I just got home from picking up my deluxe edition. I plugged in the power and the HDMI, and popped in Mario. When I power the console on, the screen is just black and my gamepad is telling me to enter the 4 shapes that are supposed to be shown on my TV. I tried switching the HDMI cable into my 360, and it works fine. The blue light on the front of the Wii U is flashing, any idea what's up ? Thank you guys so much, in advance.

Blinking Blue Light of Death is something I have seen referenced on forums for what it is worth.

Other owners have encountered problems with the actual console as its power light, instead of staying on when plugged in, is flashing in a blue color.
According to some Twitter users, when confronted with this issue, Nintendo representatives in stores immediately asked the console to be turned in for repairs. As such, it looks like the blue flashing power light might be a code for hardware failure, in the same way as the Xbox 360’s “Red Ring of Death” or the PlayStation 3’s “Yellow Light of Death.”

Daaaaaamn. This console is fucked.

Wow I didn't expect this from Nintendo hardware.

@murisan said:

Daaaaaamn. This console is fucked.

Nintendo is known for fantastic hardware design and durability, I am assuming this is the early batc.

They truly have caught up with current generation hardware by having a massive technical failure associated with a color. Congratulations. Blue is a nice color.

Hey guys ! Thought I'd give you all an update. My local EB is closed, so I called Nintendo support. Dude told me they'd pay for expedited shipping to repair my console. Looks like I've got the Wii U version of the Red Ring of Death. Sweet.

I'm gonna try calling my EB tomorrow in the morning to see if they'll be able to exchange it, just to cover all my bases, as they prob won't be able too.

Blue light of death???? Woa second day and we alrady have this .... yeah a modern console alright :/

@Aetheldod: I think it's unfair to say that it's not a modern console because of hardware failures 'this soon'. Every console of the current generation had similar issues, for example, the Red Ring of Death for the 360 and the Yellow Light of Death for the PS3. Both of these issues began happening day 1, and I don't think many would argue that neither the 360 or the PS3 are 'modern consoles'.

@talkingtoast: That's probably the point. This is a modern console because it's so shitty. My SNES and Genesis still work flawlessly.

Wow, Nintendo used to be the industry leader in hardware reliability. Hopefully its an isolated problem.

@TooWalrus: Ahh, I may've assumed sarcasm when it wasn't there ! I think it's also worth mentioning that none of your SNES games will save anymore, considering the cart battery is dead, though :P

@Levio: Right ? I hope so, too.

@talkingtoast: Actually, my Super Mario RPG cart was working as recently as last year, but I get your point. It seems like Nintendo put all of their hardware money into making that fancy controller and less into making sound console hardware. Or firmware. Or software...

With the ridiculous slowdown in several games, the hard console locks, and now this.. I think Nintendo has bit the last bullet.

Fuck, there are going to be some really bummed out kids on Christmas morning :'(

@talkingtoast: Yeah no sarcasm there :P

Is this widespread, quite shocking with even these few posts about it. I guess when you go HD is when your system gonna break.

@murisan: Think that's a bit premature.

I think you guys are all blowing this way out of proportion.

@DeathByWaffle said:

@murisan: Think that's a bit premature.

I really don't, but I guess we'll see. I'm betting by this time next year, the next xbox/playstation are releasing, and the Wii U is desperately scraping along miles behind.

@talkingtoast said:

@TooWalrus: Ahh, I may've assumed sarcasm when it wasn't there ! I think it's also worth mentioning that none of your SNES games will save anymore, considering the cart battery is dead, though :P

@Levio: Right ? I hope so, too.

Let's not start crazy rumors now...those batteries can go for a long time. I think I have Famicom/Nes carts getting close to 25 years.

@talkingtoast: That's probably the point. This is a modern console because it's so shitty. My SNES and Genesis still work flawlessly.

Dude that sucks. I feel like everything I'm hearing/seeing regarding this console is negative, yet, somehow, I still have this itch to get one.

@murisan said:

@DeathByWaffle said:

@murisan: Think that's a bit premature.

