Nintendo has unveiled its new console, Wii U, which president Satoru Iwata has hailed as "a new structure for home entertainment."
On stage at Nintendo's E3 press conference in Los Angeles, the new controller was revealed. It features a 6.2 inch touchscreen, and play can be stopped when someone else wants to take over the television, and resumed on the controller screen. It also has two analogue sticks, face and shoulder buttons, accelerometers, a gyroscope, front-facing camera and rumble.
"When we launched Nintendo DS and Wii, we stated a goal of expanding the gaming population," Iwata said. "We have seen changes in who plays, where we play, and most importantly how we play. The boundaries that once divided players by age, or personality, or even gender are starting to be erased. But mental boundaries still exist in how game systems are defined.
"As an industry, what we haven't yet achieved is a game platform that is equally satisfying for all players," he continued. "This is exactly what we intend to create with our new home platform. How might that happen? I will suggest two words: deeper and wider.
"The new platform will provide deeper game experiences than what even the most passionate gamer has realised before, and it will offer wider appeal to all gamers - wider even than Wii. As you will begin to understand this week, it will let everyone see games in a different way...This is a measure step towards reaching our goal."
Iwata confirmed that Wii U will be backwards compatible with Wii games, controllers and peripherals - as an example he spoke of Wii Fit players able to weight themselves using the controller screen, with no need for the TV - and that games can be played using a single screen, or both at once. The front-facing camera will enable video chat, and Iwata promised a new Super Smash Bros that would feature connectivity with 3DS.
No release date for the new system was given, with Iwata only saying it would be released in 2012. Our full report on Nintendo's conference will be live shortly.
Comments
13That looks really uncomfortable for any extended gaming sessions.
This will be shit.
**sells billions**
I like the look & the supposed functionality of the controller. It's the lack of details about the actual console that is worrying at this point.
Chill out bitches
I think this looks great and genuinely believe that Microsoft and Sony will inevitably end up playing catch up. The potential for this to completely revolutionize game design is huge. I have a feeling FPSs with no HUD will become de rigeur in the future and we will look at ourselves and ask, "How did we ever put up with it?" That in itself isn't a revolution but so many ideas will be spawned. I can't help but imagine a Metroid Prime where to scan your environment you hold the tablet up at screen height and move it around using it as your visor in order to find weak spots, points of interest, etc. I am genuinely excited by this and Battlefield 3 and Arkham City were also confirmed. The Big N have pulled a blinder. All we need to know is the price...
The Wii U is similar power wise to 360/PS3.
The only real difference then is the screen on the controller and the PS3 & 360 having hundreds more games available and decent online services.
If Wii U sales are impressive, what is stopping Sony and/or Microsoft simply releasing pads with a screen on?
Nintendo is about 5 years late with current gen tech. It is going to have to catch up -in terms of software library, especially enticing exclusives, to get a worthwhile installed base before the next gen launches. Otherwise they might do a Dreamcast.
Yeah this will be as awful as that dumb motion controlled system with the outdated graphics and the dumb name that they did a few years back.
The thumb sticks are in the wrong place.
Isn't that the only place they could be to use the shoulder buttons as well?
Maybe...
Does the screen just mirror what is on the TV and let you touch it with a stylus? Like a big DS?
The motion control was an obvious selling point with the Wii and as soon as folk seen it they got it, and wanted to try it.
To those people that where drawn in by Wii sports, this will just look confusing.
Check the trailer. There're some interesting applications of the 2nd screen.
http://www.edge-online.com/news/wii-u-trailer
Where's the autofire switch? Even my Quickshot 2 had one of those, keep up you bastards!