Last week I heard that my father in law was looking to get Mario Kart 8 since he had been playing it with my stepson and really enjoyed it. He wanted the game, but didn't have a Wii U. Since his birthday was coming up, I decided to get him the game and system as a surprise. Nintendo sells refurbished Wii Us and copies of Mario Kart 8, so I figured I could get them there and save some money. Altogether, it came to $254 and some change after (two day)shipping and tax. Not bad at all.
The Wii U console looks brand new. Same goes for the Gamepad. Even if you're really picky about this sort of thing, there is nothing to complain about on a cosmetic level. A couple things are missing from the package that you get with a new Deluxe. There are no 'feet' included to set the console up vertically, nor is there a Gamepad charge dock. These are no big deal and are cheap to buy separately if you want them.
I opened up the system to take care of initial setup and updates. That way, he can open the system and get right to playing. However, I soon found that looks are deceiving. Shortly after hooking everything up, I turn the system on and.....nothing. No video signal is being transmitted. The light appears solid blue, the input is correct, and the disc light is on for some reason. Troubleshooting begins.
First, I try swapping the HDMI cable that came with the Wii U with another. No changes. Next, I tried using the power supply that I use for my Wii U. Again, no changes. I tried a different HDMI port. Still nothing. So my wife and I turn to Google in search of answers. The only thing I hadn't tried was using Wii composite/component cables; both of which were missing from my house. My mother in the next town has a Wii, so we packed the system up to test the next day.
My Wii U worked fine when I plugged everything back in, so there's nothing wrong with my jacks or other equipment. I tested Mario Kart 8 and Nintendoland before putting the refurb back in the box. Both games worked. They're indistinguishable from new copies, aside from the red refurbished label on Mario Kart.
The following day I venture over to my mother's to see if I can get the Wii U to do something. I'm met with the same, disappointing "No Signal" box. I'm out of options, I have to call Nintendo. At this point, I would have been willing to just run out and buy a new Wii U if Nintendo would give me a refund. However, you can't get a refund for a refurbished product. Nintendo will repair or replace, but they won't refund you. Even if it's DOA.
I went through all the things that I already did with the tech so that we don't have to repeat anything. We didn't have to do any additional tests. I did everything there was to do and a little more since I had a spare power supply. The system will be sent in for repair soon at no cost. I might get it, or a replacement in a week. Awesome.
On the box for these things, it says Cleaned, Tested, and Inspected. Bullshit. Cleaned, definitely. I can't knock it for how clean the system is. This thing couldn't have been tested, though. There's no way. No video signal is a glaring problem that should have been picked up in either testing or inspection. It's unacceptable.
I have never received a DOA Nintendo product before. It's another blow to my confidence in the company, which I had associated with reliable products. Hopefully the replacement/repair works. It's already going to miss the birthday.