You're better off waiting for a good Switch and MK8 Deluxe bundle then spending nearly £200 on a dead platform. Plus this version doesn't come with the extra characters, tracks and battle mode and isn't portable either.

Even this is better value in the long run:
http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/nintendo-switch-mario-kart-8-309-99-smyths-instore-2672350

A PS4 or X1 is no good to someone who wants a Wii U though, is it?

^ Why does it bother you so much? I've had my Wii U since launch and I've played it to death, loads of fun games on it. If you're just going to bleat a rather boring opinion, you're missing out on a lot of fun.

not to mention the soft modding ability :wink:

cex just reduced the official high capacity battery for gamepad to £10 if it helps anyone. I don't really find the standard battery an issue but have bought one anyway, only £10 for less time having it plugged in

You can still get the Wii-U MK8 bundle from most Toys'R Us stores. For the eye watering price of £279.99!
With that in mind, I suppose this is actually a pretty good deal....

Really appreciated it too! Always great to have debates like this without either of us flying off the rails

I'm tempted to get a Wii U to softmod.

I have a soft modded Wii, you can soft mod Wii Mode on the Wii U and it basically becomes a soft modded Wii with full Gamecube compatibility etc with the added bonus of the Wii U game catalogue.

I will however keep my eyes open for cheaper deals. £180 imo is too much.

I'm trying to sell my Wii u

get xenoblade chronicles x if you like that kinda thing, stick with it....it's epic

Got one off local ads with Mario kart for £100 last week. lots of fun

Consoles are never the most profitable for a company, software sales are where the money comes from. Nintendo has the greater library of first party titles of any major platform holder. Taking a loss on consoles to ship more games and ultimately protect the Nintendo brand imo is the smarter move. Another console flop does nothing to bring potential 3rd party support home on the next console. Just my thoughts anyway, hard for anyone to say without all the facts but I've appreciated this rational discussion.

Seriously tempted. I already have several wii remotes, so can play 4 player mario kart straight out of the box, whereas with switch I'd have to buy another of those outrageously expensive controllers which look too small for human hands anyway.

I love my WiiU it is my goto fun console and my PS4 for serious games. My wife won't play Call of duty or racing games with me on the PS4 but will play MK8, mario bros or mario maker for hours with me when there is nothing on TV. Wii U is a family console. Shame it is still expencive but I have a feeling it is down to licencing deals as Sony are very strict on the cut they make. I love nintendo stuff it is so well made and thought about even down the the rounded edges on the discs. And it is true it holds its value (except the wii as they sold so many) and the wii u price will go up as the switch takes hold and people want to play the old classics.

Is there a fish tank nearby?


Wait...what are we talking about again?

Great deal for young kids, but for serious gamers the Switch is definitely worth the extra cash. Wii U is probably the worst console I've ever owned. Poor concept and functionality. No wonder it flopped.

Not really asking you to sympathise actually. The Wii U was a mistake. Merely pointing out that the other decisions around it was to minimise the losses from it. Had they dropped the price to £100-£150, they wouldn't have gotten enough sales to cover the loss per unit. They already had evidence from when Tesco had that level of clearance for a short while. Selling at £100-£150 would mean greater operating losses and much more negative perception than what we eventually ended up with. From a marketing and public relations perspective.

It was a bad situation all round and it seemed like all the choices were just around picking the least worst option.

Avoid; unless you are a wii u/nintendo die hard who needs one before it is impossible to get one new. After cash back and deals I got my wii u in early 2015 for around £100; and don't even know if it was worth that.

nintendo fan - switch - the best games are going to get switch re-releases and is an ongoing platform with support.
just want any console - ps4/xbox are around the same price and have years of support left in them

cold.
simply not worth this price anymore.

If it was this price a while ago I might have gone for it since there are a few decent games and free online play. However this is a dead console that flopped so if you can wait, I'd probably wait for any switch deals. The switch isn't in an amazing place right now since for starters it lacks a library, but that should get better, and hopefully the console and the games will come down from their ridiculous price at the end of the year or so.

Voted hot since it's a good find despite nintendo's stubbornness on the price.

The Switch isn't really a full on successor, well in my eyes at least since you can't have 2 screen functionality like you can in most games on Wii U even in the OS.

Modern houses have signal zapping foil attached to the plaster boards that make up internal walls

Are your walls made of lead? :smile:

I can use mine upstairs, Wii U in lounge, controller in bedroom, works fine.

mine does not work 5ft away through a bedroom wall.

I got the £100 wii u grade c deal other day, glad i got it as had £20 off in credit, but oh man did the console come scratched....looked like it had been in a sand pit :disappointed:
But £80 for some awesome nintendo action :smile:

Love the passion in these Wii U threads!

