and sold after a year and a bit.

I wanna really play Wind Walker HD again. I never got round to Twilight Princess HD as it came out after I sold my unit. I did play the original on the Wii once through, so I'm excited to re-live that.

I'm currently sat on 130 hours on BotW in the Switch so I'm soon to be getting close to finishing haha!

But for under £100 with 12 months guarantee, its the best option in my opinion. Much better than eBay.

I have always regretted selling my original console so glad I can go through some great games again

I've bitten at this price.

Had a Wii U before. Sold about a year ago.

Got good money for it and all as the common (myth) logic at the time was the Wii U would hold its value etc etc.

I think used prices will go lower but for me the 12 month g'tee is worth it.

It's a dead console for good reason. All well documented. The controller feels like the worst touchscreen tablet you'll ever used etc etc.

But there's a back catalogue of great games, many of which are being ported to the Switch (which I own!)

I fancy playing a lot again so might as well pick them up for a lot cheaper on the Wii U - for now I've a bit of Switch buyers remorse if I'm honest.

All the good wii u games are coming to switch, put the £100 towards one of those later in the year when it's at a more competitive price.

Cemu: only 20% of Wii U games playable. not without minor issues....the rest are unplayable.
Wii U: Abandoned by Nintendo, last game was BOTW....no more games from Nintendo.
Don't waste your time and money get a ''Switch'', its far from perfect but its all there is.
*No i dont have a switch.
* Yes i play BOTW on cemu.
*No i don't own a Wii U.

12 month g'tee.

A lot less risky than buying used elsewhere surely?

So glad i could help others out....i know it sounds like I'm being an advert for GAME but truth be told, the expensive prices, nightmarish experiences working there and the fact they stopped price matching for trade ins...my opinion is probably not far off the general consensus but i thought if people are being put off by the grading then i should assure them as i don't want them to miss out on some brilliant experiences like local multiplayer with mario kart 8, great online experiences with monster hunter, super smash bros and splatoon...and i definitely don't want people to miss that "breath taking" moment of leaving the Shrine or Resurrection for the very first time in Zelda Breath of the Wild :smile:

Decent price! Has anyone use this, is good?

Grade c, not worth the risk in my eye

​I am the same. Sure you could get lucky and end up with a console in decent condition. But I am holding out to hopefully get new, as once I got one I plan to keep it. Places such as game still have new wii u's in stock and surely they will have to lower the price to shift them. Smyths reduced to £150 not long ago but I missed it.

Most games I buy are pre-owned but with consoles I like new. Plus I am starting to collect games more whereas in the past I would always sell on pretty quickly.

I used to wonder this also, then I had children.

​I'd much rather pay 150 for a screen with no scratches and buttons/ thumbsticks that haven't been used before, So GAME, drop the price of your new Wii U consoles please, 240 is ridiculously high when the Switch is only 30 quid more, DROP THE PRICEEEE :wink:

The Wii U has three of the best Zelda games ever made. Twilight Princess and Wind Waker in HD are both stunning. Breath of the Wild is an absolute masterpiece. Please play it, we all deserve to.

Mario Kart 8, 3D World, Splatoon, all top, top games. Smash Bros is amazing too. These games are so cheap now (ex BOTW) that £99 is an absolute steal to play some of the best video games Nintendo have ever created.

Cool.. Little bit more information required though, do elaborate :smiley:

Well, obviously your kids aren't crack heads

I have kids.

Still new condition after over a year.....

Crack heads play football with them and stuff. They sell their telly, end up kicking the Wii about, sell the Wii, it's a vicious circle.

Have kids. It will all become magically clear in a haze of disappointment and regret

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Wii+U+GamePad+Battery+Replacement/56824
Seems easy enough

Doubt it, pretty sure GAME format the memory on used consoles

I never understood how a console could be graded a C.

All my consoles have been mint condition after many years of use. Why? because i sit it under the tv and the only time i touch it is when i turn it on or put a game in it.

could these come with games preinstalled

Must of been updated now as website is showing in-store Price is now 99.99

Good to know if you want to visually check it over / choose the cleanest one :smiley:

99.99 is a great price for a high street shop....might of been tempted if I didn't already own 2 :smile:

Buy this, buy breath of the wild. Have hours upon hours of pure unadulterated fun.

Easy buy this, wanted to like the Switch but goodness me it's shortcomings became apparent after a couple of weeks, felt the hardware was starting to deteriorate and those joycons were going to pop off the side, even my missus commented that "is that built badly" as it creaked a bit (the joycons, not her...although) So took it back to Cex, they had to phone store manager to check they were still taking them. This will let me play a great selection of Nintendo games, grade C doesn't bother me too much as my Vita was grade C from Game and that was fine when I got it

Will say the battery on the vita is obviously not amazing but If I remember correctly the Wii u one wasn't even good on launch and is easily changed?

Worth it for Splatoon and Mario Kart alone

Props to Nintendo managed to keep this failed console's price at a sellable price up until the switch came

There is no other new version, Nintendo are focusing on the switch, Wii U system software hasn't been updated in over a year

Filled half of my 2 TB hard drive up with games, some great games to be had, if in good nick a £100 is a bargain,

Bought one in the end I think it is a bargain for the money. I know the console is coming towards the end of its life but I can play all the exclusives on here at bargain basement prices. Will then keep an eye on the Switch to see if it takes off over the coming months and watch the price drops. Heat added and thanks very much for posting!

