We're just received word from Nintendo Australia — and it's official — the Wii U will be released on our shores on November 30. The premium 'deluxe' set will retail at $429.95 or you can pick up the 'basic' package for $349.95.
The Wii U premium pack seems like the most value for money, containing a black Wii U console a Wii U GamePad, and 32GB of internal storage, alongside a copy of Nintendo Land and a HDMI cable among other things.
With regards to the price itself — I'm actually pleasantly surprised. After the US and Japanese pricing, I had guessed that Nintendo would sell its premium pack for $499.95. A pleasant surprise then, and perhaps an indication we are set to see fairer game prices across the board here.
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Comments
AWESOME PRICE AND DATE
*JZZZZZZZZ*
So why is the Australian price $100 more than the US price???
Indeed. Pray tell why we're slugged with an extra $100.
Importing one from the states as my current Wii is NTSC and with shipping and insurance, the price works out almost the same.
Really? Which store from the U.S. are you purchasing from? But anyways, I don't know about you guys but I'm impressed at the price they've set for BOTH packages, for one they seem quite reasonable compared to what we're used to and honestly I thought they would charge $500 minimum. Will definitely buy!!! Good Job Nintendo!
Agreed, this is actually perfectly reasonable pricing. Let's not get too hung up on the Australia tax here, it could've been a lot worse.
AND we get it earlier than the US, don't we?
Going to self correct myself here so no one else feels the need to: apparently we get it before Japan, but after the US. Weird.
its earlier in US cos they have thanksgiving. Us Aussies will just have to look forward to christmas really.
Agreed. The price isn't too shabby. Given the next gen Sony and MS consoles will likely start at their old starting prices (sitting me out of their range for 2 years or so), this looks like its gonna be the console for me to start with for the next gen.
You mean for this gen because the Wii U has caught up to the current seventh generation.
...then why bother? I can understand importing a large price difference but if it's almost the same then why not just support locally?
Because the games are cheaper to buy and import from the U.S. too. In the long run it does make sense to import the console and the games.
actually it doesnt make sense. Since you will be importing the console and the games from america for the same price, why not buy local console with warranty and import pal games from ozgameshop? Doesnt that make it cheaper and you will have more benefit?
Perhaps importing from the US is even cheaper than OGS? I don't know. I never import from anywhere other than OGS.
I'm importing because my current Wii is from the US and so are all of the game and virtual concole purchases. If I wanted to keep both systems, I wouldn;t bother importing but I really don't need to keep the Wii as the Wii U is backwards compatible and everything can be transferred.
Also as jellyarrow points out, games are much cheaper and you can get them earlier.
Importing one unit from an online store and importing thousands directly from the manufacturer isn't the same thing.
US price never includes the sales tax they have to pay.. always remember that. The AU price always includes the sales tax.
compare this to what apple is doing with the iphone 5's Aussie pricing and try again
Increased shipping costs, higher wages for Australian workers, and GST.
It's actually not a bad price difference compared to some companies...
Extra $50 for the basic, $80 for the deluxe. Considering how hard we've been reamed over prices before, this is more of a gentle, "We swear we're gonna use lube this time" kind of reaming.
Even gentler when you consider that it's only $20/$45 more after you incorporate GST
^this. These are great prices, dont complain people.
The Wii was $250 US - $400 AU for example....this is much better.
Don't forget this is also the RRP, it won't always be that exact price.
Umm the price is incredibly good -- $299 US = ~$328 AUD (after tax) and $350 US = ~$385 AUD(after tax).
That is just $22 difference for the 8gb and $45 difference for the 32gb. Outside of 24gb space and Nintendo land what is the 8gb missing? It just seems like 32gb WiiU is for those that want Nintendo land and everyone else would be better buying an 8gb.
In comparison
5th gen iPod Touch US$299
5th gen iPod Touch AU$329
and remember Apple is the bad guy
$299 US = ~$283 AUD
$350 US= ~$331 AUD
Not saying that the prices aren't great, I think they are pretty good considering . However, our dollar is stronger than the US :)
Everything cost more in Australia. We get taxed too much and ripped of on everything we buy.
It's not quite as much when you take into account the fact that we have to have GST included in Australian price tags.
Deluxe Package IS MINE!
Hey guys, I'm thinking of getting one of these, should i or shouldn't i, I'm going to let katoku readers decide so whats your opinion, yes or no?
Yes
Wait for a while...
Nah
***ING SOLD!
Do it! I'll be getting the premium pack.
Deluxe package all the way!
This comment has been deemed inappropriate and has been deleted.
Obvious troll is obvious.
More like, coming with exclusive game Bayonetta 2!
Or how about Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate - where you can play the game on the Wii U and 3DS!
Try again ^_^
Or ZombiU! Which looks like mad fun!!!!
YES! I'd heard little about it until just now. Looks like something I'll spend a considerable amount of free time on. I'm definitely getting the Wii U, although I'm unsure how happy I'll be playing using half an old laptop as a controller :\
Lets not forget that Mass effect, Bayonetta, Assasins Creed, Batman, and many other games were not available on the Wii, but are coming to the Wii U. That is actually GOOD news, not bad. If games like these start coming to the Wii it only means third party developers will slowly but surely start making games for the Wii U. With such a reasonable AUS price, Wii Brand, New controller and the fact that tablet gaming is massive these days, i believe the Wii U will sell very well. Nintendo have done there homework.
N7 jpicard
No one tells you your a flog, enough do they? Let me be the first.
With your grammar and spelling, perhaps let someone else do it....
Awesomesauce, now go to bed, Mark!
I'm dumbstruck, amazing prices a lot lower than I thought perhaps I might preorder this after all. The release titles are nothing impressive though only game I would consider getting is NSMBU the rest.. meh
Any word on that ZombiU deluxe bundle with the Pro controller that was mentioned during the stream?
