Nintendo Wii U in Lebanon - Everything You Need to Know

theGrg · December 15 2014

So I'm planning on buying a Nintendo Wii U in Beirut and thought I'd share my research.
I'll be updating this as I gather more information and when I actually buy the console.
If you find any errors or have any useful information to add, please do comment.

Updates:
- I bought an NTSC Wii U from a local store for around $450 (picture at the bottom)
- I successfully bought a game from the Canada Nintendo eShop using my Lebanese credit card

Disclaimer: Although I do own a Wii U and have bought games online, some of the information here is simply what I have found through researching online and asking on forums.

Buying a Wii U in Lebanon

A new Wii U Deluxe Set (32 GB) currently costs roughly $300 in the US. Shipping from the US would probably cost you just under $100 (including shipping, airport customs fees, VAT, etc.). However, you will generally find it in local shops for around $450. If you're willing to buy refurbished and go through the hassle of shipping though, then you should be able to save a good amount of money by buying a refurbished Wii U directly from Nintendo for around $200.

When buying a Wii U, it's worth taking into account its region as the console, game discs, and the eShop are region-locked. More on this below.

Region Locking

The Wii U console and retail discs of games are region-locked. The regions are: America (NTSC-U), Europe & Australia (PAL), and Japan (NTSC-J). A Wii U will only play discs of its same region, so it's best to get a Wii U of the same region as that of most game discs you see around local shops. The Wii U's region also determines what countries' eShops the console can access (more on the eShop below). Note that the Wii U Gamepad (the main controller with the touchscreen) also has some sort of region locking, though this should generally not be an issue as the Wii U ships with a Gamepad, and for local multiplayer purposes you may purchase Controllers or Wiimotes: imgur.com/hh6fXR4.png
It should be possible to tell the region of a Wii U and a game disc from the box; namely there'll be an ESRB logo on NTSC ones and a PEGI logo on PAL ones. You'll also be able to tell from the settings of your Wii U console -the software version would be followed by U for NTSC-U, E for PAL, or J for NTSC-J.

Buying Games in Lebanon

Wii U retail game discs use the proprietary "Wii U Optical Disc" format and are not "Blu Ray" discs, in case you're wondering. You'll find Wii U game discs being sold for around $80 in local shops. Again, make sure the game discs are the same region as your Wii U console to be able to play them (see above).

An alternative is buying games digitally from the eShop. It helps to be owning the Deluxe Set with 32 GB and not the Basic Set with only 8 GB of storage for this. Accessing and buying games from the eShop can be a little tricky. The bad news is that the eShop is not officially supported in all countries around the world, and Lebanon is one of those unsupported countries. The good news is that it's easy enough to set the country for your Wii U through its settings (System Settings > Other Settings > Profile > Region Settings). Only countries within the console's region will be listed though. Once you select a supported country, the eShop should be accessible. Accessing the eShop is one thing; purchasing from it is another. Not all eShop countries allow you to purchase from the eShop using a foreign (e.g. Lebanese) credit/debit card. For example, you can only purchase from the US eShop with a US credit/debit card. Fortunately, though, each region seems to contain a country that does. For American NTSC-U consoles, choosing "Canada" should allow purchases with your foreign credit/debit cards. For PAL consoles, choosing the "United Kingdom" should have the same effect.

You should be able to switch between eShop countries freely, and any games already downloaded will still be playable, however any eShop credit you have is per country.
If you do not have luck with using your credit/debit card, or do not own ones, you can have someone purchase prepaid eShop cards for you from online third-party sellers like PcGameSupply.com, Play-Asia.com, or MaximusCards.com. Note that prepaid cards are also only valid for certain countries' eShops (should be indicated by seller), so if you plan to use prepaid cards make sure to use an eShop country for which prepaid cards are readily available (I can't seem to find ones for Canada).

Note that if you've set up a Nintendo Network ID on the Wii U, you will not be able to change the country -you will need to change the NNID or add another NNID and buy it from that NNID. Once bought though, and as long as the NNID you used to buy the game with remains on the Wii U, you will be able to play from any user on the console.

One disadvantage of buying from the eShop is that if the Wii U stops working or the NNID is removed, the games are usually gone unless you can get support by calling Nintendo (which probably will not be happy to hear that you are using a different country and might ban your account just for that.)

Phew... glad that part's over. If you're as frustrated by these archaic region-locking measures as many others are, I encourage you to sign the petition at Change.org aimed at Nintendo titled "Stop region blocking" (goo.gl/o7bEPL), and tweet with #EndRegionBlocking and #NintendoRegionFree.

Playing Online

As far as I know, there should be no issues with playing online regardless of country/region.

