Wii U is first Nintendo home console to launch with Mario since N64

During Nintendo president Satoru Iwata's broadcast in Japan earlier this morning, he had announced that New Super Mario Bros. U, along with Nintendo Land, will be available on the same day that the Wii U releases in Japan, Dec. 8, Joystiq reports. While the same can't be said for sure for the Wii U's release in the U.S. and abroad, it would be highly unlikely for either game not to.

Both games are designed as benchmarks for the new console, but not so much as a show of graphical prowess as what its tablet controller is capable of. (We had hands-on previews of both--check out our impressions here and here.) However, Iwata did take time to boast some of the guts inside the Wii U, likes its 2GB of RAM--1GB for games and the other for everything else.

Each disc on the Wii U will hold 25GB of data, and the console can read that data at 22.5 MB/s. The system will consume a max of 75 watts of power, but will average out at 40 watts. According to Joystiq, the console will come in two bundles featuring different combinations of accessories and a color scheme of either black or white. That said, every console is said to come with one tablet-style GamePad controller and one HDMI cable.

As for the base price, ¥26,250 (about $337), that is not indicative of how the Wii U will be priced in the U.S. nor how the bundles will be handled. For more details on the Japanese launch of the console, check out Joystiq's coverage. We'll have more live from Nintendo's Wii U-centric press event in New York today at 10 a.m. EST. Stay tuned.

Are you psyched/hopeful for the launch of New Super Mario Bros. U with the Wii U? What do you expect from today's event? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.