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Nintendo WiiU Price and Release Date Announced
YokimaSun writes "Nintendo has revealed the release date of the Wii U: in Japan it will launch on the 8th December, and in the U.S. it will launch on November 18th. The console will ship in two versions: a basic version with 8GB of internal memory and a Deluxe version that has 32GB of internal memory and comes with a stand and docks. Both versions have 1GB of main memory and as much again for game memory. Nintendo claims the console is 20 times more powerful than the Wii and supports 1080p visuals out the box. It comes with an HDMI cable. All existing Wii accessories will work with the Wii U, but the new Tablet Gamepad will set you back around £100/$173 when you convert yen over. The price of the Deluxe SKU is $350."
Here's a list of launch titles.
Erm, I did a quick Google as the nearest thing I can find with any reliability is 2008 figures but:
"Nielsen research reveals US ranks third behind Asia and EU in consumer spending on software; 31 percent of Europeans 16-49 in primary regions actively game."
So that's probably why they have the order that they do.
That said, simultaneous release should be a given nowadays. You honestly make no more money from doing it but are likely to increase piracy.
That's not fanboyism, but it is a pretty damning case of immature thinking. Who really cares if Nintendo releases it a week earlier in Japan. If they won't have the stock, and support to do a global release on that date, then your point only stacks up if you're basically saying they should screw their own strong market to prioritise the US which makes very little sense. The Asian, and global non-American game markets are huge. The Asian gaming market has revenues equivalent to that of North America so acting like they are cutting their nose off by not prioritising Americans over-inflated sense of self-importance is pretty naive.
The Yen is strong and it depends on the region, so it will likely be 250/299usd and 250/299eur. It's the same with the 3DS.
I can't help be amused at this post. People have spent years attacking Nintendo for its console not being powerful enough. Now it builds the more powerful console people have demanded, one that should serve it well into this next console generation....and people attack it for being too powerful, and talk about how you can still have great game experiences with a less powerful console? Now where have I heard that argument before....oh yeah, that's exactly what Nintendo fans have been saying for years as people have continued to attack them. There's just no satisfying you guys, is there? Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
The new controller has a big touch/video screen in it...it's half a tablet. Of course it costs more than a stack of buttons.
Can me an Xbox fanboy if you like
Ok show me an Xbox fanboy and I think with allot of pressure we can squeeze him into a can, however it may be a bit painful :)
There ain't no such thing as proprietary standards only proprietary formats. Standards are by definition open.
You can buy a PS3 for less and still have a very good gaming experience. In one question: is the WiiU a better gaming console than a PS3?
Nintendo hardware has seldom been leading-edge at any time, going back to the original NES. They succeed because of their software library. It's really that simple, and I see no reason it won't continue with the Wii U. As long as the rest of the industry continues to crank out cookie-cutter FPSes and MMORPGs, Nintendo will continue to have a profitable niche as the novice-friendly, family-friendly console maker.
I didn't say they should PRIORITIZE the U.S. How about we just get beyond the bullshit regionalism altogether and have *simultaneous* release dates worldwide, so no one is left slighted?
Here, I'll explain this to you so your feeble mind can understand. If they were to do that, they'd have to have their factories working for a month to make a certain number. Then they'd have to wait for those to ship to all corners of the world. Then they'd have to put them on sale on the exact same day. And then and only then on that day will you make money. And then what? Either they're gonna sell out or it's going to be a dud. If you want to survive a dud, the best way to do is to mitigate the cost. This makes phased roll-outs a better business idea. You can plan out how much to ship based on how well it's selling/being received.
You think that Nintendo should cater to Americans when the devices are being made in Asia by an Asian company? 'Me me me, I'm American, I deserve everything WHAAAAAAAAA!'
There's a thing called patience. The rest of the world has it. You do not.
Oh and to circumvent your further idiotic replies, some cursory research reveals:
The XBox could be equally criticized. Wait, let me translate it so an XBox user can understand: OMG, XBOX IS TEH SUXXORS!!! GO HOME GAY FAG!
