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With just a few days before the Wii U hits shelves across the world, and pre-orders selling
out, Nintendo has confirmed that the Wii U's video apps have been delayed until as late
as December. Wii-U will require a download at launch to
add online functionality. The Day One Update was originally slated to include Miiverse,
Wii U Chat (the system's 'real time communication' application), Nintendo TVii, and the system's
eShop. We reached out to Nintendo with regards to
rumors of delayed apps, and Nintendo has confirmed to IGN that all other Wii U functionality
(online gameplay, eShop, backwards compatibility, etc.) will still be coming with the system's
Day One update. According to Nintendo, the video apps including
Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, Netflix, and YouTube will arrive “in the coming weeks”
and TVii will be released in December. This has not been the most conventional launch
of a console. Nintendo announced 23 launch titles over an extended six month period,
and in a recent quarterly report, Nintendo C.E.O. Satoru Iwata disclaimed to investors
"As production only started this summer, it has now become more likely that it is our
production capacity, rather than consumer demand, that will place limits on our Wii
U prospects for this calendar year." What do you think? Has the Wii-U launch
got you packing an overnight bag for a long wait outside your local pre-order store, or
are you taking a wait-and-see approach with the console? We'll update you with more
as we learn it - both in terms of the process needed to add these new programs, as well
as details on their functionality, and for everything Wii-U, stay tuned to IGN.