While other retailers are loudly proclaiming that they are offering pre-orders for Nintendo's Wii U, one online retailer seems to be thumbing its nose at Nintendo's latest console and the consumers who might want to lock a purchase down early. Amazon is telling customers that pre-orders for the Wii U are "not available at Amazon.com at this time," and are providing no explanation why.

"The force is strong with this one," we imagine Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime saying about Wii U pre-orders today. Of course, in reality Reggie is on Terra Firma and not on some death star targeting Ewoks. Instead he says that Wii U pre-orders after yesterday's announcement are "very strong."

While you might think this is a no brainer, it's important to say out loud that if you trade in that Wii console prior to the launch of the Wii U on November 18, you will lose all of your Virtual Console games and Miis. The reason this needs to be said is because retailer GameStop is offering $50 off the price of the new console (via pre-order) to anyone who trades in their Wii system.

While the Wii U is backwards compatible, you will still need to have both systems in order to transfer all of your data and play those games you have already paid cold, hard cash for.

In all the hullabaloo surrounding various Wii U announcements this morning including release dates, pricing, and the launch line-up, Nintendo took the time to emphasize that it has no plans on abandoning the Wii. They still love the little system.

Nintendo and various third-party publishers have revealed the games that will be available in the Wii U's "launch window," or the period in between the system's launch on November 18 and March 2013.

Joystiq has compiled a complete list of those titles, which we have posted below. No big surprises except that Bayonetta 2 will make its exclusive debut on the system and seems to be no longer published by Sega. Details below:

 

Here's our obligatory post about Wii U. This morning Nintendo announced that its next console will be released on November 18, 2012 and will come in two different flavors at two dramatically different price points. The white basic Wii U will cost $299.99 and will come with a Wii U Gamepad, an AC adapter, and an HDMI cable. The black deluxe version will retail for $349.99 and will include a Wii U Gamepad, an AC adapter, an HDMI cable, more internal memory, a GamePad charging cradle, stands for the gamepad and console, and a copy of the game NintendoLand.

You don't have to be a member of the press to learn about the Wii U because Nintendo will be live streaming its press event tomorrow at 10:00 AM ET via its official Facebook Page. Mobile devices can watch the live stream press conference here..

Nintendo issued a press release this morning announcing that it has prevailed in a lawsuit filed by Copper Innovations Group, LLC. The lawsuit alleged that the Wii console and its controllers infringed on one of the company's patents (U.S. Patent No. 5,640,152). Judge David Cercone of the U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh granted a summary judgment to Nintendo and further ruled that there was no need for a jury trial. Basically Nintendo proved that Copper Innovations Group's lawsuit couldn't pass the smell test.

Researchers at Deakin University (Melbourne, Australia) have come to the conclusion that pre-school aged children who play interactive video games (such as those found on the Wii) have better motor skills than those children who do not regularly play interactive games. Deakin University researchers and a researcher form the University of Wollongong conducted a pilot study in 2009 of 53 pre-schoolers ages three to six years old (31 girls, 22 boys) to determine if there was some sort of association between playing games and the fundamental movement skills of children.

Nintendo will be at Comic-Con 2012 showing off the freshly announced Nintendo 3DS XL, the company announced today. It will not be showing off the Wii U for some reason...

Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata says that Nintendo learned a valuable lesson with the launch of the 3DS and that his company will not make the same mistakes that with the launch of the Wii U. He also acknowledged that most consumers though the initial retail price point for the 3DS was considered "too high" by most consumers. Iwata also said that Nintendo plans to "have an appealing product at launch." He added that the Wii U's tablet-style controller and the system's social network features make it "like no other system before it."

A new study disputes the claims that using exercise video games at home can change the sedentary lifestyles of children in any significant way. A study conducted by researchers at the Children’s Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas found that children overcompensated in "other areas" after playing active video games - basically making any calories burned a zero net gain.

Andrew Eisen mentioned this during Episode 7 of the Super Podcast Action Committee, so we thought we'd share the video here. The video shows him and his sidekick literally kicking the Great Jaggi, a major boss in Monster Hunter Tri, to death.

Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime thinks that consumers will be pleasantly surprised about the pricing for the Wii U - when Nintendo finally decides to make an official announcement about it, of course.

"Nintendo believes in being a mass market product, so unlike our competitors when they've launched historical systems to maybe start at a really high price and work their way down, we don't believe in that. We want to launch at a price that's going to represent an ongoing great value," he said.

Those consumers who own a Wii are probably more than a little concerned that all their save games, Virtual Console purchases and WiiWare games will be lost in the shuffle if they buy a Wii U will be happy to hear that Nintendo is thinking about how to migrate all that content over to its new system. While they don't have any specific answers at this point, at least they seem to be cognizant of the fact that fans are not willing to abandon their Wii gaming history so readily.

