Following on from the Japanese Nintendo Direct broadcast that was shown earlier, Nintendo’s European branch has now announced the Wii U’s launch details. For Europe, the Wii U will be released on the 30th of November, with the price to be set by retailers. Both the black and white consoles will be available, with the 32GB model only being available in black. The black console is the premium bundle, and includes a console stand and sensor bar, as well as Nintendo Land as a pack-in game. A ‘Nintendo Network Premium’ membership will be included, and is a promotion that will be run until the end of 2014. You’ll receive 10% of the points you spend on the eShop back in the form of store credit.
Wii Remotes, Nunchuks and sensor bars will continue to be sold, as in Japan. Wii U Pro controllers will be on sale, and it was revealed that they can be charged via USB. WiiWare and Virtual Console games can be tranferred from your Wii to your new Wii U console. The Wii U apparently has twenty times the memory of the Wii console, with 2GB (1GB of main memory + 1GB of system memory) in total. In future, you’ll be able to connect two GamePads to the console at once, with games that utilise this feature coming later on.
Now that the console itself was out of the way, Nintendo moved onto the games. They confirmed that Nintendo Land is indeed a launch title for Europe. The game will contain 12 different mini-games: The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest, Pikmin Adventure, Metroid Blast, Mario Chase, Luigi’s Ghost Mansion, Animal Crossing, Yoshi’s Fruit Cart, and more. Up to five people can play at once in Metroid Blast. The player holding the GamePad will control Samus’ spaceship, while the players with Wii Remotes will try to shoot them down. There’s also a deathmatch mode. In Zelda: Battle Quest, players can either use a sword or bow weapon as the travel through various environments. There’s 9 stages, with some hidden ones to find. The single player mode is apparently “quite challenging”.
New Super Mario Bros. U is also a launch title for Europe. The game includes a new ‘flying squirrel’ power up, which allows Mario to glide through the air. You’ll be able to play the game as your Mii, and you can also play the game solely on the Wii U GamePad. The game includes a ‘boost mode’ which allows the GamePad player to create helpful platforms for other players to use. There’s time attack challenges and 1-up challenges, which can be sent to other players. ‘Boost rush mode’ makes the screen scroll faster as you collect more coins.
Pikmin 3 and Game & Wario will be released next year. Rayman Legends is a launch title, as is Zombi U. New footage of Zombi U was shown, featuring a new location, the tower of London. There’s a survivor mode, where you can try to play through the game with just one life. There will be 50 different items to hunt down in the game, which can be used to upgrade your weapons. Players can leave picture messages for other people who are playing online, much like the mechanic seen in Demon’s Souls. There will be online leaderboards. The game will have a limited edition, which includes a black Wii U console. Mass Effect 3 will be a launch title. The Wii U version will have the extended cut DLC on the disc.
Moving on to downloadable games, Trine 2: Director’s Cut is coming, and will feature a Wii U exclusive level. There’s some level changes, and new control options. Toki Tori 2 will be available on the eShop, it’s a cute platformer which also includes a full level editor. It’ll be available a little later on this year. Nano Assault Neo is a Wii U exclusive, twin stick shoot-’em-up. Lego City Stories, can use the Wii U GamePad to search for hidden items, and receive new missions. Lost of vehicles to use. An actual Lego figure of the main character will come with the first copies of the game. Call of Duty: Black Ops II is coming, and a trailer will be released very soon. The Wonderful 101 from Platinum Games received a trailer, showing gameplay. There’s another game coming from Platinum that we haven’t seen before. It’s Bayonetta 2, and it’s a Wii U exclusive.
Assassin’s Creed III will be released within the launch window, along with Tekken Tag Tournament, Scribblenauts Unlimited, Epic Mickey 2, FIFA 13, Ninja Gaiden 3, Batman: Arkham City, Warriors Orochi, Sonic & All-Stars Racing, Darksiders 2, and NBA 2K13. There was a special video shown, which was specifically for European games. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate was revealed, and it’ll be released for Wii U, as well as 3DS. The game will feature online play, and it’ll be available in March next year.
