14 DAY TRIAL // Nintendo presented at its E3 2011 press conference the brand new Wii U home console, alongside its innovative controller, which includes, besides buttons, a 6.2-inch touchscreen.
Nintendo new home console was heavily rumored before the start of E3, with speculation ranging from what name the device will have to how its brand new controller will work with the actual console.
Now, the Japanese company officially presented the Nintendo Wii U, an evolution of the current Wii and another step into new territory for gaming, thanks to its impressive controller.
“Wii U redefines the structure of home entertainment by fundamentally changing how the TV, the game console and the Internet function and interact together,” said Nintendo President Satoru Iwata. “The experience enabled by Wii U and the new controller takes players deeper into their games, while reaching out wider than ever before to be inviting to all kinds of gamers.”
First up, let's talk about the actual Wii U console, which, sadly, hasn't received many details from Nintendo itself, but quite a few things have surfaced, including the fact that it is completely backwards compatible with all of the Wii games.
Basically, the new device is on par in terms of power with the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360, being capable of rendering games at a full HD 1080p resolution, thanks to a multi-core CPU developed by IBM and a GPU made by AMD, will use proprietary game discs that are rumored to hold around 25GB of data, has an internal storage unit of undisclosed capacity while the possibility to plug in external storage units like SD cards is also available.
Check out a brief list of the specs, courtesy of Kotaku, below.
- High definition display, up to 1080p resolution via HDMI output - 6.2" touchscreen on New Controller, running in non-HD resolution - Internal flash-based media storage, upgradeable via USB and SD cards - Games ship on proprietary iDensity discs of unspecified, but "large capacity" - Games will also be available as downloadable content - Console compatible with Wii games and devices - Release date between April 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012; or after the end of Nintendo's fiscal year. Nintendo focused on the Wii U's brand new controller, which is quite a step forward in terms of control methods for video game consoles, just like the Wii Remote was with the original Wii.
As you know, the biggest feature is the big 6.2-inch touchscreen, which is similar to the one used in the DS or 3DS handheld consoles, and even comes with support for a stylus.
"In addition to the 6.2-inch screen, the new controller also features an accelerometer and a gyroscope, a rumble feature, an inward-facing camera, a microphone and speakers," Nintendo said.
"Adding these features to the Classic Controller™ button scheme – two analog Circle Pads, +Control Pad, A/B/X/Y buttons, L/R buttons and ZL/ZR buttons – will enable a breadth of game-play experiences while appealing to both casual and dedicated video game players."
You can check out the presentation of the Wii U alongside its brand new controller, as well as a variety of photos with the two devices in action below.
