Wii U: quitting day-one update could kill consoles - report

Wii U has launched in the States, and it comes with a rather sizeable day-one firmware update, coming in at 5GB. The update takes ages to download according to multiple sources, and one impatient critic who quit the update halfway through is claiming the move has killed their console outright. Get more details below.

This morning Brenna posted a full run-down of Wii U launch information, where we describe the initial set up process. The 5GB firmware update adds backwards compatibility, MiiVerse and other elements into the mix, and leaves little room left on 8GB consoles.

Now, GI.biz has reported that LA Times scribe Ben Fritz quit the update on his console before it finished, reducing his console down to an unusable paperweight for good.

Fritz tweeted out a warning about unplugging the console mid-update after suffering the fate, calling the console 'unshippable' as a result. He also claims there is no update cancel button or warning about unplugging the system. It's just a basic progress bar that moves painfully slow.

The lesson here? Don't unplug your Wii U console before the updates are done. We've asked Nintendo for a comment on the matter.

To be fair this is standard knowledge for any console update, just be smart and promise us you won't do the same, or else we'll have to bust out an 'I told you so'.