Nintendo has launched Wii U in North America. The Wii U Basic Set, which includes a white Wii U system with 8 gigabytes of internal storage, a GamePad, stylus, sensor bar, AC adaptors, and an HDMI cable, is now available for $299.99. The Wii U Deluxe Set, which includes a black Wii U system with 32 gigabytes of internal storage, a GamePad, stylus, sensor bar, AC adaptors, HDMI cables, GamePad stand and cradle, console stand, and a copy of Nintendo Land is available for $349.99.
Find below new information and photos gathered from the net this morning.
Ninendo World NYC Launch
Photo #1: In this photo provided by Nintendo of America, consumers lined up outside Nintendo World in New York to be among the first in the world to buy Nintendo’s newest home console, Wii U, which went on sale at midnight on Nov. 18, 2012. Wii U comes packaged with the Wii U GamePad, a controller with a 6.2-inch touch screen that redefines how people interact with their games, their TVs and one another.
Photo #2: In this photo provided by Nintendo of America, Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America’s president and COO, leads a crowd of fans in a countdown to the midnight launch of Wii U at Nintendo World in New York on Nov. 18, 2012. Wii U is set to change the way people interact with their games, their TVs and each other.
Photo #3: In this photo by Nintendo of America, Mario and Luigi hang out with consumers at the midnight launch event for Wii U at Nintendo World in New York on November 17, 2012. Wii U is set to change the way people interact with their games, their TVs and each other.
Photo #4: In this photo provided by Nintendo of America, fans gather at Nintendo World to celebrate the midnight launch of Wii U on Nov. 18, 2012. Wii U is set to change the way people interact with their games, their TVs and each other.
Photo #5: In this photo provided by Nintendo of America, Reggie Fils-Aime, president and COO of Nintendo of America, presents the first Wii U sold in the world to Isaiah Triforce Johnson of Brooklyn, NY, minutes after midnight at the official launch event at Nintendo World in New York on Nov. 18, 2012.
Photo #6: In this photo provided by Nintendo of America, Reggie Fils-Aime, president and COO of Nintendo of America, and Isaiah Triforce Johnson of Brooklyn, NY celebrate his purchase of the first Wii U sold in the world minutes after midnight at the official launch event at Nintendo World in New York on Nov. 18, 2012. Wii U comes packaged with the Wii U GamePad, a controller with a 6.2-inch touch screen that redefines how people interact with their games, their TVs and one another.
Photo #7: In this photo provided by Nintendo of America, Isaiah Triforce Johnson of Brooklyn, NY celebrates his purchase of the first Wii U system in the world at the midnight launch event at Nintendo World in New York on Nov. 18, 2012. Wii U comes packaged with the Wii U GamePad, a controller with a 6.2-inch touch screen that redefines how people interact with their games, their TVs and one another.
Photo #8: In this photo provided by Nintendo of America, a fan purchases one of the first Wii U systems in the world at the midnight launch event at Nintendo World in New York on Nov. 18, 2012. Wii U is set to change the way people interact with their games, their TVs and each other.
System Reviews
- 1UP – N/A
- ABC – N/A
- Ars Technica – ‘Incomplete’
- Canada – N/A
- CNET – N/A
- Destructoid – N/A
- Engadget – N/A
- Game Informer – N/A
- Gizmodo – 4/5
- Joystiq – N/A
- Kotaku – ‘Not Yet’
- Polygon – 6.5/10
- PopSci – N/A
- ShackNews – N/A
- TIME – N/A
- USA Today – 3/4
- The Verge – 7/10
System Update
When you boot up your Wii U, you should be prompted to download an system software update, which will add Miiverse, the Nintendo eShop, and the Internet Browser applications. The download is approximately 1 gigabyte in size, and according to several reports, a very slow process. Be sure not to power off your system during the update. L.A. Times’ Ben Fritz reports that it’ll completely brick your system, rendering it useless. Some users, however, are reporting that their Wii U powered down on its own during the update, essentially bricking itself.
Nintendo eShop
Here’s your launch lineup for the Nintendo eShop, courtesy of NeoGAF:
Retail Games
- Assassin’s Creed II – $59.99
- Darksiders II – $59.99
- Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two – $59.99
- ESPN Sports Connection – $49.99
- FIFA 13 – $59.99
- Game Party Champions – $49.99
- Just Dance 4 – $49.99
- Madden NFL 13 – $59.99
- New Super Mario Bros. U – $59.99
- Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge – $59.99
- Nintendo Land – $59.99
- Rabbids Land – $49.99
- Scribblenauts Unlimited – $59.99
- Sing Party – $49.99
- Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed – $39.99
- Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper – $59.99
- Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2013 – $49.99
- ZombiU – $59.99
Indie Games
- Chasing Aurora – $14.99
- Little Inferno – $14.99
- Mighty Switch Force! Hyper Drive Edition – $9.99
- Nano Assault Neo – $9.99
- Trine 2: Director’s Cut – $19.99
I’ve been told by a friend to recommend you purchase Mighty Switch Force.
Miiverse Moderation
Miiverse is a moderated social platform for Wii U. How moderated? Nintendo asks that you try not using words like “idiot” in your updates. Jim Sterling from Destructoid posted the following update in the Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition community, which was removed for “Violent Content”: “Best bit is when The Batted Man kicks Doctor Octopus in the head and says ‘SHUT UP IDIOT!'” As Sterling puts it, this is “in a community for a game in which arms are broken, people are shot, and Catwoman is called a ‘bitch’ roughly ten thousand times.”
Miiverse Minor Registration
Nintendo has come up with its own way of verifying minors (ages 12 and under) as permissible for registration on Nintendo Network. Parents must enter their credit card information, which afterward will not be stored on the Wii U, and accept a $0.50 charge, which will not be refunded. According to Wii U’s online support page, once the first child is set up, you will only need the Parental Control PIN to add any additional children. You will not be charged after the first child.
System Specs
Wii U has 2 gigabytes of Samsung DDR3 memory running at a max speed of 17 gigabytes per second. To compare, Xbox 360 runs at a max of 22.4 gigabytes per second, and has eDRAM for framebuffer. PlayStation 3 runs at a max of 25.6 gigabytes per second through its main memory, plus 22.4 gigabytes for its graphics memory, but has no eDRAM. Find more information here. View a two-hour teardown of the system’s innards here. (I’m not really savvy with all this technical stuff.)