I really don't, but I guess we'll see. I'm betting by this time next year, the next xbox/playstation are releasing, and the Wii U is desperately scraping along miles behind.

I think Ubisoft indicated they were doing prev/next gen oriented designs for the first two years of the next PS/XBOX, so that gives the Wii U ~3years of perceivable parity. I'm oddly happy knowing that the WIi U early failures tend to me early life so far. Stuff that comes from thermals or over the long term hanging over it would be worse (of course, maybe we have just not gotten to that yet).

And it will still play Nintendo games, which is kind of why you buy this. Even if the best hope for it is catering to kids and other genres that are less emphasized on the other consoles (in terms of long term Nintendo success, something I'm rooting for). So far it is really fun to use anyway, even if its probably not the thing to get for a long term console investment (IMO PS3 fills that role at the moment, tons of good cheap greatest hits games / HD ports).

@talkingtoast said:

@Aetheldod: I think it's unfair to say that it's not a modern console because of hardware failures 'this soon'. Every console of the current generation had similar issues, for example, the Red Ring of Death for the 360 and the Yellow Light of Death for the PS3. Both of these issues began happening day 1, and I don't think many would argue that neither the 360 or the PS3 are 'modern consoles'.

Nah dawg, it took quite awhile for the YLoD and even the RRoD to start happening in full swing. Go find me numerous reports of PS3s failing the FIRST DAY and I'll concede the point you're trying to make.

@Zekhariah said:

@murisan said:

@DeathByWaffle said:

@murisan: Think that's a bit premature.

I really don't, but I guess we'll see. I'm betting by this time next year, the next xbox/playstation are releasing, and the Wii U is desperately scraping along miles behind.

I think Ubisoft indicated they were doing prev/next gen oriented designs for the first two years of the next PS/XBOX, so that gives the Wii U ~3years of perceivable parity. I'm oddly happy knowing that the WIi U early failures tend to me early life so far. Stuff that comes from thermals or over the long term hanging over it would be worse (of course, maybe we have just not gotten to that yet).

And it will still play Nintendo games, which is kind of why you buy this. Even if the best hope for it is catering to kids and other genres that are less emphasized on the other consoles (in terms of long term Nintendo success, something I'm rooting for). So far it is really fun to use anyway, even if its probably not the thing to get for a long term console investment (IMO PS3 fills that role at the moment, tons of good cheap greatest hits games / HD ports).

Also, I can't tell if this is a joke or you're just that optimistic. There's no way you'll see console parity past the launch of the new systems. For that to be true, the new consoles would have to produce games that ran on the previous consoles for the first two years of it's life.

@Ben_H: See now I just want to watch people try really hard to break a DS and Gamecube, it feels like a challenge laid out by nintendo. Probably worth noting I dropped a Wii down a flight of stairs and it too, works fine.

It should also be worth noting that my Wii's GPU got damaged within a few months because I left WiiConnect24 on. So there's that too.

Holy shit, first day meltdown? That's really bad.

Just got back from EB, they gave me a brand new system. The manager had one on pre order but was having second thoughts, and just gave it to me. What outstanding service.

Edit: @Azteris: Fair enough-- the first time I heard about it it was approx. a year after launch, and that was from a close friend. I don't think there were many PS3 failures in the first week of launch, but I'm sure there were a couple-- nothing RROD scale for sure.

My 360 at least had the courtesy to last 3 months before a sofware update blew it up. This WiiU thing sounds really bad.

Not this pish again. Mass produced crap.

@pyrodactyl: Looks like most people's Wii U's are working fine as well. My second is DLing the new firmware as we speak. Plenty of 360's had RROD's out of the box as well, this seems to be a similar problem, albeit in a far less limited scope.

@rjayb89: lols, but true!

@pyrodactyl said:

My 360 at least had the courtesy to last 3 months before a sofware update blew it up. This WiiU thing sounds really bad.

Blew it up? I hope nobody got hurt.

@talkingtoast: I literally just got my Wii U today and am having the exact same problem. I have tried switching HDMI cables, televisions, and I even tried plugging in my old cable from the Wii. I am really upset about it. Called Nintendo they told me to send it in but informed me that the wait could be up to a month. I don't want to wait a month to play my $350 dollar console. It should already be working. Planning on returning it tomorrow. It was the last Wii U in stock so I don't know when I will be getting a new one.... if ever.

