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[Feature] How fast is the Wii U after its latest update? Here are some numbers.

Posted on April 25, 2013 by (@NE_Austin) in Features, Podcast Stories, Wii U


Spoiler: It’s faster!


I think the improved load times are what the majority of Wii U owners are looking forward to the most with the Spring update that was just released, and if you’re still waiting for the thing to download/install, you’re someone without a Wii U who wants to see if Nintendo made good on their promise, or you’re just curious what the actual numbers are, I’ve got you covered. All figures are listed in seconds.

Here’s the breakdown:


Entering a Game (Need for Speed)

Before: 25.1 – 25.5 – 22.7
After: 15.5 – 15.1 – 15.2

Improvement: ~40%


Exiting a Game/Dedicated App

Before (Need for Speed/System Settings): 23.5 – 23.9 – 23.2 – 23.7 – 23.1
After (Need for Speed): 7.7 – 7.7 – 7.8
After (System Settings): 18.8 – 18.0 – 17.7

Improvement: ~45%


Entering Miiverse

Before: 16 – 15.6 – 14.5
After: 8.6 – 8.9 – 8.6

Improvement: ~44%


Exiting Miiverse

Before: 4.1 – 3.4 – 4.3
After: 1.9 – 1.8 – 2.3

Improvement: ~50%


Entering System Settings

Before: 17.4 – 16.6 – 17.5
After: 9.0 – 8.9 – 10.4

Improvement: ~45%


Overall Improvement: ~44.8%


So just about a 50% improvement across the board! Worth noting that entering/exiting Miiverse times apply more or less (depending on your internet speed) to all of the Web Apps (eShop, Nintendo TVii, etc). Times were measured from the moment of selecting an icon to the moment icons became selectable on the next screen, except in the case of Need for Speed. The way I measured that was from the time I hit the icon on the Home screen to the time the game itself (not the Wii U menu placeholder image thing) actually appeared on the screen. Any load times beyond that are due to the size of the game rather than firmware.

Also this is a somewhat small sample, but they align pretty well with speed tests I’ve done in the past, so I’m guessing the times are pretty accurate!

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