Wii U is just five days away! Nintendo's new home console is launching this Sunday, November 18. Our launch coverage is in high gear now, as we've already published our first Wii U launch game review (for Ninja Gaiden III: Razor's Edge), you'll be able to enjoy our reviews of New Super Mario Bros. U and Nintendo Land on Thursday, and we're also going to keep our Countdown to Wii U article series rolling along every day this week as well.

We kicked off this Countdown series one week ago with a look at The Platformers We Can’t Wait to Play. Last Wednesday had us looking at The Excellent Wii U Action Lineup, and Thursday we revisited the Wii U eShop. Last week concluded with a look at The Shooters of the Wii U Launch Window, and, yesterday, our focus turned to Wii U's Multiplayer Games. Today, another aspect of the launch is up for analysis. Here are the pre-installed software applications you'll be able to enjoy with a new Wii U:

Wii U Chat

Many of Wii U's built-in applications would be impressive even if viewed in a vacuum, but comparing their features to what we had to deal with through the first Wii generation makes them seem even more incredible. Wii U Chat is the first to benefit from being viewed through that lens, as Wii 1 struggled to offer even a reasonable voice chat solution – but now, we're getting not only voice chat, but video chat as well.

Wii U Chat is Nintendo's version of Skype or FaceTime, allowing you to use the forward-facing camera built in to the GamePad to capture a video feed of your smiling self and send that video out to another Wii U-owning friend in real time. The company has illustrated this is a couple of amusing ways, such as setting up a scenario in which a frustrated gamer calls his grandpa for tips and tricks, and an international phone call from Japan to America where President Iwata chatted with NOA President Reggie Fils-Aime. You can doodle on the touch screen while chatting as well, adding a bit of Nintendo-goofy fun to what otherwise might have been a straightforward Skype alternative.

Altogether, Wii U Chat, if it performs as smoothly as promised, could become Wii U owners' preferred method of connection with distant friends and relatives. (Which is a huge upgrade, sense there's no way Wii 1 was ever anyone's preferred method of communication, in any case imaginable.)

Nintendo TVii

To give credit where credit's due, though, we do have to admit that the first Wii was a surprising success in the arena of video-streaming services – both Netflix and Hulu continue to enjoy huge numbers of users accessing movies and TV show episodes through their Wii machines. The Wii U is primed to take that kind of console interaction to the next level, too, with the built-in Nintendo TVii application. Nintendo TVii puts Netflix and Hulu under the same umbrella, adds Amazon Video to that mix, and also promises to interface with whatever cable or satellite service you subscribe to as well – turning the screen-equipped GamePad into the ultimate universal TV remote.Social media will also be integrated into the TVii experience, as the touch screen will become your portal to chat with friends or tweet your reactions to what's happening live in, say, an NFL football game.

Early adopters of the new console may be more focused on gaming, but, in the long run, Nintendo TVii and its potential to bring over all those casual video-streaming Wii 1 owners may prove to be even more important for the Wii U.

Wii U Internet Browser

Nintendo's Internet browsers have traditionally been pretty terrible, as anyone who's attempted to access a website through a DSi or Wii 1 can attest. Serious effort seems to have been put into making the Wii U's built-in browser an actually functional experience, though, and the GamePad's large touch screen and stylus do seem like the best opportunity the company's had yet to get it right. Early word of some of the extra amenities is favorable, too – like the fact that you can rotate the GamePad 90 degrees and hold it vertically to get a more properly-dimensioned window into the World Wide Web, and the playful "curtain" option that will allow you to obscure the current web page on the TV display, then reveal what you were looking at with a virtual velvet flourish. (I'm sure some interesting uses for that will pop up pretty quickly.) All in all, we're still wary of getting our hopes up thanks to Nintendo poor track record in browser design – but we're hopeful that Wii U's version will finally be the one to get it right.

Miiverse

Video chat, TV services and Internet browsers are all well and good, but they're all things we've seen before in other places – so the one built-in application that looks poised to truly define the Wii U experience is the Miiverse. This virtual gathering of a diverse array of Mii characters is Nintendo's big new step in creating a connected community for console gamers, as you'll be able to visually see Miis crowding around icons representing the games they're currently playing, pass along messages to friends via text or quickly-scribbled drawings and even ask for advice from the crowd when you come across a particularly tough spot in whatever game you're currently playing. We're definitely looking forward to getting our hands on the Miiverse experience – but, like you, we're still waiting for it to go live. The Day 1 downloadable update, which goes live this Sunday, will activate this feature for everyone – press included – and we'll be able to dive into more then.

Wii U eShop

Finally, we're also still in a wait-and-see position regarding the Wii U's new version of the Nintendo eShop. It's also set to launch alongside the system this Sunday, and we're hopeful that Nintendo has taken the best ideas for game-browsing from the 3DS version of the software store and carried them over – character-defined categories, at the very least, look to be making a return thanks to the preview image Nintendo's Japanese website has provided (above). The Wii U eShop will be the new home for WiiWare and Wii Virtual Console titles, while also being the launching pad for new, original downloadable games and digital versions of Nintendo's packaged retail titles, as well. There are certainly lots of hovering question blocks still surrounding this one, so stay tuned – we'll jump up and pound the answers out as soon as we can.

And that's the apps! Most of this on-board functionality won't actually be on-board until you download the Day 1 software update that Nintendo has promised, though, so make sure you set aside some time this Sunday to do just that. And prepare for a potential waiting period, too, because every other early adopter across the country is also going to be trying to get into the Miiverse as well. (If they don't dive directly into gaming, of course.)

Come on back tomorrow, Wii U waiters, as our Countdown series will continue once again with yet another new topic. Until then!

Lucas M. Thomas is going to be the first one to activate the Miiverse. Mwuauahahahaha! You can't stop him! You can follow him on Twitter, though, @lucasmthomas.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com