@irun2places: Your console is dead. When I called Nintendo they told me it'd take 4-6 days, but I decided to talk to the people at my local EB. They told me that the second they get a new one in stock (which would be tomorrow) I'd be the first to get it. As it turned out a manager had one that she was having second thoughts about, and decided to let me have it.

It's weird that you were told it'd take a month, but I'd certainly try talking to the retailer you bought it from. Oh ! If it helps sway you in either direction I'm actually really enjoying it. After seeing Patrick's review of ZombiU I think I'm gonna go grab that this week. The multiplayer in Nintendo Land is phenomenal.

Good luck with your WiiU man !

@BestUsernameEver said:

@murisan said:

Daaaaaamn. This console is fucked.

Nintendo is known for fantastic hardware design and durability, I am assuming this is the early batc.

I am not sure why people still claim this. They are not bad but I don't see them as better than say Sony.

e.g. Google for examples of the infamous DS lite cracked hinge. The Gamecube had a terrible optical drive. Had to tweek the pots on mine at least a couple of times over the years to get it to keep reading discs. I know the failure rate on wii drives is quite high.

@talkingtoast said:

Just got back from EB, they gave me a brand new system. The manager had one on pre order but was having second thoughts, and just gave it to me. What outstanding service.

Edit: @Azteris: Fair enough-- the first time I heard about it it was approx. a year after launch, and that was from a close friend. I don't think there were many PS3 failures in the first week of launch, but I'm sure there were a couple-- nothing RROD scale for sure.

The manager gave you his pre-ordered WiiU? What a cool dude!

I remember dropping my PS2 (was taking it to a friend's) took it back to Electronic Boutique (back when they still existed in the UK) and the guy gave me another one even though it was out of warrantee because it was close to christmas.

Anyway, sucks that your console didnt work, I'd hate to have to go through that. At least you got another one though. Hopefully this is just a rare thing...

EDIT: ^^ dudette even

Picked up a Wii U Deluxe tonight at Walmart. Hooked it up and got the flashing blue light, not outputting any video, tried multiple HDMI cables and inputs both through my receiver and TV, no luck. Was able to swap it out for the last Wii U Walmart had in stock and that one worked fine.

@alternate said:

@BestUsernameEver said:

@murisan said:

Daaaaaamn. This console is fucked.

Nintendo is known for fantastic hardware design and durability, I am assuming this is the early batc.

I am not sure why people still claim this.

I feel the same. Sure the SNES and the N64 were tanks but the original NES was kind of junk, I don't know anyone who got through that hardware cycle without endlessly blowing in the machine, setting it upside down or on it's side or stuffing a second cartridge in the machine to hold the one being played in place. The DS has also had more than it's fair share of problems be it dust in the shoulder buttons, cracked hinges or card reading issues.

I'd say they have a decent track record overall but I don't agree with this idea that Nintendo is infallible when it comes to hardware.

@ProfessorEss said:

@alternate said:

@BestUsernameEver said:

@murisan said:

Daaaaaamn. This console is fucked.

Nintendo is known for fantastic hardware design and durability, I am assuming this is the early batc.

I am not sure why people still claim this.

I feel the same. Sure the SNES and the N64 were tanks but the original NES was kind of junk, I don't know anyone who got through that hardware cycle without endlessly blowing in the machine, setting it upside down or on it's side or stuffing a second cartridge in the machine to hold the one being played in place. The DS has also had more than it's fair share of problems be it dust in the shoulder buttons, cracked hinges or card reading issues.

I'd say they have a decent track record overall but I don't agree with this idea that Nintendo is infallible when it comes to hardware.

I have never owned a Nintendo system that has failed on me. I can't say the same about PS2, PS3, X360, PSP or the dreamcast. I personally think Nintendo's designs are iconic, and last long.

My system totally had this. It was a basic white one and the light blinked blue. Went to go return it and ended up upgrading to the black one.