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[DrForester]

Everyone has a Wii, I don't see why Nintendo would bother with a Wii Remote pack in.

Heck, if you need a Wii Remote, go to Target. Many of them have Fling Smash on clearance for $15.

 

[Revven]

Tempting... but I want to know what the rest of the games are before dipping.

 

[°°ToMmY°°]

349 is probably the one with game plus hd.

Entry sku 249
Game bundle sku 299
Core gamer sku 349 (the ones more willing to pony up for a new piece of equipment)

 

[Metroid Hunter]

For what it's worth, here are Nintendo's major holiday launches for the past decade or so:

November 18, 2001 - Gamecube
November 17, 2002 - Metroid Prime
November 17, 2003 - Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
November 21, 2004 - Nintendo DS
November 14, 2005 - Mario Kart DS
November 19, 2006 - Wii
November 12, 2007 - Super Mario Galaxy
November 16, 2008 - Animal Crossing: City Folk
November 15, 2009 - New Super Mario Bros. Wii
November 21, 2010 - Donkey Kong Country Returns
November 20, 2011 - The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

 

[SniperHunter]

Can the Wii U play Wii games? Xenoblade, Last Story, Mario Galaxy 1, & 2????

 

[Revven]

Can the Wii U play Wii games? Xenoblade, Last Story, Mario Galaxy 1, & 2????

Yes, it's BC, but only with Wii games (which is dumb imo, GCN games should be in there still too... :<).

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

MS and Sony are fucked if they don't price drop like, tomorrow. It doesn't matter how big or small a leap Wii U is, in consumer's minds it's "hot new toy for $250, or old and busted toy for the same? New hotness please."

Nintendo is launching into a perfect storm of consumer apathy with current-gen platforms.

 

[Dance Inferno]

Ever heard of PS3/360?

They're hardly in direct competition. PS3 and 360 are at the end of their lifecycle, and the WiiU is coming out with a fancy newfangled controller-iPad-thingamajig. Hardcore gamers might buy the WiiU for the core franchises, but most people will be getting it for the fun casual/party games that Nintendo consoles are known for.

Plus, for the majority of the Wii's life it did not compete directly with PS3/360. While Sony/MS were duking it out over exclusives and timed DLC, Nintendo was over in its corner doing its own thing.

 

[Xdrive05]

$249 is an awesome entry level price. And if it's a "Wii Upgrade Kit", that's fine too since everyone already owns a Wii. Good news for Ninty if true.

Now they just need to bring in the software big guns, and baby we got a success stew goin'.

 

[Turrican3]

Can the Wii U play Wii games? Xenoblade, Last Story, Mario Galaxy 1, & 2????

Yes.

FWIW, I think 249 €/$ for the base system would be great.

About guessing the configuration, I can't really see Nintendo including a hard drive in any of those (alleged) bundles; IMHO it's more likely they'll go for a bigger SD card, a game or an additional (pro) controller.

 

[The Abominable Snowman]

They're hardly in direct competition. PS3 and 360 are at the end of their lifecycle, and the WiiU is coming out with a fancy newfangled controller-iPad-thingamajig. Hardcore gamers might buy the WiiU for the core franchises, but most people will be getting it for the fun casual/party games that Nintendo consoles are known for.

Plus, for the majority of the Wii's life it did not compete directly with PS3/360. While Sony/MS were duking it out over exclusives and timed DLC, Nintendo was over in its corner doing its own thing.

They share a lot of the same games, a lot of the same features, and a lot of the same appeal. The Wii U is definitely in competition with the 360 and PS3.

 

[nickcv]

All I know is that this exchange will happen:

Gaming Blogger or Geoff: WHERE ARE THE EXCLUSIVE HARDCORE GAMES REGGIE?!
Reggie: Well there's Call of Duty: Black Ops II and Assassins's Creed III...
Gaming Blogger or Geoff: But those are on all platforms...
Reggie: THEY'RE NOT THE SAME GAME!!!!!!!!!!

3rd party exclusive are pretty much a thing of the past.
and i don't think is fair to expect any 1st+2nd party to cover every genre with amazing games.
Neither microsoft or sony do it.

 

[mclem]

Fantastic. Now, make this a £180-200 price tag in the UK rather than a £250 one, and I'll buy at launch.

