System to come in two bundles, priced at 26,250 ($338) and 31,500 ($405) yen respectively.
Nintendo has finally revealed the price and release date of the Wii U in Japan during a recent live stream presentation on September 13. Details for the rest of the world are expected to be disclosed at Nintendo events being held in the US and Europe in the next few hours.
The upcoming system will be out in Japan on December 8 this year. There will be two bundles on sale with two different prices. The basic bundle will cost 26,250 yen ($338) and contains a white Wii U with 8GB memory. The premium bundle will cost 31,500 yen ($405) and contains a black Wii U, a Wii U gamepad charging dock and stand, a Wii U console stand, and 32GB memory. Both bundles come with a Wii U gamepad, a Wii U AC adaptor, an HDMI cable, and a Wii U gamepad stylus.
The Wii U gamepad will cost gamers 13,440 yen ($173) if purchased separately. The Wii Pro controller will cost gamers 5,040 yen ($65). Wii accessories will not be available with the aforementioned bundles; customers will have to buy the Wii remote, nunchuk, and sensor bar separately.
New Super Mario Bros. U and NintendoLand will both be launch titles for the Wii U; the former will cost 5,985 yen ($77) while the latter will cost 4,985 yen ($64). Nintendo also announced a Nintendo Network Premium plan where it provides points for game and software purchases, with a 10 percent points return for digital purchases. The program will run until December 2014.
According to Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, the system will support full HD 1080p resolution and has 2GB memory; 1GB will be used for running games while the other 1GB is for running the system's operating system. The game discs for the Wii U will contain up to 25GB, and the device will be able to read up to 22.5mb per second.
This story will be updated shortly with the North American and European release dates and prices. Nintendo's software announcements for the Wii U will start on September 13 at 11 p.m. JST (7 a.m. PST). For more information on the Wii U and its stable of games, check out GameSpot's coverage on the device.
Born and raised from a jungle-laden village in Sarawak, Malaysia, Jonathan Toyad has been playing games since the early 90s. He favors fighting games, RPGs, and rhythm titles above every other genre, and occasionally spaces out like Pavlov's dog to video game music on his iPod.
1 Like Smart move by Nintendo launching on November 18th 2012 in U.S.A getting in on the Black Friday thanksgiving shopping rush. Japan launching on Dec 8th since they don't have Black Friday. Making the 2012 Holiday Christmas rush is the best Nintendo could hope for $350.00 for the Wii U with a "pack in game" So sale should be alright.
1 Like According to the people here, the WiiU is bad. But whatever, Nintendo still had games like Smash Bros, Zelda, and Pikmin that are always a blast to play. Don't really care what people think at this point actually.
1 Like If i see a game that my crappy laptop can play, It's not nextgen to me. I'm still waiting to see a nextgen game. I'll wait to see what the other consoles have to offer...
1 Like Nintendo brought out the Wii at just the right time in just the right financial climate and marketed it very cleverly.
I can't see that happening this time around, now they're trying to muscle in on the big boys console market and I honestly don't think they stand a chance.
It's all about the game library - hot new IP's and not re-releases of games I've already played - if the 3rd party support is anything less than absolutely stellar, this thing is dead in the water.
I cant see parents buying WII U tablets for the neighbor kids to come over and break...LOL
@XspidervenomX Sounds better than split screen, difficult to sneak up on someone when they're watching your every move, lol.
2 Like I'm not sure what Nintendo is smoking, but that hard drive better be upgradeable. Even if the system is dedicated to games only, that is still nowhere near as much space as gamers will need. I just maxed out my 360's 120gb hard drive and need to upgrade to a 250 gb drive. I have 90 gb of game content alone ( game saves, settings, DLC, etc). That doesn't include demos or trailers.
1 Like @XspidervenomX Cnet is reporting that the system supports USB drives (but doesn't mention if the internal hard drive is removable). I just personally dislike the idea of using removable storage to supplement the console's on-board storage. I'd rather keep everything in one place and its definitely a deciding factor for me (among other things) if the system is worth getting. I can stomach the launch price of an 8GB system at $300 if the hard drive is upgradeable with any normal hard drive.
CPU and GPU specs aside its definitely looking like a next gen system to me IMO. There are just some unknowns that are keeping me on the fence right now.
i can understand that @mike468 . im not holding my breath at this point and its not on my list.. i die to much playing mario brothers and can never find my way in zelda's..lol not sure if that gonna sell new 300 or 400$ machines..
One problem for Nintendo is the WII was a revolution in shovel-ware. I think parents got burnt out on 50$ games their kids didn't play. Thats how things have changed for Nintendo,,it just not the same environment as it was with the Original Wii...
Now the Wii U, obviously jumping on the Tablet bandwagon, which many people have, trying to convince people to buy theirs..
WOW!! I think I will wait to see what MS and Sony have to offer before I go next gen. Good luck Nintendo it was nice gaming with you..
This comment has been deleted
How much is it going to be if 4 people want to play the Wii U? I dont mean with the old Wii Controllers?
This comment has been deleted
3 Like
Quit spreading BS! The system doesn't even support 4 tables at a time, only 2. So gamers can only expect to shell out for 1 extra tablet besides what comes with the system. The rest are Pro controllers.
