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Today in New York City saw Nintendo showcase it's upcoming Wii U in a huge prelaunch extravaganza. They showcased games, features, the hardware itself and gave us all the skinny on those all important launch titles, prices and of course release dates.
Click after the break to find out more and to see what Nintendo are bringing to the table for the next generation of console gaming.
First up the important dates are November 18th for the US and November 30th for UK/ Europe. A Japanese release is to come later making this a very odd move for the Japanese based company. The console will ship in two different flavours. Basic and deluxe and $299.99 and $349.99 respectively.
The basic version will be white and inlude the 8GB version of the console itself a Wii U gamepad, AC adaptors for both a high speed HDMI cable and Wii sensor bar. The deluxe version has all of the same but with 32GB in black, stands for the console and gamepad and charging cradle for the gamepad. Also, the deluxe set includes the Nintendo Land game, and at only $50 more than the basic version. If this wasn't enough Reggie Fils Amie went on to say that the deluxe version will include a special promotion that allows you to earn points for everything you download that can be used to buy items from Nintendo later.
Also, The Wii U will be compatible with “almost all” Wii games and accessories and you can expect to see Wii U branded Wiimote and nunchucks on shop shelves soon.
A new service is also due from Nintendo in it's new “Tvii” service, this will allow all manner of exciting things like the ability to build separate TV playlists for a console's users, will allow internet functionality so you can see film reviews on sites like IMDB and of course show the TV shows themselves. Hulu, Amazon and Netflix have all been announced with no word on how much these will cost, but for the standard Tvii package there will be no cost at all.
Nintendo said they'd been waiting for the right technology to become available and the system will allow all manner of search options including personalised playlists and search functionality for sporting events so you can keep abreast of scores and stats while watching the big game.
The interface is grid based and doesn't look all that different to the screenshots we've seen of Windows 8 or the newer XBOX dashboards which should make for an already recognisable and familiar interface for many gamers already.
Now, a Nintendo console wouldn't be a Nintendo console without games, and a plethora have been announced. With 50 games coming in the launch window of between launch and March of next year it seems that Nintendo are seriously adding some weight to the Next Gen console war early. Big hitters like Mass Effect 3 and Batman Arkham City have been announced. As has the biggest one of all Call of Duty Black Ops 2. Also announced are Wii U exclusives Bayonetta 2 and The Wonderful 101 (previously known as P100) and ZombiU which will come in it';s own special console bundle in Europe.
There will also be classic Nintendo franchises in Metroid, Mario and Pikmin and some exciting new ways to play the games as well as the above titles and too many more to mention.
One interesting thing was the Wii U gamepad's screen can be used as a second screen. This was shown on Black Ops 2 effectively making one console into a 2 person LAN party. You can actually play a 2 player game in full screen on TV and pad making for a new and exciting gaming experience.
It looks like Nintendo have pulled out all the stops with this one, expect to hear a lot more about the Wii U on Konsole Kontrast as and when I hear it. Oh and of course do enjoy the gallery of games below.