To be fair, these days it's the *Euro* price that tends to match the dollar price, with an appropriate reduction for the UK. You may - possibly - be in luck.

 

[Graphics Horse]

About guessing the configuration, I can't really see Nintendo including a hard drive in any of those (alleged) bundles; IMHO it's more likely they'll go for a bigger SD card, a game or an additional (pro) controller.

Yep probably all of those.
Wiimote might be optional pack in too.

 

[Dance Inferno]

They share a lot of the same games, a lot of the same features, and a lot of the same appeal. The Wii U is definitely in competition with the 360 and PS3.

You're telling me Black Ops on Wii and Black Ops on PS3/360 were in direct competition? They might have shared franchises, but they played so wildly differently that I wouldn't really consider them the same game.

 

[Glass Joe]

$249 Wii U
$299 with Nintendoland
$349 with Nintendoland and 1 Wii Remote + Nunchuck

I agree with this guess. Also as a prediction: $249 for the white sku, $299 and $349 are black.

 

[DOA]

$250 - Wii U + Gamepad + Nintendoland
$300 - Wii U + 2 Gamepads + Nintendoland
$350 - Wii U + 2 Gamepads + Nintendoland + 2 Wiimotes

 

[donny2112]

Providing an option for people who do not want to buy more Wiimotes would be great. Would cover people who didn't own a Wii and people who did and have plenty of controllers for that system already.

Edit:
No, there will not be a bundle with multiple Gamepads. That option makes absoultely 0 sense. There are no games that use two Gamepads at launch.

 

[Shining Sunshine]

Not sure how one week later makes much difference.

I expect it to be one month later for Nintendo's sake. Or more.

 

[NickMitch]

what do you guys think are the 3 bundles?

Like I once stated in the WUST:

Im leaving the software and hardware spec fad just a bit and choose to speculate about prices/bundling/included hardware and such.

Obviously since you can control the system with wiimotes and nunchucks one can guess that the classic controller pro will do just fine aswell instead of the U pro controller so from this i suspect:

The Wii U will be released with several different options (just like xbox arcade pro elite ultra megatron did)

1. Family/Full/Complete 499$
- Wii U Console
- 1 Upad
- 4 wiimote plus controllers
- Super Mario Bros U

2. Cheap/Barebone/For those with massive ammount of Wii accessories 299$
- Wii U Console
- 1 Upad

3. Basic/Average/top seller 350$
- Wii U Console
- 1 Upad
- 2 wiimote plus controllers
- Nintendoland

I don´t see any other solution but releasing different bundles since the backwards compability is so much in focus.

______________________________________________________________________

Obviously I was ready for a more expensive launch......

Just sayin´

 

[Baconsammy]

MS and Sony are fucked if they don't price drop like, tomorrow. It doesn't matter how big or small a leap Wii U is, in consumer's minds it's "hot new toy for $250, or old and busted toy for the same? New hotness please."

Nintendo is launching into a perfect storm of consumer apathy with current-gen platforms.

I laughed.

 

[lefantome]

249 pro controller
299 wiipad
349 wiipad+ wiimote+ nunchuck

 

[Protome]

$250 - Wii U + Gamepad + Nintendoland
$300 - Wii U + 2 Gamepads + Nintendoland
$350 - Wii U + 2 Gamepads + Nintendoland + 2 Wiimotes

No chance. Nintendo will be losing money as is, they aren't going to bundle two gamepads for that price.

 

[mclem]

$250: WiiU + GamePad ("Wii Upgrade Pack," no AV cord, Sensor bar, AC adapter, nor Wii controllers; besides, there's a sensor bar on the GamePad and it works with HDMI)

I think you might be a genius. Makes a hell of a lot of sense - and actually lets them turn that "just a Wii addon" mistake into a positive.[/QUOTE]

 

[hardcastlemccormick]

You're telling me Black Ops on Wii and Black Ops on PS3/360 were in direct competition? They might have shared franchises, but they played so wildly differently that I wouldn't really consider them the same game.

But they are similar experiences. Homefront and COD are basically the same concept, but they play differently. This naturally makes them competitors.

Just because there are some differences between experiences doesn't mean there isn't competition. A screen in the controller may set the WiiU apart, but almost everything else about it will be right on track with the 360/PS3.

