The live-stream for Japan’s Nintendo Direct event just wrapped up, and CEO Satoru Iwata has released a bunch of information relevant to other regions too. A brief run-down of the event follows:
- The Wii U utilises 2GBs of RAM: 1GB for games, 1GB for the system.
- The discs housing retail games will hold a maximum of 25GBs, with the optical optical drive reading at a speed of 22.5MB/s.
- The console will draw power at 75w.
- NintendoLand will be cheaper than New Super Mario Bros. U in Japan (both available at launch). ~5000 yen and ~6000 yen, respectively.
- NintendoLand will not be bundled with Japanese Wii U consoles.
- Wii U Pro Controller will cost 5400 yen.
- Wii U GamePads (tablet controller) will cost 13,400 yen each.
- Consoles will be available in two separate SKUs: the white will have 8GBs of internal memory and cost 26,250 yen; black will have 32GBs and cost 31,500 yen. Both SKUs will include an HDMI cable plus hardware stands.
- The black Wii U is considered the Premium console, and will also include Nintendo Network Premium (newly announced paid service). This will also entitled Premium members to 10% off eShop purchases through to the end of 2014.
- The Wii U will release in Japan on December 8th.
There’s just over six hours to go until the US and Europe’s Nintendo conferences, and we’ll be live blogging the whole thing. Be sure to keep your eyes on Stick Skills for information as it comes. In the meantime, hit us below if you’ll be joining in the Wii U festivities leading up to launch.