YouTube on Wii U's browser is all kinds of amazing

Destructoid- It's been about a week since the Wii U launched, enough time to run the system through its paces. I've had my fair share of problems, and I really hope Nintendo addresses those matters sooner rather than later. However, there are other things that make me excited to see how the tech will be applied in the coming years.

I've kinda fallen in love with watching YouTube on my Wii U. I'm not talking about the dedicated YouTube app -- keep that sh*t away from me. You can't watch videos on the GamePad, and sometimes your subscription feed won't even load. What a joke.

No, I'm talking about using YouTube via the already amazing built-in browser. The level of convenience and functionality it provides is so remarkable that I can honestly see it being my go-to device for watching web videos. If you haven't already tried it, let me tell you what's in store.

[for we are many]

Happy to find someone writing about this, I've been saying to myself why am I the only one who noticed how impressive the browser on Wii U is and especially YouTube on that browser, both on the TV and the GamePad.

[lashes2ashes]

True but the problem I have with the wiiU browser is certain sites like the cw.com when trying to go to them I get access denied lol. Must be a flash based thing.

[black911]

You can't watch videos at 240p! Oh Nintendo, when will you ever catch up to 1999?

[ape007]

Well Said Legion, well said

[yeahokchief]

You paid almost $500 on a console (after controllers, memory and a game) to watch youtube. Bravo.

The fact that the Wii stories we are reading is about this junk instead of GAMES speaks volumes. You guys wasted money.

Looking forward to picking up a Wii U if it goes on sale AND has games. Back to Hitman Absolution, Battle Royale, Max Payne 3 multi, Dark Souls, Twisted Metal Multi, PS Move bundle i got for $40 bucks with LBP2 on black friday, a few $10 ps move games I picked up on black friday, and all the other insanely cheap games/trilogy collections i picked up over the weekend for 10 bucks a pop. Sony is where the value is at!

PS. I thought about getting the $179 PS Vita bundle with 3 months PS+, but honestly I have so many games to play that I doubt I'll be able to finish them before the next big releases in February 2013. March is looking pretty good too. And everything gets put aside in May when GTA V is released or whenever they launch GTA. I'm assuming May because that's been their month for the past few years, but who knows.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

[Zhipp]

I'm confused. If one bought the Wii U just for Youtube, they wouldn't have spent more than $300+tax. The fact that you assume that they had to get storage, controllers, and a game means that you must believe that they bought the console for gaming, but that contradicts the very point of your post in the first place...

[PopRocks359]

@yahokchief

tl;dr

Oh of course. Let's shit on someone's experience with an app on a brand new gaming console because in my own little world every post they make has to cater to MY needs.

Grow up.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

The Wii U YouTube app is merely the PS3 YouTube app with limited tablet functions.

Meanwhile if you pair a smart phone with the ps3 YouTube app you get something far more full featured and useful. Not to mention easy to use and convenient.

360 YouTube app also does the same "pairing" thing...

[1upgamer99]

Clearly you have not used the Wii U online. I I have PS3 and all of my friends have the 360. Wii U puts their Online to shame. If you don't know what you are talking about do not post!

[KwietStorm_BLM]

lol what

[kobonline]

@1upgamer99

Some people clearly cant get past their biases.
They just cannot accept the fact that Nintendo (right now has the edge) because they have the best system out (right now), and they are making money from day 1.

With the first Wii, Nintendo played the long game must to the dismay of many, but it was a survival move. Now they have nothing to worry about if this system continues to sell.

I think Fanboys simply refuse to except that.
Their still in "Hardware Spec Fantasy Land".

Like I said earlier, unless something dramatically changes in a year or 3, how are Sony & Microsoft gonna catch up?

The only way to do that is to make a system for about $300 to $400, which is exactly what Nintendo did. If Sony & Microsoft charges $500 to $600 for a new console, they better be satisfied for 2nd & 3rd place and a low profit margin.

[Thatguy-310]

Your a complete fanboy if you think the wii u puts currents consoles online to shame. And as far as having the best system out there right now it's somewhat bias since they have no software that shows how its above current consoles. Stick to your wii u and watch how the last of us shows zombie u how its done.

[zgoldenlionz]

He's talking about the app not the browser homeboy.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

I bought a Wii U on day one along with 8 games.

So you'll have to think of another strawman to attack my argument.

Even if you're using just the browser, a "paired" tablet or smartphone and the PS3 or the Xbox 360 is still a better option for watching youtube than the Wii U.

And yes, the Wii U youtube app (talking about just the app here cause you guys missed the word "app" in my first post) is nothing more than the PS3 app with limited tablet functions.

[profgerbik]

Who cares argue all you want about console internet experiences.

PC will always be better. So who cares at the end of the day when everyone practically owns a PC.

I don't spend hundred of dollars on a gaming machine to sit around on youtube or in a browser. Hell I don't even use the browser on my Galaxy S3.

Fuck that shit.

[PopRocks359]

Fanboy or not, I like Miiverse a heckuva lot more than I like Xbox Live or PSN Home. So far there's been absolutely no stupid bullshit and the community is incredibly nice to interact with.

Anyone who plans on calling me out on that probably has not experienced it for themselves. Although I'd like to hear one legitimate complaint other than "Durr it took Nintendo too long to make their online good durrr".

