We’re 
still a good two months out from the official North American launch of the Wii U, but Nintendo’s next generation console system is already proving to be one of the holiday’s must-have items.
Several major retailers are already old out of the system online, meaning they’ve put a halt on pre-orders. Others, it seems, aren’t even giving people the online pre-order option, apparently reserving their stock for the launch day stampede.
Nintendo’s 
announcement on Thursday that the Wii U would come in two flavors costing either $300 or $350 instantly sparked a lot of arguments.
Some thought it was too high a number. Some felt it fair. Few, it’s worth noting, vowed to boycott the system, so any objections fell short of the ones Sony faced when the PlayStation 3 was initially priced at an astronomical $500.
Nintendo 
has more than just videogames in mind with the Wii U, its next-generation console, which goes on sale Nov. 18 in North America. The company unveiled Thursday a new initiative dubbed Nintendo TVii aimed at improving discoverability for both over-the-air and online programming.
“It has always been our goal to maximize consumer value with what we include in the hardware purchase,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America. “It’s not just a high-definition console that will change the way people play. Wii U is the only game console with a seamlessly connected, fully integrated second screen.”
Nintendo 
went for a big splash Thursday morning, revealing launch details for its Wii U. Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris looks at the highlights and low-lights of the event in this op-ed.
So now a lot of the mysteries about the Wii U have been solved. Nintendo wasted no time Thursday morning announcing the system’s launch date and price — and spent the rest of its press event talking features and games.
It was a solid event with lots of information, but it wasn’t quite the home run the company was likely hoping it would be. (Call it a stand-up double, if you want to stick with the baseball metaphor.) While Nintendo certainly wooed its audience with some of the Wii U details, it attracted a lot of grumbling from other corners of the video game world.
Nintendo’s 
next generation will kick off November 18.
That’s the day the Wii U will go on sale in North America, with two versions for consumers to choose from. But neither is going to be dirt-cheap.
When 
Nintendo reported a $533 million annual loss in late April, it was the first time in the company’s 30-year history as a publicly traded company that it had fallen into the red.
Even though the loss was expected at that point, it was a mark of shame for Nintendo — and investors battered the stock. Now, as the company’s next generation console system prepares to launch later this year and the handheld 3DS device starts to get its legs under it, it’s hoping to get back to black. But not everyone’s convinced it will manage to do so.
Veteran 
journalist Chris Morris examines some key statements from Nintendo’s execs.
There are good E3 performances and there are great E3 performances. In 2012, Nintendo had neither.
While it will be a few months before the public gets its say about the Wii U, few (including Nintendo) would argue that the company showed off the console in the best light possible at this year’s industry trade show.
New 
console launches “separate the winners from the losers — and we fully expect to be one of the winners,” says Take-Two chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick in this Gamasutra interview.
While Nintendo fell short of its goal of whipping gamers into a frenzy for the Wii U at this year’s E3, third-party publishers, who see the system as a key driver of future growth, were reticent to downplay its potential. Instead, they cited the system’s long-term potential, rather than its initial impact.
Take-Two Interactive Software chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick, however, was not among the cheerleaders.
Nintendo of 
America head Reggie Fils-Aime tells Gamasutra dual-GamePad Wii U games won’t be around till well after launch — but that’s the least of Nintendo’s concerns as it considers Wii U’s price tag.
While Nintendo relieved fans with last week’s announcement that the Wii U would support two tablet controllers, those hoping to take advantage of that when the system launches will be out of luck.
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime tells Gamasutra that while the new console has multi-tablet capabilities, neither Nintendo nor its third-party partners will have any games available that take advantage of that during the launch window.
Judging 
by the lines at Nintendo’s E3 booth, Nintendo’s Wii U is a hit, but the system could have been a lot different if Nintendo had listened to its inner demons.
Global President Satoru Iwata says the idea of a two-screen video game system was something the company went back and forth on—and didn’t finalize until nearly a year and a half into the development process.
Chris Morris: Journalist 