The new Wii is called the Wii U. It’s coming to Australia on November 30 and will cost $349.95 for the basic package and $429.95 for the Deluxe Set. Nintendo blasted out heaps of news about it today. But they didn’t tell us everything.
Here’s What We Know
- It’s $349.95 for the basic version that includes the console (which is way more powerful than the Wii and somewhere in the ballpark of the PS3/Xbox360, give or take… probably better, not worse), the GamePad (the signature of the system, a controller with a 6.2-inch screen, two analogue thumbsticks, a forward-facing camera, a bunch of face buttons and a gyro sensor), 8GB of on-board memory, AC adaptors for the console and controller, a sensor bar (take that, Japan) and — surprise! — an HDMI cable. It’s white. It does not come with any Wii Remotes, which will be used in many multiplayer games. Hopefully you have some. They need to be Wii Remote Pluses.
- It’s $429.95 if you buy the Deluxe Set, which has all of the above, although with 32GB of on-board memory, a console stand, a charging cradle for the GamePad and a membership in something called the Deluxe Digital Promotion (DDP!), which will provide discounts for digital downloads through 2014. The Deluxe version comes with Wii U flagship game Nintendo Land packed in.
- They made a thing for it called TVii that is both a crime against the English language and a new service for letting users watch streaming video on the Wii U GamePad, even if someone else in the house is using the TV that the Wii U is hooked up to. It’ll even pull stuff that was DVR’d on your TiVo.
- You’ll be able to play the next Call of Duty on the system, and, better, this game, Black Ops II will let you play split-screen across your TV and the screen on the GamePad. Here’s proof.
- Bayonetta 2 will be exclusive for the Wii U. We don’t know when it’s coming out, but the sequel to the super-sexy action game isn’t just a steal from the Xbox/PlayStation playbook but a potential answer to the question: “What will grandmas enjoy on the new Wii?”
- Nintendo Land is Nintendo’s only confirmed launch day game (man, there better be more). This virtual theme park of Nintendo-themed attractions includes a cool Metroid riff.
- Nintendo has declared that some 50 games will be out in the system’s launch window, which opens on November 18 and closes on March 31. Those games include ZombiU, Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101 (Formerly Project 100), Assassin’s Creed III, Mass Effect 3, New Super Mario Bros. U, Lego City Undercover, Wii Fit U and a lot more.
- New Super Mario Bros. U looks awesome.
- There will be a new Wii U game from the people who made Xenoblade and >a Warriors Orochi game.
- The Wii U will offer a sort of gamer’s social network called MiiVerse.
- Update: Nintendo has confirmed that games will start at $US59.99.
Here’s What We Don’t Know (Yet)
- Which games are actually coming out on launch day, other than Nintendo Land?
- The cost of a second GamePad. No launch games appear to support one, but the system can. Maybe Nintendo held this back from America after revealing that an extra GamePad will cost an extraordinary half of the cost of a basic Wii U bundle in Japan (which, if you do the maths, means that the controller kind of actually costs the same as the console sans packed-in controller.)
- The cost of Wii Remote Pluses? These will be required for multiplayer in Nintendo Land games and will be the preferred controller option, along with the Wii Nunchuk, for many games. Remote Pluses go for $50-$60 now. The tech is getting old, so maybe Nintendo will cut people a break? Or they’ll assume they have them from their Wiis.
- The price of games?
We’ll have plenty more about Wii U in the hours and days to come. We’ve got people playing the system right now!
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