Wii U delay: Nintendo rushes to ready new console for Christmas

 

Nintendo said that the Wii U, its next generation video game console, would be out in 2012, but it looks like it’ll be cutting it fine in the UK and Europe. According to a new report, we won’t be seeing the Wii U before December on these shores.

The reliable CVG has heard from sources that the Nintendo Wii U won’t be out until December, rather than the initially planned November. That’s down to a manufacturing problem with the Wii U GamePad, the centrepiece of the device, with a 6.2-inch touchscreen that can stream games to it, and act as a new type of input for games.

The sources says that Nintendo is still pulling out all the stops to get the Wii U out in the US for November in time for Thanksgiving, to maximise sales before Christmas, but that early December is a more likely timeframe on this side of the pond.

Christmas sales are all important for gadget manufacturers, especially when it’s an entirely new platform, and Nintendo’s financials haven’t been looking so good recently – earlier this year, the gaming giant posted its first loss in three decades.

Will you be buying a Nintendo Wii U when it does go on sale? Let us know where you stand in the comments

www.tell-me-first.com .

Nintendo Wii U out December 21 claims Amazon Germany

 

Following an apparent pricing mix-up by Amazon UK, Nintendo’s Wii U console has been priced again. This time by Amazon Germany. The online store has listed the Wii U for €399, this time with a date of December 21. Is this the final date and price for Nintendo’s new console?


Just last week Amazon.co.uk listed the Wii U at £199. That is, despite Nintendo not officially confirming a price, or release date. Amazon UK swiftly removed the pricing from the store, cancelled orders, and apologised to its customers. From the looks of things, we may be set for a repeat. This time from Germany.

Amazon cancels Wii U £199 pre-orders

Only this time Amazon.de has taken things further by predicting a December 21 release date. Nintendo has already confirmed the Wii U will arrive in time for Christmas, but a 21 December release would leave little time to make the most of the annual Christmas rush. It’s unlikely Nintendo would release the console so close to Christmas Day.

And then there’s the price. Roughly converted, €399.99 translates to around £322 – significantly more than the £199 earlier predicted by Amazon UK. We would of course ask readers to take the listings with a pinch of salt.

It can’t be long before Nintendo officially confirms a price and release date, so we suggest holding on before putting any pre-order in. We’ll let you know as soon as Nintendo does just that.

Nintendo’s Wii U marks a changing shift in Nintendo’s strategy. Unlike its predecessor the Wii, Nintendo hopes the Wii U will cater to both those who’ve never played games and the ‘core’ gamers who’ve played all their life, with games such as Assassin’s Creed 3, Batman: Arkham City Armoured Edition, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 confirmed, or tipped for the console.

http://www.tell-me-first.com

Amazon lists £199 Wii U, page vanishes as customers left in limbo

 

Nintendo may not have officially confirmed a price for the Nintendo Wii U but it appears online store Amazon did it for them, by listing the Nintendo Wii U up for pre-order for £199. This pre-order page has now been taken down, as Nintendo UK boss David Yarnton labels price talk as “speculation.”

Prior to the pre-order page being taken down, visitors were able to pre-order the Nintendo Wii U at £199. A default landing page now appears encouraging visitors to sign up to be notified the item becomes available.

Nintendo had yet to actually confirm a price, but that wouldn’t have stopped customers pre-ordering the console. It’s likely that many customers will have received pre-order confirmation emails, and may be left disappointed when, or if Amazon fails to honour those orders.

That is, should the price be incorrect. Nintendo’s UK boss David Yarnton confirmed to VideoGamer that Nintendo has yet to discuss pricing with retail, and that current price talk is nothing but guesswork.

“People can only speculate. We haven’t discussed pricing with retail either so whatever they do is off their own back. It’s only speculation.”

It appears that Nintendo cannot yet confirm a Wi U price, although according to Yarnton, current guesstimates have been wide off the mark. On current price listings he commented: “I’ve seen some prices in the past that have been so astronomically out of the ball park that they just put it there and sort it out later.”

The message is clear: don’t believe a price until it has been officially confirmed. A release date for Wii U has also yet to be announced, although we already know it will be arriving some time before Christmas

www.tell-me-first.com

Gadgets taking years of our lives says study, here's what to do

 

Gadgets taking years of our lives says study, here's what to do

New research suggests that those who sit for long periods in front of a television or computer screen are likely to die a lot sooner than those who don’t! Thankfully, it’s not all doom and gloom. Read on for the findings, and how to avoid a premature gadget-induced early grave. Gadgets don’t have to be bad for us. 


The study (via The Atlantic) reports that the Sax Institute surveyed over 222k Australian adults 45 years and older, and found that those who sat more than 11 hours a day had a 40 per cent higher risk of dying in the next three years.