According to a Dealnews survey (accompanied by a handy dandy infographic) that polled 1,551 Dealnews readers the Xbox 360 is the gaming console of choice according to 38 percent of respondents. PC gaming comes in at second with 27 percent of those surveyed, followed by 20 percent who said they use the PS3, and 6 percent said they play exclusively on their smartphones.

This week on the podcast we talk with Ben Sawyer, Project Director for Games for Health. Ben gives us a preview of what the event will offer next month and even talks a little bit about the impact of gamification on our privacy.

Andrew Eisen and E. Zachary Knight delve into the fine print of Microsoft's recently announced $99 Xbox 360 and detail why it's not really a good deal for anyone. They also discuss the sorry state of the big three console makers.

Children with cerebral palsy (CP) can greatly benefit from playing "active play" video games - as opposed to the kind that don't require any kind of physical activity. According to researchers from Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and the University of Toronto.

How much are consumers willing to pay for Nintendo's latest console, the Wii U? According to one report, Nintendo thinks they will be more than happy to plunk down $300. According to Forget The Box, "sources closely involved" in manufacturing Nintendo products claim that it costs $180 to make the Wii U  and an additional $50 for the tablet controller. Because of that, the sources say, Nintendo will set the retail price of the Wii U at no less than $300.

Nintendo has won a patent infringement lawsuit filed by IA Labs that claimed the Wii Fit Balance Board infringed on one of its patents. IA Labs had sued Nintendo claiming that its Balance Board used with Wii Fit and other Wii software infringed on its rowing machine device (which attaches to a PC). The lawsuit was found to have no merit and was dismissed by a US District Court judge.

Team Meat's Tommy Refenes is frustrated with the size limit developers have to adhere to when making WiiWare games, but is happy with the increased size limit game developers are under for the 3DS eShop. The limit for developing games for the 3DS Marketplace stands at 2GB. It's an interesting contrast and explains why the WiiWare market has been a wasteland for most third-party developers.

According to an Andriasang.com report, Nintendo of Japan will shut down its "Wii no Ma" video service on April 30. The service, which was launched in May 2009 offered a variety of paid content to consumers such as movies, anime and more from companies such as Walt Disney and Warner Entertainment.

Admittedly, I sometimes don't understand Andrew Eisen. Case and point, his latest video. Today is Presidents Day and he decides to release a video about the Monkey Watch game in Rhythm Heaven Fever. Let's just forget all the good works of our first and 16th presidents, and instead concern ourselves with the proper beat to keep in a mini-game about monkeys! 

Nintendo announced in a press release this morning that it managed to sell more than 12 million hardware units in the United States during 2011. That figure is comprised of DS, Wii and 3DS hardware. The Wii sold 4.5 million units in 2011, the DS sold 3.4 million, and the 3DS sold 4 million, according to Nintendo.

The 3DS managed to sell more units than the Wii did in its first nine months of availability, according to the company. Of course the 3DS enjoyed something that the Wii didn't need in its first year of release - a major price cut.

Kiosk-based rental firm RedBox has announced the top ten most rented games in 2011, revealing that the Xbox 360 was the platform of choice based on the games rented. The most popular game was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on Xbox 360, followed by Just Dance 3 for Wii, Dead Island for Xbox 360, Cars 2 for Wii, and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 on PlayStation 3. Clearly the big winner in the list was Modern Warfare 3. Game rentals have been available at the company's kiosks nationwide since June.

According to a report on UGO's Wii channel, Nintendo may use EA's Origin service with its upcoming Wii U console. According to an anonymous tip from within EA, the company is supposedly working with Nintendo on a deal related to the Origin digital distribution platform. The source claims that EA and Nintendo are in talks to use Origin as Nintendo’s primary hosting platform for game distribution online.

The source also claims that Valve has been talking with Nintendo, but the impression they give is that EA is being extra aggressive in sealing the deal.

New research published online in the Journal of Critical Care from Johns Hopkins researchers claims that video games are a good supplement to traditional physical therapy for patients in intensive care units (ICU).

Nintendo Power has compiled a list of the top selling Wii games to-date in the United States. All of the games in the list have sold at least a million copies and not all of them were made by Nintendo - though all of the usual Nintendo are mostly at the top of the heap.

A new report by social gaming network Raptr details how Zynga and its gamers are still a forced to be reckoned with. Tapping into the playing habits of its 10 million members, Raptr has found that Zynga's "Ville" games are as popular - or more popular - than hardcore console and PC games.

In Andrew Eisen's latest video he actually may go bonkers as he contemplates another Legend of Zelda game offering "more than one hundred hours of gameplay." He illustrates the point with Wind Waker. On a personal note, a hundred hours is a drop in the bucket when you are playing Disgaea 4..