Wii U now up for pre-order at GameStop, trade credits outlined for your current gaming arsenal

Wii U now up for preorder at GameStop, trade credits outlined for your current gaming arsenal

Eager to get your mitts on one of the Wii U consoles? Well, you can pre-order both the basic and premium bundles from the folks at GameStop starting today in order to be well-prepared for the November 18th release. The gaming retailer is also offering a variety of trade-in credits for those aging kits that you're itchin' to get rid of. You can expect to snag $50 for your old Wii and the numbers continue to head north from there for the Xbox 360, PS3 and more. You can pre-order a number of the launch titles as well, should you feel inclined to do so. Dive in to the particulars in the full PR that follows and hit the source link to commit your funds to the cause.

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Wii U now up for pre-order at GameStop, trade credits outlined for your current gaming arsenal originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 11:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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‘More than 50 games’ launching alongside Wii U this November

'More than 50 games' launching alongside Wii U this November

When Nintendo's Wii U launches this November in the US and EU, it's bringing "more than 50" launch window games -- what that "launch window" means, exactly, is another question altogether. Nintendo's leading the lineup with a variety of its own games, though publishers Activision and Ubisoft are certainly leading the charge in terms of sheer number of games. A variety of high-profile cross platform ports are heading to the Wii U, from Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 to Madden NFL 13. And yes, Nintendo's bringing plenty of its stalwart franchises to the launch, including New Super Mario Bros. Head past the break for the full list shown during today's New York City press conference.

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'More than 50 games' launching alongside Wii U this November originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 11:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo unveils ‘Nintendo TVii’ for Wii U (video)

Nintendo unveils 'Nintendo TVii' for Wii U

Nintendo showed off some of the Wii U's new television functionality during its New York City press event -- first unveiled during E3 2012 -- including DVR and TiVO, and search across several content providers (Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant, and cable television, to name a few). It's unclear whether the DVR functionality is built into the console or not, but we'll be sure to find out as soon as possible*. Nintendo's director of strategic partnership Zach Fountain's calling the service a "personalized program guide" and he showed off how you'll be able to interact with content -- movies and television shows can be searched via text entry, or explored in a general category sense (movies, tv, sports, etc.). If QWERTY text isn't your kind of thing, a rotary entry in the lower right corner offers another way to seek out content.

The service is only for US and Canadian Wii U owners for now, but Fils-Aime said the company's exploring an expansion into other parts of the Americas. Nintendo TVii is free with the purchase of a console this November. Click on past the break for the company's brief video demo.

Update*: DVR/TiVO functionality is not built into the hardware, we confirmed.

Gallery: Nintendo TVii

Joseph Volpe contributed to this report.

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Nintendo unveils 'Nintendo TVii' for Wii U (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 10:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo Wii U arrives in the US on Nov. 18 in two versions for $300 and $350, Europe on Nov. 30

Nintendo Wii U arrives in the US on Nov 18 in two versions for $300 and $350, Europe on Nov 30

The Nintendo Wii U will launch in the US on Sunday, November 18, Nintendo America president and CEO Reggie Fils-Aime revealed in a New York City press conference this morning. It'll arrive in Europe on November 30, though no price was given for our friends abroad. Like its Japanese release, the console comes in two varieties: a base level bundle in white with just 8GB of internal memory for $300 and a premium bundle in black with 32GB of internal memory for $350.

Each version contains the console itself, a WiiPad, a charging stand, a play stand, and a stand for the console. The premium version, however, adds a subscription to Nintendo's Premium Network, which offers various rewards for digital purchases -- it also gets a full 32GB of internal memory, which is a pretty major step up over the 8GB model. It's hard to imagine either having enough internal storage compared with current-gen consoles, but the Wii U's memory is expandable via USB.

Fils-Aime also said that Wii remotes are getting rebranded for the Wii U, and will be available in retail shops shortly. Check out the official PR and an additional shot of the basic set after the break.

Joseph Volpe contributed to this report

Continue reading Nintendo Wii U arrives in the US on Nov. 18 in two versions for $300 and $350, Europe on Nov. 30

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Nintendo Wii U arrives in the US on Nov. 18 in two versions for $300 and $350, Europe on Nov. 30 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 10:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo Wii U gets December 8th release date for Japan: 26,260 yen for basic set, 31,500 yen for premium

Nintendo Wii U heading to Japan on December 8th 26,260 yen for basic set, 31,500 yen for premium

The Nintendo Wii U arrives on Japanese shores on December 8th starting at 26,260 yen (around $340), Nintendo president Satoru Iwata announced this morning via Nintendo Direct's video stream. A presentation later today in New York City starring Nintendo of America prez Reggie Fils-Aime will reveal pricing and release dates for the rest of the world, but you'd be right in guessing it won't be too far from the Japanese launch.

A basic set (only in white) and premium set (only in black) were revealed, with the darker option adding more storage; 32GB, up from 8GB on the cheaper bundle. The Premium set (priced at 31,500 yen, or about $405) consists of the console, GamePad, a charging stand, play stand, and yet another stand for the Wii U itself. Those GamePads will also be available standalone for 13,440 yen, which could see American gamers paying around $173 for the luxury of a spare.