Factors including age, weight and physical activity were taken into account, However, the message is clear: don’t sit for that long. Healthy or sick, it was found that those who sat longest faced the biggest risks. Thankfully physical activity can reduce them. So what can we do?

Gadget fans are advised to take breaks from a laptop, computer and video games. The study suggests that keeping active in between sitting down can reduce the risks. If ever there was a case for motion sensor Microsoft Kinect, PlayStation Move and Wii games and games such as EA Sports Active (pictured): this may be it.

Don’t forget: there are plenty of gadgets, games and smartphone apps to keep us active.

So you see, gadgets don’t have to be bad for us. Got any gadget-related tips to stay active? Let us know

Nintendo Wii U: Everything You Need To Know

 The Wii U is a next-generation successor to the Nintendo Wii promising to cater for all types of gamer and deliver top-notch graphics on par with anything we’ve seen before. Here’s everything else you need to know about Nintendo’s new console.

From the controller, the specs of the actual console, to the games – here is the lowdown on the Nintendo Wii U.

The controller
So far, the controller is the unique selling point of Nintendo’s new console. The Wii U controller features a 6.2-inch 16:9 widescreen touchscreen. From the demo shown at E3, the screen will be able to act as a mini-map displaying a players location on a map, be able to show positions of enemies, be used for augmented reality games, and inevitably more down the line.

The screen will also be able to act as a second display for the console. If somebody in your house enters the room, and wants to watch a programme on the television, you’ll be able to carry on the game on the Wii U controller. Nintendo says the Wii U controller adds a extra screen in the home.
Other features include an accelerometer, gyroscope, rumble vibration feedback, an inward facing camera, a microphone and speakers. The Wii U pad will feature a familiar six-button layout, with A/B/X/Y buttons on the right and L/R and ZL/ZR shoulder buttons on the top.

The console
Wii U will feature full backwards compatibility with the Nintendo Wii. Wii U will be able to play all Wii games. Up to four Wii Remote controllers can be connected at once. The Nunchuk controller, Classic Controllers and the Wii Balance Board will also work with Wii U.

Nintendo has said that Wii U will use its own high capacity 12-inch discs, not Blu-ray discs, however the capacity of these discs is reported to be on par with Blu-ray technology. The console will output video in full high-definition (1080p) where available via the use of a HDMI cable. Wii U will also take component and composite cables.

Wii U storage capacity has yet to be revealed. However it has been confirmed that Wiii U will feature an internal flash memory in addition to having the option to expand its memory using an SD memory card or an external USB hard disk drive. Four USB 2.0 slots also feature, letting players plug in accessories.

The games
Nintendo confirmed a number of titles for the new console that appear to keep to the company’s promise of catering to all types of gamer. Among those confirmed are: Pikmin 3, Smash Bros, Lego City Stories, Ninja Gaiden: Razor’s Edge, Batman: Arkham City, a new Assassin’s Creed game, Darksiders II and Rabbids. A trailer was also shown teasing probably future titles that included driving game, DiRT, Tekken, FIFA and Battlefield 3 and a new HD Zelda game. Irrational Games boss Ken Levine was also part of the conference in video, increasing the chance of a new BioShock game appearing on the console.

How much will Wii U cost and when can I get my hands on it?
Nintendo has yet to announce or confirm anything at this stage. However Nintendo maintain that its price will be competitive. The Nintendo Wii, when it first went on sale cost £179.99, but given that Wii U will be a more powerful, high definition console, there is a strong possibility it will cost more. We’ve also spotted the Wii for £400, although we suspect it’ll be a lot cheaper than that. A release date has not been announced, although the console is predicted to launch between April and December 2012.

PlayStation 4 possible 2012 launch - integrated motion controls

It looks like Sony might be the third company to enter into 2012's now epic looking console battle, with rumours pointing to a PlayStation 4 release next year alongside the Wii U and new Xbox.

playstation 4

According to a report by digitimes, the new console will feature integrated motion controls along the same lines of the Xbox 360 Kinect. Rumours suggest Foxconn and Pegatron will be building the console.

Whilst details surrounding the new console are incredibly thin, it does look like Sony plans on entering the console market in a big way with the PS4. Initial shipments are said to total no less than 20 million, a massive number given only 51 million PS3s have been shifted since launch.

Speculation had pointed to a much later release for the new Sony console, with it hitting stores shelves in 2013 at the earliest. It looks like the fierce competition from the Wii U and yet to materialise new Xbox has forced Sony to accelerate its development in order to get things ready.

Expect motion controls to be talk of the console town in 2012, with the Wii U trying to take on the hardcore gamer whilst appeasing the newly founded family gaming market

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