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Wii U : new Japanese bundle (w. Wii Sports Club) coming out on March 27th

L

L~A

Member
This apparently was announced during the Japanese Nintendo Direct (but without the release date), earlier this month, but looks like it went totally unnoticed. Nintendo's going to release a new Wii U bundle next month in Japan, and it'll include the following :

- White Premium Wii U
- 1 Wiimote Plus
- 1 Sensor Bar (not included in the standard Premium Pack)
- Wii Sports Club (Golf, Tennis, Bowling) pre-installed (no idea if they give you full passes for those)

001v2quy.jpg
Click to expand...

Price is 30 000 Yen (without taxes), and it'll come out on March 27th in Japan.

Source

Bundle me with Funky Barn and lock if old.
 
Z

Zalman

Member
Boggles my mind they're going for such a dumb pricing strategy for Wii Sports Club. I wouldn't be surprised if they released a physical copy with everything on it later this year.
 
N

NateDrake

Member
Zalman said:
Boggles my mind they're going for such a dumb pricing strategy for Wii Sports Club. I wouldn't be surprised if they released a physical copy with everything on it later this year.
Click to expand...

A retail release will more than likely happen once all the games have been released.
 
J

Jackano

Member
Saw it a couple weeks or days ago on twitter.

It's unbelievable how this get even more confusing. It's the exact same package than the original Wii Sports pack. White console, sports games, blue icons and wiimote included.
That said, it's true that it wasn't released in Japan. But that's probably the final form of the Wii-Wii U confusion if it ever come out in the west.
 
L

L~A

Member
Yeah, the 4Gamer.net article says it was announced during the JP Direct, though they didn't give any release date then.

Honestly, I'm surprised they're doing this now, I was expecting them to wait for the holiday (and when all sports would be available).

Boggles my mind they're going for such a dumb pricing strategy for Wii Sports Club. I wouldn't be surprised if they released a physical copy with everything on it later this year.
Click to expand...

What's dumb about it? This way, you're free to buy only the sports you're interested (or none at all if you're only gonna play this 2,3 times/year with friends).

And Iwata said they were "not opposed" to release the full thing when all sports are available, which is probably what they were planning to do in the first place.
 
A

Azure Dream

Member
Mentioned it in a post before, was happy Nintendo was doing something with the Wii U. Of course, the bundle is currently only announced for Japan...
 
A

Alphahawk

Member
Nintendo needs to face the fact that the casual market isn't coming back. This bundle is the worst of both worlds: It's a casual friendly game on a non casual friendly system. The casual market won't buy it because they don't understand the gamepad, and the hardcore won't buy it because it's too much of a casual game.

This is kind of a great visual metaphor for Nintendo's whole problem.
 
G

Griss

Member
I bought Wii Sports Plus Club or whatever it's called. Golf, Tennis and Bowling. Pretty much just a lazy port job. The games really do look like crap. Golf especially. And sorry Nintendo, but having only 18 holes in Golf is just ridiculous, especially when they're holes we played to death on the Wii. The course in golf IS the game. Also, seeing your club head down on the pad is really a ridiculous gimmick.

The other two are still pretty great though. Crazy lag in the online tennis. Both Tennis and Bowling have lots of challenge mini-game content to keep you going. Golf has... 18 holes.
 
H

hongcha

Member
The current NSMBU + Wii Party U bundle, available in both white and black (with the latter colour being the better seller), is a much better deal for the same price and it is selling like crap at the moment. This feeble bundle will sell even worse (and it is only being released in white). Bad move.
 
P

Phamit

Member
They should make a 3DWorld Bundle and Mario Kart Bundle.

And not these kind of Bundles with Party U, or Sports
 
C

Coolwhip

Banned
But I already have a Wii with Wii Sports. Also, do you play tennis while swinging the tablet? Honestly, I doubt this will do anything.
 
K

kitsuneyo

Member
HUELEN10 said:
Iwata did say he wanted to push the gamepad, and third games does that more than Baja Blast.
Click to expand...

But this barely uses the GamePad, and they've packed in a Wii Remote!

Coolwhip said:
But I already have a Wii with Wii Sports. Also, do you play tennis while swinging the tablet? Honestly, I doubt this will do anything.
Click to expand...

