Wii U Experience Los Angeles

Yesterday I was invited to go to try out the Wii U in Los Angeles.  Nintendo rented out a studio to demo several of the Wii U's launch games to a select few invited guests and I was invited with one of my cousins who received the original invite.

The game's Nintendo had demoed include three themed mini-games from Nintendo Land, New Super Mario Bros. U, Rayman Legends, Pikmin 3, Wii Fit U, The Wonderful 101(aka Project P-100), Game & Wario, ZombiiU, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge, Batman Arkham Asylum: Armored Edition, and Just Dance 4.

I was only able to try out one of the three Nintendo Land game's they put out titled Chase Mario.  Its a simple game that mixes tag and hide and seek where the player using the new GamePad runs around the map as a Mii dressed up as Mario while the other for players try and find Mario and tackle him.

Next I moved on to wait in a line to play ZombiiU, a game that I was really looking forward to.  They had two versions up for demo, a solo campaign and a multiplayer demo.  The solo campaign I did not get the chance to try out, but the multiplayer I played with my brother.  Multiplayer had pitched us against each other with one playing as a survivor while the second player used the GamePad to control the zombie horde in a capture the flag game mode.  Playing as the infected horde was really interesting as I got to select from four different zombie types identified by color.  I can use red zombies to capture flags, blue zombies acted as sentries that will attack the survivor on sight, white zombies will seek out the survivor, and yellow zombies are a very aggressive version of the white ones.  Each zombie costs a few points to spawn and I'm also limited to only 10 spawns on the map at a given time.  Points are earned overtime and I can also delete spawns to refund some points back.  It is definetly satisfying to send a whole horde of zombies to attack your opposition while you place some flag capturing zombies at a point far away from him.

Lastly I was able to demo New Super Mario Bros. U.  While I wasn't able to try out the GamePad's assist mode, the player using it is able to stun enemies on screen by touching them via the touchscreen, and also able to summon platforms to help the players on the main screen.  There's definitely some chaos to cause when you have four players that constantly jump on each other and a gamepad assistant who can totally decide to troll you by placing platforms right above you as you jump.  Though I'm pretty sure if all the players are serious enough everybody can work together towards the stage goal with minimal deaths.  New Super Mario Bros. U is going to be a fun game just as every Mario game has ever been.

The Wii U will have two bundles and is coming out on November 18th 2012 and pre-orders for the deluxe bundle have already sold out.  While there are some basic bundles still left, I feel that if you were to buy a Wii U you should be getting the Deluxe as you will be getting the best use of the console on release.  I won't be getting one right away but I do plan to pick one up after demand has died down a little.

Nintendo's WiiU now has release date and price

Nintendo has let out a flood gate of new information about their new console coming out this fall.
The WiiU will be out by November 18, 2012, and comes in two bundles.  There is a standard version that comes with the console, the WiiU gamepad, 8GB of memory, AC Adapter, sensor bar, and a HDMI cable, for $299.
The Deluxe bundle comes at $349, and includes all the above, with an upgrade to 32GB of memory, a WiiU Gamepad charging dock, a membership pass for something called the Deluxe Digital Promotion which gives discounts for digital products till 2014, and the pack in game Nintendo Land.

You may have noticed that they do not include any Wii Remotes with any of the bundles as the console will be compatible with existing remotes, but the catch is that they have to be Wii Remote Plus or have the Motion Plus attachment. Additional Wii U gamepads costs are also currently unknown and whether the console will support a second one is a mystery at the moment.  The Wii U does have backwards compatibility with Wii games, but Gamecube games are not so keep your Wii's or Gamecube's around.

They've announced that Nintendo Land and New Super Mario Bros. U will be launch titles alongside the console but no news on what else may be released day one.  They have confirmed that there will be 50 games within the launch window of November 18 through March 31.  Some notable releases in that window include Pikmin 3, ZombiiU, Wonderful 101( aka Project 100), Assassins Creed III, Mass Effect 3, Wii Fit U and much more.  There's a complete listing here from Kotaku.

Some big third parties have announced exclusive future titles for the Wii U like Xenoblade developer Monolith Soft.  Capcom has announced Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate exclusively for Wii U as well as a 3DS version.  And surprisingly, Platinum Games announced Bayonetta 2 as a Wii U exclusive and will be published by Nintendo.  Koei also announced a port of Warriors Orochi 3.  There aren't any dates for these games in the US yet, but Warriors Orochi 3 and Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate will be release titles in Japan.  Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate will also be bundled together with the console in Japan only.

There's also something like a social network for the WiiU called the MiiVerse.  No details on how that functions yet to my knowledge.  The cost of a Wii U game is also currently unknown but I would like to assume they will cost $60 now like everything else, especially if they consider the Wii U's hardware to be comparable to a Xbox 360 or PS3.

EDIT: Looks like I was right with the $60 price tag of Wii U games.  All games will retail for $59.99.