Now that that is out of the system. Welcome to the new thread! This will be the place to talk about your likes and dislikes of the hardware as well as your hopes for the future of this console. Over the course of the next months leading up to this system I will, of course, try to provide a guide in the OP for it along with a listing of games coming out for it along with a recommended list. If possible I'll also provide a spot for gamertags/codes or whatever the system will use. Enjoy!
Beginner's Guide
Launch information
Official Bundles for each region are here
http://www.ign.com/wikis/wii-u/Wii_U_Bundles
For NA there are 2 bundles will be released on Nov. 18th, a White WiiU with 8GB at $299.99 and the Black WiiU with 32GB and NintendoLand and more stands for your peripherals at 349.99. Considering the fact that NintendoLand is a $60 game and you also get 4 times the space of the basic bundle...the Black WiiU bundle would be the preferred one IMO. There's nothing wrong really with the White one either considering that you can use ANY USB external harddrive hookup for space on your system so it's really going to be up to you.
One thing that I will make sure to bring to your attention is the fact that each console will come with a HDMI cable...no composite or component cables come with ANY of the bundles in any region. If you have a TV without an HDMI port then you're going to have to buy a separate cable OR...if you were lucky enough to still have your Wii you can just use the cables for that.
As of me typing this most stores are selling out of preorders over in the states...more specifically the Deluxe NintendoLand bundle. If you're even halfway thinking of getting this system this year this my suggestion would be to find a place to reserve it and put the minimum on it with the quickness.
When you first power on the system there will be a lengthy update that will be needed in order to place BC capability and Miiverse onto your system. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES...UNPLUG YOUR SYSTEM DURING THIS UPDATE OR YOUR WII U WILL BE BRICKED. I doubt any of us would do something like this but we are the human race...there are reasons why 'dumb' warrning signs are put up.
Specs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii_U#Technical_specifications
The system is using 2 gigs of ram...1 strictly for games and 1 for software. The system is fully capable of full HD 1080P and will go as low as standard 480i. 25GB discs will be what the games will be pressed upon and the system is fully backwards compatible with all Wii titles. Composite, component and S-video for the system is supported (If you're looking for an r/f switch nowadays then I think it may be time to think about upgrading your TV). The specific specs of it's GPU and CPU have not been officially released yet but I'm sure someone is going to be curious and pop it open to analyze it at some point after the launch.
The Wii U gamepad screen is said to produce visuals in sub HD 540p. Considering the size of the pad it should look pretty clear and clean.
4 2.0 USB ports are on the system, 2 on the front and 2 on the back. SD and SDHC cards will also be suported. There isn't any internal harddrive system because you can now buy any external harddrive and use it for your system. Reggie has pretty much stated that 'if you wanted to plug up a 3 terrabyte harddrive to it then you can'.
The system is capable of wifi internet 802.11 b/g/n. There is not an ethernet cable port on the system so more than likely if you want have a wired connection you're probably going to have to use a USB adapter for it.
Methods of input
The main new method of input is going to be the Wii U pad. It consists of the screen in the middle, 4 face buttons, 2 clickable analog sticks, a control pad and, 4 shoulder buttons, a gyroscope, camera, accellerometer, infrared transciever, controller sync button, rumble, volume control, IR sensor strip, NFC capabilities, geomagnetic sensor, a microphone with 2 stereo speakers, home, start, power and select buttons....really starting to see why this thing costs so much.
There will also be a Wii U Pro Controller that will pretty much be for the people who want to play a game with a normal controller and just absolutely can't stand the fact that there's a screen in the middle of their controller that they can use for various purposes. More than likely this controller will probably be able to be used as a substitute for most games but for games like ZombiU where using the screen is an important part of the game I'd imagine it not being very interchangeable. Don't worry...I'm sure you'll be able to play Bayonetta 2 with this.
Pretty much all of the Wii controllers will be able to be used with the system. Wiimotes, Wiimote plus, Wii Balance board, Classic controller, nunchuks, etc. Will all be usable on this system. One thing to note though is that Wiimote plus is going to be the standard wiimote controller for Wii U games for the most part. Regular Wiimotes will still be usable for Wii games from what I understand.
