Nintendo Wii U on sale Nov. 18; what you need to know

It's not clear how many Wii U consoles will be sold in the coming days, but most major retailers have already sold out of their pre-order stock. So anyone who wants a Wii U will have to take their chances and line up for the device on the 18th. The other alternative is to submit to skyrocketing prices by resellers on Amazon and eBay where prices currently range from $450 to $550 for the Wii U deluxe.

But hold on Super Mario fans. Before you get caught up in the Wii U excitement and slap down your hard-earned cash for a new console, there's a lot more that you need to know about Nintendo's Wii U. And it's not all good news. Let's look.

What's included

The basic $300 Wii U includes a console with 8GB of storage, a GamePad touch screen controller, a sensor bar, HDMI cables, and separate AC adapters for the GamePad and the console.

The $350 deluxe model features everything you get in the basic package, except you get 32GB onboard storage, plus a console stand, a GamePad stand, a GamePad charging cradle, and the Nintendo Land game.