Nintendo
There's been a lot of speculation on the pricing and release date for the highly anticipated Wii U console, but today Nintendo has finally confirmed these details. Come Nov. 18, 2012, there will be two different models to choose from. The first is the "Wii U Basic" which is a white console featuring 8 GB of storage, one GamePad (controller), one stylus, one HDMI cable, one Wii U AC adapter, and one GamePad AC adapter all for $299.99. For those of you who prefer a little more storage space, you can grab the "Wii U Deluxe" which comes in a glossy piano black and has a full 32 GB of storage on board with a price point of $349.99. In addition to the storage boost, the "Deluxe" edition also comes with a GamePad Cradle, GamePad Stand, Console Cradle, and everything included in the "Basic" edition as well. The official countdown to release has started, and Nintendo has emblazoned a time on the Wii U home page for those who want to watch the seconds tick away.
With this announcement came a handful of new titles as well. Some were expected, some were surprises, but they're all welcome editions to the library. There are the obligatory "New Super Mario Bros. U", "Pikmin 3", and "Wii Fit U" as well as some third-party sequels which need no explanation, "Bayonetta 2" and "Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge". There were also four brand new titles: "The Wonderful 101", "Sing Party", "LEGO City Undercover", and "Nintendo Land".
"The Wonderful 101" is a free-roaming adventure game which features 100 super heroes who are attempting to fight off an alien invasion. None of them are strong enough on their own, so you have to combine them so they can morph into super weapons to take down the aliens. Not all the heroes are available right off the back though. You'll have to roam the city and recruit other civilians to join your squad to bring you additional strength and powers.
"LEGO City Undercover" is an exciting new development in the LEGO universe. Recently, LEGO games have all been focused on other franchises such as "Batman" or "Harry Potter", however this game is a completely unique story. Following suit with "LEGO Batman 2", "Undercover" drops the LEGO tradition of pantomiming and instead gives its characters full voice acting. Fear not though, it's still the same brick-filled world packed full of slap-stick humor and pop-culture references you've come to know and love by now.
"Sing Party" is a noble attempt to revive the dying music-game genre, but it's sure to be the butt of many jokes in the near future. The concept is 'party gaming' at its finest, but theory doesn't necessarily always work in practice. The Wii U controller will display lyrics on the tablet screen for the lead singer, freeing them from the TV screen, so that it can be utilized to give dancing, clapping, and other prompts to the rest of the 'players'. The problem is finding a group who will want to be backup dancers to a karaoke show. It's likely your 'show' will wind up looking less like the promo shots released and more like the awkward guy singing "Pony" and "Don't Cha" at the end of the movie "Wild Hogs".
"Nintendo Land" brings a giant digital Nintendo theme park to your living room which you can roam through with up to 4 friends. There are lots of carnival-like sideshow attractions to play, all themed around various Nintendo titles. Unfortunately, giant stuffed animals have been replaced by stamps as prizes, although they still have the potential to be pretty awesome, much like the trophies in the "Super Smash Bros." series.
“Nintendo Land” and “New Super Mario Bros. U” have both been confirmed as launch titles. It seems safe to say that “Wii Fit U” and “Sing Party” will join the line-up as well. As for the rest of the titles, none have even a broad release date, but they likely will be close to launch.