Wii U Official Info (Japan for now) Launch Date, Two SKUs and Prices.

[Fear Zoa]

Seems nice, maybe now everyone will shut up about specs/price.

I'll probably get the "premium" one around launch despite there being no games i want.

 

[Hadrian]

Just as the Wii was capable of DVD playback when hacking in the remaining files (as the discs were DVDs) the WiiU will most certainly be capable of BR playback when hacked.

Yeah definitely. God this thing would be golden if it's hacked, I mean hackers could get the 1GB for gaming and 1GB for the OS combine them for "hot tits" emulation.

And then... You switch over the screen in "controller mode" and you have uber-powerful emulation of EVERY SYSTEM OUT THERE in your hand.

Super-awesome emulation in bed, HERE I COME.

THIS THING IS GONNA BE SO AWESOME.

It'll totally do 360
But still not original Xbox

 

[Guild McCommunist]

Anyone got a rough price estimate? That's kinda what I care about TBH,

AKA what I want to bitch about.

EDIT: Quick Google says...

Basic: roughly $338. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and round down to $300

Premium: roughly $400. I guess round down to $350?

Gamepads: I feel like the calculations are off but $150

Pro Controller: roughly $64.

 

[Hadrian]

Fuck you Guild I wanted bitching from you.

Fucking can't rely on any cunt here.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

Fuck you Guild I wanted bitching from you.

Fucking can't rely on any cunt here.

Well the controllers are overpriced and Nintendo is just making us bend over and shoving Wiimotes up our cornholes.

Happy?

 

[PolloDiablo]

I will buy two of these babies.... one for me, and one for Crediar

 

[FireEmblemGuy]

-Wii U actually is the launch name
-Still no DVD/BluRay playback
-No announcement of any sort of Gamecube support
-Still no killer launch games

I'll probably be waiting for a price drop or Fire Emblem U. Right now the only interesting things it's got are the gamepad, ZombiU, and another reason to play Mass Effect 3. On the bright side, I figure the US launch price will be $250/$300 if we get the same models; could be a lot worse. Not as sure on the controllers but I figure $50 for the Pro and maybe $125 for a gamepad.

EDIT: Let me amend my earlier statement: if ME3 is a launch title, has multiplayer, and I can fully play it on the gamepad, then it's a day 1 buy, no questions asked.

 

[Hielkenator]

Wii U does not have DVD or Blu-ray playback capabilities. The reason for that is that we feel that enough people already have devices that are capable of playing DVDs and Blu-ray, such that it didn't warrant the cost involved to build that functionality into the Wii U console because of the patents related to those technologies.

http://www.engadget....ray-iwata-says/

Though yeah I'm still unsure why they mentioned Blu-Ray in the speeds...why not just mention the speed only? I guess what he meant was just BR/DVD video discs.

Just as the Wii was capable of DVD playback when hacking in the remaining files (as the discs were DVDs) the WiiU will most certainly be capable of BR playback when hacked.

It's just Nintendo being a cheapskates on licenses.

They need to market their drives as something different from DVD/BR for the essential reason that if you market them as DVD or BR then you also need to pay the licenses.

False info, Wii optical discs are no dvd's.
The wii system was on some moment capable of dvd playback, but the disc were never rebranded dvd's.
They are also nintendo's propritary wii optical disc, and are differ in capacity also.
wii disc, 4.37 Gb - DVD 4.7Gb. single layer.

 

[mysticwaterfall]

They were certainly not changing the name now.

As for the bundles, I like the discount and the charging stand in premium... But if you can easily expand the storage and run things off it directly (unlike the Wii), I don't know if the extra space is worth it.

 

[chartube12]

Wii U does not have DVD or Blu-ray playback capabilities. The reason for that is that we feel that enough people already have devices that are capable of playing DVDs and Blu-ray, such that it didn't warrant the cost involved to build that functionality into the Wii U console because of the patents related to those technologies.

http://www.engadget....ray-iwata-says/

Though yeah I'm still unsure why they mentioned Blu-Ray in the speeds...why not just mention the speed only? I guess what he meant was just BR/DVD video discs.

Just as the Wii was capable of DVD playback when hacking in the remaining files (as the discs were DVDs) the WiiU will most certainly be capable of BR playback when hacked.

It's just Nintendo being a cheapskates on licenses.

They need to market their drives as something different from DVD/BR for the essential reason that if you market them as DVD or BR then you also need to pay the licenses.

