Buying a WiiU - which pack?

Banjo

I've sat on the fence long enough. I'm ready to take the plunge. I have a budget of €340 which will cover the Nintendoland bundle in Toys r us (£289) or on Zavvi (£275) , or just about get me the ZombiU bundle with pro controller from Amazon (£299)

Which is the better game, bearing in mind I can't afford to buy another game with it?

How important is the Pro controller for future releases? (and does it work on a Wii or Wii games)

How important is the extra 24gb of onboard storage given I could just get the basic wiiu and an extra game?

Ta for your assistance and also for everything George Osborne has done to fix the exchange rate for me!

DARK-KNIGHT

Banjo wrote: »

I've sat on the fence long enough. I'm ready to take the plunge. I have a budget of €340 which will cover the Nintendoland bundle in Toys r us (£289) or on Zavvi (£275) , or just about get me the ZombiU bundle with pro controller from Amazon (£299)

Which is the better game, bearing in mind I can't afford to buy another game with it?

How important is the Pro controller for future releases? (and does it work on a Wii or Wii games)

How important is the extra 24gb of onboard storage given I could just get the basic wiiu and an extra game?

Ta for your assistance and also for everything George Osborne has done to fix the exchange rate for me!

Ok I have had zombi u, mario u, batman, FIFA,blops 2 and nintendoland.. Got the zombi u bundle the controller is nice but I never use it tbh... Always use the gamepad..

Right if I was to do it again I would buy the basic one to allow to buy mario u, blops 2 or mario u..

The extra memory in the premium means feck all to be completely honest as eventually we will all need external hard drives for memory..

Banjo buy a white one and the games you want..

Or buy it used with a game or two for same price that you will buy it for new

abbir

By the way, the premium pack also comes with a sensor bar (if you don't have one from a previous wii) and a gamepad charging cradle. The charging cradle may sound like something small but it is extremely handy, as you can just leave the gamepad on it after playing and the gamepad does need to be kept regularly charged.

smokingman

Basic pack with an extra game dude. Nintendoland is too shallow to be your only game and Zombiiu is not everyone's cup of tea. If, like me, you've avoided the 360&ps3, then anything like Batman/MassEffect3/AssasinsCreed3/BlackOps2 would show off your new investment better IMO.

Banjo

Thanks chaps! Some interesting food for thought!

Took a look at some of the 8GB options and realised I've missed the Zavvi boat... but there are still options - Amazon, Asda + Parcel Motel...

I kind of want a black one for asthetic reasons, and I have €30 worth of amazon vouchers that would put the Premium NintendoWorld Bundle + New Super MariU Bros in my grasp - besides, I already have Batman and ME3 on PC. Will think it over and see if I want to put an order in in the morning. May be seeing y'all in Miiverse someday soon.

MrVestek

To be hoenst with you alot of that is a moot point. I got the basic pack myself and picked up a cheapo deal extreme sensor bar and charging cradle for the Gamepad.

You'll be waiting a while for delivery but for only a few Euro for both you can't really go wrong. They work great too.

Banjo

thanks for the pointers, chaps!
Took the plunge on Zavvi - the £225 32GB Nintendoland bundle is back on. Use code NDD for a discount on delivery. If you don't already have a ParcelMotel account, you could get it shipped to them next day for free at the sterling price (euro price is a far bit off the current exchange rate) and pick it up from a nearby petrol station shortly after that!

That leaves me with plenty of change for picking up a game, will probably stump up for Mario since ZombiU will eventually be going for under €20 being both a launch title and from Ubisoft See you in the Miiverse!

MrVestek

I feel stupid that I bought it in December and didn't wait until after Christmas now... bah. Ohh well. Prices are much cheaper now. :_-(

CastorTroy

To buy or not to buy from Zavvi. Do you think we'll get any cheaper during the year? €290.25 at the moment

MrVestek

CastorTroy wrote: »

To buy or not to buy from Zavvi. Do you think we'll get any cheaper during the year? €290.25 at the moment

Buy it in Sterling, your Visa rates will always be cheaper for conversion than paypal or the likes. Not to mention that their Euro prices are always a little off anyway.

DARK-KNIGHT

That price of 290 is cheap..

