Giving The Wii U As A Gift? Nintendo Says To Update It First

Christmas is upon us, and no doubt more than a few gamers will find Nintendo's newest gadget, the Wii U portable gaming console, in a box with their name on it. The console hit shelves a few weeks back, and an has an update available that Nintendo America says you should be install before giving the gift. Yes, that will mean opening the packaging, but it also ensures the unit will be ready to go asap.

Says @NintendoAmerica in a tweet, "Giving #WiiU as a gift? Pro-tip: Perform system updates before wrapping so it's good to go as soon as it's opened!" The update they reference is 1GB in size, so depending on the network, it could take a fair amount of time to download. Waiting an hour or more to update the new game console is a less than ideal way to spend Christmas morning. Back on November 29, Nintendo's president apologized for the hassle of having to perform a long update when first using the device.

Incorrectly updating the Wii U can brick the device, which means if it is being gifted to a child, it's an extra good idea to update it first. More than a few Wii U users have reported rendering their console useless after losing power or interrupting during the update. Moral of the story? Be sure to plug in the device and leave it alone until the installation is finished.

The Wii U Basic is available for $299.99, while the Wii U Deluxe is available for $349.99. The Basic comes in white and features 8GB of internal storage, while the Deluxe comes in black and features 32GB of internal storage. The deluxe edition also features some extra items in its bundle that the basic doesn't, including a stand, cradle, and console stand.

[via Twitter]