False info, Wii optical discs are no dvd's.
The wii system was on some moment capable of dvd playback, but the disc were never rebranded dvd's.
They are also nintendo's propritary wii optical disc, and are differ in capacity also.
wii disc, 4.37 Gb - DVD 4.7Gb. single layer.

Do some research. psychically the disc are DVDs but they are programmed in a different way to avoid royalty fees. The same for the DVDs on the PS2 actually that feature sony's compression tech. Kingdom Hearts 1&2 are such games. Unlike Nintendo, Sony never openly denied they were using DVDs however.

 

[RupeeClock]

Definitely looks like a pricier system.
Nintendo are definitely playing to the veteran/core gamer crowd with this system, with less emphasis on a total family-fun system.

Which is great, this isn't going to be a throwaway system, I am willing to pay a bit more for a new system, and I'll probably be getting the premium for those digital download perks.

 

[Gahars]

Looking at the features of the Premium version... will consumers stand for the higher price?

Alright, now that's out of the way. If Guild's estimations are correct, that's not a bad price for the console. It's not $250, but if you're interested in getting this on launch day, it isn't prohibitively expensive either. The apparent lack of DVD or BR playback is a bit disappointing, though - it's not so much to ask for. I was hoping Nintendo would break tradition here.

 

[air2004]

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1/181-2143827-4350115?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=wii+u do you see the prices listed for some of these wii u games .... they better include a reach around

 

[Bladexdsl]

Now show me some decent fucking games instead of nintendo land.

 

[Hadrian]

http://www.amazon.co...-keywords=wii+u do you see the prices listed for some of these wii u games .... they better include a reach around

They not official, just Amazon putting speculative prices out there. I think the 3rd party games about right though.

NSMBU is 5,895 yen in Japan (about $75 but obviously will be less) so their games will be pretty much the same price as 360/PS3 titles. Nintendoland is 4,985 Yen ($62) which suggests that they're aiming that as a budget title.

 

[raulpica]

Wii U does not have DVD or Blu-ray playback capabilities. The reason for that is that we feel that enough people already have devices that are capable of playing DVDs and Blu-ray, such that it didn't warrant the cost involved to build that functionality into the Wii U console because of the patents related to those technologies.

http://www.engadget....ray-iwata-says/

Though yeah I'm still unsure why they mentioned Blu-Ray in the speeds...why not just mention the speed only? I guess what he meant was just BR/DVD video discs.

Just as the Wii was capable of DVD playback when hacking in the remaining files (as the discs were DVDs) the WiiU will most certainly be capable of BR playback when hacked.

It's just Nintendo being a cheapskates on licenses.

They need to market their drives as something different from DVD/BR for the essential reason that if you market them as DVD or BR then you also need to pay the licenses.

False info, Wii optical discs are no dvd's.
The wii system was on some moment capable of dvd playback, but the disc were never rebranded dvd's.
They are also nintendo's propritary wii optical disc, and are differ in capacity also.
wii disc, 4.37 Gb - DVD 4.7Gb. single layer.

Do some research. psychically the disc are DVDs but they are programmed in a different way to avoid royalty fees. The same for the DVDs on the PS2 actually that feature sony's compression tech. Kingdom Hearts 1&2 are such games. Unlike Nintendo, Sony never openly denied they were using DVDs however.

Yeah, as chartube said, I meant physically.

 

[Centrix]

Smart move going to Blueray very nice though they seriously need to reconsider the price of that tablet controller, according to google that 13,000 yen is 173$ in US dollars for another tablet controller, bull, no ones gonna want to pay almost that same price for the controller as the system!

 

[Haloman800]

Will anyone actually buy this? I'm not being sarcastic, are any of you planning on it?

 

[FireGrey]

Smart move going to Blueray very nice though they seriously need to reconsider the price of that tablet controller, according to google that 13,000 yen is 173$ in US dollars for another tablet controller, bull, no ones gonna want to pay almost that same price for the controller as the system!

Thus the reason for no more than one wii u gamepad, that people complained about.

 

[Hadrian]

Will anyone actually buy this? I'm not being sarcastic, are any of you planning on it?

Yep. ZombieU, Pikmin 3, Project-1000, Rayman Legends & NSMBU all look fantastic.

$299/$349 US.
"check with retailer for Europe price"
Premium (called Deluxe in US) comes with Nintendoland and I may bite that, Nintendoland actually looks good the more I see it and MetroidBlast which they're showing looks great.