Wii U mandatory firmware update can be run in the background

By: Muhammad Qasim Hassan

  |   November 21st, 2012   |  

Uncategorized

Nintendo brought the long wait of consumers to an end with the Wii U launch in North America on November 18.

The consumers were understandably excited to get their hand on what is the first system in the next-generation space and it was only natural for them to rush home, plug their system in and kick-off the gaming experience.

However, things did not go down smoothly for them as the system requested for a compulsory firmware update to be performed.

While the update itself was not an issue as it was likely to patch some great features into the system, the time being taken by the update to complete was something that attracted a great deal of criticism.

It was taking Wii U owners up to four hours to down what some sources reveal as a 5GB update, while others report as a 1GB update.

Further reports revealed that interrupting the downloading process would result in bricking, thus making the console useless, thus leaving gamers with no option but to show patience while the system was being updated.

However, gaming sites such as Kotaku and computerandvideogames have come across reports that reveal a perfect solution to the problem of long waiting period while the download completes.

According to these reports, a Wii U user can run the firmware download process in the background.

When prompted to download the mandatory firmware update, the user can cancel it to access the home screen.

The console will continue to download the firmware update in the background anyway, while the user will be playing one of the 23 titles that the next-generation console launched with, which include but is not limited to Call of Duty, Mass Effect, Super Mario Bros. U, ZombiU, Assassin’s Creed and Nintendo Land.

Of course a Wi-Fi internet connection will be required to run the download in the background.

There are reports about the console facing a risk of becoming useless if the download fails, which can happen in case the connection to internet is lost, or if the user himself cancels the update by switching off the console.

The day 1 firmware update for Wii U is mandatory as it will allow users to transfer data from Wii to the new Nintendo console, will give users access to various online features, including Miiverse.

The critics had not been giving very optimistic predictions regarding the performance of Wii U in the market, but the pre-order sales and launch in America has shown a very different scenario, with the system becoming the hottest hardware in the market.

It remains to be seen whether Nintendo’s high-end consoles will be able to maintain its appeal in the market in the weeks to come, especially with Sony and Microsoft dropping the price of their current-generation consoles.