Nintendo Wii U Release Date Specs & Launch Titles Announced

Nintendo announced during its big press event today that the Wii U’s launch date in Japan will be December 8, 2012. Nintendo also announced 2 of the first launch titles… New Super Mario Bros U and Nintendo Land. No other titles have been confirmed as of yet, but with any luck there will be at least a couple more titles from Nintendo, who is well known for strong first party support.

Here is a list of some of the Wii U specs & details which  Nintendo has revealed…

  • 2GB Memory (1GB for games, 1GB for system memory)
  • 25GB Discs (Wii U game discs will have 25GB capacity)
  • Wii Compatibility (All Wii accessories & games will be backwards compatible with the Wii U)
  • Mii Universe (Will allow for constant multiplayer experiences online)
  • Launch Games (New Super Mario Bros for ¥5,985 which is about 76 USD and Nintendo Land for ¥4,935 which is about $63 USD)
  • Pro Pad (The traditional console “Pro” controller will retail for ¥5040, which is about $64 USD)
  • Wii U Pad (Wii U’s controller will retail for ¥13440, which is about $172 USD)
  • Launch Bundles (There will be 2 launch bundles… “Basic Bundle” which will include the white Wii U, controller and a 8GB HDD. “Premium Bundle” which will include a black Wii U console, HDMI cable, power cradles for your Wii U pad, Nintendo Network Premium and a 32GB HDD)
  • Launch Price (The basic model is priced at ¥26250 which is about $337 USD. The premium model will be ¥31,500 which is about $405 USD.)
  • Nintendo Network (Wii U’s online service. There is also Nintendo Network Premium which will act as a sort of rewards program which will give you Nintendo points on every purchase to use towards future purchases)

Nintendo Land is a new mini game based game that will showcase the Wii U’s new gameplay features thanks to its new controller design. It will feature many popular Nintendo characters including Mario, Donkey Kong, Link from Zelda, and Samus from Metroid.

Nintendo Land gameplay video from E3

New Super Mario Bros U is a new installment in the side scrolling platforming franchise. It features updated graphics and a few twists on the classic Mario gameplay.

New Super Mario Bros U gameplay from E3

More information will come as the day goes. Nintendo will be revealing Wii U US release information today in New York.

Source: Kotaku

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