Took delivery of my Premium model yesterday, after finally settling on buying into Nintendo for another generation.
Random Hardware Impressions
1. Controller looked larger and felt heavier than I anticipated. With all the talk of its lightness around here, I was kind of expecting to feel more air resistance than weight force, but it definitely has a substantial feel to it. That being said, it is not so heavy that it became uncomfortable at any point.
2. Love the analogue sticks. Nice height. Feel tight. Soft, grippy rubber on the surface, which I find far superior to the DS3 equivalent material.
3. Top shoulder buttons feel awkwardly placed for my hands. Might just be familiarisation, but it I feel more comfortable using the ZR/ZL buttons. The face buttons feel good too (was expecting them to be more squashy).
4. My Wii component cable was able to be used to output 1080p to my Sony TV, which I was suprised about. Maybe not a big deal, but I think it was DF that mentioned you get the full RGB signal with the component, unlike the HDMI. I couldn't really tell the difference between the two cable types, although I wasn't really looking too hard.
5. OS speed is poor. I can access system settings instantly on my PS3, why the wait on the Wii U? I hope they get round to fixing this. It isn't the biggest deal in the world, but it just feels like it shouldn't be the case. One thing I was hoping for with the Wii U was a snappy, hassle free OS - still work to be done here.
6. Hassle free wifi connection. Update took an hour. Loved the Wii system transfer progress screen too.
7. Console is very quiet. Didn't get very hot after a few hours of use including gaming. The disc drive can be heard but I find it quieter than my PS3 super slim.
8. The controller range is fine. Can play in our bedroom, which is directly above the console. This equates to about 3-3.5m range through a floor. Won't quite make the upstairs toilet, however!
9. Unlike others, I didn't notice any improvement in sharpness while playing in Wii mode. It looked identical to as if I had the Wii plugged. No big deal for me however. I gave Metroid Prime (Trilogy) a run out and it still looks amazing, even after all these years.
So far the positives heavily outweigh the negatives, and the negatives are things that should hopefully be addressed as the system matures. No 'buyer's remorse' at this point, so as it stands, I'm happy with my purchase.