how should I look out to try to make sure I get one that's still hackable I don't know if there's still any out there that are on an old enough firmware but I am justabout to finally get a wii u, and I was wondering if it was still possible to get one that's still hackable since I know it has to be below 5.1.1.

 

I just bought a brand new Wii U with the Mario 3D World and Nintendoland bundle. It didn't even have the launch day patch; I had to update it from the Mario 3D World disc just to play the games (and then later online). I don't know that they are really updating these "off the line".

Personally; I've been keeping mine up to date. vWii homebrew has everything I need; all of the emulators, etc. And we're emulating old games here, so it's not like the native 1080p support of the Wii U's OS matters. And, for me, using the eShop and other online features is important. I typically go for digital games over physical copies.

 

Return it unless they gave you a big discount. I bought the bundle through Best Buy online and received discs.