For roughly two years now, Nintendo has been essentially carrying its Nintendo Wii U console single-handedly. Although some smaller games are released for the console from other developers, nearly all of the major games available for Wii U come directly from Nintendo or one of its subsidiaries. As a result, there is usually a considerable amount of time between the release of major titles for the Wii U console. Xenoblade Chronicles X, which was developed by Monolith Soft (a Nintendo subsidiary) and Nintendo SPD, is now available for pre-order and may be the most heavily anticipated game release this year for the Wii U console.
In many ways, Xenoblade Chronicles X can be seen as Nintendo's response to Fallout 4. The game doesn't take place in a post apocalyptic nuclear wasteland (Fallout 4 break), but it is a massive open world set in the future. It is the successor to the original Xenoblade Chronicles game, which was released for the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo 3DS.
The game will be available for purchase in three different packages. Users who want the game as early as possible, can snag it from the Nintendo eShop. The game is rather large, however, especially for a Wii U game; users will need to have 21 GB of free space in order to download it. This version is priced at $59.99.
There will also be a retail version, which is the basic game case and optical disc, which will be priced the same as the digital copy. A special edition will be sold for $89.99 that includes a game case with a custom reversible game cover, a Xenoblade style light-up USB flash drive that is pre-loaded with music from the game, a 100+ page book of concept art, and a 5x7 card with an image of a painting created by the game's illustrator, Takashi Kojo.
Knowing that the game will load slower when using the optical disc, Nintendo plans to release four optional data packs that you can download when you purchase a hard copy of the game. These packs don't allow you to play the game without the disc but are intended to make the game load faster. You can choose to use all of them or none of them depending on your preference, but together the data packs will take up 10 GB of space.
| Xenoblade Chronicles X Data Packs | |
|---|---|
| Basic Pack | 2 GB |
| Enemy Pack | 2.7 GB |
| Player Pack | 3.6 GB |
| Skell Pack | 1.7 GB |
The game is available for pre-order now through various online retailers and will be released on December 4.
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Michael Justin Allen Sexton (or MJ) is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware. As a tech enthusiast, MJ enjoys studying and writing about all areas of tech, but specializes in the study of chipsets and microprocessors. In his personal life, MJ spends most of his time gaming, practicing martial arts, studying history, and tinkering with electronics.
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