Well it’s about time. Ever since the current generation of consoles has been sat in our living rooms, annual gaming expo E3 has been bereft of any serious hardware announcements. Or at least one that hasn’t been either a handheld or peripheral. E3 2010 was dominated by Microsoft and Sony as they locked into a bizarre battle over who could best imitate the hugely successful Nintendo Wii, which this year has left Nintendo with only one choice: innovate yet again and jump ahead of the pack. The result is Nintendo’s Wii U.
Like the Wii before it, the Nintendo Wii U is as much about the controller as it is the console. What we actually know about the console is fairly limited, but we do know that it boasts 1080p HD gaming, internal flash memory that’s upgradable via SD or USB, will have downloadable content and is backwards compatible with both Wii games and controllers. The graphics are impressive, but Nintendo hasn’t announced the official specs.
The controller is the story here, though; it’s a revolutionary bit of kit. The crux of the innovation is an inbuilt 6.2-inch touchscreen, which can be used either to display HUD info, for mini-games using the motion control (spinning it round you to aim in shooting games, for example), or simply to mirror what’s happening onscreen in real time.
Around that is a compliment of full, modern controls: a pair of thumbsticks, four action buttons and four rear triggers (two L and two R).
Wii U pics:
-See pictures of Nintendo’s new console
Frustratingly, Nintendo wasn’t at liberty to answer many of the burning questions that immediately spring to mind. What processing power does the Wii U have? Can’t say. How long will the battery last on the controller? No answer. Why doesn’t the touchscreen use the same 3D tech as the 3DS? Sorry. How much will extra controllers cost? Nope. What games will be on the Wii U? Try again. Can you use the controller to play while someone else watches TV? Silence. That’s because this unveiling is what Nintendo call a ‘coming out party’, rather than a launch.
The games we played were mere tech demos, but they were still impressive as a showcase of the console and controller’s potential. If you want to know what they were, check out our report on the tech demos, linked above.
The actual release won’t be until the next fiscal year, which means between April and December 31st 2012. Want to know what it’s like to play? We’ve got a hands-on first impression review, linked above.
Video :Nintendo Wii U video: Hands on opinion
Nintendo Wii U release date
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