Bricked Wii U owners will have to send their consoles to Nintendo for repair

Click here for all of GamesBeat’s Wii U launch coverage.

A few gamers are reporting on forums and Twitter that they busted their Wii Us. These people lost power or their Internet connections during the long update process that enables many of the new console’s major features, and that’s left the HD device as nothing but a paper weight.

This condition is called “bricked,” and it’s something Nintendo can’t fix remotely. Users with this issue will have to send their consoles to the company for repair. This information comes direct from Nintendo’s customer service department.

“The system files are fragile during the update process,” the customer service agent told me. “If something goes wrong, it will leave the console bricked. You’ll have to send it to us.”

The term “bricked” has been around for a lot longer than the Wii U. This isn’t a new phenomenon. Some claim that the sizable 5GB day-one patch, which takes users 60 minutes to 90 minutes to download and install, increases the potential for something like this to happen. But no evidence suggests this is happening at a greater rate on Nintendo’s new machine than compared to other major hardware platforms.

Still, it is an inconvenience and a terrible first experience to have with a $300 to $350 purchase.

If you’ve experience this issue, you can contact Nintendo to start the repair process by calling 1.888. 229.3770 or online at support.nintendo.com.