Japanese Wii on December 2nd

25,000 yen, 16 launch titles.

News by Tom Bramwell Former Editor-in-Chief

Updated on 14 Sep 2006

The Nintendo Wii will go on sale in Japan on December 2nd, and will cost 25,000 yen (roughly EUR 167 / GBP 113).

Speaking at a press conference in Tokyo that concluded earlier today, company president Satoru Iwata pledged 16 titles at launch, including The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

Other titles at the Japanese launch include Wario Ware: Smooth Moves, Wii Sports (which will be sold separately in Japan), Trauma Center: Second Opinion, Elebits, Super Monkey Ball and Red Steel.

Nintendo also said it would launch Pokemon Battle Revolution later in December, but it admitted that Super Mario Galaxy would be released in 2007.

Nintendo has also launched the Japanese section of its official website for the console, demonstrating the interface, including web-browsing, photo management and other services.

In many respects the Japanese launch will be similar to the US launch, believed to be taking place on November 19th at a US$ 250 price point.

Nintendo has yet to explicitly confirm that US information, which came by way of reports in the New York Times and Seattle Post-Intelligencer, but its credibility has been widely accepted.

Nintendo US will hold a press conference later today UK time, with a European press event, including a conference, taking place at Friday lunchtime.

A full list of Japanese launch titles follows.