Gamers worried about the streaming latency for the Nintendo (NTDOY) Wii U GamePad can finally let out a sigh of relief. In a recent Nintendo Power interview, Rayman Legends developer Michel Ancel said the Wii U GamePad latency is “just 1/60 of a second” or roughly “one frame late.” To the human eye, that’s virtually unnoticeable.
Nintendo (NTDOY) on Monday announced that it plans to cut the price of its Wii gaming console to $129.99 prior to the holiday shopping season. The Japanese gaming company also revealed that Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resorts will now be bundled with the discounted console. Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of sales and marketing noted that “nearly six years after it launched, people are still attracted to the pure, inclusive fun of the Wii console” and suggested that a “new… retail price and the inclusion of two great games make it an easy choice for families looking for a great value this holiday season.” Nintendo expects the discounted Wii packages to arrive in U.S. stores by October 28th. The company’s press release follows below. More →
Nintendo’s Wii U isn’t due until November 18th, but that isn’t stopping grey market sellers from capitalizing on the sold out preorders. ArsTechnica did a round-up to see how much the Wii U’s Basic Set and Deluxe Set are going for on channels such as eBay. Their findings indicate that the Basic Set (8GB) is being resold on average for about $348, or 16% more than the $299.99 MSRP. Meanwhile resold preorders for the Deluxe Set (32GB with a copy of NintendoLand) are fetching on average $517 or 48 percent more than the $349.99 MSRP. Some cool cats have even managed to resell Deluxe Set preorders for as high as $749. With high possibilities of Wii U shortages (remember the Wii?), holiday shoppers who didn’t get their preorders in last month really have no choice but to either wait in line on launch day at a retail or buy from a reseller. And some friendly advice: Don’t buy Wii U made for other regions, as the console is region-locked to play software from that specific zone, meaning a Wii U from Japan or Europe won’t work with games region-locked to the U.S.
What games will buyers be able to pick up for the Nintendo (NTDOY) Wii U when it launches on November 18th? As promised by Nintendo, the console will see a diversified lineup of 23 launch games that’ll cater to both hardcore and casual gamers. In addition to the 23 games that will be available for purchase on launch day, Nintendo also revealed the 29 other “launch window” games that will trickle in between November 18th and March 2013. Nintendo will sell the Wii U in two bundles: a “Basic Set” that includes white console and controller with 8GB of internal storage for $299.99 and a “Deluxe Set” with a black console and 32GB of storage for $349.99. Wii U software will cost no more than $59.99. The full list of launch day and launch window games follows below. More →
Bringing tears to the eyes of gamers everywhere, Nintendo (NTDOY) has confirmed to CVG that its upcoming Wii U console and its accompanying Wii U GamePad will be region-locked. To bring everybody up to code, Nintendo, along with Sony (SNE) and Microsoft (MSFT) have had a tradition of preventing video game consoles sold in one region from working with video game software from another region. Every home console Nintendo has released since the original Nintendo Entertainment System has been region-locked, as well as its 3DS handheld lineup. The exception to the rule was the DS, which has gone on to sell more than 152 million units worldwide as of July. The new Wii U console launches on November 18th starting at $299.99 for the Basic Set and $349.99 for the Deluxe Set, and many popular retailers are already reporting that preorders are sold out.
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With no new competing hardware this year from Microsoft (MSFT) or Sony (SNE), Nintendo’s (NTDOY) Wii U appears poised to be a holiday hit. IGN noted that the $349.99 Wii U Deluxe Set, which includes a 32GB black console and GamePad, GamePad cradle, GamePad stand, console stand, sensor bar, controller adapter, console adapter, HDMI cable and NintendoLand is already sold out at several major U.S. retails. Gamers who didn’t get their preorders in when stores started accepting them last Thursday might want to avoid GameStop (GME) , Best Buy (BBY), Sears (SHLD), Toys R Us and Walmart (WMT) as supplies have been depleted. There is still the off chance that those retailers might get more stock (some of the stores listed still have Basic Sets available), but early indications suggest there could be a Wii U shortage come November 18th.
