Rumor: Wii U info leaked by Ubisoft?

An Ubisoft developer supposedly posted quite a bit of Wii U details, including price and release date. This is all rumor, but it is getting close to E3. Here is what he had to say:

• Wii U supports DirectX 11 and is already running Unreal Engine 4
• Wii U will support to touch-screen controllers
• The console has 2GB or RAM, 560MB dedicated to the OS
• The launch date will be 23 November
• Launch price hasn’t been decided but will be between $350 – $450
• Rayman Legends, The Avengers, Assassin’s Creed 3, Just Dance 4 are all on Ubisoft’s Wii U schedule, with Killer Freaks from Outer Space set to arrive weeks after launch.
• There are currently multiple versions of the console with developers
• Graphics are powered by the Radeon HD 6770 chipset
• Assassin’s Creed 3 will run at 60fps at 1080p, compared to 720p on PS3 and Xbox 360
• Wii U will come with pre-installed software
• Crytek, EA and Valve are all working on Wii U
• Valve are working on a digital distribution platform and Portal ports
• Wii U will support achievements
• Wii U’s UI will be customisable
• The new button has some link to the Wii Vitality Sensor
• The trigger buttons won’t be analogue

Source: http://mynintendonews.com/2012/05/22/wii-u-price-release-date-details-leaked-by-ubisoft-dev/

If it was $350 in America, it would be £300 to £350 in the UK, they don't do exchange rates
Also, I kinda wish for a proper internal hard drive with like 200GB space because if you want to download games, SD cards would limit you a lot

If the 3DS was $350 down here, I cannot imagine what the WiiU will be

I forgot that the prices are harsh in AU, I sympathise for you mate, perhaps you could import one from the UK as I think the region for electronics in AU and the EU are the same

The price is a little steep, but the rest of it sounds pretty nice.

They said the Wii U will have support for USB Hard Drives.

Those are still quite expensive but it would be a step up

If this is true, while the price range may appear a bit steep, it is actually a fairly decent deal considering the added cost of the controller. Granted, this rumor doesn't mention the CPU (although it should be at least decent given the specifications provided), but I still imagine it being quite a large step above the PS3 and 360.

Not necessarily. The Radeon 6770 is actually a very decent card, with the ability to run most modern games at high quality graphics (although granted, not at 60FPS). While I wouldn't doubt the PS4 and Nextbox will be superior, I imagine there wouldn't be too much of a gap. The difference will likely be much closer to that of the PS2 vs. GC than the Wii vs. PS360, especially after how badly Microsoft and Sony got burned this generation for packing in too much tech.

But remember, this one should be more advanced compared to the Wii and the 3DS

Unfortunately, great hardware doesn't come cheap. Also, take into account that Nintendo isn't like Sony and Microsoft who have a constant flow of profit coming in from other sectors; Nintendo is funded purely through gaming, meaning they can't take too large of a loss on hardware or they will risk losing investor confidence.

Nintendo can't simply use inferior hardware again, either, as they realize they can't expect to build a userbase around casual gamers; this is evident post-2009, after which the Wii suddenly began a rapid downward dissent into a distant third (software and hardware sales-wise) behind the PS360. Not to mention casuals are extremely hit-and-miss to begin with; after the 3DS scare, Nintendo can't be taking large risks.