Wii games can't be played on Wii U's touchscreen controller

Nintendo is wooing customers all over with the recent launch of its next-generation console - the Nintendo Wii U. The console is not without its drawbacks though. While the controller with the touchscreen is revolutionary and gives new options when it comes to gameplay, one of its biggest features allows you to play games using just the screen on the controller without having to turn on your TV. According to IGN, backwards compatibility is a bit awkward on the system, and doesn’t allow you to play Wii games on just the controller.

Any Wii game, digital or disc-based, must be played on a TV using the Wii U’s Wii Mode, which is enabled through the recently released day one update. The mode seems to take emulation a bit too far, as the mode will only work with the Wii’s controllers and accessories, and nothing else.

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No Wii games on this controller for you

President of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata has mentioned the company’s plans to create a Wii U Virtual Console that will feature functionality that will allow the virtual console games to be played on the Wii U’s controller screen.

Nintendo has released a large firmware update for the Wii U that gives access to many of the console’s online features. Not all is well as those who manage to shut down the console in the middle of the 5GB firmware update will have expensive paper-weights on their hands, as this bricks the system.

Ben Fritz – a writer for the Los Angeles Times – posted a warning on Twitter for other Wii U owners. “Warning: don’t unplug your Wii U during the 2 hour plus software update or the console stops working,” he tweeted. While almost every system warns you against shutting it down during a firmware update, most other systems have a backup in place in case of an accidental shut down, such as the PlayStation 3 attempting to redownload the update as soon as the console starts up again. This could be a major problem to those who are prone to suffering power outages. This is no helped by the fact that the firmware update is a hefty 5GB, and will require quite a bit of time to download.

It was recently revealed that the Wii U has a limit on the number of user accounts that can be created on the system. The user accounts are tied to game saves, settings, browser bookmarks and play history. Along with this, Nintendo has revealed that eShop purchases can be played by any users on the same system, unlike on the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 where you have to be signed in to the user account you used to purchase the game.