Wii U System Update Released March 5, 2013

A small system update was released to the Wii U today which greatly shortens load times when running or quitting programs.  This was probably one of the biggest complaints that people had about the Wii U’s Operating System at launch, and it looks like Nintendo has listened and fixed it.

The update will download automatically in the background whenever you start your Wii U today.  For people who had the latest version of the Wii U firmware already installed before today, it is a small update and shouldn’t take too long to download.  Once the update has been downloaded, you will need to restart your Wii U in order to apply the update.  The system update will launch once you turn the Wii U back on.

Since installing the update, I’ve noticed load times when loading and quitting programs to be greatly cut down.  Nintendo promises that more updates and bug fixes which will further improve system performance will be coming to the Wii U down the road.

BEYOND: Two Souls Release Date March 4, 2013

The next major game from developer Quantic Dream finally has a release date.  Following in the tradition of previous games Indigo Prophecy (Fahrenheit) and Heavy Rain, BEYOND: Two Souls is an interactive adventure game which follows the story of a young girl named Jodie Holmes, who is spiritually connected to a ghost named Aiden.  The player will get to follow her through many years of her life as she adjusts to this peculiar situation.

We have known since E3 2012 that the game will star actress Ellen Page as the lead character, Jodie.  This weekend, we learned that heavily credited actor Willem Dafoe will be joining the game’s cast of characters as Nathan, the man who has followed Jodie’s case since the very beginning, trying to understand and explain it.

So how does he look in the game?  Take a look for yourselves.

Is the Academy paying close attention to this?  They should be.

You can also check out this interview with Willem Dafoe to see what the process was in digitally capturing his performance so it could be put in the game.

BEYOND: Two Souls is coming October 8th, 2013 exclusive to the Playstation 3.  An additional DLC scene and free upgrade to the game’s Special Edition will be offered for those who preorder from GameStop.