Wii U release delayed in Europe

The release of Nintendo's next generation console, the Wii U, will be delayed in Europe due to a manufacturing issues, if the latest reports from people “familiar with the situation” are to be believed. The console itself isn't to blame apparently, but the fancy touch screen controller.

Manufacturing issues aren't uncommon with a next-generation system, but they couldn't come at a worse time for Nintendo, as it's desperate to get the new console out before the end of the year – partially to give it that near full year lead in against rivals Microsoft and Sony, but also to take advantage of the Christmas sales period. While it's thought that American stock of the machine will be available before the end of October, Europeans may have to wait until December.

According to CVG, at one time it was thought that the European release of the Wii U would be pushed back into 2013, but that even with the latest delays, Nintendo is now confident the console will hit the shelves this side of the New Year.

This could be the reason that Nintendo has yet to officially announce a release date, even if there have been some rumours and speculation from retailers. Amazon recently posted a 30th of October release date for Assassin's Creed III on the machine.

KitGuru Says: While we won't be seeing any hardware releases from console stalwarts Microsoft and Sony for some time, Nintendo will need to watch out for the early parts of 2013, when the Ouya is set for release. The little Android machine will easily undercut the Wii U on price and while not as powerful, could quite easily dominate the casual and social market that has become so important in gaming in recent years.

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