When Nintendo (NTDOY) launches the Wii U on November 18th in North America, please try not to fling your GamePad controller across the room or break it. Nintendo of America president and CEO Reggie Fils-Aime confirmed to GameInformer that the company will not be selling standalone Wii U GamePads until 2013. There are two reasons for this: first, there are no launch window titles that will support multiple Wii U GamePads, only ones built for use with one Wii U GamePad, up to three Wii Remotes and the Wii U pro controller (Example: New Super Mario Bros. Wii U). Second, it’s not a cheap accessory by any means. Although Nintendo of America didn’t explicitly say how much a standalone Wii U GamePad will cost, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed on Thursday during a Nintendo Direct webcast that it will sell the Wii U GamePad for 13,440 yen (about $172) in Japan, which is over half the cost of the Wii U Basic Set that will sell for $299.99. It’s believed that the large touchscreen, NFC, universal TV remote and camera are driving the Wii U GamePad cost up. More →
Gamers looking for cheaper console games from the next-generation Wii can toss that idea out the window. Nintendo (NTDOY) revealed on Thursday that it will price most of its first-party Wii U games at $59.99 — a $10 increase over its previous Wii console games. The more expensive pricing is most likely related to the higher development costs of producing games with high-definition graphics and GamePad controls. Nintendo’s markup isn’t out of line, either. Both Microsoft’s (MSFT) Xbox 360 and Sony’s (SNE) PlayStation 3 have had games with HD graphics selling for $59.99 since 2005 and 2006, respectively. Nintendo is merely playing catch-up. More →
In addition to pricing and launch details, Nintendo (NTDOY) revealed a few key hardware specs for its upcoming Wii U on Thursday echoing earlier rumors that the console would be more than capable of competing with Microsoft’s (MSFT) Xbox 360 and Sony’s (SNE) PlayStation 3. In terms of disc-storage, Wii U games come on proprietary optical discs that can store up to 25GB of data — more than enough to store rich 1080p HD games. Even more impressive is that the Wii U can read discs at a 22MB/s compared to the 360′s 15.85 MB/s (DVD) and the PS3′s 9MB/s (Blu-ray) speeds, which means game loading times should be significantly reduced. More →
Nintendo (NTDOY) announced on Thursday its upcoming Wii U console will launch in North America on November 18th starting at $299.99. Nintendo’s Wii U will be sold in two sets. The first is an all-white ”Basic Set” that includes the Wii U console, GamePad, AC adapter for each, HDMI cable, Wii U sensor bar and 8GB of storage for $299.99. The second bundle is the ”Deluxe Set,” which has everything the Basic Set has along with a GamePad charging cradle, console stands for the the console and GamePad, 32GB of internal storage and a copy of Nintendo Land. The Deluxe Set will be available with a black paint job for $349.99. Another reason to pick up the Deluxe Set is that it’ll also include something Nintendo calls “Deluxe Digital Promotion” — coupons that can be used toward downloading digital games.
The week’s biggest tech story is no doubt going to be Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone 5, but Nintendo (NTDOY) is preparing to make a big announcement of its own. It’s believed that Nintendo will finally announce a firm price and release date for its hotly anticipated Wii U console. The latest rumors suggest the Wii U will be priced between $249 and $349 and launch in mid-November. Nintendo will be streaming the event live from New York City on its website. Always the odd ball, Nintendo is once again betting on its ability to provide new and innovative ways to control games. With the Wii, Nintendo popularized motion controls; the DS, dual screens and touchscreens; and the 3DS added glasses-free 3D. It remains to be seen if the Wii U’s unique controller and its built-in 6.2-inch touchscreen, NFC and TV remote controls will be enough to distract from the console’s graphics, which are only on par with current-generation consoles. Nintendo’s Wii U event begins on Thursday, September 13th at 10:00 a.m. EDT. More →
With this generation’s unusually long console cycle, all eyes are on Nintendo’s (NTDOY) Wii U to kick off the next generation of console entertainment. Ahead of a Nintendo event on September 13th that is expected to reveal official pricing and launch date details for the Wii U, GameFAQs member “h0undd0gg” has posted a video showing three potential SKUs that are reportedly planned. If the leak is indeed authentic, pricing for the Wii U could start as low as $249.99 and top out at $349.99.
Why spend money on a mobile gaming platform when you can play lots of high-quality games on your tablet? That’s the reality that portable game console manufacturers Sony (SNE) and Nintendo (NTDOY) have to deal with as Android and iOS tablets have become powerful enough to host some high-quality games such as “Infinity Blade.” More →
