Redmond, Wash. — Nintendo Thursday revealed full details on its Wii U home console and touchscreen Wii U GamePad controller.
The new HD gaming system, which is slated to hit U.S. shelves Nov. 18, will be joined by more than 50 games in the early weeks of release.
The Wii U will be offered in two different colors and configurations. The Basic Set will be offered in white at a $300 suggested retail, and the Deluxe Set, which includes higher storage capacity, additional accessories and the new Nintendo Land video game, will be offered in black for $350.
Nintendo has slated a special Wii U preview event in New York, where it will also unveil the Nintendo TVii, an application that will let Wii U owners in the United States and Canada find and watch video entertainment content in new ways, the company said.
Using the GamePad controller, Nintendo TVii will lets viewers seamlessly explore available video content from a variety of sources, including live TV, TiVo DVRs and video-on-demand services (such as Netflix) in an easy-to-use;interface.
New games slated for the Wii U include Nintendo Land, New Super Mario Bros. U; Lego City: Undercover; Bayonetta 2; The Wonderful 101; Capcom’s Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate; and Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
The Wii U Basic Set includes a white Wii U console with 8GB of internal storage, one white GamePad controller, AC adapters for both the console and controller, a sensor bar and an HDMI cable.
The Wii U Deluxe Set features black components bundled with all the elements from the Basic Set plus the Nintendo Land game, increased console storage capacity of 32GB, a console stand, GamePad charging cradle and a stand that allows users to place the GamePad vertically on a table.
Consumers who purchase the Deluxe Set also will be enrolled in the Deluxe Digital Promotion, which lets Wii U owners receive points for each digital download and redeem those points for future downloadable content from the Nintendo eShop. The promotion is currently planned through 2014.
Both configurations offer a number of entertainment options, including an online gaming community called Miiverse and the new Nintendo TVii application.
Using the touchscreen on the GamePad controller, Nintendo TVii users will be able to browse programming from sources they subscribe to, including cable and satellite channels, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, YouTube and even their recorded TiVo shows — all from a single starting point.
