I don't think many people are getting hyped about 11/18/12.  It's an obvious date and an easy one to guess.  The ones getting hyped are the ones that think it will come out during the summer.

“So, while the Wii U is most likely coming out on November 18…” Neal, I can only assume you have bets riding on this date, but that is still speculation (yes, I understand what “most likely” means). As you said, we’ll have to wait for Nintendo to make an official announcement. I’m still holding my breath for a September release.

November 18th is not a release date anyone would celebrate (if it is true). People want the Wii U to be released yesterday, but barring that the next best thing is for it to come out in June or something. We already knew the Wii U was coming out before the end of the year, and November 18th is at the tail end of the year. I think I speak for everyone when I say we want it sooner than that.

LOL are you serious? Even if Nintendo did confirm it, November 18th is 8 months from now.

This reminds me of how people (I think I was in on it too :X ) thought Skyward Sword would be an October release.

It's nice to want things, but let's face it: Nintendo releases their big ticket holiday product the same time every year. 11/18/2012 = Wii U in North America. I almost made an infographic that listed everything that they've released on that Sunday before Black Friday dating back to the GameCube launch.

Would I be down for a September launch? Sure, but if that happened, it would be a shock. Conventional wisdom says November 18.

That's not actually true every time. It was true with the Gamecube and Wii, but Nintendo's first three consoles released earlier in the year, so it wouldn't be unprecedented.

Well... if they were nice, they would have it come out in September, so that I can get it soon after my birthday.

But that's probably not the case... :/

It would be unprecedented in the Iwata era.  He believes holiday sales matter more than getting a product out sooner, at least it feels that way.

It isn't so much a rumour as it is a safe bet, but I see no reason why Nintendo won't go with that date. After the troubles Nintendo faced with the 3DS, which launched in March, I see Nintendo sticking with a tried and true date like November 18th.

The NES launched in October (only in New York, but it sill counts). The SNES was the real oddball, releasing in mid-August in North America.

I guess I didn't make the Iwata Era point (and hell, the modern video game era). November is when marquee games/systems have come out, with a few exceptions (3DS, but how'd that turn out?). That's just how video games have worked since 2000 or so.

But alright, let's do this...

2001 - GameCube
2002 - Metroid Prime
2003 - Mario Kart: Double Dash
2004 - DS
2005 - N/A (Biggest Exception, DS was rough/young, and GCN was dying)
2006 - Wii
2007 - Super Mario Galaxy (came out a week before the usual Sunday)
2008 - Animal Crossing Wii
2009 - NSMBWii
2010 - DKCR
2011 - Skyward Sword
2012 - Wii U?

Don't we all agree the problem with the 3DS launch was the price and the lack of software? Other consoles have launched early in the year and went on to do extremely well. The PS2 for example launched in March 2000, and that remains the greatest selling console of all time. So the PS2 proves a console can launch earlier in the year and still go on to great things, as I'm sure the 3DS also will after all is said and done.

It launched in Japan in March, which has a different market. In North America (which this thread seems aimed at and the other stuff) it was late October. Frankly, late November would be fine for me since it would give me more time to save up money for it.

The PS2 also had an awful launch lineup. You can recover from a terrible launch, but you don't want to put yourself in that position. Launching in September, or especially earlier than that, will result in a worse launch software lineup.

So... launch early with a limited supply of units or launch later with a greater supply of units?

Dear Mailbag: Will I be able to walk into a store on Day One and buy a Wii U without waiting in line?

Mario Kart DS and Nintendo wi-fi. One of these was successful.

Big oops on my part. Place I glanced at for release dates had it listed as December (probably pulled from Japan release)

So yea, point proved even more, then.

Mailbag: Yes. You will be able to walk into any electronic retail store at noon on release day and buy maybe 2 or 3 Wii U's, and not even have to worry about waiting in line.