Wow!

They should just keep one model to reduce confusion, available in white and or black, to keep it simple

They probably should have just discounted the basic by $50 or more and let the stock run out. I imagine it will cost more to have everything shipped back and repackaged to send it out again. Then what do they do with all the 8GB chips? Garbage?

Once you hook up a usb hard drive 32gb or 8gb becomes irrelevant. I don't see how you can argue you are getting more value with 32gb when 500gb is standard for laptops. The value is only there if you want NintendoLand and a black system. If you're serious about storage space you'll get a usb hard drive because 32gb is pathetic.

I think the bad relations had something to do with the old EA president. Things could be different with the new guy, not that it matters for most because EA hasn't been releasing much good lately.

I got my white 8gb new off ebay for $250 locally (no shipping cost) so I don't feel ripped off. Thats what the Wii Cost me when I got it back in 2007.

I had an extra 500gb laptop hard drive I hooked up and now I have more space then the 32gb models.

I don't see the point of 8gb or 32gb. 8 will make 32 look bigger, but 32 is nothing by todays standards. Anybody who is going to download stuff will need a usb hard drive eventually.

I'm happy to have the white model because it matches all my wiimotes and other accessories.

The gamepad battery is something we all need. I don't really care about the wii mote batteries because rechargeable AA work fine. A white 32GB WiiU is cool, I have the 8GB, but it doesn't matter once you get a 500GB USB Hard Drive or larger.

I can confirm that the deal does work for upgrade purchases. I upgraded 2 of the 3 games and got the 3rd for free. I'm glad I'm in no rush to upgrade my vc games. Maybe there will be deals for other games I have previously purchased.

Thats a big statement coming from a company that can't even get the WiiU and Wii to share their assets properly.

Nintendo needs to work hard to fix all their mistakes. The casual crowd isn't there to bail them anymore. I don't see it happening anytime soon though. They might get it right when its too late, and MS and Sony are in full motion with their next systems.

I don't know why people continuously defend Nintendo for being cheep and lazy. This is a software problem. Nintendo didn't want to hire a few programmers to program a compatibility layer. That's the only reason for the screwed up compatibility.

I don't think Origins even taxed out the aging xbox 360. I don't think hardware can be praised for its ability to do 2D. When it comes to 2D its the artist that should be praised. If they could make a 3D game that looks better then this then that would be truly amazing.

Somehow I'm not surprised. They always manage to screw something up badly. Or maybe the WiiU isn't powerful enough to run its own OS. Its a shame.

So are they illegally manufacturing Nintendo games? This will be interesting to see Nintendo start suing if these go for big bucks on eBay.

Played the demo at a kiosk, but wasn't that impressed. I imagine the full game will be much better. I enjoyed Origins but also wasn't impressed with its demo.

It just keeps getting worse. It doesn't even do 480p. There are cheaper 1080p upscaling DVD players with HDMI ports, and the WiiMini can't even use component. I feel sorry for who ever gets this for Christmas.

@StevenSeagal Canada uses the same NTSC format & region code as the US

Too bad it doesn't have WiFi, more usb ports, gamecube suppport, SD card slot and the ability to softmod it region free. Its kind of like Nintendo wants me to hate it.

I seen a bunch of these red units on the Walmart shelves the other day, with half a dozen 8GB WiiUs. People seem to be ignoring them.

Why can't Nintendo fanboys just admit that the hardware specs suck, but you like it anyways. That line about it being all about the games was over used with the Wii. Just say the specs suck but its an awesome system anyways. Its not that hard to do.

COD sucks. I'll worry when you talk about reduced frame rate for a game that matters.

I was at the local Walmart 2 days ago and I seen a 8GB model on the self. I thought about it, but with no pikmin 3 and 8GB being such a rip off compared to 32GB I passed. I was surprised to see one so close to launch sitting on the self. I remember how hard it was to get a Wii. Maybe the casual audience isn't buying them. That's better for the core gamers actually. Look at how the casual market destroyed the Wii's image. If cheep casual games don't sell, then devs might focus more on quality core titles.