 

[Aaron Strife]

249 no controller no nothin' not even the wires

299 comes with gamepad and nintendoland

349 comes with zelda u and mother 3 (remade in ww style)

 

[sajj316]

Yes, it's BC, but only with Wii games (which is dumb imo, GCN games should be in there still too... :<).

Yes and without options for additional filtering. I guess they will try and sell HD collections with natively run 720p/1080p Mario Galaxy. Hope so

 

[AOC83]

They're hardly in direct competition. PS3 and 360 are at the end of their lifecycle, and the WiiU is coming out with a fancy newfangled controller-iPad-thingamajig. Hardcore gamers might buy the WiiU for the core franchises, but most people will be getting it for the fun casual/party games that Nintendo consoles are known for.

Plus, for the majority of the Wii's life it did not compete directly with PS3/360. While Sony/MS were duking it out over exclusives and timed DLC, Nintendo was over in its corner doing its own thing.

Both are entering deep casual territory with the next price cut and also offer plenty of casual/kids stuff with Kinect, Move, Wonderbook etc. On top of that they have extremely strong libraries with tons of ultracheap games. So i´m pretty sure they are direct competition.

 

[Nibel]

First of all, it's called fucking Gamepad, not uPad or Wiipad.

Second, why should they release a bundle with another Gamepad if there is no game that supports two? Pointless

 

[bgassassin]

Well Nintendo owned me if this is the case.

 

[Hoo-doo]

One thing that sticks out though, Iwata himself said: "The Wii-U isn't going to be cheap like the Wii" (non-verbatim)

And then it's going to be just as cheap as the Wii after all? Sounds unlikely.

 

[Baconsammy]

First of all, it's called fucking Gamepad, not uPad or Wiipad.

Second, why should they release a bundle with another Gamepad if there is no game that supports two? Pointless

Because if you have two you have multi-touch.

 

[jbug617]

I would get the $350 bundle thanks to having a $250 gift card saved for this holiday.

 

[Live Free or Die]

No way it sells for under $399. even a base model.

 

[ItWasMeantToBe19]

One thing that sticks out though, Iwata himself said: "The Wii-U isn't going to be cheap like the Wii" (non-verbatim)

And then it's going to be just as cheap as the Wii after all? Sounds unlikely.

Maybe they lowered the price after the negative e3 reaction in a reverse 3DS situation, lol.

 

[hardcastlemccormick]

$250: Wii upgrade pack. Console and pad, that's it.
$300: WiiU standard. Cables, Wiimote.
$350: WiiU deluxe. Cables, Wiimote, NintendoLand, SD card.

First of all, it's called fucking Gamepad, not uPad or Wiipad

It's not called a Wiimote either. Nobody cares.

 

[NickMitch]

Also I think that the probability that there will be a bundle with the pro controller is 0%. Seeing what they did with the Wii, it´ no stretch either.

 

[AOC83]

One thing that sticks out though, Iwata himself said: "The Wii-U isn't going to be cheap like the Wii" (non-verbatim)

And then it's going to be just as cheap as the Wii after all? Sounds unlikely.

Maybe he ws talking about the current Wii price, not the launch one.

 

[Bisnic]

No way it sells for under $399. even a base model.

The base model at 399$ would fail terribly. Nintendo wouldn't make the same mistake twice(see 3DS at launch).

 

[Toki767]

I just want whichever version gives me only the Wii U and the GamePad. I don't want extra Wii remotes nor do I want Nintendoland unless it's a free game.

 

[Turrican3]

One thing that sticks out though, Iwata himself said: "The Wii-U isn't going to be cheap like the Wii" (non-verbatim)

And then it's going to be just as cheap as the Wii after all? Sounds unlikely.

Maybe he was talking to the shareholders

 

[Dreamwriter]

I agree with those who are saying these are placeholders in the system, placed there with guessed prices so that when the announcement goes out on the 13th, they will be ready to update them lickity split. I've worked for a Nintendo game developer through multiple system launches, and they were never told the exact release date or the price before it was officially announced to the world. If developers aren't told it, why would Nintendo tell retailers? They don't need to know 3+ months in advance, most retailers make their orders based on the preorders they are getting.

