The Wii U is launching without TVii, the spearhead of Nintendo'srenewed entertainment focus, the company revealed in a press release today. Nintendo plans to launch the service via a patch in December, and only gave "coming weeks" as a projected date for the rest of the system's video on demand applications.
Nintendo listed Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, and Netflix as all pending after release. Netflix, however, confirmed to Engadget the app will be available when the console ships, but it will not be integrated with TVii until the first quarter of 2013.
Nintendo made no mention of delays for any of the console's other services, including Miiverse, Wii U Chat, and the Internet Browser. The Wii U is projected to outsell its predecessor's successful launch period, with GameStop reporting software preorders double those of the original Wii, according to Gamasutra.
Nintendo seems to be getting in the habit of launching consoles with some functionality unimplemented, as it did with the 3DS' delayed eShop support last year.
