At Nintendo's New York event on Thursday, the company confirmed the release date, price, and launch games for its next-generation console Wii U. Nintendo confirmed the new console for a November launch for North America and Europe, despite conflicting rumors.

Editions

Two editions are available. The basic version includes Wii U, the Game Pad and its charging cable, an AC Adaptor, an HDMI cable, a sensor bar, and 8GB of memory. The deluxe set includes 32GB of memory, the Game Pad and its charging cable, a Game Pad cradle, NintendoLand, and registration to a premium Nintendo Direct service that allows users to earn redeemable points for purchases. The basic set costs $299, and the deluxe set costs $349.

Games

Bayonetta 2, developed by Platinum Games and published by Nintendo exclusively for Wii U, was the surprise announcement. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, along with five Activision games in total, are also coming to the console. Monster Hunter Ultimate brings integration, and transferable saved games, between the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS versions. Platinum Games' Project P-100 is now The Wonderful 101, Epic Mickey 2 is coming to the platform, and Skylander Giants is also coming from Activision. The latter does not seem to be an exclusive.

The downside is that the "launch window" covers November 18 to March 2013. The games confirmed thus far for day one are New Super Mario Bros. U and NintendoLand. The latter is Wii U's version of the original Wii Sports, packaging minigames from Mario to The Legend of Zelda to Donkey Kong.

Bayonetta 2 is certainly a coup and a system-seller, and New Super Mario Bros. U is a Mario game; it will sell.

Software

Nintendo TVii was the new announcement on the software side, allowing users to navigate and buy content to view on the Game Pad. The tablet-esque device takes screenshots of what is playing and allows them to be posted to Facebook and Twitter. In the bottom right-hand corner is a circular keypad for navigation, perhaps allowing users to navigate content one-handed.