Capabilities and apps
It is unknown at the moment whether the Wii U will play DVD's or CD's. I'm willing to bet that it probably at least doesn't play DVD's. To be honest though, do you really need another device that can play DVD's or CD's in your household?
Harddrive space
As I mentioned before, you will be able to plug in ANY external harddrive that you desire
http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/13/wii-u-memory-tivo-dvr/
Seems that skies are the limit on this so if you want to plug in some ridiculous amount of space then you're certainly able to do that. Flash drives and SD/SDHC cards will also be usable.
Nintendo TVii
Nintendo TVii is going to be where all of the video apps for this system will be.
[media=youtube]08O0G9CjcI8[/media]
This actually sounds pretty interesting since you'll be able to post comments on everything you watch sort of like a forum. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Tivo and some sports channels are supported. Somehow this is also able to connect to your TV programs as well. They actually do a nice job of demostrating this stuff during the Wii U preview event. Also this is actually something that NOA came up with which is actually pretty crazy in itself. This functionality has been delayed until December.
Hulu Plus, Netflix, Amazon, and Youtube will all be available.
Wii U pad play
There will be a good chunk of games that will be able to be streamed to the pad itself. Meaning if say you have a family member who wants to watch TV in the room you're in then it could very well be possible to just take what you're playing on the bigger screen and drag it down to the pad. More than likely, games that require heavy use of both pad and TV or use the pad for specific touch functions (I.E. ZombiU) will probably not do that well being shifted down to the pad itself....games like New Super Mario Bros. U though will work perfectly. As of this time VC games do not have the ability to be played on the pad. That's not to say that it can't be patched later...just don't hold your breath on it.
Wii Mode
Backwards compatibility is handled by way of an app called Wii Mode which is it's own separate thing within your Wii U. In this way it's sort of like having the Wii system within the Wii U. This is probably the reason why VC games will not be able to be played on the gamepad as of right now. This being said though it has been stated that Nintendo has plans for a Wii U VC so we'll see what happens with that. Also if you're Wii has been soft modded by Homebrew, you can take it with you to the Wii U without consequences as it was discovered on Neogaf.
Nintendo has a guide on their website that has all the directions for how to bring your stuff over from the Wii to the Wii U
http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/wiiu/en_na/system_system_transfer.jsp?menu=how_to&submenu=wup-transfer-ht-content
Upcoming Games (Updated 8/8/13)
Deus EX: Human Revolution Director's Cut ( Q2 release)
Phineas & Ferb Quest for Cool ( SD 8/13)
Angry Birds Trilogy (SD 8/13)
Disney INFINITY (SD 8/18)
New Super Luigi U (8/25) (if you have NSMBU, then download this dlc for 20 bucks now)
Splinter Cell: Blacklist ( SD 8/20)
The Wonderful 101 ( SD 8/15)
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures ( Fall 2013)
Rayman Legends ( SD 9/3 )
Young Justice: Legacy (SD 9/10)
Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker Wii U (October)
Wii U Party ( 10/2 )
Skylanders: Swap Force ( 10/13)
Zumba Fitness: World Party (SD 10/15)
Sonic Lost World ( 10/22)
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (SD 10/29 )
Lego Marvel Super Heroes (SD 10/31 )
Batman Arkham Origins ( SD 10/25)
Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze ( Nov )
Mario and Sonic at the Sochi Olympic Winter Games (Nov)
Call of Duty: Ghosts ( 11/5)
Watch Dogs (11/19)
Scribblenauts Unmasked (SD 12/31)
Bayonetta 2 ( 2014 )
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Online (TBA)
Jett Tailfin
Super Mario 3D World (Dec)
Mario Kart 8 (2014)
Yarn Yoshi
Wii Fit U ( Dec)
3rd Unknown Sonic Exclusive Title
Xenoblade Chronicles 2? (2014)
Fire Emblem X Shin Megami Tensei
Zelda Wii U
Project CARS (2014)
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (2014)
Panorama View (working title)
Games announced that are in limbo, unlocalized, etc.
