NEW YORK — Nintendo’s Wii U gaming console will start at $300 and go on sale Nov. 18, in time for the holidays. A $350 ‘‘deluxe’’ version will include more memory, a charging stand, and the game Nintendo Land.
Nintendo Co. has been trying to drum up excitement for the Wii U, the first major gaming console since 2006. The device has a touch-screen controller called the Wii U GamePad.
It also plays games made for the original Wii.
Nintendo said the latest game in its wildly popular Mario franchise, New Super Mario Bros. U, will be available when the console is launched.
Advertisement
The company also unveiled new features for the console. Called Nintendo TVii, the service collects all the ways users have to watch movies, TV shows, and sports. This includes pay-television accounts along with services such as Hulu and Netflix. The GamePad works as a fancy remote controller and will let viewers browse shows.
TVii ‘‘brings all of your services to one place,’’ said Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America. So if you like the TV show ‘‘Modern Family,’’ for example, it will pull in the show’s episodes from every source.
The service also captures scenes from live TV and displays them on the controller. Viewers can then comment on Twitter and Facebook.
With this feature, Nintendo is playing into what many people already do as they watch TV: comment on and share things with friends by using a second screen, such as on a smartphone.