Wouldn’t you know it, Nintendo’s Wii U will be out onshelves this Sunday, November 18 – that’s if you can find one. Online stores such as Best Buy are completely sold out, and word of mouth tells me pre-orders in stores are fairly high. Despite it’s high price point and no real upgrade to surpass current generation systems (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360), suprisingly Nintendo’s Wii U is on track to being a hot ticket item this holiday season.

Nintendo is ringing in the Christmas spirit early this year. Their baby, the Wii U has been a long time coming for the esteemed video game corporation. And to think, the Wii launched exactly six years ago on November 19, 2006 – a console that revolutionized the industry. According to early reports, 5.5 million Wii U systems will be in the hands of happy consumers this winter, bringing the company terrific holiday tidings.

Although this sounds like good news for the company, Nintendo will be selling the Wii U at a loss. Rather than selling the console at a price based on  manufacturing costs, Nintendo determined a price that would be reasonable for consumers. Retailers, like Game Stop, are sold out on pre-orders and have put many on a wait-list. With a loss on hardware and the inability to keep up with demands, it may be awhile before Nintendo will see a profit on the system.

The Wii U comes packaged with a white 8GB console, one GamePad controller, and an HDMI cord for $299.99. For $50 more, gamers will receive everything previously mentioned except with a black console and GamePad, 32 GB of memory, a charging cradle for the GamePad, a console stand, and a game entitled Nintendo Land.

To create buzz among the masses looking to unbox their Wii U, President of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata has given fans a closer look at what they can expect in a very unprepared fashion. You might think, with such a prestigious reputation, Iwata would have practiced first before they shot the promo. Perhaps Nintendo felt it would look more personable if unboxing the Wii U was a surprise to him.

For the price, you might as well shell out the extra money just for the game and four times the storage space. Nintendo has also announced a digital incentive for those who purchase the Deluxe Set and expect to utilize the eShop. Earn 10% back in points when you use the eShop – get up to 500 points and receive a $5 eShop credit.

In the technical realm, the Wii U boasts 1080p resolution, which is a considerable improvement from the Wii’s 480i. Also included in the list of goodies to access is the Miiverse online community and Video-on-demand. One of the most anticipated features is the Internet browsing capabilities, which are claiming to be faster than the XBox 360 (read the full specs of the Wii U’s browser capabilities at Game Rant).

My biggest complaint is that the system does not come with a Wii Remote and Nunchuk. That’s about an extra $50 per player owners will have to dish out if they do not already own a Wii. It’s great that the Wii U is backwards compatible to the Wii, but how are gamers suppose to play those games if they do not have the appropriate tools.

That’s where video game industry analyst Michael Pachter predicts a price drop of the Wii U by mid to late 2013. Pachter believes that once Nintendo loyalists have had their chance to claim a Wii U system, sales will reach a plateau due to the high sale price. If Nintendo looks to stay competitive, a price drop is inevitable, much like the Nintendo 3DS.

Recently, the Xbox 360 Kinect 250 GB bundle has seen a $50 price to $349. A 160 GB PlayStation 3, which is also a Blu-ray player, has been known to sell at $199 at times – something I assume will continue until the release of the PS4. When I first heard about the current gen capabilities and the price point Nintendo was offering, I almost fell out of my chair. Providing gamers with only a graphics resolution that match the Xbox 360 and the PS3, the only thing new about the Wii U is the GamePad. The Wii U has minimal storage and few decent launch titles, realistically, in my mind, it should cost $249 for the Deluxe Set.

You’ve got to hand it to Nintendo though, they have a great marketing team to get folks excited for the system’s launch. In their release promo they showcase a lot of the Wii U’s interactivity between the GamePad and the users. I played with the Wii U at E3 and at Comic Con this past summer and I wasn’t entirely sold on it. Remaining optimistic, I hope in the near future we see all the wonderful potentials it can reach. My biggest concern is that not everyone is going to see the value in having to look at two different screens just to play a video game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dbGJieRaH0

The Nintendo Wii U launches tomorrow, Sunday, November 18, 2012 in all of North America, November 30 in Europe and Australia, and it is already available in Japan. If you are unsure about making the leap into a new Nintendo system, get hands on at your local Best Buy retailers.

Source: Game Rant