Wii U Firmware Update Halves Loading Times [Video]

The Wii U firmware update that is coming on April 12 is geared towards getting rid of some laggy load times.

Nintendo’s newest console was met with great fanfare when it hit the market last fall but has been coming under considerable fire ever since.

Sales numbers have been about as bad as one could have ever dreamed they might be and that has some wondering whether the console will eventually just go the way of the dinosaurs.

Despite promises that Nintendo would be standing by their console and wouldn’t be offering any price cuts at the end of January, there have been some sales this month specifically geared towards drumming up support.

The Wii U has been much maligned for several different reasons, not the least of which was the user interface that was running a bit slow and had some serious lag.

Nintendo has dropped a video which demonstrates just how much will be improved when this firmware update finally hits.

Nintendo is claiming that it takes about 20 seconds to return to the menu from a game. This firmware update will apparently take that loading speed down to eight seconds.

Nintendo is working to improve the Wii U even more and has promised that a second update that will be released this summer will speed the UI up even more.

Nintendo is bringing one more added goody with the release of this update. Gamers can look forward to the release of the virtual console.

With the release of this particular features, you will be able to play old time Nintendo games as well as Super Nintendo titles.

All of these moves are clearly geared towards making the console that much more popular. In order to really make a dent in the number of people who play on the device, they’re going to need to find a way to stop getting overlooked when new games hit the market.

Check out the Wii U speed test video below and tell us what you think.