Wii U update to start up games faster this summer

Nintendo is planning an update for this summer that will give players a "Quick Start Menu" option for the Wii U, letting you select from five games as soon as you start up the console and bypass the Miiverse console startup screen.

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As part of its effort to increase the appeal of Wii U, Nintendo has announced plans for a "Quick Start Menu" on the GamePad that will allow players to jump into games faster. Though games appear to still maintain their startup load times, the new menu would let you bypass the console startup screen and go directly into a game. It will be coming in an update sometime this summer.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said during its financial presentation that the console startup takes more than 20 seconds before a player can even select a game to load. Though the function isn't ready to show in action, Nintendo made a brief example video of what it could look like. In the mock-up, starting up the system brings up an abbreviated menu of only five games on the GamePad, and selecting one takes you straight to it instead of jumping into the Miiverse first. It seems intended to enhance the experience of playing games on the GamePad itself by letting you do some simple functions while the console is warming up.

Nintendo predicts that this will "make you feel that the time to start up a Wii U software title is cut by more than 50 percent," though Iwata notably didn't promise a solid 50% reduction. He also said it should "lead to more Wii U users understanding the appealing nature of the GamePad," which was a major point that Nintendo was pushing across most of its financial call.

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  • reply
    January 30, 2014 8:30 AM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Wii U update to start up games faster this summer.

    Nintendo is planning an update for this summer that will give players a "Quick Start Menu" option for the Wii U, letting you select from five games as soon as you start up the console and bypass the Miiverse console startup screen.

    • reply
      January 30, 2014 8:58 AM

      How many people are working on this? 2?

    • reply
      January 30, 2014 9:13 AM

      Will be nice to directly boot into DKC Tropical Freeze right from the Gamepad...

    • reply
      January 30, 2014 10:41 AM

      Yeah, the Wii U startup isn't terribly long but it comes across as sluggish. And it resembles the original Wii menu so it just doesn't feel very modern.

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