Really surprised by that price. I guess if you are one of the 10 who dont own a Wii, then buying the controllers and sensor bar start to inflate that launch price.
The sensor bar comes with it, only in japan it isnt included.
You mean Europe.
He meant japan
The basic pack seems reasonably priced. The deluxe one should really be $399 though. Let's wait and see how much games cost though!
According to EB (I know, not the greatest source but for now..) The launch titles will all be $108. The Lovecraftian iPad will be about $98 standalone. There's no released prices I can find for the additional charger, stand or sensor bar, not to mention the potential saved money through the 10% off ninstorething. I think $428 is pretty damn reasonable for the premium pack. Oh, and it's all black and shiny and pretty to boot.
That's pretty good. No doubt most retailers will mark it down to $399 at launch too.
I'll save my money for the next playstation or xbox...
I like the idea of a cheaper "basic" package. This seems like a good option for the fitness game crowd.
Wait, let me get this right...
The WiiU comes out in the US on the 18th of November (before Black Friday, aka the single largest shopping day in the US), Australia on the 30th of November and the 8th of December.
WHEN THE HELL DID I LEAVE PLANET EARTH AND ENTER A PLACE WHERE NINTENDO RELEASES THINGS IN AUSTRALIA BEFORE JAPAN!
LOL!
To be fair, the Japanese economy is right in the gutter at the moment.
Well. Not only is Australia getting the Wii U before Japan, but taking into consideration the price of Nintendo Land (a pack-in for us, but required to be bought separately with the Japanese editions), we're actually getting the console for cheaper than Japan is too.
What kind of weird alternate universe have I somehow found myself in where this could be even remotely possible?
Th e Yen is doing terribly for one.
somewhere out in Australia someone would have said "The day the wii u comes out in Australia before japan, and is cheaper than them will be the end of the world"
The time has finally come
....
lol
lol and the mayans were true after all!
Getting stuff cheaper than Japan is pretty normal. Everything is more expensive there. For all the whinging we do about pricing, Japan has it worse.
Monster Hunter here I come!
Fucking awesome. I'm sold :)
SOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLD
still doesn't quite click with me (bad taste left in the mouth for jumping on the wii too early, to be left sidelined by lack of support), though surprisingly the price isn't too bad, since the wii was $400? on release.
Think i'll stick to the ps3 for now, and start saving up for the ps4 down the line, considering it won't be as nice on the wallet.
Yeah I am holding (although this is exciting and one of the best haunch lineups I've ever seen) to see whether this takes off before adopting. I've early adopted too many failures in the past (dreamcast, GameCube)
You consider the gamecube a failure?? It wasn't popular, but had some of the best games ever created!!
+ 10000000000 Animal crossing FTW!!!! and eternal darkness even more FTW
People need to remove their rose tinted glasses for a moment. The Cube had some great games sure, but did you see what was happening on the PS3 at the time. I think it probably had more great games than this entire gen combined.
*PS2 I mean.
Rose tinted glasses implies I"m looking back on fond memories that don't actually hold up as well.
I play gamecube games more than any other format overall excepting perhaps my PC.. maaayybe SNES. I actually find the exact opposite of what you are saying. Going back and playing PS2 games gives me the N64 rose tinted effect, the RPGs I loved seem much more slow and clunky, games are often choppy and don't look nearly as good as I remember, and the controls/camera/general interface and gameplay setups feel archaic and template instead of built from the ground up like many gamecube games (whether they were or not) . Most gamecube games hold up exceedingly well, hence why I'm still playing them right now.
Also dreamcast wasnt a failure it was just released to late, its still my favourite console, has a game library of 688 official games plus countless unofficial, and still one of the best controllers in history.
And is one of the most saught after second hand consoles in the world. (i own 2 :P)
I feel pretty much the same. I don't begrudge anyone who wants a Wii U, that's silly. But I think I'll pass. I'm not a Metroid, Super Mario Bros or Zelda fan, so there's probably only going to be a handful of platform-exclusive msut-haves that I'd be interested in. I need a higher attach rate than the 6 or so games I had on the Wii to make it worthwhile economically.
Again, that's just my personal circumstances.
I think I've only bought about 4 games for my PS3 but at least it doubles as a Blu-Ray player. :/
"I’m not a Metroid, Super Mario Bros or Zelda fan"
YOU HAVE NO SOUL
I'm a ginger, what else is new?
Ba Dum tsh
I'm a massive fan of all those series but:
1. The DS Zelda games were pretty crap, and Skyward Sword was incredibly tedious.
2. I actually liked Metroid: Other M even though I hate what they did to Samus. That said, most people hated it.
3. The 2D Marios have been pretty crap since 2006. People seem to be catching on to the fact that the games have been more repititive that CoD. The Galaxy games are great, but currently no announcements.
If they can convince me that any of the games capture some of the brilliance of OoT, Mario Galaxy, or Super Metroid, I will buy a wii U for no other reason. I wait with bated breath.
WOW for once we didnt get screwed ova with ridiculous prices (looking at apple with ur iphone 5 AU prices) this is actually i really really good price, cost the same as a 3ds (basic) wen it was launched WOW
As soon as monster hunter 3 unlimited (which seems to be a wiiu port of 3g) came up, it immediately cemented my buying a wiiu.
lol nope
Sorry in what way are those prices not so bad compared to the US pricing? The premium pack is literally $100 more (~33%).
In what way has an international product EVER released in Aus with identical price conversion? 33% isn't perfect but it's a definite step in the right direction. The sooner you leave interweb mentality of incessant and irritating cynicism and join the real world (where games are fun, the apocalypse isn't nigh and everyone hates Dane Cook) the better off you'll be.
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