This morning, Nintendo announced that its new Wii U console’s U.S. release date is November 18, 2012. The game company also announced the price and the lineup of launch titles gamers can expect to see on store shelves within the first few months of the console’s release.
Two versions of the Wii U will be sold at retail: A white, basic console for $299 which includes 8 GB of flash storage and no bundled game, and a black version for $349 that includes 32 GB of storage and the mini-game collection Nintendo Land. GameStop and some other online retailers are already taking pre-orders.
The price is a little steeper than the original Wii’s launch price, but not by very much if you adjust for inflation. Whether this console will be competitive will largely depend on the pricing and features of the next year’s likely updates to the Xbox and PlayStation consoles.
The launch games
Though Nintendo wouldn’t specify the exact release dates of any of the games (that’s particularly frustrating for would-be first-day console buyers who still don’t know what games they’ll be able to take home), the company did reveal a list of games that are expected to release between the console’s November 18 launch day and March.
We have previews and news available at The Interactive for several of these, so if you want to learn more, click the links. Here’s the complete list.
- Assassin’s Creed 3
- Rayman Legends
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii U
- Pikmin 3
- Mass Effect 3
- Nintendo Land
- Wii Fit U
- Scribblenauts Unlimited
- Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
- Darksiders 2
- Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition
- 007 Legends
- Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge
- ZombiU
- Just Dance 4
- Rabbids Land
- Tekken Tag Tournament 2
- Madden NFL 13
- NBA 2K13
- Jeft Tailfin
- EA Sports FIFA Soccer 13
- Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
- Toki Tori 2
- Avengers: Battle for Earth
- Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013
- Sports Connection
- Nano Assault Neo
- Aliens: Colonial Marines
- Sing Party
- Sonic & Sega All-Stars: Racing Transformed
- Trine 2: Director’s Cut
- Tank! Tank! Tank!
- Wheel of Fortune
- Jeopardy
- Funky Barn
- The Wonderful 101
- Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2013
- Wipeout 3
- Skylanders Giants
- Rapala Pro Bass Fishing
- Transformers Prime
- Game Party Champions
- Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien
- Ben 10: Omniverse
- Rise of the Guardians: The Video Game
- Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade
- Zumba Fitness
- Game & Wario
Image: pop culture geek
