Here Are All the Games You Could Feasibly Buy on Wii U Launch Day

No sense in dicking around. Nintendo just announced the full list of games that will release alongside the company's new Wii U console this November 18, as well as a list of games that will come after, during that crater-sized "launch window." First, the list of launch day games.

November 18

• Assassin's Creed III
• Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition
• Call of Duty: Black Ops II
• Darksiders II
• Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
• ESPN Sports Connection
• FIFA Soccer 13
• Game Party Champions
• Just Dance 4
• New Super Mario Bros. U
• Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge
• Nintendo Land
• Rabbids Land
• Scribblenauts Unlimited
• SiNG Party
• Skylanders Giants
• Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
• Tekken Tag Tournament 2
• Transformers Prime
• Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper
• Wipeout 3
• Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013
• ZombiU

Now, here are all the games currently slated for "November," without a specific date.

November ??

• Chasing Aurora
• Cloudberry Kingdom
• Little Inferno
• Madden NFL 13
• Mighty Switch Force HD
• Nano Assault Neo
• TANK! TANK! TANK!
• Toki Tori 2
• Trine 2: Director's Cut

And finally, here are all the games with unnamed dates that are planned to ship sometime between December 1, and March whenever.

Launch Window

• 007 Legends
• Aliens: Colonial Marines
• Ben 10 Omniverse
• Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2013
• Family Party: 30 Great Games: Obstacle Arcade
• Funky Barn
• Game & Wario
• Jeopardy
• LEGO City Undercover
• Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth
• Mass Effect 3
• NBA 2K13
• Pikmin 3
• Rapala Pro Bass Fishing
• Rayman Legends
• Rise of the Guardians: The Video Game
• Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien (January)
• Wheel of Fortune
• Wii Fit U
• The Wonderful 101

So, let's talk about all this for a minute. Looking at launch day, there are definitely some big games there, including NSMBU, Black Ops II, AC III, and oh hell let's be nice and put ZombiU on there too. I do still question how many people are going to go out of their way to get these big multiplatform games specifically on the Wii U, but having them there day one certainly won't hurt.

More of a bummer for me personally is the lack of Rayman, Pikmin 3, and The Wonderful 101 at launch. None of those exactly seemed like they were destined for November 18, but I'd had hope that at least one of them would make it. Hell, I don't even get Funky Barn as a consolation prize. Oh well.

Also, what in tarnation is a Family Party: 30 Great Games: Obstacle Arcade and how do we prevent that from actually happening?

I want one, but I don't want one.

Pikmin 3 is the only one I care about

I'm probably alone in this, but my lack of interest in ANYTHING Wii U is kind of crazy.

Jeopardy? Really?

@Soap: You're not. I have a feeling this console won't do very well and it probably won't.

Fuck yeah, codblops 2!

Backwards compatibility with Wii titles is what I care about I guess :(

I guess my Wii U stance is set, for the time being, as I care not for a single one of those games outside of Nintendo Land and Rayman Legends. Maaaaaybe Zombie U, but that's a stretch. However, if the 3DS is any indication, I could be persuaded otherwise. I bought the 3DS for Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward and ended up picking up a couple of Nintendo exclusives in the process, so anything is possible. It's not like I'm one of those crazy people that wants Nintendo to fail.

FUNKY STUDENT!! Barn :(

Lego City Undercover surely. 
 
I've given up on Mario and Zelda, so I hope Nintendo flourishes with these new franchises/licensed games. 
 
Also, can't wait for Aliens Colonial Marines.

Jeopardy? Really?

I'm not going to go on a never ending quest to find one this holiday season but if I happen upon one I'll purchase it for my son for Christmas. The launch lineup is impressive compared to past consoles but an online centric game like BLOPS 2 doesn't interest me one bit. With the launch of Nintendo's online service and a potentially small online community, problems will abound.

I saw Wipeout and my head almost exploded.

I want to be excited, but I'm not.

Maybe when the other systems are announced I'll have a basis for comparison. Once the other consoles are announced I have a feeling the Wii U sales will suffer quite a lot without any big release titles to hold peoples attention.

That's actually a pretty strong launch lineup.

I love the term "launch window" though. I might buy a Wii U some time in the "after launch window"

@Rappelsiini said:

I saw Wipeout and my head almost exploded.

Yup, but I almost immediately realized it wasn't *that* Wipeout, and I'm looking forward to the Quick Look with Vincent and the Davis.

New Super Mario Bros. U and Scribblenauts Unlimited I'll definitely want. Still waiting to see more of Disney Epic Mickey 2, but it sounds like I may end up putting it on my wishlist.

