Wii U

Gaming
September 13, 2012
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Nintendo Wii U specs reveal large capacity discs and lots of RAM

By on September 13, 2012 at 3:25 PM.

Nintendo Wii U specs reveal large capacity discs and lots of RAM

Nintendo Wii U Hardware Specs RevealedIn 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 →

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Breaking
September 13, 2012
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Nintendo Wii U launches in North America on November 18th starting at $299.99

By on September 13, 2012 at 10:11 AM.

Nintendo Wii U launches in North America on November 18th starting at $299.99

Nintendo Wii U Release Date

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.

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Gaming
September 12, 2012
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Nintendo Wii U price and release date will likely be announced tomorrow

By on September 12, 2012 at 6:15 PM.

Nintendo Wii U price and release date will likely be announced tomorrow

Nintendo Wii U Release Date

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 →

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Gaming
September 4, 2012
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Nintendo Wii U might launch in mid-November starting at $249.99

By on September 4, 2012 at 3:45 PM.

Nintendo Wii U might launch in mid-November starting at $249.99

Nintendo Wii U Release Date Price

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.

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Featured
July 12, 2012
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The BGR Show: Episode Six – Nintendo’s Wii U and Leap Motion

By on July 12, 2012 at 11:00 AM.

The BGR Show: Episode Six – Nintendo’s Wii U and Leap Motion

Nintendo Wii U Leap Motion Hands-On

This week on The BGR Show we spend some time checking out (more like playing, for hours) Nintendo’s upcoming Wii U console including the much-hyped GamePad touchscreen controller. We also talk to Nintendo about how the Wii U is going to change gameplay by incorporating two screens, motion, accelerometers and even NFC into popular game titles. Since this episode is all about motion technology, we also caught up with Leap Motion, and went hands-on with their first peripheral — it’s a total game-changer. Instead of using a mouse or even touch, you’re able to manipulate on-screen elements and control your computer just by moving your finger in small motions in front of your monitor. It’s multitouch without the touch, and it’s one of the coolest pieces of technology we’ve seen in a while.
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Gaming
June 5, 2012
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Nintendo Wii U will launch ahead of the holidays

By on June 5, 2012 at 1:55 PM.

Nintendo Wii U will launch ahead of the holidays

Nintendo Wii U Release Date 2012

Nintendo announced during its E3 press conference on Tuesday that its next-generation Wii U video game console will launch ahead of the holidays this year. The gaming giant confirmed a number of new details surrounding its upcoming console during a preview event on Monday, and now Nintendo has revealed a launch target for the first time. While the company neglected to provide a specific release date, the Wii U will likely launch before the holiday shopping season peaks this year. Pricing has not yet been announced, though Nintendo did confirm that the Wii U will ship with the multiplayer game “NintendoLand” in addition to a GamePad controller.

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Gaming
June 4, 2012
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Nintendo's Wii U GamePad aims to make gaming more social

By on June 4, 2012 at 3:35 PM.

Nintendo's Wii U GamePad aims to make gaming more social

Nintendo Wii U Gamepad Details Unveiled

Rightly or wrongly, gaming has always been viewed as a solitary activity, but Nintendo wants to make sure that Wii gamers never again have to stomp on giant mushrooms or rescue princesses alone. The retooled version of the Wii U GamePad, unveiled by Nintendo during the annual E3 conference on Monday, will be the centerpiece of the company’s effort to make gaming a more social experience. Among other things, the GamePad features a touchscreen that gamers can interact with using either a finger or a stylus, and a built-in monitor and webcam that can be used to conduct video chats with fellow gamers. Most intriguingly, the GamePad opens up the possibility for what Nintendo dubs “asymmetric game play,” where two players can work cooperatively on the same game even as they’re seeing different levels and aspects of it from their own personal GamePad monitor. Nintendo’s full press release follows below. More →

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Gaming
March 8, 2012
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Epic shows us the future of gaming with new Unreal Engine 3 reel [video]

By on March 8, 2012 at 12:15 PM.

Epic shows us the future of gaming with new Unreal Engine 3 reel [video]

Apple’s unveiling of the new iPad overshadowed plenty of big news on Wednesday, and Epic Games’s unveiling of a brand new Unreal Engine 3 feature reel is something we couldn’t let slip through the cracks. The popular lab took to the annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco on Wednesday to show off the latest features of its Unreal Engine 3, the latest version of Epic’s popular platform. Shown in the reel is a small sampling of what developers can accomplish with the latest version of Unreal Engine, and the engine supports game development across Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Windows, Mac, iOS and Android. Game samples for each of the aforementioned platforms are shown off in Epic’s video, which follows below. More →

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Gaming
August 17, 2011
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Sony cuts PS3 price to $249

By on August 17, 2011 at 6:45 AM.