Heat added OP :smile:

We know for a fact that major stores still have new Wii U consoles in stock, hopefully there should be some deals from £150 and below soon. Once that stock is gone it's only going to be available second hand. I really wanted brand new as I plan to keep the console.

Cold because grainger are a very dodgy retailer and they are trying to get rid of like-new open box consoles as "new" scum!

My Wii U is upstairs and I can play on the pad downstairs? The range isn't as bad as the WiFi or left Joycon on the Switch. :smile:

Sorry but I can't feel any sympathy for Nintendo losing money.

Firstly the WiiU was a poor idea from its inception, they tried to repeat the Wii's success without paying any attention to the fact that the market had already moved on way before the Wii U was ever released.

Secondly, Nintendo are their own worst enemy. They've recently announced that they're stopping production of the Mini NES. You know, that console that's hugely popular and has been sold out ever since launch. Not sold out due to sheer demand though. Sold out because Nintendo were shipping single digit stock numbers to major retailers. Amiibo are another recent example of Nintendo's sheer incompetence. During the hype months they were unobtainable. Nintendo always fail to make supply match demand.

Had Nintendo dropped the price of the Wii U to £150 2-3 years ago they would have sold a lot more consoles, got more people buying their games and could have saved the console. Nintendo display such blindingly obvious arrogance it really surprised me how many people still support them. The Switch looks cool but it launched with literally 4 games and has a very sparse line up going to Xmas. The upcoming SNES mini will inevitably be a huge success and similarly unourchasable due to supply and demand. Nintendo make great products, but they're a shocking business.

Not being funny but £180 for a Wii U is indefensible! Two main reasons:

- It's old tech. The Xbox 360 and PS3 have 10x the back catalogue and both are a fraction of the cost new.

- The Wii U was £280 at launch... FIVE YEARS AGO. Barely £100 difference for a 5 year old, defunct flop of a console is not a good deal in my opinion.

At £150 you could argue that's a half decent deal but this is classic stingy Nintendo. The same Nintendo that never endingly and deliberately throttles production of all its most wanted items. Don't defend them, they can do so much better.

Differed from person to person - I had no issues bringing it to the bedroom. And my Wii U was under my TV cabinet with loads of other interference nearby from other electronics around it. Could even close both the living room door and my bedroom door and still have a stable enough connection to play as long as I didn't move the GamePad around.

But yeah, the Switch is what the Wii U should have been.

To be fair, off-screen play was the most disappointing thing about the WiiU. A big old premium for the screen controller, and I couln't even take it into the next room without it failing! The Switch is what the WiiU should have been.

Cold got it from Smyths with Splatoon for £149.

R.I.P. WiiU

I more then happy with the B Grade Wii U I got from Game last week with Mario Kart pre-installed (as it was the Splatoon bundle) for £110. I've been trying to catch these £150 Wii U offers for years with no luck & now I feel sad I've been missing out all this time. I'd been just playing it once a year at EGX but Nintendo weren't there last year and that was a real let down.

I really hope it still has a couple more years in it & that online doesn't get ruined by hackers completely. Then I see how the Switch is looking but I'm sure it will still be too expensive.

You're better off waiting for a good Switch and MK8 Deluxe bundle then spending nearly £200 on a dead platform. Plus this version doesn't come with the extra characters, tracks and battle mode and isn't portable either.

Even this is better value in the long run:
http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/nintendo-switch-mario-kart-8-309-99-smyths-instore-2672350

Actually I have a Wii U so I can understand why someone would want one, but not at £180 in 2017.

Brazilian method

Which is great for playing some of those hard to find games like Tank Tank Tank.

I think the Wii U is still worth this price as lots of great games for it. You'd pay as much for a 3DS XL with no games.

Rubbish deal!! Who are the dopey people voting hot for a failed console that should be sub £100

Yeah you're correct it was smyths with splatoon at £150!

This is still a decent console. I love it! Good range of games that give hours of fun.

His likely comeback to that would be - who wants a Wii U?

I got tons of mileage out of mine and def wouldn't be able to game as much as I did if I had a PS4 or Xbox due to off tv play.

My point is that nearly £200 for a Wii U isn't a good deal, when you can probably find an Xbox One or PS4 for a similar price!

Still plenty of life in the Wii U, very good catalogue of 1st Party games.

It will only become harder to get and the price will go up further.

I want to get a Wii U but really £150 should be the max for it now.

not to mention the soft modding ability :wink:

I think that was Smyths with Splatoon.

Free online play and a large library of cheap games; still plenty of value in this for lots of people

Over £100 less. Large back catalogue. Still works.