Amidst a ton of rumors and speculation we may just have the most concrete Wii U release date info yet. According to a memo that has been circulating amongst Japanese retailers, Nintendo's highly anticipated new console will be releasing on November 18th, with a Japanese release to follow one week later.

Unfortunately for European gamers Wii U Daily, the publication that broke the story, does reveal that a release date was mentioned for European markets, but doesn't say when that might be. Typically European gamers have received their consoles either alongside North Americans, when the console releases first in Japan, or a couple weeks after them, when North America gets the console first.

Nintendo had revealed early this year that they were targeting a Holiday 2012 release for the Wii U, and most figured that to be around November, but it was hard to predict a solid release date until now. Nintendo has had a long string of releases that took place on or around the 18th of November — if you'll remember the original Wii launched on November 19th — which makes this particular date an extremely probable candidate. Our only question, since this rumor came by way of a retailer's memo, is whether or not this is the release date Nintendo is targeting or if it's already set in stone.

The 18th is also a Sunday, the unconventional day that Nintendo tends to release all of their products, from games like Kid Icarus to hugely popular consoles like the 3DS. At this point, Nintendo wouldn't even need to say anything in regards to this rumor for it to be considered fact.

Nintendo, however, has been gearing up for a big reveal during this year's E3 — one that without Microsoft or Sony's new consoles should be dominated by Nintendo — making a confirmation of this rumor before then highly unlikely. Still, based on Nintendo's track record of releases it might be best to mark your calendar and start saving up.

Do you think that the Wii U will launch on November 18th? Should Nintendo break their trend and release the console a bit earlier in the fall?

Source: Wii U Daily