With next week’s E3 gaming conference fast approaching it’s looking like an exciting time for Sony and Microsoft fans, however Nintendo is having less of a great time, with no event planned for E3 already confirmed. Instead, the company will announce some Ninty news via its own web channels.
What’s more, rumours are now circulating that Nintendo has issued a retailer recall of all Basic Pack bundles of its Wii U console in the US, which points to the company either updating their entry level console offiering or that there is a new Wii U console coming out.
Major US retailers like GameStop have been asked by Nintendo to return all new and unopened Basic Pack Wii U bundles on June 18th, a few days after the E3 event ends in Los Angeles. The basic bundle which retails in the UK for £240 comes with 8GB of internal memory and does not include the game Nintendo Land or the deluxe digital rewards program.
The stock removal could just be Nintendo streamlining its Wii U console offerings down to one console, or the company could be releasing a new bundle to the masses and superseding the Premium bundle with a newer console featuring more memory. We suspect that Nintendo is preparing the 32GB version that was announced in Japan last week!
As for E3, Nintendo has shunned the now expected press conference and the company has stated it will instead be having several smaller briefings where press will get a close look at what new stuff it has to offer.
It’s a big year to not show off a console or games at E3 as Sony and Microsoft will both be touting their latest next-gen consoles in the form of the PS4 and Xbox One and Nintendo won’t have any way of fighting back against the big console monsters at the show itself.
However, we can expect a load of game updates from Nintendo, with your usual teases from the Mario family including new Mario, Zelda and Mario Kart games.
UPDATE: Nintendo UK has told Eurogamer that it has no intention of withdrawing the Basic Pack Wii U from sale here in the UK;
“We are unable to comment on rumour or speculation however we can confirm that Wii U Basic continues to be available in the UK,“