Nightly News Roundup: 06.06.2012

Wii U specs and minimum price revealed, a sneaky F-Zero attraction in Nintendo Land and a whole lot more in tonight’s news.

By Katharine Byrne. Posted 06/06/2012 17:45 2 Comments     ShareThis

Nightly News Roundup

Wii U Specs Revealed

Nintendo’s finally lifted the lid on what’s inside the box when it comes to Wii U. It might not be exact component specific, but it’s the closest thing we’ve got so far about what it’s really capable of. Read on for full details:

  • Dimensions: 1.8 inches high, 10.5 inches deep and 6.8 inches long.
  • Weight: 3.41 pounds (1.5 kg).
  • CPU: IBM Power-based multi-core processor.
  • GPU: AMD Radeon-based High Definition GPU.
  • Storage: Internal flash memory. Also supports SD memory cards and external USB storage.
  • Media: Wii U and Wii proprietary optical discs. Most Wii games will be compatible.
  • Networking: Wireless (IEEE 802.11b/g/n), plus four USB 2.0 connectors for LAN Adapters.
  • Audio Output: Six-channel PCM linear output via HDMI connector, or analog output via AV Multi Out connector.
  • Video Output: Supports 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p and 480i.
  • Wii U GamePad: 6.2-inch, 16:9 LCD touch screen, twin analog sticks, D-pad, L/R analog sticks, L/R stick buttons, A/B/X/Y buttons, L/R buttons, ZL/ZR buttons, Power button, HOME button, -/SELECT button, +/START button, and TV CONTROL button. Accelerometer, gyroscope and geomagnetic motion control, front-facing camera, microphone, stereo speakers, rumble and support for Near Field Communication (NFC) functionality. NFC allows for wireless communication with objects held above, or placed on, the GamePad.
  • Source: Nintendo via EDGE.


    F-Zero appears in Nintendo Land

    Last night, Nintendo held its first round table conference so E3 attendees could get the low-down on Wii U. They also took a more in-depth look at Nintendo Land, Wii U’s answer to Wii Sports and Wii Play, and guess which game popped up in one of its twelve attractions?


    Why, hello there, F-Zero!

    While the footage of the F-Zero-themed attraction was short and sweet, it showed your Mii riding tiny versions of your favourite F-Zero vehicles round a track.

    But good news for those who feared Nintendo Land would indeed follow in Wii Play‘s footsteps, as Katsuya Eguchi re-stated to round table attendees that these attractions wouldn’t be “a shallow mini-game collection like Wii Play” and that each game would feature multiple levels and things to do. A bit harsh, maybe, but incredibly reassuring.

    Watch out for our hands-on preview later in the week!

    Source: Nintendo Gamer.


    All 12 Nintendo Land attraction emblems revealed

    There you have ’em– all twelve of Nintendo Land‘s attractions, in picture-form. What can we guess from this pack of teasers? Well, Nintendo Gamer reckons they’ve figured them out. In order:

  • The Legend Of Zelda
  • Pikmin
  • Metroid
  • Super Mario Bros
  • Luigi’s Mansion
  • Animal Crossing
  • Yoshi’s Island
  • Octopus Game & Watch
  • Donkey Kong
  • Takamaru’s Ninja Castle
  • F-Zero
  • Balloon Fight
  • Source: Nintendo Gamer.


    Iwata gives minimum price for Wii U

    Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has told the Nikkei newspaper that Wii U will “likely be priced at more than 20,000 yen” when it’s released in Japan. That’s roughly $250 at the moment, the same price that 3DS launched with last year. It was hardly going to be less, but is more than $250 still too much? Let us know in the comments below!

    Source: Bloomberg.


    Say goodbye to friend codes on Wii U

    Twitter’s a wonderful thing sometimes, as Shane Satterfield from GameTrailers.com has shown today:

    “Oh yeah, was confirmed to me today that friend codes are gone for Wii U.”

    With Wii U’s Miiverse now acting as the console’s main hub for meeting people, we’ll be using our online accounts to make friends instead of exchanging those cumbersome 12-digit numbers. Hooray!

    Source: Twitter via Nintendo Life.


    Wii U Pro Controller comes in white too

    As if the Wii U Pro Controller couldn’t get any more sexy, Nintendo’s also revealed that it’s going to be available in white too.

    Source: Nintendo.


    Wii Virtual Console titles ARE transferable to Wii U

    Another piece of good news! Today Nintendo of America has confirmed that you will be able to transfer your Wii Virtual Console purchases to Wii U. Executive Scott Moffitt told ABC News that you’ll be able to move across past VC purchases and play them on the Wii U, but there may be a lot of restructuring involved in terms of sorting out how player’s will access them– each individual player will have their own separate login IDs and account when Wii U finally arrives– but at least you won’t need to re-purchase all your precious NES titles for the nth time.

    Source: ABC News.


    Reggie says Wii U launch window is 4 months

    Speaking with IGN earlier today, Reggie Fils-Aime has revealed that Wii U’s launch window will last up to four months after its initial release date. “Everything that we’ve shown from a first-party perspective is definitely launch window”, he said, and when pushed to clarify he replied, “Eh… More than that. It’s launch plus the following three to four months.”

    The question is, will it end up repeating the same mistakes as 3DS? Later in the interview, Reggie admitted that “if you look back at 3DS, what we didn’t have with 3DS was, at launch, the the first-party killer app. It was not Steel Diver, it was not Pilotwings Resort. And certainly we will not be having that same challenge with the launch of Wii U.”

    Or will they? Can you crown any of Nintendo’s first party launch titles as your killer app? Let us know in the comments!

    Source: IGN.

    2 Responses to “Nightly News Roundup: 06.06.2012”

    • 102 points
      Hawthorn says...

      Trying to crown a Wii U game as Killer App, a coveted title given only to the best games, is extremely difficult, seeing as none of them are “best games”.

      So, I’ll start with Nintendo Land. It looks fun, yes, but how do we know it won’t be shallow? It looks very fun, enjoyable, but a mini-game collection is almost never the fit for Killer App.

      ZombiU? Nintendo’s core audience has always been the children. This is clearly not a game for children. It is for teenagers and adults. No, it does not fit Killer App.

      Darksiders II and Ninja Gaiden is much of the same: not for the core audience.

      So, Nintendo will have to have more games for the launch and launch window, because I can not find my Killer App.

      Maybe Mario? It’s a mystery: I haven’t seen enough of the games to find a Killer App.

      • 21 points
        Dave Magliano says...

        New SMB U is classic Nintendo, and could fit the bill as something every Wii U owner will want. ZombiU and Assassin’s Creed fill a need for that audience. And need to see more of Nintendo Land, but when you think about it, Wii’s killer app was probably Wii Sports, and Nintendo keeps comparing the two…

        What are the chances of Nintendo Land being packaged with the system?

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