Wii U Release Date: More Leaks Suggest Mid-November Launch

While Nintendo prepares for its Wii U Preview Event in just 2.5 weeks, more leaks continue to suggest the publisher is planning on launching the system November 18. This time the information comes from the GameStop Manager's Conference, where peripheral maker PDP reportedly revealed it plans on releasing Wii U accessories on the Sunday date.

This isn't the first time we've seen suggestions of a November 18 release date. Furthermore the weekend timing and proximity to Black Friday/Thanksgiving in the United States fits Nintendo's pattern of home console debuts for the past decade (Wii launched on November 19; GameCube on November 18).

To add a healthy bit of skepticism to the mix though, PDP's plans do not necessarily have to align with Nintendo's. Accessories frequently ship prior to console launches, and there's nothing to say that PDP might arrive after the system arrives at retailers. Until Nintendo outright reveals its plans, we won't know for sure. Fortunately we don't have long to wait.

Rich is an Executive Editor of IGN.com and the leader of IGN's Nintendo team. He also watches over all things WWE, Resident Evil, Assassin's Creed and much more. Follow him on Twitter, if you dare!

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Diablo III Adding 'Paragon System'

Class changes and buffs to Legendary items aren't the only changes coming in the 1.0.4 patch for Diablo III. Today Blizzard detailed a new Paragon System on the game's official blog, something it hopes will go along way towards alleviating the issues people have with Magic Find (and more specifically gear-swapping) and giving level 60 players something to earn.

The solution is a set of sweeping changes collectively referred to as the Paragon System. Once it's implemented all experience earned after level 60 will be put toward 100 Paragon levels. Per today's post, each level gives you:

• Core stats such as Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Vitality in amounts similar to what you’d gain from a normal level
•  3% Magic Find and 3% Gold Find

Visually, earning Paragon levels will result in "a distinctive increasingly-impressive border" around your character portrait "[denoting] your Paragon progression."

Game Director Jay Wilson, author of today's post, says "We know that a lot of you out there are level 60 -- maybe on multiple characters -- and this system provides a way to make progress every time you log in to the game."

On top of other bonuses, Blizzard will also be making the Nephalem Valor bonus give a 15% experience bonus per stack, help you earn Paragon levels. As for how much longer you can expect these levels to take, Wilson writes, "The first Paragon level should take about as long as it took most players to get from level 59 to 60, and the experience requirement will rise from there. The time to reach the upper Paragon levels approximates the long-term time investment required to get a level 99 character in Diablo II."

One of the other major goals for the Paragon System is to eventually "transition away" from having Magic Find on items. Eventually Wilson wants to "slowly and gently move Magic Find off of items in the future," but without doing, "so in a way that doesn't flip the entire game end-over end." Magic Find and Gold Find will now be capped to 300% before Nephalem Valor in 1.0.4, which means, "you'll hit the cap when you reach Paragon level 100." Thus as you level in Paragon levels you can start to remove Magic Find items, eventually weeding them out completely.

To see Wilson's words for yourselves, check out his post on the official Diablo III blog.

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Pikachu-Themed 3DS XL Announced for Japan

Nintendo has announced a yellow, Pikachu-themed 3DS XL for Japan. The system (known as 3DS LL in Japan) will be released exclusively through Japan’s Pokemon Center stores and features a yellow front with a white hinge.

The Pikachu system will be released on September 15th and is only available to customers who pre-order. For now, it’s only been announced for Japan, but we’ll keep you posted on any announcements for other territories.

This is the first themed 3DS XL Nintendo has built since the new system was announced in June. Previously, Nintendo released multiple themed 3DS systems including a black  The Legend of Zelda 3DS with gold accents, a white Monster Hunter 3G system and a blue Fire Emblem system.

3DS XL will launch in North America on August 19th in red and blue.

Source: Andriasang

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

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3DS XL Starts Strong in Japan

Japanese sales data from Enterbrain (via Famitsu) has revealed that nearly 200,000 3DS XLs were sold during the system’s first week on sale. According to Famitsu, 193,441 systems have been sold since the system launched in Japan on July 28th.

Separately, New Super Mario Bros. 2 (which launched alongside the system) saw equally impressive sales, with 430,185 sold in the same period. That figure is only for copies of the game sold at retail and does not include customers who downloaded New Super Mario Bros. 2 via the eShop.

The full Japanese hardware and software sales chart won’t be revealed until tomorrow, but things are certainly looking promising for Nintendo’s supersized handheld. The original New Super Mario Bros. on DS went on to sell more than 10 million units, while lifetime sales of the original 3DS have crossed 19 million units worldwide.

3DS XL was also released in Europe, but sales haven’t been revealed for that territory. The system will launch in North America on August 19th alongside New Super Mario Bros. 2 (which hits Europe on August 17th). For a look at the changes in Mario’s latest outing, check out our tour of New Super Mario Bros. 2.

Source: Andriasang

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

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