Nintendo Wii U release date and price announced for North American and European region

By: Muhammad Qasim Hassan

  |   September 17th, 2012   |  

Uncategorized

Nintendo Wii U will hit the North American market on November 18, whereas the European market will see the arrival of the next-generation console by November 30.

The announcement was made by the Japan-based company during a press conference in New York, America, on Thursday, September 13.

The release date and price of Wii U had been revealed for the Japanese market before it was announced for other regions.

Going into the details of the package that would become available in the market this November, Nintendo revealed that there will be two variants of Wii U consoles in the market, the “Basic” version as well as the “Deluxe” version.

The “Basic” bundle of Wii U will include a white console along with 8GB of flash memory, one GamePad, an AC adapter, a sensor bar and an HDMI Cable. The US gamers will be able to get their hands on the bundle for $299.99.

The other variant of the Wii U to become available in the market in November is the “Deluxe” version. This bundle will come with a black console with 32GB of flash memory, black GamePad, an AC adapter, a sensor bar, an HDMI Cable, charging cradles, a console stand, a free copy of Nintendoland and a limited-time access to Deluxe Digital Promotion, a subscription that would allow gamers to get discount on digital purchases. The bundle will sell for $349.99.

Even though the date for the release of Wii U in the European market has been revealed, the retailers in the region are not clear about the price at which they plan on selling the console.

With the price and release date of Wii U finally revealed, it remains to be seen how the hardware performs in the market since there are a number of challenges waiting for it.

These challenges are mainly related to its competition with Sony’s and Microsoft’s current as well as next-generation consoles, as well as smartphones and tablets.

The price set by Nintendo for its upcoming console is surely to play a huge role in determining how well it performs. With various alternatives already present in the market, the work would surely be cut out for Wii U to attract the consumers and get them to spend big money on the hardware.

The successor of PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 are also yet to be announced and if the recent speculations are to be taken into consideration, then Sony’s and Microsoft’s next-generation consoles will be announced next year. If the speculations end up being true, then the consumers may end up skipping the not-so-powerful Nintendo console and instead wait for the new Xbox or PlayStation, which would definitely cost more but are also expected to come with a more powerful hardware and greater graphical capabilities.