Recent rumors suggest that Europe could get the Wii U, Nintendo's next generation gaming console, in December rather than November as previously expected. Australia could also see a Wii U release during the final month of 2012. Manufacturing issues were cited as the cause of the delay. 

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Kotaku Australia reported the country's release rumor. An anonymous tip from "a local Australian retailer" claims that December 6 is the Wii U release date. Also, Nintendo is guaranteeing that every pre-order at EB Games -- perhaps the aforementioned Australian retailer -- will be met. Nintendo saw shortages of the Wii during the console's release in 2006.

Kotaku added that December 6 is a Thursday, the traditional day for releasing gaming software and hardware in Australia. Wii was released on December 7, 2006 - a Thursday.

"According to a GameStop employee, the Wii U is set for release during Thanksgiving weekend in the US," revealed Kotaku. Thanksgiving weekend begins on November 22, and the "Black Friday" holiday sales begin the following day. Launching 2 weeks after the U.S. is "the kind of delay Australians are used to with Nintendo's hardware releases," Kotaku explained.

Gaming website ComputerAndVideoGames (CVG) recently suggested that Europe could see a launch delay to December 2012, following manufacturing issues for the Wii U GamePad. CVG simply described the issue as "complex".

The GamePad is a tablet-esque device for Wii U, with a single-touch display. It allows users to play games away from the television, though the extent is unconfirmed, and also serves as a controller. Near Field Communication integration also allows interaction with games, including throwing shurikens towards the TV screen.

The GamePad uses a similar feature set to the iPad, so it may seem strange to consumers that Nintendo is facing issues, considering that Apple produces millions of iPads across 3 models every month.

Nintendo announced Wii at E3 2005, with the Wii Remote unveiled in September of that year. If Nintendo does follow similar announcement schedules (it showed Wii U at E3 2012 in June) less than a month could remain until a Wii U announcement. Nintendo has not confirmed a price or a specific release date.

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