Brick and mortar shops might get a decrease in price but if that happens nintendo will have to offer users an ambassador like programme to compensate those that paid 380 and 420 for console on launch

CastorTroy

Achilles wrote: »

Buy it in Sterling, your Visa rates will always be cheaper for conversion than paypal or the likes. Not to mention that their Euro prices are always a little off anyway.

Oh right. Are they not like Play who force you to pay in Euro?

Deano7788

CastorTroy wrote: »

Oh right. Are they not like Play who force you to pay in Euro?

Parcel Motel

MrVestek

Indeed... Parcel Motel.

Star Lord

To elaborate on that for those that aren't familiar with Parcel Motel, when you sign up with them, they give you both an Irish and a Northern Irish address. As NI qualifies as UK, for anything where you save more than €3.50 on the price or the postage, it's well worth it!

Ol' Donie

DARK-KNIGHT wrote: »

That price of 290 is cheap..

Brick and mortar shops might get a decrease in price but if that happens nintendo will have to offer users an ambassador like programme to compensate those that paid 380 and 420 for console on launch

I suspect this is a little optimistic, but it would be brilliant if it happened!

For what its worth, i got the zombiu pack on launch day. If i had to do it again, i'd get the white one and a few games. Partially cos i prefer the colour, partially because i havent used the non gamepad controller even once, and partially because i dont dig zombiu all that much after getting over the initial wow factor of the gamepad.

abbir

CastorTroy wrote: »

Oh right. Are they not like Play who force you to pay in Euro?

I always pay Zavvi in sterling. They don't force me to pay in Euro and I don't use parcelmotel.

CastorTroy

I have 1 free stay left for Parcel Motel, but if they allow payment in sterling will probably just go that route.
Is the box not too big for Parcel Motel anyway? I didn't look at the sizes of the compartments last time I was there

Banjo

290?
Try under 270 (I hope - hasn't shipped yet...)
Zavvi Sterling price of £225 + £1 for delivery + Parcel Motel (€3.50, or free if you're a new user) + exchange rate of around 0.86 at time of writing = €267-ish

Exchange rate may wobble between now and the estimated dispatch date of today. But it's there or there abouts at the moment.

Edit - whoops! a bit late to this party No idea if it's too big, but there's a "suite" compartment that's for bigger boxes, specifically references Games Consoles as one of it's target packages. They're limited though so you might have to wait your turn at the local pickup. Sure you just drive out to them and pick it up if it is too big, they're out between the Charlestown shopping centre and Ikea. In which case add on the Toll if you're crossing the liffey on the M50 but not justifying it by going shopping in Blanch / Ikea

And Petrol


Wait, now I see where the €290 comes from

CastorTroy

Banjo wrote: »

290?
Try under 270 (I hope - hasn't shipped yet...)
Zavvi Sterling price of £225 + £1 for delivery + Parcel Motel (€3.50, or free if you're a new user) + exchange rate of around 0.86 at time of writing = €267-ish

Exchange rate may wobble between now and the estimated dispatch date of today. But it's there or there abouts at the moment.

Edit - whoops! a bit late to this party No idea if it's too big, but there's a "suite" compartment that's for bigger boxes, specifically references Games Consoles as one of it's target packages. They're limited though so you might have to wait your turn at the local pickup. Sure you just drive out to them and pick it up if it is too big, they're out between the Charlestown shopping centre and Ikea. In which case add on the Toll if you're crossing the liffey on the M50 but not justifying it by going shopping in Blanch / Ikea

And Petrol


Wait, now I see where the €290 comes from

+ I live in Donegal so be a wee bit of a drive.

abbir

Just tried to order from Zavvi there. You can pay in Sterling fine, but they will only send it using International tracked which is £7.99. However if you use the code NDD the delivery is £4.04.

Banjo

Son of a motherless goat!
got an order cancellation mail from Zavvi.
Figured that the too-good-to-be-true offer was a misprice. But it appears on their Twitter feed....
Tried to log into my account - won't accept my password.
Reset my password. Got this :

zavvi wrote:

Dear Customer,
We have received a request for a password reminder for your email address. Unfortunately though we couldn't find an account registered to it.

...to the same email address that the confirmation and cancellation were sent to. And to contact customer care you need an account.

