December Release Date Listed for Wii U

Amazon has again set speculative tech journalists frothing at the mouth, by listing the Wii U on its German site as set for release on 21st December.

The retail giant previously trumped up headlines by listing the black version of Nintendo's next-generation console on its English site for £199, though that page has since been removed. The price for the white version on Amazon.de is at 399 euros, significantly more than it has been hinted at costing before.

For now that page remains live, suggesting that perhaps this is a legitimate price. Nintendo has yet to officially comment.

As it stands, the Wii U is expected to pack an IBM power-based, 45nm, multi-core CPU and a graphics chip from AMD built specifically for the console. Nintendo has said there will be 8GB of internal flash memory for storage, with the potential for expansion through SD memory cards and USB drives.

One of the biggest announcements for the next-gen system at E3 was that Nintendo would be releasing it with a "Pro Controller," as well as the touch screen Game Pad. Similar in layout to the Xbox 360 controller, it's thought this represents Nintendo's attempt to recapture some of the hardcore gaming market lost during the Wii generation.