Iwata Wii U Unboxing

So, who had between 6-7 months for the first Wii U hardware revision announcement? If you did, "A Winner is You!!" We're not talking about bundles, here, as we've had a few of those, but actual changes to the hardware at a manufacturing level; these can involve new colours or, as confirmed today, tweaks to built-in storage. Nintendo has confirmed that a 32GB White Wii U will arrive in Japan on 13th July, which will be available at the exact same price as the black equivalent, at 31,500 Yen.

First of all, today's announcement didn't have a sneaky price-cut, for anyone wondering, as 31,500 Yen has been the 32GB model price in Japan from day one, so there's that. We also can't help but wonder whether this will trigger a phasing out of the 8GB Basic model, as reports after the system's launch suggested that it'd been a bit of a flop compared to the pricier option. It's sold some units, no doubt, but it's telling that Satoru Iwata addressed sales issues with the model in the U.S. back in January, as it became clear that in those early days the Deluxe model was selling out, while the Basic equivalents were spotted to be gathering dust on various shelves. Here's what the Nintendo President said:

It was the first time Nintendo released two models of the game console at the same time ... and I believe there was a challenge with balancing this. Specifically, inventory levels for the premium, deluxe package was unbalanced as many people wanted that version and couldn't find it.

We suspect the reasoning was simple; unless consumers had a specific hankering for the white colour, it represented poor value at $50 less. It doesn't have Nintendo Land, has less plastic stands, doesn't include Nintendo Network Premium membership, and the 8GB of internal memory is low enough to be barely worthwhile — 32GB isn't a huge amount of space, but is a more useful starting point. This new model gives new consumers a colour choice with those same Deluxe extras — though Nintendo Land isn't bundled in Japan — and if this isn't announced for the West during E3, we'll be amazed.

Two other accessories are on the way to Nintendo's homeland, one of which takes advantage of the wise choice by Nintendo to make GamePad battery replacements simple for the user to carry out. The new 2550mAh battery pack will supposedly give the GamePad up to eight hours of battery life, comfortably more than double the default offering, and will cost 3,150 Yen (about $31 / £20). There's also an official Wii Remote rechargeable battery and fast charger — 4,200 Yen (approx $41 / £27) for the battery and charger or 2,625 Yen ($26 / £17) for just the battery — and a Wii Remote/Nintendo Land bundle, though the latter may not necessarily make it to the West due to the aforementioned Deluxe bundle including the game.

We're curious which of these latest offerings you'd snap up if they come West, as all offer something of value under the right circumstances. We've also got some speculative polls for you to consider on other Wii U accessories or hardware modifications you'd like to see from Nintendo (as opposed to third parties), such as GamePad skins — here's an awesome Famicom example — console decals and more. We also speculate on alternative Wii U console colours, because they have to happen at some point, right? To avoid confusion all but the first poll are for fun, we don't have an inside track on any of these actually coming to market!

Which of the confirmed products for Japan would you buy first? (635 votes)

  1. White 32GB Wii U - I just gotta have it8%
  2. I'd go for the improved GamePad battery62%
  3. Wii Remote rechargeable battery all the way19%
  4. The Wii Remote/Nintendo Land bundle1%
  5. None of them, thanks11%

Please login to vote in this poll.

What alternative Wii U console colour would you like to buy? (632 votes)

  1. Red9%
  2. Blue12%
  3. Purple9%
  4. Green9%
  5. Orange5%
  6. Gold10%
  7. Ugh, those colours are all horrible6%
  8. My colour of choice isn't there4%
  9. Rather than colours, I want more internal storage, such as 500GB37%

Please login to vote in this poll.

Which of these (fictional) first-party Wii U offerings would you like the most? (599 votes)

  1. A load of rad (and official) GamePad/console decals from my favourite franchises15%
  2. NFC character figurines that can also be used for eShop payments18%
  3. A GamePad Mini controller, with a smaller screen11%
  4. A new R.O.B. for Wii U, because robots are surely better nowadays...20%
  5. I want some other wacky idea not listed above16%
  6. None of the above20%

Please login to vote in this poll.