No way to call them to sort this out. Mother pus bucket. Well, back to the Wii I go

smokingman

Banjo wrote: »

Son of a motherless goat!
got an order cancellation mail from Zavvi.
Figured that the too-good-to-be-true offer was a misprice. But it appears on their Twitter feed....
Tried to log into my account - won't accept my password.
Reset my password. Got this :

...to the same email address that the confirmation and cancellation were sent to. And to contact customer care you need an account.

No way to call them to sort this out. Mother pus bucket. Well, back to the Wii I go

Wow, so not only did they not honour your order but they wiped your account as well?! Did you send them a box of poo or something?

DARK-KNIGHT

Banjo wrote: »

Son of a motherless goat!
got an order cancellation mail from Zavvi.
Figured that the too-good-to-be-true offer was a misprice. But it appears on their Twitter feed....
Tried to log into my account - won't accept my password.
Reset my password. Got this :

...to the same email address that the confirmation and cancellation were sent to. And to contact customer care you need an account.

No way to call them to sort this out. Mother pus bucket. Well, back to the Wii I go

i would not accept that if i was you, that is just taking the piss out of you...

Banjo

smokingman wrote: »

Wow, so not only did they not honour your order but they wiped your account as well?! Did you send them a box of poo or something?

I didn't... but now you've put that idea in my head and without a next(ish)-gen console to play I have so much free time on my hands....

Found a customer care number - it hangs up on you after telling you to use the web page to contact customer care. If I hadn't used them before and... you know, been in the f'ing shop a few times back before they went bust, I'd think it was a scam.

So, the Twitter campaign starts out gently...

Star Lord

They do seem to reply to queries on Twitter, looking for order numbers etc... Worth questioning them there?

Their customer support number and customer relations email shown here: http://www.zavvi.com/contact-us.info

CastorTroy

Still showing on their site.

Strange.

CastorTroy

How are zavvi for delivery? Reliable?

Dozen Wicked Words

CastorTroy wrote: »

How are zavvi for delivery? Reliable?

Very very slow last couple of things I ordered from them, they arrived after just over 3 weeks. I might have just been unlucky though, and it was only small things, not a console, and with more expensive stuff maybe they would courier it.

Banjo

...and they won't ship it to an Irish address. The Cust Care said "england only" but I'm assuming they wouldn't discriminate against the Welsh and Scottish... right? Although Aberdeen is a pain to get to.
Could mean "mainland" UK.
Well, if you didn't want the 6 counties you shouldn't have bloody taken them

A delivery to a UK address requires a telephone number for verification.
I've used Parcel Motel and their contact number - I'm guessing they won't answer the phone an pretend to be me but maybe if I payed an extra €3.50...?
It has to be a direct-dial number, no extensions or other shenanigans, so I can't enter my own UK contact number.

My 3rd attempt at this order using various combinations of payment and delivery options hasn't been cancelled yet, but I'll give it till 3pm before I start feeling optimistic

SK1979

Banjo wrote: »

...and they won't ship it to an Irish address. The Cust Care said "england only" but I'm assuming they wouldn't discriminate against the Welsh and Scottish... right? Although Aberdeen is a pain to get to.
Could mean "mainland" UK.
Well, if you didn't want the 6 counties you shouldn't have bloody taken them

A delivery to a UK address requires a telephone number for verification.
I've used Parcel Motel and their contact number - I'm guessing they won't answer the phone an pretend to be me but maybe if I payed an extra €3.50...?
It has to be a direct-dial number, no extensions or other shenanigans, so I can't enter my own UK contact number.

My 3rd attempt at this order using various combinations of payment and delivery options hasn't been cancelled yet, but I'll give it till 3pm before I start feeling optimistic

I just ordered the Wii U yesterday morning (about 8:30). I got a mail saying my order had shipped before 12 (yesterday). I just simply logged onto the site, signed in to my existing account, it displayed the price in sterling so I added to basket (£224.99) and paid £7.99 delivery to my Dublin home address. Nothing fancy and it worked grand for me. :pac:

Did try to use a code for 11% off but that wouldn't work so just proceeded as is (forgot about the NDD code). Still, £233 is a cracking price.

CastorTroy

Right so order placed just using my home address. Now to play the waiting game.

Evil zavvi forcing me to buy the Wii U!

Banjo

son of a... I've tried NI, my home address, I've used paypal, visa, Next Day delivery, standard delivery, I've done all sorts and it keeps cancelling them. This is destiny... I was supposed to use this money to buy my wife something nice... ladies dig Mario too, don't they?