Having said that, I could see Nintendo doing multiple sku's. Sure, they didn't with the Wii, but Nintendo may have decided that multiple sku's is less complicated than selling bits separately (maybe they think more people would have bought a second Wii Remote and Nunchuk on day one had there been a "2 player sku").

As for the NES, everyone's right Nintendo had two launches for the NES, one in just New York, one nationwide. The New York launch only had the Deluxe set with the robot, but the nationwide launch had both the Control Deck and the Deluxe Set (later on Nintendo added more sku's, with the Action Set and the Power Set).

 

[Metroid Hunter]

Guys, Satoru Iwata has said that the Wii U will cost more than ¥20,000 (~$250 USD). Also Nikkei, who got the Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi XL and Nintendo 3DS leaked said in early June that Nintendo will launch a Nintendo 3DS XL with a 4.3 inch screen in the summer and that Wii U will cost around ¥30,000. Seeing as how one of their claims turned out to be 100% true...

One thing that sticks out though, Iwata himself said: "The Wii-U isn't going to be cheap like the Wii" (non-verbatim)

And then it's going to be just as cheap as the Wii after all? Sounds unlikely.

I agree.

 

[Protome]

How about
$249.99 - Wii U + Gamepad, no Wifi, no HDMI cable, 8GB Flash memory
$299.99 - Wii U + Gamepad, Wifi, HDMI cable, 80GB HDD
$349.99 - Wii U + Gamepad, Wifi, HDMI cable, 160GB HDD, Nintendurland

 

[mclem]

2) There is going to be a NintendoLand+Wiimote pack-in*. NintendoLand may not even be sold without a Wiimote. Asymmetrical gameplay and all that.

Doubt the bolded. If they want to emphasise how you can use your Wii accessories with the Wii U, it'd be unwise to force purchase of a Wii accessory with a flagship title.

 

[donny2112]

There were rumors of a Zombi U bundle, so ...

$249 - Console + WiiUpad
$299 - Console + WiiUpad + (Nintendoland or Zombi U)
$349 - Console + WiiUpad + (Nintendoland or Zombi U) + HDMI + 64GB SDXC card

Edit:
All the consoles will have WiFi, and all the consoles will have the built-in 8GB of flash.

Edit2:
The Wii launched with Wii Sports and only included one controller. No reason to think that they'd feel the need to include a Wiimote+ in any bundle, since they're already including the WiiUpad. Wiimote+'s will be available for purchase separately, if needed.

 

[jerd]

Guys, Satoru Iwata has said that the Wii U will cost more than ¥20,000 (~$250 USD). Also Nikkei, who got the Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi XL and Nintendo 3DS leaked said in early June that Nintendo will launch a Nintendo 3DS XL with a 4.3 inch screen in the summer and that Wii U will cost around ¥30,000. Seeing as how one of their claims turned out to be 100% true...



I agree.

I thought of this too, but weren't Iwata's comments over or about a year ago? That's a long time of thinking about how well the 3DS turned around after the price cut. I'm not saying that this is 100% true, but these things are always subject to change.

 

[SolidSnakex]

Guys, Satoru Iwata has said that the Wii U will cost more than ¥20,000 (~$250 USD). Also Nikkei, who got the Nintendo DSi and Nintendo DSi XL leaked said in early June that Nintendo will launch a Nintendo 3DS XL with a 4.3 inch screen in the summer and that Wii U will cost around ¥30,000. Seeing as how one of their claims turned out to be 100% true...



I agree.

It seems that the 3DS has made them reconsider the Wii U's price

We won't make the same mistake that we did with the 3DS, which was considered relatively high by consumers. - Iwata

We had to go back and reduce the price of 3DS and we certainly don't want to go through that when we launch Wii U. - Reggie

Whether that means $250 remains to be seen. But $250 is a sweet spot for them as far as pricing models go with their consoles.

 

[hardcastlemccormick]

One thing that sticks out though, Iwata himself said: "The Wii-U isn't going to be cheap like the Wii" (non-verbatim)

And then it's going to be just as cheap as the Wii after all? Sounds unlikely.

He said that in June of 2011. Nintendo has since proved that they are capable of changing direction with the 3DS.

 

[Captain N]

$349.99 Black Wii U with Nintendo Land + Black Ops 2 + Pro Controller. Get Black Ops 2 two days before PS3/360 versions.