Nintendo Direct Recap: Wii U Launch Details (European Edition)

Launch Details:

Wii U will launch in Europe on November 30th 2012. Retailers will set their own prices. There will be two options:

The White Basic Model:

• White Wii U Console
• White Wii U GamePad
• 8GB of storage
• 2 AC adapters
• HDMI cable

The Black Premium Model:

• Black Wii U Console
• Black Wii U GamePad
• 32GB of storage
• 2 AC adapters
• HDMI cable
• Stand for GamePad
• Stand for Wii U Console
• Charging Cradle for GamePad
• Sensor Bar
• Nintendo Land
• Nintendo Network Premium account until December 2014

The Nintendo Network Premium account will let you receive points on your digital eShop purchases (corresponding to roughly 10% of the full game price), and once you reach 500 points you’ll be able to use those to buy new games.

All your Wii hardware is fully compatible with Wii U, but Nintendo will also be releasing the Wii Remote Plus Additional Set pack for anyone who hasn’t bought a Wii Motion Plus Remote, nunchuk or sensor bar before.

The Wii U Pro Controller will be wireless, charge via USB and up to four can be connected to Wii U at any one time. The Wii U GamePad will also be available separately.

Hardware Details:

Wii U’s main memory is 2GB (20x bigger than Wii) and will be divided into 1GB for the game and 1GB for the system. This means you’ll be able to surf the internet and use MiiVerse without stopping play. Each disc will have a 25GB disc capacity with a read speed of 22.5MB/sec.

Wii U will also be backward compatible with all your Wii games, and you’ll also be able to transfer your WiiWare and Virtual Console purchases to your new console.

Wii U is capable of showing 720p and 1080p.

Launch Titles:

Wii U’s launch window will last until the end of March 2013, but titles launching on day one are:

• Nintendo Land (also included in the Black Premium Pack)
• New Super Mario Bros. U
• Rayman Legends
• ZombiU
• FIFA 13
• Mass Effect 3: Special Edition
• Trine 2: Director’s Cut (available on Wii U eShop)
• Toki Tori 2 (available on Wii U eShop)
• Nano Assault Neo (available on Wii U eShop)

We also received some more news about ZombiU in particular. The Tower of London will now feature as one of the game’s locations, and there will also be a Survival Mode, challenging you to complete the game with just one character and one life. Weapon crafting is another new feature, which will all take place on your GamePad when you’re inside your safe house, and there’ll be 50 items you can use to upgrade your arsenal.

There’s also a new weapons handling feature– the more you use a certain kind of weapon, the more adept your character becomes at using it, and you’ll be able to level up your aim, recoil and loading speed. If your survivor dies, though, that’s it– all your skills will be lost. ZombiU will also be taking a leaf out of Dark Souls by letting you leave messages for other players using a spray can. These can then be read with your scanner, but you’ll have to be careful, as they may not always be very trustworthy. It was also revealed that online players who become infected will be able to enter your game as well, and you’ll even be able to keep tabs on your own infected survivors to see how many players they take down while online. There will also be a leaderboard for survivor statistics so you can compare your own survival rate with your friends.

ZombiU will also be available in a limited edition black Wii U premium pack available on November 30th as well.

The Launch Window:

Games coming later this year include:

• Assassin’s Creed III
• Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Wii U Edition
• Scribblenauts Unlimited
• Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
• Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge
• Batman Arkham City: Armoured Edition
• Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper
• Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed
• Darksiders 2
• NBA 2K13

Anyone hoping for Pikmin 3 and Game and Wario, however, will have to wait until next year.

Project P-100 also has a new name: The Wonderful 101. No release date was given, but today’s Nintendo Direct also revealed that Platinum Games are developing another exclusive Wii U title: Bayonetta 2! In case you missed it, here’s the trailer:

Call of Duty: Black Ops II was also confirmed for Wii U.

Finally, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate will also be coming to Europe for Wii U in March 2013, and will also be released on 3DS at the same time. It will allow you to share your save data between consoles so you can play on big screen on Wii U or on the move. Both titles are fully network capable so you can play online for more fun, and you’ll also be able to connect locally via a wireless connection between two consoles as well.

And that’s all, folks! So what do you think of today’s Wii U news? Are you happy about Nintendo Land being a bundle title? What do you think of the other Day One launch titles? Let us know in the comments below!