The YouTube app is not even what I use to watch it. I use the web browser, which is more than I can say for the crap they use on the PS3 or 360. The Wii U browser is also vastly improved over its competition. Oh and I can watch YouTube on it more easily than the app. Go figure.

@dboyc310

Yeah, I can't wait to see how not scary The Last Of Us will be. It's not a horror game, ding-dong. It's not even a first person shooer. You can't compare it to ZombiU at all.

[younghavok]

And please let us not forget about Miiverse. I swear that thing is amazing. Before I play any game I hop in there first to see what people are talking about and some damn creative artwork. WiiU is for the gamers more so than either the PS3 or the 360. That browser works lightning fast, and as was said youtube works really good too. Nintendo got it right with this console, I realized just how much when I turned my tv off and went to lay down and took my online COD with me to bed for a few more rounds and then some Breaking Bad on Netflix.

[neogeo]

Ladies and Gents, the first troll has arrived:)

[live2play]

not the youtube APPLICATION

talking about going to YOUTUBE.COM on the BROWSER

[yewles1]

WHY is there an app at all if that's the case?

[ChickeyCantor]

Because it's more accessible.
Even if it seems trivial

but
YT-App -> search ->watch video

over

Browser -> favorite/type address for youtube -> search -> watch video.

You get the idea

[nevin1]

I hate the PS3 app.

[young7yang]

i have also been using it since i got it.. once the wii u is updated with flash the wii u's browser will be perfect..

runs 10 times better then the ps3 browser!

[neogeo]

Sounds like that underpowered CPU is doing some blast processing. It's a good way to tell all the weak cpu talk is BS. If it was so bad then why is the web super smooth and fast?

[PhantomT1412]

I think it's more about the dedicated 1GB RAM for the OS and apps like the browser. One must admit that it comes very handy to be able to go on the web (and even look at vids) without exiting the game (as a PC gamer myself, even on this platform it is sometime a problem when there are certain games that crash if you do alt+tab).

[RememberThe357]

The number say that the CPU is weak, it's not BS. But hat doesn't mean that it's not good enough to run the internet smoothly. My computer CPU is weak and it runs the web just fine. It seems to be, like Phantom said, more about the dedicated RAM.

There no doubt that Nintendo nailed it's browser, but that doesn't mean the people bashing the CPU are wrong.

[Deku-Johnny]

The Wii U will probably never feature Flash. I hope not anyway, within the next few years most websites that use Flash at the moment won't use it anymore.

[RFornillos4]

regarding Flash, everyone knows it is slowly fading into obscurity in terms of video playback on the Internet. This is being replaced by HTML 5's video playback capability, and YouTube supports HTML5 vids, which is what's currently supported by Wii U, so chances of it getting Flash on the browser is nil.

and before it gets out of hand, let me clarify the bit about not able to play at 240p. the article said, if there are options you CAN PLAY the video IN HD, otherwise the LOWEST it can is play at 360p, you can't go lower than that with Wii U. which is really not an issue, because less and less people have slow connection speed to make one want to watch at the lowest resolution.

[WeAreLegion]

It's the same as the PS3's, but you can't pair it with a smartphone or your laptop.

What makes it better?

[daclynk]

Really.have you tried it.Wii U is awesome. so sad that many people are missing out.If you are a GAMER and not sure to get it or not try it out first if a friend has one.You will be mind blown by what the Gamepad can do. This is the Future people and yea im trying from my Gamepad.

[WeAreLegion]

Yes. I enjoy the Wii U. My brother bought one. I'm just telling the truth. Have you tried the PS3's app with a phone? It's LITERALLY the same thing.

This isn't a Wii U vs. PS3 thing. This is a YouTube app vs. YouTube app thing. -_-

Why do people leap to fanboyism, immediately?

[wiiulee]

yes the wiiu browser is fantastic

[josephayal]

Beautiful device, i think The Wii U gamepad will cost about $180-$250

[ChickeyCantor]

How often will you flip flop on your opinion towards the Wii U?

Your posts are like 99% of the time about nothing at all.

[profgerbik]

People give that much of a crap about browsing the web on a gaming system, let alone Youtube? Cool.

I own a computer for that and I am pretty sure everyone else who bought a Wii U probably owns a computer as well, oddly my computer is hooked up to my TV just like everything else. I bet most peoples PC's are also.

You want to know what browser works the best and will always be the most functional? The one on PC's.

[daclynk]

well does your PC turn on your TV remotely.

[WeAreLegion]

Yes.

[younghavok]

great browser, not without its issues as somebody pointed out with the CW thing. My wife found that one out at that exact site a few days ago. But still a great browser. Plus Miiverse is social paradise for gamers. The WiiU is worth the price of admission. Why dont people quit knocking it and just try it, or ignore it and move on

[jrbeerman11]

sounds great for those that do not have tablets. I prefer to watch youtube and do a good amount of surfing on my Ipad. obviously a nice little added perk for a good amount of people.

When i end up picking one up, it would be nice to take advantage of browser on controller or youtube to take breaks from gaming, or to even help it.

[fatstarr]

i give it 2 weeks before nintendo fcks this up.

good feature tho.