I don't think that piracy of console hardware is that big a problem. And simultaneous release isn't going to change it much anyway. Simultaneous release would however significantly increase initial production costs and inventory requirements.
Here, I'll explain this to you so your feeble mind can understand. If they were to do that, they'd have to have their factories working for a month to make a certain number. Then they'd have to wait for those to ship to all corners of the world. Then they'd have to put them on sale on the exact same day. And then and only then on that day will you make money. And then what? Either they're gonna sell out or it's going to be a dud. If you want to survive a dud, the best way to do is to mitigate the cost. This makes phased roll-outs a better business idea. You can plan out how much to ship based on how well it's selling/being received.
Funny that Sony managed to do it.
With what? The PS3? Nope. The Vita? Nope.
What kind of fucking troll are you?!
It's coming to the US first.... Nov 18: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/09/wii-u-coming-to-america-sunday-november-18/
It would have had a better chance if it was launching in late 2009 or early 2010. Back then, the Wii wasn't as completely moribund as it is now and successors to the PS3 and 360 were a lot further off. Plus Nintendo would have been able to throw more resource at the launch, before they'd suffered 2 years of poor results due to the Wii flatlining and the 3DS needing to be sold at a loss (a first for Nintendo) just to get it a half-way passable installed base.
But launching now? Yes, I think "flop" is probably the likely outcome. The Wii managed huge success in its early years. I think there were two big reasons for this. First, the concept of the Wii was clearly and easily communicated. "Jump around and wave the wand to play games". Everybody can understand that - and it looks fun. Lots of non-gamers bought them (and then, being non-gamers, bought no more games for it after launch). Ok, ok, the motion control was actually hideously inaccurate (only partially rectified by the Wiimote-Plus) and far from jumping around, the best way to play most games was to sit still and make small movements. But by the time people noticed that, they'd already bought.
The second advantage was a media zeitgeist working in Nintendo's favour. There was disillusionment with Microsoft and Sony and Nintendo were getting a lot of press goodwill and free publicity. They had lots of people happy to do their marketing for them.
This time around, the console has a concept which may or may not be good, but which is much harder to communicate in a 15-20 second TV advert. It's a tabletty... touchpaddy... thing. That does something. But then, you're also playing on the TV. I wouldn't be surprised, given the focus on the controller, if a lot of casuals and non-gamers thought that the Wii-U was actually just a new peripheral for the Wii, rather than a whole new console. Just as happened with the 3DS, which a lot of people thought was just a DS with a 3D screen.
And the media are also a bit bored of Nintendo now. They 3DS was a bit dull. The games haven't been that interesting for ages. And it's all so expensive. Meanwhile... ooooooooh.... SHINY NEW IPHONE! SHINY! ME WANT SHINY!
Plus we now have the 360 and PS3 successors likely to be less than 18 months away and certain to pack a lot more horsepower than the Wii-U.
It's the wrong console at the wrong time.
Guess what? You're wrong!
Release date in Japan: December 8
Release date in US: November 18
See, timothy? This is why you wait until *after* the press conference to post the article.
Wtf are you babbling about? This new one from Nintendo, in 2012, is barely comparable to the last generation of power from 2006/2007.
Its almost laughable reading your post.
Well if the Wii U gets Skyrim Dawnguard that would put it a notch over the PS3 for some people.
How the hell are you, or any other nation that doesn't get it on day 0, slighted in the least? It's a simple matter of logistics and supply. They are in it for the money in the long run after all. If they could hand deliver one to every household in the world the minute of release and make money doing so you can be pretty damn sure they would. There are always shortages in supply on release of the consoles, and it isn't done purposely as it only decreases potential sales. It is directly related to how many the can produce by a given time. Don't say they should wait a week then to deliver all of them..again, it's logistics. What you are proposing simply isn't sound business sense...which is what it is all about after all.