Wii U launch date potentially leaked

A launch date of November 18 has surfaced for Nintendo’s new gaming console.

It is the buzz that Nintendo fans are talking about today. It seems that during a nationwide conference of Gamestop managers in Texas, accessory manufacturer PDP briefly mentioned that the Wii U would be available on November 18.

It was in the context of assuring all the retail managers in attendance that PDP will have third-party peripherals to upsell day-and-date with the release of the Wii U.

At this point, pretty much everyone believes that the console’s launch date has been locked down, but Nintendo hasn’t officially announced anything. That is likely to happen on September 13, when the company will be holding a media event in New York City.

Originally, PDP’s community manager fielded questions from Kotaku about the ordeal, saying, “We are launching accessories, but the date for the accessories doesn’t mean a confirmation on the hardware.”

After this story made huge waves, though, the company’s vice president, William Otte, stepped in and claimed that the November 18 date was in reference to the game Epic Mickey 2, but Kotaku said its source within the Gamestop conference denies that.

The third week of November has become a very favorable launch target for Nintendo. That’s when the Gamecube and Wii were released, so all this certainly sounds plausible.

We’ll know for sure, though, in mid-September.