The Wii U has launched in America, and as with any launch, there are good and bad stories appearing all over the internet. The main concern seems to be the famous day one update, which gives you access to the Wii U eShop and Miiverse. 

Many were claiming the update to be a whopping 5GB in size (over half of the Basic Wii U storage space) and complaining about the agonising wait as downloads take two hours or more. Thankfully though, some more concrete details have trickled in and things aren't as bad as they seem. 

The update is actually more around the 1GB mark, which will no doubt relieve gamers who were planning to buy the Wii U Basic package. You also won't have to sit around watching an update bar for two hours or more, as some gamers first thought, because you will have the option to download the update in the background. 

When you set up your Wii U and your Wi-Fi connection you will be asked to install the update. If you choose the "Cancel" option, you can run along and play some of your fresh Wii U games and the update will install in the background instead, in a similar fashion to the 3DS SpotPass feature.

When you then decide to perform the update, it will have already downloaded and the process will begin immediately, which should only take around 10 to 15 minutes.

So, whilst America may have had a few teething problems, it seems the day one update situation has smoothed over and us Europeans will be in for a much less stressful launch day.