Dcubed

Actually it won't because it is being handled via the Gamepad's own internal hardware itself. What is basically happening is that the Gamepad itself is keeping a record of your most recent software that you've used and after you select the game/app you want to open and the user Mii, it sends a signal to the Wii U to tell it to turn on and bypass the WaraWara Plaza and Wii U Menu loading and instead just go straight into the chosen game. People forget that the Gamepad itself does actually contain a low power ARM CPU of its own... It's just that Nintendo are actually finally making use of it with the Quick Start menu for something other than decoding the Wii U video stream, the TV remote functions or transmitting button/touch/motion/NFC etc inputs to the console Yeah it's crazy! It's almost like the entire industry is going on vacation till next year. 2014 is basically getting delayed till 2015 across the board!

It did this stuff in standby anyway. The test was conducted earlier this year and it has been able to download and install game updates ever since the first major system update back in early 2013 (what this new update does is that it allows the Wii U to install System Updates for you - before it would just download them and wait for you to tell it to install it, now it does it for you) So yeah, it consumes just 0.2 watts even when downloading and installing updates. Crazy! See while I personally try and ensure that things that don't need constant standby power get turned off at the plug, my living room setup requires that everything need be on standby at all times because I use a Logitech Harmony remote and my setup would be completely broken if all of my living room devices weren't on constant standby... (and getting to my plug sockets in my living room is... prohibitively difficult...)

Spot on. I need my folders something FIERCE! I'm already up to 9 pages worth of downloaded stuff and I'm getting really sick of having to scroll through all of those screens!

You do realise that it actually downloads and installs game and system updates in the background while the console is turned off and in standby don't you? I can't see why anyone would ever not turn standby on (unless you were really concerned about the power consumption). It's awesome! A million miles away from the constant bombardment of updates that you get on machines like the PS3 (ugh... Suddenly getting flashbacks to trying to play Little Big Planet again ) I literally turn my Wii U on and I already have an update for Pikmin 3 downloaded and installed for me. I go to play the game and OOH! Sudden surprise update with Stylus controls added out of nowhere? AWESOME! It also downloads free software for you in the background while it is turned off and in standby too. I actually got Wii Sports Club downloaded to my system for me without me even having to go to the eShop. I just turned on my console and it was already there, sitting on the menu and waiting for me to play Yeah it's brilliant! A shame that it has taken this long to add it in though. I like the Warawara Plaza, but it does greatly slow down the boot up process... I do hope that they add the ability to look at your Miiverse notifications and messages via the quick start menu eventually too (make it so that you can write text replies as well and just have the console upload it to Miiverse in the background once you quit the Quick Start menu - either by turning off the Gamepad or by opening up a game/Wii U menu).

If it's of any use to you... Wii U uses a pathetically small 0.2 watts while on standby. That's far less than any other console (current or last gen, fat or slim), even when downloading and installing stuff in the background while it's turned off. It's nothing short of black magic!

I just turned on my Gamepad and went to playing Advance Wars in-game in less than 25 seconds... (and that's from USB storage, so that'll slow things down because the Wii U has to wait for the HDD to wake up - loading up the Internet Browser from the Quick Start menu takes around 22 seconds, so that's probably more accurate) Yeah, I like this thing

COUGH! /Cough You're not very subtle Mr Sakurai

Yeah I know, hence why I mentioned "mainline" Sonic game for the next one. I want to see them continue to explore the SLW style of gameplay rather than see them go back to the Unleashed/Colours/Modern Generations style of play, but I don't see it happening

Still no folders!? For fucks sake Nintendo, I need them NOW!

Yeah this doesn't look good at all. Looks like a generic PS2 style hybrid platformer/beat em up... A shame. I loved Sonic Lost World (the real version, the Wii U one of course ), but this just looks awful and given the reception that game got, they'll probably just go back to the game-plays-itself style of Unleashed/Generations Modern Sonic style of play for the next mainline Sonic game too

It being a cross gen game is a real shocker! Speaks volumes about MS' confidence about selling their games as Xbone exclusives...

That's just nuts! Looks like MK8 is gonna beat Titanfall after all!

Well that's nice. I wasn't a big fan of the original game, but it's nice to see them get to make the sequel that they wanted to make (and more Wii U support is nice too )

I suspect that the PS4 and Xbone versions will fall down faster than their last gen counterparts though... After all, Titanfall 360 went on to stronger legs than its Xbone counterpart... Stands to reason that PS4/Xbone owner would be first in line for the game when they have nothing else to play and it's not hard to imagine that last gen laggards might be slower to get in on the action.

True, but it was always one of MK7's best tracks anyway :p That being said, the Retro tracks in MK8 in general didn't get nearly as much of an overhaul as the Retro tracks in MK7 (save for a few like Rainbow Road N64 and Toad's Turnpike). In general, they don't make as good use of the new mechanics as the Retro tracks in MK7 did IMO...

The percentage increase doesn't really tell us much, but the fact that it's the 2nd biggest launch for a Mario Kart game ever in the UK is definitely a positive sign True, but I suppose we can note that MK8 has been in the top 5 of Amazon's best sellers for the past 2 weeks though. That's something that TWWHD never managed to do, not by a longshot... Edit: It seems to be doing even better on Amazon US. It's even beating Watchdogs PS4!

And a mightily fine game it is. One of the GBA's very best!

So it's like the Fire Emblem stage from Brawl? Cool! Do we really need another Battlefield style stage though? I want to see more crazy stuff like Poke Floats!

IIRC there's one character (Eenie) that if you try to do Kinstone fusion with and then go back out of it before fusing (quite easily doable if you don't happen to have the right stone at the time), the game counts is as being done and you can never get the chance to do it ever again. You don't actually need this Kinstone Fusion to finish the game, but it's something that drives completionists nuts! There's also a few typos here and there, as well as the missing bomb bag upgrade which is supposed to be purchasable in the shop, but never actually appears, as well as some smaller minor stuff (like being able to warp from on top of the Wind Tribe's home, when you're not supposed to be able to). The EU version was basically a beta build that was rushed out to fill a release schedule gap after the DS' launch was delayed to 2005 over here. Even the Japanese version (which came out only a week or so after the EU version got released) featured these bug fixes. It's a shame that we're not getting the fixed US version, but I can understand why. These are only minor issues in general really and it is the version we got originally...

Any "Worst Moments of E3" list that does not put Konami 2010 at the top of the mountain deserves to be pelted with tomatoes, slapped by a thousand luchas and laughed off the Internet for all eternity :p

Supposedly they haven't, according to folks on Miiverse (not surprised TBH). Sucks, but at least it means that mainland Europe get their FIGS language support (which is obviously more important). Of course they could just let us choose what version we want, but that makes too much sense clearly...

Cool. Well I'll be able to make it in this Thursday at least

I'd like to join the league, but I would only be able to do one Thursday out of every two; joining fortnightly...

We'll just pretend that last session didn't count... yeah, that was a pretty shameful performance from me...

Yeah I agree, the coin item is kinda completely rubbish most of the time. I love the new triple mushrooms though, love how you can steal them off the other players if they don't use them in time Also, getting rid of the whole hold-one-item-while-grabbing-another was the best thing that they've ever done in regards to the item system! Love it! No more having someone in 1st place being untouchable with 6 bananas in tow! Goes a long way towards making races closer and more exciting in general