Topic: Durability

[bionicjim]

Anecdote:
Last night, while playing Super Mario World on the Wii U with one of the kids, we had a visitor knock on the door and I set the Gamepad down to answer. It promptly fell off the couch arm onto the hardwood floor making quite a racket. I didn't even flinch. I never dreamed it could get hurt.
Later, I picked-up the gamepad and examined it and found nothing wrong. We went back to playing the game, with me mainly using the gamepad just as before.
The reason I think this is awesome is that if I had been playing on the PS4 and dropped my Vita or with Xbox One and dropped the Ipad, I would've been extremely concerned. Using the Wii U gamepad has been a real boon to our family's experience with the "second screen" being much more valuable than I ever expected.
Anyone actually damaged their Gamepad through normal use and occasional accidents? Six months and going strong over here.

[azeke]

A year.

Probably dropped gamepad two-three times on the hard floor. Not even a scratch.

I wish their OS was as robust as their hardware...

[ejamer]

With two kids in the house, Nintendo durability is a HUGE selling point for us.

[NWR_insanolord]

The durability of Nintendo products isn't quite as spectacular as it's been in in the past, but I think you can attribute that to no Nintendo console until the GameCube had any real moving parts. Even the GameCube was basically indestructible; I fondly remember the old X-Play episode where they hit one with a sledgehammer and it still worked just fine. Despite facing a slip because they were forced to use discs, I think Nintendo's hardware quality is the best among game companies, and if you do get one of the rare duds their customer service is also the best in the biz.

[azeke]

Also, while it's durable enough, the build quality doesn't feel all that good.

3DS scratched itself and Gamepad is also making that weird clutter noises when moving because face buttons are loose.

[NWR_insanolord]

I really think the way they design their stuff aestheticaly gives it a feel of being less durable that it doesn't really deserve. I didn't like the look and feel of the kind of glossy plastic they use back on the DS lite, which to me made the system feel somewhat cheap and flimsy (which may have been accurate given that I had three of them die on me in three separate ways.) Now the look is both unflattering and dated.

I'll bet that if the GamePad took a cue from the DSi and used a matte finish, people would like the look better and it would feel more solid.

[Nemo]

I've had some issues with my launch 3DS.

It has the lines on the screen (from folding it shut). This is really annoying.

The casing has cracked in two spots, near the two external cameras. This hasn't caused any usability issues, but it makes me nervous.

My "A" button wasn't registering a press for quite a while. It didn't really feel off, but I would have to press it REALLY hard to get it to register. Lately, it has been working fine, but once in a while, it's just a little bit harder to press than normal (but nowhere near as bad as it used to be.)

I haven't played the Wii U as much, but I haven't had any substantial issues with it yet.

I can't get sound to come out of the surround sound system. My old receiver doesn't have HDMI ports. My Sony HDTV has an optical out, which I have going to my surround sound... but it doesn't play sound. I blame Sony.

[BranDonk Kong]

It's hard to break the GamePad LCD because of the design, and because of the materials used. iPads and cell phone screens break easy because when they hit the ground there's nothing to take the brunt of the fall (like the large surrounding area, thumbsticks, etc). I wouldn't so much chalk it up to built quality as I would to design.

Nemo most TVs with optical output only use it for their built-in tuner, any input source would probably have a significant delay if they wanted to output the audio.

[Oblivion]

Funny... I could have sworn Nintendo gets their stuff built at Foxconn just like everyone else.

[Nemo]

Nemo most TVs with optical output only use it for their built-in tuner, any input source would probably have a significant delay if they wanted to output the audio.

Ah. Good to know.

In that case, I blame Nintendo for being stupid and cheap.

I did a little research: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=500865 and it seems that there is no way for me to get surround sound out of my Wii U with my current 600watt surround sound system. My only option is to buy a new surround sound receiver.

Which is ridiculous... I could at least get the Wii to do DPL II surround. Wii U can only do stereo on my system.

[Oblivion]

I thought they recently added an option in the newest update for surround sound?

[Nemo]

They added the ability to use DPL II surround sound... while in Wii mode.

[NWR_insanolord]

It didn't already do that? That was even possible on the GameCube.

[Nemo]

It's pretty embarrassing.

Wii U games can only be played in surround sound if your surround sound system has HDMI inputs and supports six-channel linear PCM audio output.

I'm guessing Nintendo had to pay a small fee to use DTS or Dolby Digital (assumption).

There is no way to send LPCM signal through an optical cable.

I don't know why Wii U games don't or can't at least use DPL II through analog (red/white) cables, but as of right now, they don't. (Even though it works in Wii mode.)

[Stratos]

That must be Reggie's big announcement for the Spike TV awards.

[Mop it up]

My GamePad AC adapter was faulty, but the controller itself feels very solid and I'm not worried about dropping it. It feels like it could withstand any normal amount of abuse.

I can't say the same for the Wii U itself, though. After having several issues with the Wii and 3DS, I don't have confidence that the Wii U won't have problems also. I know more tech means more that could go wrong, but I don't think the hardware is designed as well as it could be and cheaper parts have been in use since switching console manufacturing from Japan to China.