Update: Nintendo has annoucned that the Wii U will launch in the UK on November 30th.
After all the fuss about the iPhone 5 last night, it’s easy to forget that there are some other sizable launches on the cards in 2012. The Wii U is one such biggie, and Nintendo will be hoping it’ll light up the Christmas console charts. It’s just had its price and release date outed in its native Japan. What does that mean for us?
Nintendo’s next-gen console has had a release date pencilled in for December 8th in Japan, which means you can guarantee it’ll launch in the UK very shortly after, if not on the same day before that. The Christmas market is a goldmine, remember, and Ninty will want to give everyone enough time to put a Wii U on their lists.
Price-wise, we’re looking at 26,260 yen for the basic 8GB model and 31,500 yen for a 32GB machine with a few extras like charging docks. Translated, that comes out as £209 and £251 respectively. Extra controllers will be £40.
If the prices convert as faithfully as that, the Wii U will be pretty competitively priced for a brand new console. Let’s not forget that the original cost of the PS3 was an eye-watering £425 at launch. Both it and the Xbox 350 are now much cheaper, but Nintendo probably knows that it needs to stay cheap – much of the success of the original Wii was in its low cost.
We’ll bring you more as we get it.