The Wii U pro controllers are priced at 5,040 yen ($65) each, while the Wiimote will continue to be priced at 3,800 yen (around $50), now in a range of colors. Likewise, the nunchucks will come in three color palettes. The GamePad charging stand will also be available to buy separately -- setting you back around 1,870 yen -- around $25. Naturally, there's going to be some international variance in these prices so we'll be updating once we get those global prices cemented.

We've been given a little more detail on the technical specifics too, with the Wii U packing 1GB of its own ("main") memory alongside 1GB for running games. Two titles, New Super Mario Bros. U and Nintendo Land will both debut alongside the console -- we're expecting to hear even more software details later today.

Ben Gilbert contributed to this post.

Continue reading Nintendo Wii U gets December 8th release date for Japan: 26,260 yen for basic set, 31,500 yen for premium

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Nintendo Wii U gets December 8th release date for Japan: 26,260 yen for basic set, 31,500 yen for premium originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 03:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo Wii U Launch Date, Pricing, & Bundles Revealed By Distributor?

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Could it be that this distributor listing for the Wii U be right on pinning down its most wanted and purposefully undisclosed details, well before Nintendo has a chance to?

Eight days and counting is all that separates us from Nintendo’s press powwow in New York City, where on September 13, ...
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Wii U titles listed on Amazon let us see Nintendo’s all-new packaging design

Wii U titles listed on Amazon let us see Nintendo's allnew packaging design

Although it shouldn't come as a surprise that Nintendo would be redesigning its software packaging to accommodate the new "U," it's still nice to get an early peek at what we can expect from the Japanese gaming giant come "this holiday" season. As you can tell by the Avengers: Battle for Earth title above, the design only sees slight changes near the top, where it's clearly left the white and gray accents for a more colorful blue and yellow coating -- not to mention the expected addition of the Wii U branding around the center. There are other games out in the Amazon wild besides the Marvel one here, including Just Dance 4 and Assassin's Creed 3. You can check those out at any of the source links below.

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Wii U titles listed on Amazon let us see Nintendo's all-new packaging design originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Aug 2012 17:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD exec behind Wii and Xbox 360 graphics jumps the fence to NVIDIA

Xbox 360 Valhalla teardown

AMD has been suffering a conspicuous brain drain, with executives like ATI veteran Rick Bergman and CTO Eric Demers crossing over to tangentially or directly competitive companies like NVIDIA and Qualcomm. Chalk up another one for the list -- strategic development VP Bob Feldstein has bounded towards NVIDIA's (literally) greener pastures. The blow cuts deeper than usual through Feldstein's responsibility for graphics in most of the consoles from the past few years: he headed up work behind the Xenos chip in earlier Xbox 360s and the Hollywood core in the Wii, and he likely had some say in the Wii U's video hardware as well. While the staff shuffle won't directly affect AMD's Fusion processors or Radeon cards, it's hard to see much of a positive for AMD's future in video gaming, even in the light of rumors that the next PlayStation and Xbox might use some of Feldstein's work.

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AMD exec behind Wii and Xbox 360 graphics jumps the fence to NVIDIA originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo’s Iwata says being first in next-gen race is ‘not important at all,’ pricing is

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata recently talked about how the Wii U's second screen was nearly scrapped due to cost concerns, so it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise to once again hear him talk about the importance of pricing. While unfortunately not divulging a specific number, Iwata tells Gamasutra that the "pricing of Wii U is going to be one of the most important elements when it is going to be launched," adding that "the environment is different. Wii U is going to be launching in a different environment than when the Wii was launched." He also talked about the timing of the console's release (coming well before Microsoft's and Sony's next-gen consoles), saying that "being first in the next generation race is not important at all." So why now? Iwata says somewhat immodestly that "one of the reasons we believe this is the time for Nintendo to launch the Wii U is it's going to be important for the world," adding that its "focus is on how we can make our new console different" than its competitors.

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Nintendo's Iwata says being first in next-gen race is 'not important at all,' pricing is originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jul 2012 16:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NPD: Nintendo 3DS sales hit 5 million in US, Xbox 360 still claims the console crown

Nintendo 3DS review

The NPD Group's gaming figures for June have made the rounds, and both Microsoft as well as Nintendo have something to crow about, albeit for very different reasons. Nintendo is the most eager to prove itself and says that the 3DS has hit five million total sales in the US since it reached gamers' hands in the country. The tally doesn't compete with the heady numbers smartphone designers are used to, but it's a milestone for a handheld console whose prospects were dim until a sudden price cut fueled sales a year ago. Before Nintendo lets the 155,000 3DS units it sold in June get to its head, however, it's important to get context from Microsoft's own achievements: Redmond shipped 257,000 Xbox 360 units that month and has had the lead among all US consoles for the past year and a half. We're in the dark on Sony data, although it's important that just 90,000 Wii units traded hands in the same month -- as clear a sign as any that the Wii U can't come quickly enough for Satoru Iwata and company.

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NPD: Nintendo 3DS sales hit 5 million in US, Xbox 360 still claims the console crown originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jul 2012 19:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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