Hardware Wii U newbie refurb questions

[preacherfox]

Hi, I'm thinking of getting a refurb model from the nintendo eshop to play Bayonetta 2. I know almost nothing about the Wii U. I have an xbox360.

What firmware typically comes with the refurbs?
I'm confused about the gamepad. Can you play games on it away from the console, like a portable device?
Is it still true you can't use the gamepad to play Wii games (like Madworld)?
Thanks.

 

[Deleted member 331788]

1. Nintendo and contracted companies like GameStop, Game, will install the latest firmware.
2. Most games can be played using just the gamepad.
3. Yes, you can only view them on the gamepad not play.

 

[chairsgotoschool]

generally they have the latest updates.
no it is not really a portable. you need to be within wireless range of the wiiu to use it, it has a decent range though.
yes you can play wii games on the gamepad but with how wii games use the sensor bar it can be weird

 

[preacherfox]

Thanks for the replies. Sorry I meant can you play wii games like Madworld with the WiiU gamepad controls or the pro controller?

 

[Tomy Sakazaki]

On Wii mode, the gamepad will act only as a portable TV with it own sensor bar (the IR emitters are on the side of gamepad camera).
You can't control wii games with it or the WiiU Pro Controller (but some Wii homebrews are programmed to accept the pro controller like Devolution).

 

[WiiCube_2013]

You can play on the Wii U GamePad for a certain distance but not too far or else it's going to disconnect from the console (like going from your room to the toilet with the GamePad it'll lose the connection -- not that I've done it).

 

[tbb043]

One thing to note, according to what people who've bought refurbs direct from Nintendo have said, they're actually not even refurbs but brand new systems. Apparently they're just taken from unsold returned stock, put into a different box, and discounted heavily.

 

[preacherfox]

Hi, I'm used to transferring my games from disc to my xbox360's hard drive. I see that the Wii U doesn't operate like that. Are there noticeable lag times playing from the disc? Thanks.