It's a shame though because Club is actually pretty great. Played it a lot more than I ever played the original, because it's a lot more skilful. There's nobody online for Tennis in Europe now though.
 
S

SaintMadeOfPlaster

Member
Coolwhip said:
But I already have a Wii with Wii Sports. Also, do you play tennis while swinging the tablet? Honestly, I doubt this will do anything.
Click to expand...

This pretty much sums it up. I'm not sure what they're going for here. Are they trying to attract the audience that bought a Wii for Wii Sports and loved it? Why would they upgrade?

Are they trying to get the non-existent casuals that never played Wii Sports and are willing to throw hundreds of dollars away to try it out YEARS after the fact?

Man, I really love Nintendo, but this bundle just sums up perfectly how they completely misunderstand the market they're trying to sell to.
 
D

Dead Man Typing

Member
I am a big supporter of including the Wii Remote. They should have a nunchuck as well. It places a much greater emphasis on multiplayer and especially asynchronous multiplayer, which is what the Wii U does so well.
 
K

Kid Ying

Member
hongcha said:
The current NSMBU + Wii Party U bundle, available in both white and black (with the latter colour being the better seller), is a much better deal for the same price and it is selling like crap at the moment. This feeble bundle will sell even worse (and it is only being released in white). Bad move.
Click to expand...
Not the same price. This one is cheaper even with the taxes.

I think its a good move. Anything to spark interest on the system is viable and a new bundle might sell somewhat even if its just to replace the original models which had no remokon or sensor bar, but had the same price.
 
S

Starwolf_UK

Member
Hopefully Nintendo knows by now the whole "people liked Wii sports in 2007, they don't care in 2014?" but is doing this to get the one or two who do care to finish the set whenever Boxing and Baseball come out.

A shame boxing is not out as this would have a nunchuck for sure if it did.
 
K

KingSnake

The Birthday Skeleton
Nothing is going to save the Wii U, I wish we could pass this phase, both in GAF threads and game reviews.

This is just a new SKU at a slightly lower price. A refresh, if you want.

It's an option, not a miracle.
 
G

Glass Joe

Member
This is the kind of bundle that could have waited. At least until all 5 sports are out. Now it's like you get 60% of a game? At least it comes with a Wiimote and Sensor, but I can't picture this moving. Best it will likely do is get some attention to Wii Sports in general.
 
J

Jackano

Member
On second thoughs: They included a wiimote, like if people doesn't have enough wiimotes already.

Maybe they should have played the retro/famicom card, by making a bundle with more digital goodies like the virtual console games. Like a Mario 3DWorld bundle with a bunch of VC games such as Mario World, Mother, and 4-5 others, to make an appealing, quantitative list. Maybe they should retry some bundle only VC games like they did with the arcade edition of Donkey Kong. That's not much but I see more appeal than this sports pack.
 
G

Glass Joe

Member
Effer said:
If I were a casual I would be even more confused by this. Like, how is this NOT a Wii?
Click to expand...

The U's everywhere and the big-assed Gamepad front and center should provide a clue. Wii Sports was never bundled in Japan as far as I know, either.
 
A

AzaK

Member
Well this'll sure save the Wii U. I'm sure everyone waiting for Nintendo's first HD console really wanted a game that looks and plays just the same as the previous gen SD console.
 
Metallix87

Metallix87

Member
Shito said:
To be fair, it says "Wii", and a weird logo.
I can see how people could get confused, the branding really is not clear at all on this point.
Click to expand...

This is getting a little ridiculous now. The name is likely the last reason why consumers aren't picking it up at this point.
 
S

Sendou

Member
Why release this before baseball and boxing are out? I don't understand bundling in an incomplete game. Is their train of thought that people would then be convinced to pay extra for baseball and boxing after playing the 3 sports that come with it?
 
C

Coolwhip

Banned
Glass Joe said:
The U's everywhere and the big-assed Gamepad front and center should provide a clue. Wii Sports was never bundled in Japan as far as I know, either.
Click to expand...

Doesnt matter. It will always be confusing. My parent still dont understand Wii U isnt Wii after explaining few times.
 
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