Sony cuts PS3 price to $249

Sony announced on Tuesday that it is lowering the price of its 160GB PlayStation 3 console to $249, down from the console’s original $299 price tag. In addition, Sony will now sell the 320GB version of the PlayStation 3 for $299 instead of $349. The Japanese consumer electronics firm also dropped the price of the system in Japan and in Europe. The move is likely an effort to tackle Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console, which has been the best-selling console in the United States for past seven months according to the latest data from The NPD Group. Recent rumors have suggested Sony is already working on the PlayStation 4, which could launch as soon as next year to compete with Nintendo’s Wii U and Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox. More →

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Gaming
July 6, 2011
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Nintendo Wii U console launching after April 1st, 2012, exec says

By on July 6, 2011 at 8:07 PM.

Nintendo Wii U console launching after April 1st, 2012, exec says

In a recent interview with Forbes, Nintendo of America’s president and chief operating officer Reggie Fils-Aime was asked how his company will market the new Nintendo Wii U console — given that the existing Wii will still be on the market. Fils-Aime responded by noting that the console will not launch until after April 1st of next year — a date we hadn’t heard yet — and that, historically, Nintendo has sold multiple devices side by side. Fils-Aime pointed to the launch of the Nintendo DS alongside the Gameboy Advance, and also said that the Wii was on the market at the same time as the Game Cube. He also discussed cross-platform play, which could allow users to play against one another using different Nintendo machines “We have one key developer with a very strong relationship to Nintendo, the same developer who created Smash Brothers, that is envisioning a Smash Brothers experience that will be cross platform between Wii U and 3DS,” Fils-Aime said. Nintendo took the wraps off of the highly anticipated Wii U during the E3 tradeshow early last month, but has yet to announce a price for the console.

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Gaming
June 8, 2011
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Preliminary Wii U specs emerge

By on June 8, 2011 at 8:43 AM.

Preliminary Wii U specs emerge

While Nintendo has been quiet when it comes to the specs of its newly announced Wii U gaming console, preliminary details are beginning to emerge from the E3 2011 show. We obviously already know plenty about the Wii U touchscreen controller, which we went hands-on with yesterday, but the console itself is a bit of a mystery. A few of Nintendo’s hardware partners got a little excited, however, and we now have a few pieces of the puzzle. We know the Wii U will support full HD 1080p gaming, and now we also know it will be facilitated by a custom Radeon HD graphics processor from AMD. In addition, IBM will be supplying Nintendo with a 45nm multi-core processor with embedded DRAM for the console.There are also four USB ports on hand, an HDMI port, an S-video port and component jacks, and the console with obviously feature 802.11n Wi-Fi. The rest, for the time being, is still a mystery. In case you missed it, we’ve also included Nintendo’s full press release below. More →

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Gaming
June 7, 2011
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Hands on with Nintendo’s new Wii U controller

By on June 7, 2011 at 4:00 PM.

Hands on with Nintendo’s new Wii U controller

We just stormed the show floor at E3 and strong-armed a few people to get right up close and personal with Nintendo’s brand new Wii U controller. The demo game required a lot of movement on the user’s part — there was a lot of shaking involved with controlling the character on the screen — but the interaction definitely looked like nothing we’ve seen before. The large touchscreen display was bright, too, and the controls are all comfortably within reach of your thumbs. We dig the white color of the controller as well, and it absolutely looks like a substantial high-end device. Hit the gallery below to see the rest of our hands-on images!

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Breaking
June 7, 2011
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Nintendo unveils Wii U gaming console

By on June 7, 2011 at 12:49 PM.

Nintendo unveils Wii U gaming console

After all of the rumors and speculation, we now finally have a name and details for Nintendo’s next-generation Wii console… the Wii U! Nintendo just announced the new Wii U at its keynote presentation from the annual E3 conference. As the rumors suggested, the Wii U controller features a 6.2-inch touchscreen centered between a d-pad and an analog stick on the left side and a second analog stick and buttons on the right side. The controller also features a microphone, stereo speakers, a camera, an accelerometer, and even a gyroscope — in fact, the controller can act as a console itself! Moreover, the controller becomes a second window into the game being played, showing different views of the current scene, plays and options in sports games, items in a players cache… the possibilities are endless. Nintendo also stated that all current Wii games will work with Wii U and the new Wii U controller. The console supports High Definition gaming, online gaming much like the solutions offered by Sony and Microsoft, and even social networking integration. Nintendo states that the goal of its Wii U console is to serve the avid gamer and casual gaming communities alike, with a single console. From the look of things, they might just be able to pull it off. The Wii U console will launch in 2012 and pricing has not yet been announced.

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