Minecraft Wii U Edition launched on the Nintendo eShop in December to much rejoicing among Nintendo fans (and parents) everywhere, delighted that they could at last get one of the most popular games ever made on Nintendo’s system. Some said Minecraft was too late, that it should have come to Nintendo years earlier. Sales said otherwise. And now Nintendo and console Minecraft developer 4J Studios are taking the game to the next step—introducing a physical release.

Minecraft Wii U Edition Gets A Physical Release

The news about Minecraft Wii U Edition comes to us by the best source possible: Straight from the developers (hat tip: Nintendo Life). The physical release was also announced by the official Minecraft Twitter account, which is about as authoritative as it gets. As you can see above, the physical retail version is coming soon, but doesn’t have a definite release date or price point yet. Let’s hope it’s only $29.99, the same as the eShop version, although sometimes Nintendo goes higher for physical releases of eShop games.

Another big question is this: Will Minecraft Wii U Edition include the much-desired Nintendo skins? Nintendo, Mojang and 4J Studios promised some Nintendo-specific content when the game was first announced last fall, but it has yet to materialize. Chances are it will take the form of skins—can you imagine an official Mario and Zelda skin or texture pack in Minecraft? Sounds pretty amazing.

Nintendo hasn’t said anything about it yet, but it’s not entirely unrealistic to hope that the Nintendo-focused content could launch alongside the physical edition. As long as it’s also available standalone on the eShop for those of us who already got the game, it will be a time for rejoicing.

What do you think? Have you been playing Minecraft Wii U Edition? Does a physical release interest you at all? What about Nintendo-specific content like texture packs and skins?