Nintendo Wii U Holiday Event

Nintendo Wii U 2012 Holiday Event – Toronto, ON

Nintendo knows how to throw a party, and they didn’t pull any punches when getting ready for the 2012 Holiday Season.  The Wii U is the little Nintendo device with a very neat looking controller that’s on everyone’s minds.  Will the WIi U help Nintendo compete with Xbox and PlayStation in the coming year?

First, let’s take a closer look at the Wii U itself:

• The Wii U will display games in HD.
• The Wii U is backwards compatible with your Wii controllers
• The Wii U controller has a touchscreen, camera and 2 analogue sticks.
• The Wii U will be available in 2 different models each at a different price.
• The Wii U Basic is white, comes with 8 GB of internal storage and will retail for $299.99.
• The Wii U Deluxe is black and will retail for $349.99. It includes 32 GB of memory, Nintendo Land, a charging station and stands for the Wii U controller and console.

Now on to the Wii U launch titles we checked out….

Nintendo Land

Nintendo Land aims to be that party game that also demonstrates and teaches you how to use the Wii U controller.  Think of it like Wii Sports for the Wii U, but the game seems more complete than a simple collection of mini games.  Nintendo Land launches with the Wii U.

New Super Mario Bros. U

Take to the mushroom kingdom in HD with New Super Mario Bros. U.  You can bring your own Mii into the mix this time around and a 5^th player can join in on the Wii U Controller to help the other players.  We had a good time with this one and the platforming was as solid as you would expect from a Mario game.

Scribblenauts Unlimited

Scribblenauts Unlimited is from 5^th Cell and WB Games and is available for the Wii U on November 18^th.  Scribblenauts is even bigger this time around and with more recognized words and items to play with than ever before.  Paige even helps demonstrate how the spell check can kick in and help out…could have been me just as easy.

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two

Epic Mickey 2, The Power of Two from Junction Point and Disney Interactive is also out on November 18^th  You can play drop-in/drop-out co-op with a friend  and the colors look great in HD.

FIFA Soccer 13

FIFA Soccer 13 makes its way to the WIi U and will be available at launch.  The Wii U controller adds new options for both gameplay and in management modes.  We got a close look at how the controller adds to the gameplay in this title.

Ninja Gaiden 3: Razors Edge

Ninja Gaiden 3 Razor’s Edge from Techmo and Team Ninja was also on display.  Usethe Wii U control to select weapons, trigger Ninpo and more.  Ninja Gaiden 3 Razor’s Edge will be available November 18^th as another launch title exclusively for the Wii U.

Zombi U and Black Ops II

I took aim at Zombi U from Ubisoft and how players can take out Zombies from a distance using the Wii U controller.  Call of Duty Black Ops II, is also out for the Wii U on November 18^th and brings this intense first-person shooter to a new audience now that Nintendo is HD.  Will the control pad add to the gameplay?  Don’t look for killstreaks either…at least not by that name..here they are called scorestreakes.

Kirby’s Dream Collection (Wii)

We tried out Kirby’s Dream Collection that’s already been released on the Wii.  Kirby fans rejoice! This 20^th Anniversary collection from Hal Laboratory and Nintendo includes 6 Kirby titles.

3DS Games

There was also a room for new and upcoming 3DS games.  We checked out a bunch of 3DS and DS games while we were there.  Pokemon Dream Radar and Style Savvy: Trend Setters got Paige’s attention while I really liked playing Crashmo, sequel to Pushmo and New Super Mario Bros. 2

We also played Paper Mario: Sticker Star set to be released on November 11^th 2012

The Nintendo Holiday Event was fun this year…and the upcoming Wii U release on November 18^th has us asking a lot of questions.  I can’t wait to see more as developers find ways to take advantage of the unique controls.

Thanks to Nintendo and to the attending developers.