Nintendo Plans Mario Kart Wii Hardware Bundle For Europe

Nintendo today announced a new Mario Kart Wii-focused hardware bundle would be available in Europe on November 26, as part of a celebration of the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros.' release. The new Mario Kart Wii Pack will include a black Wii system and the Wii MotionPlus-equipped Wii Remote Plus, as well as copies of Mario Kart Wii, Wii Sports and a pre-installed digital version of the original Donkey Kong. The announcement follows on the recent international release of an Wii bundle including a red system packaged with New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Official pricing information on the new bundle was not immediately available, though Amazon France currently lists the bundle for €199.95. The black Wii was first made available in Europe just over a year ago bundled with Wii Sports Resort. The status of that bundle in the European marketplace was not immediately clear. Data compiled by Nintendo shows Wii sales across Europe dropping slightly in the last two years, though the system still routinely outsells both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 in the region. Nintendo's data also shows the Wii's software sales dropping slightly as a proportion of the overall European market in 2010, with the Xbox 360 and PS3 largely picking up market share previously held by the shrinking PS2.