Yakuza HD Collection
Dragon Quest X
Solid to Must Have Exclusives
New Super Mario Bros. U
Nintendo Land
Lego City: Undercover
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
Pikmin 3
ZombiU
Solid to Must Have 3rd Party (TBA)
Assassin's Creed III
Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition (Slow down and some texture issues plague this edition but if you don't have a PS3 or a 360 then this will do)
Call of Duty Black Ops 2
Darksiders II
FIFA Soccer 2013
Injustice: Gods Among Us (DLC is up)
Lego Batman 2
Madden NFL 2013
Mass Effect 3 Special Edition (If you get this version you won't be able to get some dlc....dumb I know)
NBA 2K13
Need For Speed: Most Wanted U
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge
Resident Evil: Revelations
Scribblenauts Unlimited
Skylanders: Giants
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (This game puts Mario Kart on notice)
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Wii U Edition
Upcoming eShop games
Duck Tales Remastered
1001 Spikes
Shadow of the Eternals
Cryamore
Shantae sequel
Shovel Knight
Pac-Man Museum
Karateka
Pokemon Scramble U
Oddworld New N' Tasty
Solid to Must Have eShop games
Cloudberry Kingdom
Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara
Nano Assault Neo
Trine 2: Director's Cut
Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien
Mighty Switch Force HD
Mutant Mudds Deluxe
The Cave
Toki Tori 2
List of fellow SRK Nintendo Network ID's (Name = ID ) (If adding people through friends list both people will need to put in each other's names)
Sonichuman = Sonichuman
Cactuarlover = ZeroSuit
Mr.Bastos = MrBastos
Rekano = Rekano
Knot8 = Knot
King9999 = King9999
Lynn Kyle = LynnKyle
Foolinfection = Dex_Masters
Ki Shima = My-Hero
Mr. Phelps = Mr-Phelps
Neesa = Artist
SugaFree = SugaFree3000
LordWilliam1234 = LordWilliam1234
List of Solid to Must Have Wii Titles
Exclusive
A Boy and His Blob
Animal Crossing: City Folk (Only recommended if you haven't played the animal crossing series before)
Blast Works: Build, Trade, Destroy
Boom Blox
Boom Blox Bash Party
Castle of Shikigami III (if you dig shoot em ups like ikaruga)
The Conduit
Dawn of Discovery
De Blob
Deadly Creatures
Elebits (a bit dated now but was pretty good back then)
Excite Truck (dated...get Excitebots)
Excitebots: Trick Racing
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins
Grand Slam Tennis (play it with Wii Motion plus)
Ivy the Kiwi?
Kirby Anniversary Collection
Kirby's Epic Yarn
Kirby's Return to Dreamland
Klonoa
LOZ: Skyward Sword
LOZ: Twilight Princess
The Last Story
Let's Tap
Metroid Prime Trilogy ( 1, 2, and 3 all on one disc...unless you just want to play 3 and nothing else I'd reccommend this)
MadWorld
Mario Kart Wii
Mario Strikers Charged
Mercury Meltdown Revolution
Metroid: Other M
Monster Hunter Tri
Naruto Clash of Ninja revolution (get Rev 3)
Naruto Clash of Ninja revolution 2 (get Rev 3)
Naruto Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
NMH2: Desperate Struggle
Punch-Out!!
Rayman Raving Rabbids 2
Red Steel 2
Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
Rhythm Heaven Fever
Rune Factory: Frontier
Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip (works well with Wii Fit Board)
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
Skate It (Works well with Wii Fit Board)
SSX Blur
Sin & Punishment 2
Sonic Colors
Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Paper Mario
Tatsunoku vs. Capcom
Trauma Center: Second Opinion
Trauma Center: New Blood
Trauma Team
Wario Land: Shake It!
