Wii U: Will Nintendo's latest console be a hit this Christmas?

Nintendo is to launch its latest console - the Wii U - in Britain on November 30, the Japanese gaming giant has announced.

But a £250 initial price-tag plus competition from app-based gaming has led many to wonder whether this could be the beginning of the end for the home console, with Nintendo seeing the biggest challenge yet to its historical dominance in the gaming space.

The Wii U is the follow-up to the best-selling Wii, which changed the face of consoles back in 2006. It was feted for its revolutionary motion-sensors that allowed players to direct the action on screen simply by waving a controller in their hand.

But while that technology then went on to be reproduced in rivals the PlayStation 3 (with Move) and the Xbox 360 (using Kinect), the Wii still remained a hit with everyone from young children to grandparents thanks to the company's emotional attachment to many fans.

The basic Wii U kit - a white machine with 8GB of storage and one controller - will cost £250, and already some experts feel a price cut will be inevitable in 2013 once the initial hype and demand has died down.

Today's youngsters are now growing up with cheaper app-based gaming on smartphones and tablets, a world away from the under-the-TV machines used by their parents such as Nintendo's SNES, N64 or GameCube, alongside handhelds like the original GameBoy.

But analyst Piers Harding-Rolls, Head of Games for IHS Screen Digest, feels Nintendo's glittering history and track record leaves it perfectly placed for continued success.

He said: "What Nintendo showed us with the Wii is how to deliver great social and lifestyle games experiences in the living room better than any other entertainment company. Nintendo is still well placed to deliver more of this type of content with the Wii U."

However, he added: "It's true of course that competing content and services through other connected devices - smartphones and tablets - means that this family audience is being pulled in different directions, so we expect the general adoption of the Wii U to be weaker than the Wii.

"Even so, I believe the Wii U again offers what will be unique social play in the home, something other platforms, including tablets, won't be able to match. Even at the significantly higher price point compared to the launch of the original Wii, Wii U will do brisk business over the Christmas sales season both with family buyers and more traditional gamers."

Console hardware sales have though fallen sharply over the past five years as ownership peaked and new machines from the big three gaming companies failed to appear on the high street. In 2008, sales were £1.42bn in Britain but this dropped by more than 50% to 0.646bn last year.

However, with high definition graphics and a GamePad controller that boasts its own screen, the Wii U has plenty of tricks up its sleeve.

Nintendo say the second screen option presents a whole new form of interaction, allowing different action to happen on the TV compared to the GamePad or providing more close-up views on the handheld device.

And with an impressive line-up of software titles during the launch period from third party makers including 007 Legends, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, FIFA 13, Batman: Arkham City and Just Dance 4, there will be plenty to attract both hardcore and casual gamers.

Nintendo itself will fire the starting gun with Super Mario Bros U and a new Nintendo Land theme park title, based around some of the company's legendary characters and franchises.

[Related article: Nintendo Wii U adds TV, video for November launch]

Michael French, Editor-in-Chief of UK games industry magazine MCV, believes the Wii U can regain the kind of excitement seen when the original Wii was launched despite the distractions of social networks and smart devices.

He said: "Nintendo has done everything it can to compete with the forces which have challenged its position in the market since the Wii was such a big hit in 2007.

"The GamePad is a compelling answer to family-oriented tablets in the home, and in some aspects delivers in ways those devices cannot thanks to having two screens and access to lots of high-end games content. Nintendo's child safety aware online service will no doubt appease worried parents too.

"Iconic games like Call of Duty, FIFA and Assassin's Creed are on there too, positioning Wii U well alongside the likes of 360 and PS3."

Michael added: "The bigger questions is whether or not the market in general has moved on from consoles. In the iPhone era, and with retail sales of boxed games particularly terrible this year, it'd be easy to say they have.

"However, I think new generations of gamers, and older ones or fanboys, are always looking for something surprising and innovative. Audiences are more mindful than ever of the power of TVs and set-top boxes, so a new living room box this Christmas, is in principle, a good fit."

He believes bringing TV-recording functions to the British version could be a game changer. The console will have this feature in America.

But Keza MacDonald, UK Games Editor for IGN, believes the lack of entertainment frills and a concentration on games is actually what makes the Wii U strong.

She said: "Wii U is accessible, fun, and relatively cheap. It will succeed if it can convince even a small proportion of the people who bought a Wii in the last five years to upgrade this Christmas. 

"Launching with Mario will go a long way towards winning over the family and Nintendo-fan crowd. Tech-fetishists and gamers will be harder to persuade, but Wii U doesn't necessarily need them in order to succeed."

Many experts have baulked at the pricing of the Wii U. When the Wii launched in Britain, it cost around £180 and a sub-£200 price-tag was hoped for again here in order to tempt cash-strapped parents this Christmas.

However, Rob Fahey, a columnist for GamesIndustry.biz, said while a 2013 price-cut is likely to happen in order to generate a new wave of interest, Nintendo had little choice at setting the cost at this level due to a very strong Yen.

He added: "The company has really surprised doubters like myself with the strength of its software line-up. I think that'll easily be enough to give the console a great launch and a strong Christmas."

And Rob believes the doom-mongers who claim the console is being beaten into submission by apps will be proven wrong.

He said: "Conventional wisdom says the Wii U should have a tough time in a world dominated by smartphones and tablets, but underestimating Nintendo is a bad move for anyone in video games.

"By the same logic, the 3DS should have tanked but after a price cut and some great games, it's now selling incredibly well.

"In the longer term, Wii U is going to face tough competition from smartphones, tablets and - who knows - maybe even the much-rumoured Apple TV device. That's just a reality for the games console market now and Nintendo is better placed than most to weather the storm.

"Their library of much-loved franchises is probably second only to Disney; even in tough times like this, I wouldn't bet against their success."