Also, I hate you

MrVestek

Banjo wrote: »

son of a... I've tried NI, my home address, I've used paypal, visa, Next Day delivery, standard delivery, I've done all sorts and it keeps cancelling them. This is destiny... I was supposed to use this money to buy my wife something nice... ladies dig Mario too, don't they?

Also, I hate you

Create a new account using a new email address. They probably have a black mark against you for some reason that I can't fathom right now.

CastorTroy

Processing at the moment. Estimated dispatch tomorrow.
Looking at the summary it says total is £225.08, which is strange considering it's £224.99 for the console and £4.04 for the delivery

MrVestek

CastorTroy wrote: »

Processing at the moment. Estimated dispatch tomorrow.
Looking at the summary it says total is £225.08, which is strange considering it's £224.99 for the console and £4.04 for the delivery

Total ex-vat perhaps?

CastorTroy

Just had my order cancelled as only ship to UK address. And now the price has increased so can't reorder

MrVestek

CastorTroy wrote: »

Just had my order cancelled as only ship to UK address. And now the price has increased so can't reorder

You didn't use Parcel Motel? Noob...

CastorTroy

Achilles wrote: »

You didn't use Parcel Motel? Noob...

Not really, considering at no point during the order did they say they can't deliver to Ireland, 1 person here confirmed their order was dispatched to Dublin while another who tried Parcel Motel said it didn't work.

Banjo

Didn't work the first time
My second attempt at a Parcel Motel order is sitting at "Awaiting Despatch" (that's how they spell it. Is that slang for "cancellation and account deletion"?) and hasn't approached "processing cancellation" yet, 36 hours in. I know it's stupid to hope, but I'm starting to feel foolishly optimistic....Estimated dispatch date... yesterday! ****. It's not going to work, is it?

It's no where near as cheap but Asda have the NintendoLand pack + Super MarioU for £315 which is a damned good deal by all but the cheap-as-chips Zavvi standard. It's also UK-Only but throw on free UK delivery and Parcel Motel... who knows?

CastorTroy

Banjo wrote: »

Didn't work the first time
My second attempt at a Parcel Motel order is sitting at "Awaiting Despatch" (that's how they spell it. Is that slang for "cancellation and account deletion"?) and hasn't approached "processing cancellation" yet, 36 hours in. I know it's stupid to hope, but I'm starting to feel foolishly optimistic....Estimated dispatch date... yesterday! ****. It's not going to work, is it?

It's no where near as cheap but Asda have the NintendoLand pack + Super MarioU for £315 which is a damned good deal by all but the cheap-as-chips Zavvi standard. It's also UK-Only but throw on free UK delivery and Parcel Motel... who knows?

Play have Wii U for £255.99 and Mario U for 32.98 so £288.97. Though it's just sold through play.

SK1979

CastorTroy wrote: »

Not really, considering at no point during the order did they say they can't deliver to Ireland, 1 person here confirmed their order was dispatched to Dublin while another who tried Parcel Motel said it didn't work.

There's a pic of my order. It went through absolutely fine. Hasn't been delivered yet but I'm expecting it Monday or so. Can see tracking etc.

CastorTroy

I sent them a message asking if I can update the address to a UK address. waiting on a reply

Banjo

good luck with that (I mean that genuinely though it sounds sarcastic wheN I type it) - working with their customer care is like wrestling molasses, and the more complicated your question the longer replies seem to take. They have facebook, twitter (@Zavvihelp) and the site ticketing system. Facebook was the slowest to reply initially (site was fastest) but also the quickest to respond to my subsequent replies. They seem to only really answer queries between 10am and around 4pm.

Mine just moved to dispatched and has a tracking number that isn't live on Yodel's site yet. (Parcel Motel address + Visa + 3-5 day delivery w/ Parcel Motel's phone number and a note added to the order to say that the telephone number was for a parcel forwarding service)
Fingers crossed...

Tweej

Can I ask about Parcel Motel (I know not the place to do so but oh well), I get something sent to Northern Ireland, do they then send to a collection point in ROI or ?

MrVestek

Tweej wrote: »

Can I ask about Parcel Motel (I know not the place to do so but oh well), I get something sent to Northern Ireland, do they then send to a collection point in ROI or ?

Yes, it's not a complicated concept really, is it? :P