So the Wii U has been out in the U.S for 3 days... but are you still excited for the EU launch?

          Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime presents the first retail sold Wii U console

I am always a sucker for the launch of new consoles. I  love the build up to launch day - reading the previews,  the inaccurate rumours,  the message board meltdowns and just generally devouring every tiny detail I can about the new system. The Wii U has been no exception,  I have been following it somewhat obsessively since just before E3 this year - and last Sunday the console finally arrived...in America.

If you have visited any gaming sites in the last few days the chances are you will have been bombarded with Wii U launch related stories, reviews and features - hardly surprising for a new console launch  right? What may surprise you however, is that many of these initial articles and reviews have been wrought with negativity and disappointment.
From  mandatory 5gb day one updates,  to reports of painfully slow transitions between apps on the OS and even some people's consoles' being bricked - it's pretty safe to say that is hasn't exactly been a smooth launch.

After hearing how problematic the launch has been I was obviously feeling pretty unenthusiastic about the Wii U and was wondering if all the ridiculous hype that had been built up across the net ( and by my own ridiculous expectations) had been severely misplaced.

 Over the last few days however the mood around the Wii U has seemed to shift.
Looking through the comment sections on gaming sites such as IGN or browsing through Neo Gaf I found lots of people really praising the gamepad and the way it changes not only how you interact with games, but how you browse the web and view films etc.

                       The Wii U - making the sharing of parrots easier since 2012

The more I read similar posts about  how fresh this gaming experience is and more importantly how much fun people are having with the Wii U the more I remember why I fell in love with gaming in the first place. The countless articles and posts that have mentioned how ituiative and entertaining the asymmetrical multiplayer is on Nintendoland just makes me picture some potentially awesome drunken Wii U gatherings, which I think alone is worth some of theses small ( and some likely temporary) issues people seem to be having with the system.

                             Seriously - drunken five player Nintendoland cannot fail to be a blast

My brief hands on with Zombi U was also hugely impressive and the gamepad genuinely made the game world  feel far more immersive - imagine a Metal Gear or Metroid title utilizing similar mechanics .

                                                        
This is before I even take into account the overwhelmingly positive reaction to Nintendo's  social network/online service/crazy forum hybrid: Miiverse. This entirely unique and unashamedly  Nintendo offering didn't seem to be much more than a messy Mii Led status update intially, but people seem to be having a great time with it.  Kotaku even go as far as saying 'Nintendo’s Miiverse Isn’t Xbox Live. It Might Be Something Better.'  The video below really shows how much potential it has. I still think no cross game chat is a huge missed opportunity, but the level of user interaction here and creativity that is encouraged looks totally unique and exciting.

                                   

 

Kotaku's Miiverse walkthrough video really shows the system's potential

 Although there have been a bunch of issues with the Wii U's US launch and a disappointing lack of obvious system features (cross chat, transferrable account system etc) am I still planning on getting a Wii U when it launches here? Yes - and I think it really will offer an exciting and interesting new way to play games of all types (for RPG's the gamepad will be a godsend!) and view media. Will it be a future proof console that will compete with the inevitable next gen systems from Microsoft and Sony? Probably not, but this system offers a wealth in potential new ways to play and even improve existing games ( if anyone's seen the Watchdogs trailer you know that was made for Wii U!) and most importantly - it looks to be a whole lot of fun. Roll on November 30th.