NINTENDO
Wii U
Standard kiosk with wired GamePad
The story
The Wii U kiosk had to explain a second screen, so the GamePad is the star of the fixture. Units went out for the November 2012 launch.
The Wii U sold slowly, and many stores pulled these early, but enough survive that complete units do surface.
Design and hardware
- A black cabinet with a flat screen and a GamePad mounted on a cable.
- The console inside is a CAT I kiosk unit, not a retail Wii U. It uses development keys and a CAT R disc drive.
- The GamePad is wired. A thick cable runs to the DRC Wire and DRC RF ports on the back of the console, and the pad takes power from its own AC adapter.
What it played
Kiosk demo discs only. The CAT R drive reads CAT R discs, so a retail game will not play in it.
Variants to know
Shantae kiosk EpicA kiosk version tied to the Shantae series.
Canadian kiosk EpicThe version used in Canadian stores.
amiibo kiosk RareStores were asked to ship these back at their own cost, so many were thrown out instead.
CAT I kiosk console UncommonThe console alone, which turns up more often than full cabinets.
Collector notes
- Make sure the wired GamePad, its cable and its power adapter are all there. They are the hardest parts to replace.
- Ask for the kiosk disc. Without it the CAT I console has nothing to run.
- Loose CAT I consoles are common; the full cabinet is the real find.