2 TB is good support, better then Microsoft, but it would have been nice if you could just stick in a 2.5" HDD like the PS3 and have it be seamless. But screwing in a bare hard drive is probably too technical for the majority of Nintendo's audience.
It might be fun to try an SSD.
I don't expect the 2TB limit to ever be raised though. That would mean Nintendo would have to figure out GPT. The limit is likely because of MBR. Of course that doesn't make sense since they're not booting off the drive anyway. Anyways I'm going to stop trying to understand Nintendo. Not all things are logical in the universe.
2TB still puts MS to shame.

Another case of Nintendon't. Not surprised. Nintendo really needed to pay someone to actually do proper backwards compatibility. This is getting ridicules. You need a Tablet controller, Wii U Pro controller, Wiimote, Nunchuck, and Classic Controller Pro to be able to play everything. That is just for one person. You would need more for other players.

If its as good as the first I'll be getting this. Of course it will have to wait a very long time for me to get a console first.

I'm not a Nintendo fanboy. I'm not buying a WiiU on launch. But that video was awesome. Iwata was awesome. This guy has class, and knows how to gracefully joke. What a big difference from NOA. Reggie addresses his audience like their apple users that'll buy anything with the brand stamped on. Iwata actually respects his audience and I respect him for it, unlike Reggie.

I really think this will be a timed exclusive. This will be a 2012 Christmas exclusive. Realistically Nintendo probably won't be able to supply the demand for the console. The WiiU's install base will be smaller then that of the 360/PS3 combined because of the lack of supply. All this will effect the initial sales of Rayman Legends. And after the disappointing initial sale figures they're going to want to sell it to the larger install bases by Christmas 2013. The only way Nintendo can keep this exclusive is if they paid Ubisoft a very large sum of money to keep it. When was the last time Nintendo paid a third party a very large sum for permanent exclusivity? I don't know.

Epic mickey got my attention because it was something different compared to all the sequels on the market at the time. But it was ultimately disappointing. Before the release all I kept hearing about was Spector's cool ideas for the game which never made it into the final release or was scaled down. It was an average platformer at best and I couldn't force myself to finish it. I've probably played too many games in my day because I'm not easily impressed by anything any more. Epic Mickey 2 is just another sequel to me for a franchise that was never really that amazing. Good luck Warren.

I just ordered the cards and will be keeping them, unlike last years buttons that I couldn't even sell on eBay for more than $10 because no body wanted them. The card's transparency looks awesome.

Simple Answer: Freak of Nature

What do you people like Disney Execs? Disney has a horrible track record in the gaming scene. They can't even commit to their home video market either. Do you know how many incomplete Disney DVD collections there are? I'm still waiting for volume 3 of Talespin and Chip & Dale since 2007.

So now the XL will be an XXL. It should have been integrated.

Well the consumer wants to know more because they never get a lot details about anything and Nintendo's hides just about everything. The system is coming out in a few months, by the end of this year, and there still isn't a retail date or price. Nintendo takes secretive to a whole new level where it ends up only frustrating legitimate customers. This is why consumers always want to know more. Because with Nintendo you won't know anything about it until the day its released.

I personally don't like Reggie because you never get a straight answer out of this. You ask him a question and he always dances around it until he ends with the company line. Nintendo has to get rid of this guy.

... sorry for the double post, I have no idea how that happened.

Order up! on the Wii was amazing. Unfortunately the crappy cooking mama series became famous instead.

The WiiU should be able to play gamecube games if it can play Wii Games. The only reason why it doesn't is because it doesn't have the gamecube ports, and Nintendo doesn't want to emulate the gc controller with the tablet or pro controller. They could have done the emulation with the Wii but didn't so its no surprise that the newer Wii and WiiU which both lack the ports don't support it. Its sad that Nintendo always takes the easy way out instead of investing more into their systems to push it too its full potential. At least we are getting full backwards compatibility with the previous gen (Wii). That's more then can be said of the 360/PS3.

Nintendo doesn't release the price even after only a few months before release because they know that people are not going to like the numbers. Just like how Nintendo doesn't release the Specs because they know people are not going to like those numbers. Its a common pattern for Nintendo not to talk about a system's weaknesses.

