Wii U American launch details: $299, software line-up revealed: Mario Bros., Call of Duty, Monster Hunter

Posted By: Michael Lacerna In: Console News, Gaming News, Wii On: 13 Sep

Nintendo of America’s president Reggie “My Body is Ready” Fils-Aime just finished formally announcing the details regarding the Wii U launch in the US, and as predicted, Americans will get the system before their Japanese counterparts: the system launches on November 18th, just in time for Black Friday.

Just as in Japan, the Wii U will be sold in two different varieties: a “Basic” white Wii U equipped with an 8GB hard drive, and a “Deluxe” set that bundles a black Wii U with a 32GB hard drive and Nintendoland, Nintendo’s crossover minigame collection.

Nintendo also revealed a list of the games that are schedules to come out during the Wii U’s launch “window” (i.e. basically anytime between the game’s November launch and next March):

NBA 2K13 (2K Sports)
Jeft Tailfin (Maximum Games)
Madden NFL 13 (EA)
EA Sports FIFA Soccer 13 (EA)
Mass Effect 3 (EA)
Toki Tori 2 (two tribes)
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (Capcom)
ZombiU (Ubisoft)
Just Dance 4 (Ubisoft)
Avengers: Battle for Earth (Ubisoft)
Rabbids Land (Ubisoft)
Assassin’s Creed 3 (Ubisoft)
Rayman Legends (Ubisoft)
Sports Connection (Ubisoft)
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013 (Ubisoft)
Nano Assault Neo (Shin’En)
Aliens: Colonial Marines (Sega)
Sonic & Sega All-Stars: Racing Transformed (Sega)
Trine 2: Director’s Cut (Frozenbyte)
Tank! Tank! Tank! (Namco)
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (Namco)
Wheel of Fortune (THQ)
Jeopardy (THQ)
Darksiders 2 (THQ)
Funky Barn (505 Games)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (Activision)
007 Legends (Activision)
Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2013 (Activision)
Wipeout 3 (Activision)
Skylanders Giants (Activision)
Rapala Pro Bass Fishing (Activision)
Transformers Prime (Activision)
Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two (Disney Interactive)
Scribblenauts Unlimited (WB Games)
Game Party Champions (WB Games)
Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition (WB Games)
Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien (Gaijin Games)
Ben 10: Omniverse (D3 Publisher)
Rise of the Guardians: The Video Game (D3 Publisher)
Family Party: 30 Great games Obstacle Arcade (D3 Publisher)
Zumba Fitness (Majesco)
New Super Mario Bros. Wii U (Nintendo)
Game & Wario (Nintendo)
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge (Nintendo)
Sing Party (Nintendo)
Nintendo Land (Nintendo)
Wii Fit U (Nintendo)
The Wonderful 101 (Nintendo)
Pikmin 3 (Nintendo)

In addition to the games that we already knew about, Nintendo announced that the new Wii U version of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 would have extra features exclusive to the Wii U. Capcom also announced Monster Hunter 3G HD, which takes all of the features of the PSP’s Monster Hunter 3G (which was previously unreleased in Western territories,) and adds in new upscaled graphics and fully featured online play. Hopefully we can take the release of MH3G HD as a sign that Capcom is finally acknowledging the existence of Monster Hunter’s dedicated fanbase in the West.

There are still things about the Wii U that make me worry: the bundled hard drives seem kind of small (though you can replace them with your own,) and I’m still not sold on that tablet controller. But the software line-up is pretty solid, and I can’t say no to Monster Hunter. In the span of one day, my opinion of the Wii has gone from “meh” to “maybe,” and if Nintendo keeps this up (say, by showing off the Wii U Zelda or Smash Bros,) then I’ll definitely be there day one.

Source: Joystiq