Nintendo Announces November 18 Release Date for Wii U

Launch window titles revealed, console configurations & prices, new services, and surprise titles.

This morning at 10AM EST, Nintendo held a press event detailing their upcoming Wii U console, which has revealed a flurry of information. As expected, the system will drop on a traditional console release date for the company, the third Sunday in November, which this year is November 18. The system will come in two different configurations: a Basic and Deluxe Set. The Basic Set will retail for $299.99 and will come with a white console, 8GB of internal storage, a white GamePad controller, AC adapters for both the controller and console, a sensor bar, and an HDMI cable. The Deluxe Set will retail for $349.99 and will come with all items in the Basic Set, but will instead be available in black with 32GB of internal storage. It will also include a console stand, a GamePad charging cradle, a vertical GamePad stand, and Nintendo Land, as well as enrollment in the Deluxe Digital Promotion.

The promotion will allow Wii U owners to receive points for each digital download which will be redeemable for future downloadable content in the Nintendo eShop. Nintendo plans to carry the promotion through 2014.

Alongside the launch details of the system, Nintendo revealed the brand new Nintendo TVii application that lets Wii U owners in the US and Canada watch live TV, TiVo DVR, and video-on-demand services, specifically Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, and YouTube all through one seamless application.

While Nintendo themselves revealed no new first party software, the lid was blown off some unique third party offerings, including the exclusive Bayonetta 2, as well as Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Also coming from Platinum Games is The Wonderful 101, the rebranded Project P-100. In addition to these titles, Nintendo revealed the entire launch window of games, which stretches out to March 31, 2013. The full list of launch window games, with some of the most notable releases in bold, are as follows:

Funky Barn

NBA 2K13

007™ Legends

Call of Duty®: Black Ops II

TRANSFORMERS PRIME™

Wipeout 3

Skylanders Giants™

Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2013

Rapala Pro Bass Fishing

Monster Hunter™ 3 Ultimate

Rise of the Guardians: The Video Game

Ben 10: Omniverse™

Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade

Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two

Mass Effect™ 3

Madden NFL 13

EA SPORTS™ FIFA Soccer 13

Trine 2™: Director’s Cut

Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien

Zumba® Fitness Core

Jett Tailfin™

TEKKEN TAG TOURNAMENT™ 2 Wii U Edition

TANK! TANK! TANK!™

Nintendo Land™

New Super Mario Bros.™ U

NINJA GAIDEN™ 3: Razor’s Edge

SiNG PARTY™

LEGO® City: Undercover

Wii Fit™ U

Game & Wario™

Pikmin™ 3

The Wonderful 101™

Aliens: Colonial Marines™

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

Nano Assault Neo

WARRIORS OROCHI® 3 Hyper

Darksiders® II

Wheel of Fortune®

JEOPARDY! ®

Toki Tori 2

Assassin’s Creed® III

Just Dance® 4

Marvel Avengers™: Battle for Earth

Rabbids® Land

Sports Connection™

Your Shape®: Fitness Evolved 2013

ZombiU™

Rayman Legends®

Scribblenauts™ Unlimited

Game Party Champions

Batman: Arkham City™ Armored Edition

Right now the full list of actual launch day titles is unknown, but players can at least expect titles like Nintendo Land, New Super Mario Bros. U, Mass Effect, ZombiU, and Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition.

Keep checking the site for brand new videos and information on the Wii U, including the teaser trailer for Bayonetta 2!

#Wii u #Bayonetta #Launch

Our Take

Nick DiMola Director

09/13/2012 at 12:19 PM

Well, $350 it is Nintendo. Nothing too surprising here outside of Bayonetta 2, but I'm not complaining about that announcement. I'm hoping Nintendo at least starts teasing some more interesting Wii U software soon. Also, I want to know when Pikmin 3 is dropping.

Joaquim Mira Media Manager

09/13/2012 at 12:22 PM

I'm just glad the Deluxe set comes with a game... and 32GB isn't enough for internal storage. What were they thinking.

Jon Lewis Staff Writer

09/13/2012 at 06:46 PM

You can use external hard drives with it as well, making it considerably more flexible. 32 is good for maybe a year tho, give or take.

09/13/2012 at 10:57 PM

I do happen to have an external hardrive (1TB), and hopefully it doesn't need to be formated to be used with the Wii U. I was just thinking about others, like less tech savvy people.

Michael117

09/13/2012 at 01:20 PM

Nothing too surprising. I'm neither impressed or disappointed. Price doesn't seem out of the ordinary, the backwards compatibility is good, the launch window looks pretty solid for the people who are interested in buying it. The only thing that doesn't make sense is the maximum of 32GB internal storage. Are we suppose to be impressed, are consumers getting a sweet deal? Does Nintendo plan on people storing very much on their consoles?

I'm not interested in buying the Wii U, investing in its life cycle, and building a Wii U collection over the next generation, but I think there will be some people who will be quite happy with it. I was pretty skeptical after E3 and now months later I plain don't care. I have dozens of games I still need to buy and play for 360, and I'll hold over just fine until the 720. But for the people who are interested in buying Wii U, it seems pretty okay. It's a decent setup, there's some pretty good games in the launch window, the price is standard fare, it's a Nintendo, and it's a shiny new thing.

I'll be really interested to see what consumers think and how it sells during the holiday season. I'm more interested in the data and the effect of the Wii U than actually playing on it.

Julian Titus Senior Editor

09/13/2012 at 05:37 PM

I thought the presentation was a bust until they dropped the Bayonetta bomb. I still didn't get the sense that the Wii U is something special, and they spent way too long with the entertainment stuff. I wanted to know about their online strategy. And TVii is just awful. Seriously, it looks so bad in print.

I still want one, though. Sigh.

09/13/2012 at 06:47 PM

I wouldnt say TVii looks bad, i think its a good service, especially since its free, but they shouldnt have made it a focal point.

09/14/2012 at 12:26 AM

I mean the name TVii is bad. It looks awful when written.

Travis Hawks Senior Editor

09/13/2012 at 08:27 PM

Those games aren't selling me on it. I see three there that I would want, and one of those is Toki Tori 2. That's not many games for a 4-5 month window. That said, my whole family will probably play New Super Mario Bros. U for that entire period.

Matt R Staff Alumnus

09/13/2012 at 08:50 PM

My body is ready but my wallet isn't.

It looks like it'll be a much more varied launch window than the Wii or Gamecube's. The tiered pricing is a nice gesture but I don't think I'll need a controller stand? Isn't that what the coffee table is for?

Jason Ross Senior Editor

09/14/2012 at 02:15 AM

Unlike those guys up there, I'm very happy with the memory decision. The console is made to work with an HDD, Nintendo seems ready to embrace the idea of consumers using virtually any HDD, and so space issues shouldn't be a problem. It beats limited space and SD cards only, beats the 16 GB limit for USB drives on the 360, and beats proprietary memory, like the 360 HDD or the Vita's cards. The PS3 is arguably similar to the Wii U in this manner, but regardless, this is definitely a memory I can get behind. I'll be strapping a 2 or 3 TB HDD to my Wii U once it gets near filling up the 32 GB. Having a 10% rebate to downloads will be icing on the cake. Unless there's a sale, I honestly don't believe I'll be buying too many games at retail, at least, not early on.

Also, I was surprised by the Monster Hunter 3 announcement. Seems akin to the Vita's crossplay, though fortunately, the 3DS finally has some original titles on it. I'll probably skip out on this one, unless there's some sort of deal to purchase both games, making it much more akin to the Vita's crossplay.

PixlBit

Nintendo Announces November 18 Release Date for Wii U

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