@Kage_88. Of course I ignored Pikmin. There hasn't been a new Pikmin in over 8 years. The last 2 on the Wii were ports. Metriod Prime Trilogy was also a gamecube port plus a rerelease of an existing Wii game. Twilight Princess can be a port too. The Wii was a step back for Nintendo in a lot of ways. You illustrated a point very well though. Without Nintendo's original main franchises and MARIO they have nothing. I think they really need to expand with new stuff for the adult audience that can compete with the other big exclusives. If Nintendo wants to be the top dog they need to cater to everyone. Not just fanboys and mini game kids.

The WiiU needs to focus on new and exciting games instead of rehashed old releases that have been available elsewhere. The system isn't out yet and it seems like its already playing catch up because its trying to acquire games that other systems already have.

It isn't a good sign when Nintendo is focusing on mini-games again. Think about it. MS and Sony focused on releasing large scale AAA titles like Gears, Halo, Uncharted, Killzone etc. so that is what the industry copies on those platforms. Nintendo focuses on Mini Party Games like Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort, Wii Play, Wii Play Motion, Fling Smash, Wii Party etc. so that is why the Nintendo platform is a mini game bin. Nintendo needs to do large scale AAA quality titles to set an example for the rest of the industry. If cheap mini games make Nintendo rich then that is what the industry will try to copy on that platform.

Its a hard buy for me because I'm only missing the game boy games. Would it Kill Nintendo to throw in the gamecube game to fill up the remaining 90% of the disc?

Ever since they scaled down E3 it hasn't been good. It use to be exiting because of all the loud noises and bright lights. Now they try and make it a business meeting where every one wants to go home early.

Its all up to MS and Sony. If they make the generational leap with the next systems then the WiiU will end up like the Wii with watered down ports. If MS and Sony don't make that generational leap then Nintendo will have an easier fight.

What is with the title? It never was exclusive. It just has some WiiU specific features.

It looses points just for being a virtual theme park.

The only game I want right now is Pikmin 3. I'll wait for the console to drop to $150 since there are no other games I want to play. I think a huge price drop is going to happen soon if Sony and MS release a system with double the power or more at the same launch price as the WiiU.

For those wondering about the price ShopTo.net already has preorders at £279.99 ($435). This console will likely cost more then $350 in the States. Add $100 for a second tablet and your at $450 already.

I laughed when I read the part about not having a hard drive being a 'brave move' because I think it is a stupid move. Look at how not having a hard drive hurt the wii. The 360 started with a 20GB hard drive. Now they have 320GB drives. Thats because 20GB wasn't enough over the long haul. The WiiU's rumoured 8GB internal flash won't last. More headaches will eventually come as you have to copy GB files from SD to Internal.

I have the genesis cart still. This is one of my favorites and I personally think it is better than Outrun (at least on the genesis). Too bad NA will probably never get it. It took 2 years for the UK to get it and the Wii doesn't have another 2 years left for the US to catch up. Virtual Console could have been so much better, but botched up releases like this is what ultimately killed the service. Oh well, same old tired song that I don't want to hear anymore. Enjoy this fine release UK gamers.

I'm upset that this game isn't being released for the Wii. It would be nice if they did a dual release like they did with Twilight Princess at launch. They only have been promising this game for the Wii since forever until the announcement of the WiiU. I'm not going to buy a WiiU just for this game. The WiiU won't even play my import copy of NPC Pikmin 2. I had to softmod my Wii to play that game because NOA didn't feel like localizing it. Nintendo hasn't handled the releases of this franchise very well.

@Wolfenstein83

I'm not going to download a copy because I already have the game for PS2. At one point in time I even had the Dreamcast version. I still have the 1st game for PS1. MDK2 is still a fun game and I recommended it, though I don't know how good the Wii port. This game took up more than 40MB when it was released on CD.

Why can't Nintendo make a super powerful system, and just take a hit on console profits like MS/Sony does, and recoup with software sales? Nintendo doing everything on the cheap is a tired old trick.