You can block the DNS. Google ' wiiu block Nintendo dns ' and have a look at some of the top results.( Not linking due to Hot Deals Rules )

Just wanted to say thank you for a very informative post, far better than some of the nonsense I read on this forum. I've gone from being slightly tempted to very close to ordering after reading your post...

how would you do that? Doesn't it update automatically when you connect to internet

Ideally Keep on 5.1.1 Firmware .. Sorry 5.5.1 Which is currently the most current version

Yes. Have a 320GB connected to mine for game storage, but not with Wii games, just Wii U.

Cheapest way to play Zelda Breath of The Wild. Game of the year if not decade! Heat added :smile:

Saw this yesterday but agreed put off by grade c. Hoping for a brand new one for £150...

We have a USB hard drive plugged into our Wii with all our games on it. Can the Wii U be modded so that we can simply plug the HDD into it and play all the games in the same way?

Good (current) price, but "Grade C" sounds a bit scary. I don't suppose they are that price in store, so you can check what a "Grade C" looks like?

Anybody think that this is a good deal instead of jumping for a switch? I've been thinking about picking up a Nintendo console for a while but don't want to drop £280 plus games on a switch just yet!

Only in Brazil :stuck_out_tongue:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii_U
Release date
US / CA: November 18, 2012
MEX / SA: November 29, 2012
EU / AUS: November 30, 2012
JP: December 8, 2012
BR: November 26, 2013

Brilliant time to buy a Wii U - not sure the games will get a lot cheaper than they are now, especially given the low print runs of a lot of the titles.

As an ex-employee from GAME, I can assure you that there's nothing to be worried about for the grading. For those unaware, Grade A basically means brand new in box or opened but is in pristine condition.
Grade B is opened, usually has a box and may have like 1 or 2 scratches/marks on the console. There will be little to no dust on the console itself.
Grade C is a couple of noticeable scratches/markings and may carry a bit of dust.

Certainly in the store i worked at, we are very strict on our grading and there is a very fine line between grade c and not acceptable...like if there are too many scratches on the console we wont take it, likewise any removal of warranty stickers or port covers are immediately rejected. We also take a look at the controller as well and if there was the slightest thing wrong with it (joystick is a bit sticky or loose, scratches, marks, weak/squeaky triggers etc.) then the entire console is rejected for trade in also.

Next comes the testing, in our quieter periods (i.e. not at xmas when we have hoards of "entitled" customers who want to buy the latest COD or BF for their little ones) we usually spent 30 mins testing each console and that covers everything...how fast it turns on, if it reads a disc, how well it reads the disc, any loud noises emitted by the fans, network connectivity etc. if it passes then we finally format the console and give it a final grade.

Also remember that you get a 12 month warranty (1 free repair/replacement) should anything go wrong so there's that for an extra piece of mind.

Anyway voted hot, the console may be dead but there is a huge treasure trove of gems that are to be played should you pick one up :smiley:

Good price, i'll still wait for them to come down even more though!

excellent!! cheers!!

HI will this play super nintendo games?

thanks

Grade C - casing held together by semen or other bodily fluids.

Tesco once sold these brand new for this price years ago. Well done to those who bought them, played it to death and managed to get more than their money back!

That's great, I know the switch is out but my 3 daughters aren't that fussed with consoles apart from let's dance and sims etc so thought it could be an upgrade from the Wii, withought forking out loads if not used as much! Plus the wii graphics are pretty poor! :confused:

Can you run wii games on these? Our wii is on last legs, oh and do the wii controllers connect with these too?

That's what anti bacterial wipes & dettol spray is for! :wink:

Thanks

yes, it's backwards compatible with Wii games.

"A Grade C Console is in 'fair' condition & needs to be:
Fully functional
Reasonable condition
May have some cosmetic marks or scratches
No scratches on screen that distort the screen image when on"

My issue is in terms of the new market - you can get an xbox one or ps4 bundled with a few games for cheaper than a new Wii U generally runs you. Deals like this are somewhat few and far between.

Tbh the price of the Wii U was what has put me off the wii U and slightly the switch.I did see one good deal that I didn't miss out on, but would've needed to travel more than I wanted :c

Pretty sure that statement is usually referring to games more than consoles. Pretty much all consoles will get cheap eventually.

It's definitely getting there. Few more CEMU updates and i'll start Zelda all over again I reckon.

I haven't, the Wii U was only out for four years - it did drop in price, the Wii became pretty much worthless... it's a urban myth that they hold their price or become more valuable. I've own many Nintendo devices. Some of the special editions hold value but like all consoles they lose value rapidly, the Wii U did ok.... that's about as best a spin as you can put on it

So tempted...

It's taken a new console to come out for prices to finally drop - i think you've missed the point of the statement

Probably a lottery - I offered a phone to Game that was in very decent condition (new screen) bar scratches around the charging port and they said it was Grade C. But they'll also tell that to the guy who used his WiiU as a chopping board.

Somewhat dispelling the myth that Nintedos don't lose value.

If you've got a reasonable PC you can run them pretty damn well using CEMU.

Hmmmmmm 12 months warranty is not too shabby, tempted to roll the dice on this one. So many gems on the Wii U I missed out on last / current gen

Grade does sound sketchy I picked up a Wii U when Zelda BOTW came out from Grainger games a 5/6 weeks ago, was able to check the 3 they hard in store out before I bought one and got an unboxed like-new console for £130 not an amazing deal but at least you know what you are getting

Shame it isnt this price instore so you could took a look at them

Hard to find a good one for reasonable price retail, grade c though for £100..

Think I'd go for classifieds on here\avforums or local cash convertors etc instead