1 Like @XspidervenomX @buccomatic The Wii U will support the following controller: Wii tablet (max 2 at 1 time), Wii remote + nunchuck, Wii classic controller, Wii U Pro controller and Wii fitness accessories.
1 Like @XspidervenomX @buccomatic It was announced at E3 that that the system would only support 2 tablets at 1 time. The Wii U pro controller is their "Xbox 360/PS3 dualshock" hybrid controller (similar to the Wii classic controller) they are also releasing with the system for $50-$60. Its not included with the system they are selling it separately.
@mike468 @buccomatic I didnt know it didnt support 4 controllers, there a alot of questions people have about the system.
So the new system uses the old controllers? I dont know what a pro controller is, is it included in the wii u? do you have to buy more 'Pro" controller or play by yourself?
Confusing..
@buccomatic @XspidervenomX I bet they won't be releasing many (local) multi player games that utilise the gamepad because that total cost is... well, painful.
@aquaglow u do know that psp n ps vita can do the same thing with ps3. in fact, they can also be use when traveling outside by connecting to wifi or 3g. when at home, it can connect directly to the ps3 and play it on the vita screen. although sony suck right now, coz they don't allow ALL games to use remote play, but the wiiu has nothing out of ordinary. once next playstation or xbox came out (or Samsung or Apple console....:D ) ....hmmm...we'll see
@02050muh @aquaglow I wanted the PSP to do more with the PS3, but they used it as more of a gimmick than the Wii mote, sadly I doubt they'll do any more with the Vita... The reason I'd go with the WIIU instead of the Vita (currently making the choice between the two) is that with it being an integral part of every console, devs will be more likely to make use of it.
So Wii U got 2GB of RAM good...now I expect Sony and Microsoft to have at least 4GB or more.
You gonna need more than Mario and Zelda to make me buy your system Nintendo and controller price need to reduce real fast or it will suck.
I mean PS3 controller is already expensive enough,Wii U tablet can cause many to starts saving for controller not the games that's not good.
Wii fuck U for controls that's quite sums it up for the launch day.
1 Like @Good-Smurf The specs are really good, game list sounds interesting. The hardware seems pricy BUT when the other companies release new systems, the price will drop and Nintendo will be selling alot of consoles still because of the lower prices.
1 Like i expect the WiU be similar like the wII that it will be a 2 game console. MArio and Zelda. Cause third party titles will be inferior to other platforms probably. Its just too cheap on the hardware side
But...i heard you are going to be able to play Mass Effect 3 from a year ago...and....use the Wii Pad, as a MAP!,,, wow, amazing, give me two Wii' U's......
1 Like I have every system, sorry your feeling are still hurt.. lets start with name calling little boy..
Kids only played WII Sports Resort and Wii Sports, they didnt like or play much else. Underpowered and overpriced....,,and not interested in the 'Tablet Fad'...
1 Like Not surprised. It's still crappy news.
Nintendo claims they are a revolution but they make hardware specs worse than my 7 year old XBOX360. This console isn't powerful enough to run Battlefield 3, which is a year old now. And they plan to support this into the future???
Rumor has it the new XBOX will have 6-12 GB of Ram with integrated Kinect. Rumor has it the new PS will output in 4K. What did Nintendo give us? Old, re-hashed games and overpriced hardware with no 3rd party support. They better not charge $75.00 for Arkhham City, ME3, and Darksiders 2.
They are charging 75 bucks for a game that is a re-hash.
Their touch-screen controller is almost 200 bucks.
2 Like It's a shame to see those hardware specs are so low, many pc games out this autumn are recommending 4GB or more memory and looking to the future that's where the other consoles will be going, I get that the Wii U is cheap and cheerful but this hardware layout will require devs to develop Wii U exclusives and that's a serious problem when there's so much more money to be made in multi-platform releases. I hate to be down on Nintendo but they're shooting themselves in the foot here. In a year or so third party support for the system might be worse than it was for the wii.
@moonlightwolf01 who buys Nintendo consoles for multi-platform games? that's what playstations are for.
2 Like Woah, over $400? Not that I plan on buying it regardless of price point, but I hope that's not what it's going to cost in the West.
The year has almost come to an end and it's time once again to determine the best games of 2012. Check out all the videos, nominees, winners, and more.
Users who looked at this article also looked at these content items.
United States Vice President Joe Biden believes there is no legal restriction on ability to tax violent media. Full Story
Avalanche Studios co-founder says developer's ambition is for action, not moments that make players cry; steampunk-style game on hold. Full Story
Developer confirms image suggesting version of upcoming shared-world shooter in development for Sony's latest portable is a fake. Full Story
Assassin's Creed and Far Cry publisher says its network of 26 studios and over 7,000 developers will allow company to ship major franchises more regularly. Full Story
4A Games creative director Andrew Prokhorov thanks Jason Rubin for telling the studio's story, but says, "We deserve the ratings we get." Full Story
DICE head would also like to poach top talent from rivals Infinity Ward and Treyarch. Full Story
Future EA games won't require Online Passes; the service is being scrapped after tepid player response. Full Story
[UPDATE] Microsoft confirms no breach to security of online service has taken place.