Also: Fingers crossed for a Funky Barn QL. Since Brad is a fan of Barnstorming this should be right up his alley

Yup nothing of interest there except for Pikmin 3 and that's not enough to let me justify this thing collecting dust while I wait for the game to release.

@Turambar said:

Jeopardy? Really?

Alex Trebek goes wherever he wants motherfucker!

The only thing there for me would be ZombiU and maybe AC3 if I don't buy it on PC first. I'm interested to see the game pad functionality for AC3.

@DjCmeP said:

@Soap: You're not. I have a feeling this console won't do very well and it probably won't.

I wish I could share your optimism but I think it will probably sell like crazy and just make me feel even more annoyed and detached from current gamers than I already do.

@msavo said:

@Turambar said:

Jeopardy? Really?

Alex Trebek goes wherever he wants motherfucker!

Will that game even have Alex Trebek?

Some mook at Gamestop tried to get me to pre-order a Wii U yesterday. Um, no.

Although a zombie fitness game might get me in the mood.

I definitely want a Wii U just because, well, I guess I just want to play ALL THE GAMES on ALL THE CONSOLES. I just need to find the money...

That's a pretty good launch day list in my opinion.

Curious to see reviews for all of these games.

Edit: Cloudberry Kingdom is that game set in Lappland?

While there is nothing that is absolutely must own, I think that is a very strong launch lineup. Looking forward to the system's release.

So Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is no longer in the launch window? Also, big thanks for being the first site I've seen to order the products by release date instead of lazily copying them from the press release in developer order.

@blacklab said:

Some mook at Gamestop tried to get me to pre-order a Wii U yesterday. Um, no.

I had a similar thing happen here in Game in the UK. The guy tried to get me to pre order and I just said "No chance, but honestly, not as an employee of a huge store, but as a gamer... would you pre order one?" at which point he looks me straight in the eye and goes "pfft! Hell no!"

I look forward to the Wii U all-day launch stream!

So Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is no longer in the launch window? Also, big thanks for being the first site I've seen to order the products by release date instead of lazily copying them from the press release in developer order.

@Turambar said:

@msavo said:

@Turambar said:

Jeopardy? Really?

Alex Trebek goes wherever he wants motherfucker!

Will that game even have Alex Trebek?

I bet it won't but I bet he still gets paid which is all that matters.

No Rayman Legends on launch day, no buy.

@Phat2: That's some cold hard text you dropped

Woohoo, subpar ports!

Yup, not interested in anything on that list. I either already have or just don't want everything.

@Turambar said:

@msavo said:

@Turambar said:

Jeopardy? Really?

Alex Trebek goes wherever he wants motherfucker!

Will that game even have Alex Trebek?

They're paying for Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune licences, not the hosts. You think GameTek is made of money?

Is there a reason Mass Effect 3 is launch window and not launch?

On the Activision front, the non-launch day titles -- Rapala, Cabela's, and 007 Legends -- are all dated for December 4.

Wait, I thought up until recently The Wonderful 101 WAS a launch game? Why the hell would they suddenly delay it?

Wait, I thought up until recently The Wonderful 101 WAS a launch game? Why the hell would they suddenly delay it?

@Hailinel: And it's not even on the second list, bummer.

Well, I guess it's safe to say I'll be skipping the Wii U for the time being.

Skylanders on the Wii U. Awesome. The "portal of power" has more memory than the damn console.

I'm a little surprised just how bad the new Mario game looks to me.

I think it's partially because they didn't even try to update the look of Mario with the new power under the hood, very lazy.

Not that I expect them to ever make a realistic Mario, but I'd welcome something of that ilk.

Huh, I was pretty sure Rayman Legends was day one. There goes the 5% chance I was getting one at launch.

The assumption that everyone that owns a Wii also owns a 360/PS3 is pretty baffling

Will get a Wii U when Pikmin 3 , Wonderful 101 , Rayman , and Bayonetta 2 comes . Can't wait . Waiting sucks :P

That's a decent amount of games, if you don't already own any current gen systems or an average PC.

Nintendo themselves should have had a big new game out to launch with this thing, another 2D Mario game doesn't really cut it. The launch window has a couple of more interesting games, but I can easily wait a year or two. Especially since I'm sure the ones I'm interested in will get ports eventually.

The more negativity I hear from the GB crew and the more the enthusiast press and "core" crap all over the Wii U the more certain I am it's going to be a huge mass market hit.

History. It's repeating itself.