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Wii Fit Plus (if you already have Wii Fit then Plus is just 19.99 for the game itself plus all your workout stuff gets transfered over to the new game)
Wii Sports Resort
Xenoblade Chronicles
Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros Treasure
Multi-plat (Titles here are more than likely better on the PS3/360 unless otherwise stated)
Band Hero (same exclusive features as Guitar Hero 5 but it's more top 10 pop)
Bully: Scholarship edition
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex (it's good for the Wii but if you have COD4 on 360/ps3 you probably don't want to play this unless you like wii controls better)
Call of Duty: World at War (has pretty good controls and has online)
Dead Space Extraction
de Blob: The Underground
Dokapon Kingdom (Mario Party + RPG)
DJ Hero
DJ Hero 2
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3
Geometry Wars: Galaxies
Ghostbusters
GoldenEye 007
Guilty Gear XX Accent Core (use a classic controller or hori stick)
Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus ( use a classic controller or hori stick)
Guitar Hero III
Guitar Hero 5 (has some exclusive features it's 360/ps3 counterparts do not...like Roadie battle)
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
Guitar Hero: Metallica
Guitar Hero: World Tour
House of the Dead: Overkill
Just Dance 4
Lego Batman
Lego Batman 2
Lego Indiana Jones
Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4
Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7
Lego Star Wars: the Complete Saga
Little King's Story (port was brought to the Vita)
Medal of Honor Heroes 2 (really good fps controls compared to MP3)
Muramasa: The Demon Blade (rerelease updated port coming to Vita)
Mini Ninjas
NBA Jam (Wii version does not have online, The 360/PS3 versions will)
NHL 2k10 (This game sucks ass on the other systems and is actually good on this one...however NHL 10 is better on 360/PS3)
Okami (Arguably the Paintbrush works pretty well with the wii mote)
No More Heroes ('updated' port on the PS3)
Pinball Hall of Fame - The Williams Collection
Phantom Brave: We Meet Again
Pinball Hall of Fame: Gottlieb Collection (if you already have this on a any of the last gen consoles than realize that there isn't much of a difference if at all)
Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
Pro Evolution Soccer 2009
Pro Evolution Soccer 2010
Rayman Raving Rabbids (better on this system)
Rayman Origins
Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition (Arguably the best version now with the 'HD make' for PS3)
Rock Band
Rock Band 2
Rock Band 3
Rock Band: Beatles
Rock Band: Green Day
Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny
Samurai Showdown Anthology (classic controller or arcade stick)
Scarface: The World is Yours
Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes (if you enjoy Dynasty Warriors type games you'll probably enjoy this)
Skylanders: Giants
Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing (If you have a 360 then I'd reccommend picking up that version...)
Tenchu: Shadow Assassins
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 ( wait for Tiger Woods 10 and better on this system)
Tiger Woods PGA 2010 With motion Plus (best version of this game across the platforms)
Tiger Woods PGA 2011 (Probably still the best version until probably Sony's Move controller is out)
Tiger Woods PGA 2012 (same)
TMNT: Smash UP ( If you're a TMNT fan you may dig it...however if you like this type of game Brawl is probably a better experience)
Tornado Outbreak (Katamari like)
Upcoming Wii Titles (Updated 4/23/13)
Turbo: Super Stunt Squad ( SD 7/16)
Disney INFINITY ( SD 8/16 )
Decent/Solid WiiWare Titles
And Yet It Moves
Art Style: Cubello
Art Style: Rotohex
Art Style: Rotozoa
Art Style: Orbient
Bit.Trip Beat
Bit.Trip Core
Bit.Trip Fate
Bit.Trip Void
Bit.Trip Runner
Bonsai Barber
Bomberman Blast
Cave Story
Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth
Contra: Rebirth
Defend Your Castle
Dr. Mario Online RX
Excitebike: World Rally
Final Fantasy IV: After Years (Side note: if you want to play the full game..be prepared to shell out 32 bucks)
Fluidity
Jett Rocket
Lost Winds
Lost Winds: Winter of the Melodias
Maboshi's Arcade
Mega Man 9
Mega Man 10
MotoHeroz
Muscle March
NEVES Plus
Nyx Quest: Kindred Spirts (formerly Icarian: Kindred Spirits)
Rage of the Gladiator
Sonic 4: Episode 1 (OP note: it has physics problems and it's $15...but it's still a fun game.)
Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People (all the episodes)
Swords and Soldiers
Tetris Party
Toki Tori
Tomena Sanner
Wario Ware D.I.Y. Showcase
World of Goo
You, Me, and the Cubes
Wii Games in Limbo, Cancelled, or not fully localized
Disaster: Day of Crisis
Dragon Quest X
Zangeki no Reginleiv
Winter (cancelled)
Bleach: Versus Crusade
The Grinder (your guess is as good as mine where this game is)