Nintendo, already on a path to be the only makers of video game hardware to release a home console this year, today announced a release date and pricing for its next machine.

The Wii U, successor to the simultaneously popular and unpopular Nintendo Wii, has a Nov. 18 release date in the United States. Nintendo made its announcements online on via such avenues as Twitter and a live webcast.

The Nov. 18 release date is six years and one day after Nintendo released the Wii console on these shores. The Wii represented a huge break from trends in the gaming industry. Whereas rivals Microsoft and Sony, respectively the producers of the XBox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles, have sought to attract customers on the basis of their systems' graphical capabilities or online play, Nintendo went in wildly different direction - motion controls.

The Wii's motion controls made it possible for families to experience Wii Bowling on the console's Wii Sports title, but combined with the systems relatively weak graphics, alienated some "core" gamers who turned to Nintendo's competitors for more traditional gaming experiences. The Wii is the current console generation's best-selling machine, but looked on with some disdain by many gaming enthusiasts.


As with the Wii, Nintendo is trying to change the way its customers play games with the Wii U. This time the innovation - or gimmick, for the skeptics out there - is the console's tablet controller. The controller, which resembles an iPad or similar device, allows players to play Wii U games on the controller itself while another family member watches television. Nintendo is also using the new controller's features to pitch "asymmetric" gaming, in which one player experiences the game as shown on the television while another has a different perspective on the controller's screen.

The Wii U also features better graphics than the Wii and the company appears to be positioning itself to build better relationships with third-party publishers like EA Games, Activision and Ubisoft. The question is whether the console will be attractive to the "casual" customers who embraced the Wii and be able to lure "core" players who prefer the games offered on the XBox 360 or PlayStation 3.

Gamers had varied reactions:

Nintendo also today promoted a new streaming video/social media feature called TVii and promised 50 new games would be released for the Wii U between its Nov. 18 release date and March. Highlights include "Nintendo Land," a theme park like game in which characters from past Nintendo games appear in minigames and "Bayonetta 2."

"Bayonetta 2" - to be a Wii U exclusive - seemed to get the most reaction from gamers who followed Nintendo's announcements. The first Bayonetta was released for the PlayStation 3 and XBox 360, but not the Wii. The M-rated game allows players to control a witch wearing naughty librarian glasses who does battle with firearms, other weapons and her long black hair. Although Nintendo's family-friendly reputation has not prevented the company from allowing graphically violent games, such as "Madworld," to appear on its consoles, many gamers noticed "Bayonetta" fans and Nintendo aficionados are not necessarily the same people.

So will "Bayonetta 2" be enough to convince players to buy a Wii U? Or is the game destined to be a flop?

Nintendo's announcement also included confirmation that Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 will appear on the Wii U. Other plannned games include New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Assassin's Creed 3 and Batman: Arkham City: Armored Edition.