Nintendo Wii U System Update 3.0 Released

The latest Wii U system update is now live and adds automatic background installing as one of its new features to the console.

Wii U system update image

As previously mentioned in last week’s Nintendo Direct, the latest system update for the Nintendo Wii U arrived Thursday evening, which as expected brought with it a host of improvements for the console like faster load times and software installs while being powered off.

That’s not all though, system update 3.0 has a bunch of other neat changes to system settings, the Miiverse, and other areas of the Wii U’s ecosystem. Thankfully Nintendo provided an ample listing of the enhancements made that I’ve gone ahead and dropped below.

New Features:

• A standby function to download and install software while the system is powered off Software purchased from the Nintendo eShop will automatically install in the background once the download is complete

• Holding down the B Button while the Wii U logo is displayed during startup will load the Wii Menu

• The Wii U will continue downloading and installing software even if the system is turned off.

• Disc drive no longer spins when playing downloaded games/applications.

Changes to System Settings:

• An option to transfer and/or copy between two USB storage devices in “Data Management” ? To facilitate this feature, you will now be able to connect two USB storage devices to a single Wii U console

• The ability to select multiple software titles when transferring, copying, or deleting data in “Data Management”

• The option to adjust screen size is now available under “TV”

• “Auto Power-Down” has been renamed “Power Settings”

Changes to Miiverse:

• Added support for the Wii Remote, Wii U Pro Controller, and Classic Controller

• Handwritten posts will now also display on the TV screen during creation

• “Undo” and “Redo” buttons are now available when creating a handwritten post

• Removed screen size setting. This option can now be adjusted from System Settings

Changes to Nintendo eShop:

• Software downloaded from the Nintendo eShop will include released updates and will no longer need to be updated after installation

• Removed screen size setting. This option can now be adjusted from System Settings

Changes to the Internet Browser:

• Added support for the Wii Remote and Wii U Pro Controller

• Added the option to change search engines when performing a keyword search

• Added the option to return to the start page from the bookmark menu

• Removed screen size setting. This option can now be adjusted from System Settings

Changes to Download Management:

• Added the option to change the priority of downloads

Improvements to system stability and usability:

• Further improvements to overall system stability and other minor adjustments have been made to enhance the user experience.

Good to see Nintendo addressing some of the rough patches to the Wii U. Deservedly so. Now if only they could address the lack of software for the console as quickly as this system update, then perhaps things wouldn’t be looking so grim for it.

But while they handle that, let Walyou handle all your geeky needs, i.e. the world’s first smartphone for the blind, a preview of the Firefox mobile OS, and the latest news from around the web.