Wii U set to hit stores this Christmas season

Nintendo’s much awaited foray into the HD console business finally has a release date.

Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime has announced that the Wii U will launch in the United States on Sunday, November 18 and the EU on November 30 . This is a surprise considering that the Japanese launch of the Wii U would be December 8, a few weeks after the US, EU launch – it’s usually reversed.

The console will be available in two configurations (something that early adopters of the Wii really wished for), namely:

The basic version – which includes a white, 8GB Wii U console, a gamepad, AC adapters, a sensor bar, and an HDMI Cable for $299
The Deluxe Edition – which includes everything in the basic version with a 32GB upgrade for the console itself, a pair of charging cradles and a free copy of Nintendoland

The Deluxe Edition also includes access to the Deluxe Digital Promotion, Nintendo’s version of Sony’s PlayStation Plus which earns online shoppers rebates for the online Wii store.

Both packages however, contain only one Wii U GamePad (similar to how the original Wii only had one Wiimote). If you’re an upgrading Wii owner, you’ll be delighted to know that your Wii mote (and if you have the motion plus version) will work with the Wii U. If however, you wish to have another WiiU GamePad, you’ll have to shell out another $150 approximately. Bummer.

Now for the games. As with any Nintendo console release, we get a new Mario game to go with it. Here’s a partial list of games confirmed for the system: