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

“Xbox 720” documents reportedly reveal $299 price, new Kinect, specs and more

 

“

A “leaked” document reportedly reveals Microsoft’s upcoming plans for the new Xbox console through to 2015, mentioning “Xbox 720” by name, listing a $299 price for the console, confirming Blu-ray playback, and referencing the Microsoft Glass augmented reality technology shown at this year’s E3. The documents have since been taken off the internet at the request of Microsoft’s lawyers, lending the leak more credibility. Is this the Xbox 720?



Microsoft has of course yet to publicly confirm or deny the leak, but asking for the documents to be taken off the web has got commentators believing the above details could be the real deal.

Xbox 720 rumoured for 2013 said to be six times more powerful

The 56-page document that first appeared on Scribd, made mention of an “Xbox 720” for a 2013 release, and says that the new console will be four times more powerful than the Xbox 360, and cost $299.

Blu-ray is also included, as is USB 3.0, HDMI and augmented reality gaming. There’s also a mention of the next generation of Microsoft Kinect, designed to work better in smaller spaces. Microsoft Kinect’s biggest problem is its inability to work accurately in tight areas. Microsoft Kinect 2 will seemingly solve this problem with better tracking.

Since the document’s details have yet to be confirmed, all of the above has to be taken with a pinch of salt, but nevertheless, the details remain intriguing, not least of all that $299 price tag, given that an existing Microsoft Kinect sensor costs around £99.00 with a game included.

Xbox 720 rumours are of course nothing new. The next generation of Xbox has previously been rumoured for a 2013 release, with Blu-ray playback on board. And this year’s E3 2012 saw Microsoft dedicate a lot of time to services, without showing as many new titles as expected.

Microsoft will also not be attending this year’s Gamescom show in Germany – an annual event for showcasing new games. It is thought that with little new software to show for the current Xbox, Microsoft is saving it for next year. Or in other words, for the Xbox 720.

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