Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has apologized for some of the technical issues that accompanied Wii U at the system’s launch, and has promised to address them.
Speaking during a mini Dragon Quest X-focused Nintendo Direct broadcast, Iwata said the company will address the much-maligned day-one update as well as Wii U’s crazy long load times between system applications.
Since launch, Wii U users have complained about load screens that can last (in rare cases) up to a minute, even when just switching back and forth between Wii U menu and a system app like Miiverse. Many hoped the problem would be lessened by a recent update that sought to improve OS stability, but it seems Nintendo is still working hard internally to isolate the cause of the issue and possible solutions.
Iwata has previously apologized for the huge day-one update that’s required to access Wii U’s features. He also took the opportunity to apologize for the apparent shortage of Wii U Deluxe units on Japan store shelves, although I expect he made this second apology with a little more relish than he did the first.
I don’t have an exact translation at hand, but it may have gone something like “sorry our new console is extremely popular. Everyone wants one and it’s totally worth your money. We’ll get more in to stores as soon as we can”.
Of course the bulk of the Nintendo Direct was devoted to discussing Square Enix’s MMORPG Dragon Quest X. Among the announcements were the addition of a randomized Magic Labyrinth level as well as Superstar and Magician classes in the game’s 1.2 update.
It was also revealed that a beta of the game’s Wii U version will be available to Japanese gamers in February ahead of its March release, and that owners of the Wii version will be able to download the Wii U version for half price. There was also a pretty sweet new trailer showcasing the game on Wii U:
There have currently been no plans announced to release Dragon Quest X outside of Japan. However if there eventually is an international release, we all will hopefully be able to alternate between dominating slimes and boasting about it on Miiverse without having to wait in between. Be sure to check out the recent Dragon Quest X Wii U screenshots.
So are you pleased to hear the days of 30-second hanging load screens may be over? Or would you prefer Nintendo drops the optimization stuff and puts all hands on deck to help Square Enix localize an English-language version of Dragon Quest X? Let us know in the comments below.
Translation via Cheesemeister
