In exactly one month from today, Nintendo will release its forthcoming console. The Wii U launches November 18th in North America. On this day, consumers who haven’t pre-ordered the new console can purchase Wii U Basic and/or Deluxe Sets from retailers across the continent.
The Wii U then releases in Europe, Australia and New Zealand on November 30th, and in Japan on December 8th.
There are two Wii U bundles, but only one of them – Wii U Deluxe Set – will include a copy of Nintendo Land. Because it doesn’t include the party game, Nintendo product manager Bill Trinen says the Wii U Basic is targeted toward consumers who are more interested in ‘core’ games, such as Bayonetta 2 or ZombiU. Remember, the Wii U in the Basic set includes 8GB of internal storage, whereas the Wii U in the Deluxe Set features 32GB.
According to Nintendo, consumers who purchase the Wii U Deluxe Set will be enrolled in the Deluxe Digital Promotion, which lets Wii U owners receive points for each digital download and redeem those points for future downloadable content from the Nintendo eShop. Nintendo product manager Bill Trinen has confirmed there is no other way to enroll in the promotion as it is tied to the Wii U Deluxe Set. Note, however, the promotion is currently planned through 2014.
Will there be any way to gain access to some of the Deluxe Digital Promotion stuff that’s included in the Deluxe set outside of that? Will there be any way to do that?
“No, that’s tied directly to the Deluxe set… When you’re purchasing digital content, what that does is it gets you credit back that you can then build up and use to purchase additional digital content. That’s the idea behind the promotion.”
-Bill Trinen, Nintendo product manager
In under two days, GameStop sold out its pre-order supply of the Wii U Deluxe Set, which costs $349.99, includes 32GB of internal storage, additional accessories and Nintendo Land. The Wii U Basic Set, which costs $299.99 and includes 8GB of internal storage, can still be pre-ordered from the video game retailer. Claim a Wii U Basic Set from GameStop here.
White Basic and Black Deluxe Wii U sets are available at the console’s launch. The Deluxe Set will feature a black Wii U, includes Nintendo Land, has 32 GB of memory and will offer deluxe digital promotion. $300 for basic and $350 for deluxe with Nintendoland.