Power Issues [Important]

This is important: if your Wii U is updating, and there's a sudden power outage, or it's unplugged, it will get bricked!
Personally, I recommend a UPS, turning off automatic updates, and only running updates when the power is not expected to be cut. I bought a PCE 1200VA UPS which provides a few minutes of battery as well as surge protection: pceups.com/Component/Products/Product.asp?ID=99

Regarding the power adapters that come with the Wii U:
The box will contain a power adapter for the console and another for charging the Gamepad. PAL consoles will come with adapters that are marked as 220V, while NTSC consoles will come with adapters marked as 110V. However, there seems to be enough evidence online that suggests that these adapters are in fact the same and are universal 110V-220V regardless of the markings. I have personally tested both my 110V-marked Wii U adapter and Gamepad charger plugging them straight into the socket without any step-down converter and they worked. The plug does have a sort of weird shape though so you might need a simple travel adapter with wide openings. So in my experience, the 110V adapters do work on 220V outlets, but don't blame me if you fry your Wii U somehow!

When You First Turn On the Wii U

After you charge the Gamepad for a few hours and turn on the Wii U for the first time, you will be prompted to connect to WiFi. The recommended course of action at this point is to NOT connect to WiFi. Skip that step. The reason is that you probably do not want your Wii U to start updating itself using your WiFi. Instead, get a Mario Kart 8 or Super Mario 3D World disc and insert it into the Wii U. This should start updating the new Wii U using the game disc. Even if you want to update through WiFi, it is recommended that you skip the update when you first turn on the Wii U and run it later.
Remember: make sure no sudden power outages happen during an update!
------

Last edited by theGrg (January 31 2015)

H.S · December 16 2014

Good luck for getting a Wii U. I shipped an American Wii U Mario & Luigi deluxe set almost a year ago with a lot of Wii/Wii U games from the U.S. I didn't purchase a single game from the local shops, even the Wii Remote Plus and Nunchuck. I recommend getting a PAL Wii U though, unless you don't mind shipping games from abroad whenever you need to. Finding NTSC-U games here can be a pain in the butt, sometimes it takes more than a month for it to become available. Also Wii U games in general aren't much available here. Sometimes you're completely out of luck. Another reason, if you do care about collector's/limited editions, Nintendo of Europe is doing a much better job than Nintendo of America.

Keep in mind that in case you'll get an NTSC-U Wii U console, you have to get a step down converter 220v to 110v. Some disassembled the power brick and confirmed that it supports both due to the inner labels, however Nintendo didn't comment on the subject, so better be safe. You should also hook it up to a UPS, if a blackout occurs while saving, it causes an error code. It happened with Super Smash Bros lately because people were turning off their consoles without knowing that the game is saving, some were formatting their consoles which lead to a bricked Wii U. Nintendo released a patch a few days ago but it is not clear if it addressed that particular issue. My point is, with the several power outages we have here, it is crucial to hook it up to a UPS.

I am preparing to ship some accessories that aren't available here. That is the case if you want to own a Wii U in Lebanon. You will find yourself shipping from abroad way more than purchasing locally.

Edit: You might want to consider Best Buy's Holiday offer. Wii U deluxe bundle, comes with Super Mario 3D world (great game) plus Nintendo land for $275. Great value.

Last edited by H.S (December 18 2014)

theGrg · December 17 2014

I shipped an American Wii U Mario & Luigi deluxe set almost a year ago

Just wondering, what seller did you buy it from and what shipping service did you/do you use? Can you describe your shipping experience (shipping costs, delivery time)?

I didn't purchase a single game from the local shops

Have you attempted to buy anything from the eShop?

H.S · December 18 2014

For the Wii U itself, I had a friend of mine who makes monthly shipments, so I asked him to ship me the Mario & Luigi one, I don't know with whom he deals with. The overall cost for the console was $410 from Best Buy. As for the games, I am shipping from Amazon using Borderlinx. I made several shipments already. If you want further details about the shipping costs, I will post them here. Usually with Borderlinx, it takes around 6-10 days for the shipment to arrive after you release it from your suite. Also depending on when you release it since they have two flights per week.

I didn't purchase any full games from the eShop, I usually buy physical games only. My CC won't work on the American eShop, however it is easy to purchase prepaid cards from the websites you mentioned in the OP. I have to add another good website to purchase prepaid cards from, they accept Lebanese CCs: pcgamesupply.com

theGrg · December 29 2014

I am shipping from Amazon using Borderlinx. I made several shipments already. If you want further details about the shipping costs, I will post them here

If you can provide details about shipping costs, that would be useful. Most games seem to be for $60 in the US and $80 here in local shops. I'd imagine shipping costs and duties could not be less than $20, so how many games do you ship in a package to make it worthwhile?

P.S.: I went ahead and plugged my own new "110V" Wii U in directly. Everything worked fine without issues.

Last edited by theGrg (December 29 2014)

silo_m8 · October 8 2015

Sorry for reviving an old thread, but I'm planning to buy a wii u to play 4player Mario kart and super smash bros, and bayoneta 2.
Any suggestions on how to do it here with the least cost possible?

Last edited by silo_m8 (October 8 2015)

LebGeeks

#1 December 15 2014