Nintendo of Spain’s director of marketing Nico Wegnez, revealed that he expects Europe will receive the Wii about 10 days after its Japanese launch, which is guessed to be at the end of October or early November. Although Mr. Wegnez understood Nintendo fans might not be happy with the wait, he was quick to compare the upcoming launch to previous console releases like the DS and GameCube that respectively took 3 and 5 months to get from Japan/America to Europe. He then assured that Wii will still hit European shelves before this Christmas.
While on the subject of Wii, he reiterated Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime’s comments about WiiConnect24 microtransaction possibilities. Although Wegnez expects Nintendo’s own downloadable content to be free, he states that a €5 or €10 pre-payment scheme is likely to be initiated, largely due to Europe’s aversion to using its credit cards online.
In other news, it seems that Zelda: Twilight Princess might arrive in Europe with both the Wii and GameCube games bundled in one package. Mr. Wegnez explains this may vary across European territories but in countries like Spain, where GameCube sales have been particularly weak, that’s assuming a dual bundle won’t increase the game’s price tag too much.
In theory it sure sounds great to have the Wii released globally in 2006. But the information is still useless without an official launch date for the Wii in Japan or the U.S. for that matter. We’re still looking at a October, November, or (doubtful) December release date now.
Interview by Vandal, translation by C&VG.