Nintendo energizes games with WiiU at E3
It’s pretty easy to tell good technology from bad. The bad stuff usually leads to trying to imagine how the particular tech might make existing tasks better or easier. The good stuff, however, immediately sparks the imagination.
In that sense, Nintendo’s new video game console - the WiiU, unveiled Tuesday at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles - is a clear example of good technology. While just about every new product announcement at E3’s numerous press conferences elicited applause, a demonstration of the WiiU’s capabilities seemed to draw genuine cheers of wonder from the crowd assembled.
It features a 6.2-inch touch screen with thumbpads and buttons along the side and bottom, much like would be found on a traditional gaming controller. The device is about as thick as a book and has a sort of hump on its back so it can held comfortably in two hands. It’s also laden with sensors, including two cameras, an accelerometer and a gyroscope.
Nintendo’s demo video suggested possibilities at a fast-and-furious pace. If you’re playing a game on the television and somebody walks into the room and wants to watch a program, no problem - the game can be switched over and played on the controller’s screen instead.
Games can use two screens, so you can flick ninja stars from the controller’s screen onto targets on the larger TV display. Or the controller can be lain flat on the ground where a golf ball and tee are shown. Whacking the ball with the Wii controller sends it hurtling onto the TV.
It will also work with all Wii games and peripherals, so you could stand on the Wii board and weigh yourself by looking at the WiiU controller (although why you wouldn’t just use an old-fashioned scale is a good question). And oh yes, it will also do video phone calls.
Unlike the Wii, the WiiU will also boast high-definition graphics on both the TV and controller screen, which is a move seemingly aimed at luring hard-core gamers back to the Nintendo fold. While the Wii’s motion control opened up a larger non-core market, top-tier game developers tended to stay away from the console with their big titles because it wasn’t sophisticated enough to run the games they were making for the rival Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 systems.
Those third-party developers seem genuinely intrigued by Nintendo’s new hardware, with one calling it the Swiss Army Knife of controllers because it can do everything. Exactly what that will be remains to be seen.
WiiU does indeed come with some question marks. Nintendo stressed that while games can be played on the controller without involving a TV, it is not intended to be a portable system like its own 3DS. The company also didn’t say much about the actual console - the piece of hardware that will act as a bridge between the controller and the television.
Lastly, since the WiiU isn’t due until 2012, there was no talk of pricing. All of that tech would seem to suggest a steeper eventual price, which would be a U-turn from its strategy with the inexpensive Wii.
The questions will inevitably be answered but in the meantime, Nintendo has once again succeeded in energizing the video game market with possibilities.
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Posted by: Endark Culi the TV Troper | Jun 7, 2011 4:13:58 PM
I feel good about this. As an avid fan of Nintendo's products since my childhood, even though this device is promising a lot, I'm confident that we'll get it all...well, perhaps just most, if you want to be realistic. Nintendo 4ever!
Posted by: Matthew | Jun 7, 2011 5:23:47 PM
Oh my god. A new wii. Looks kewl but I can't afford to keep buying new ones to replace. Running out of room to add more Nintendo in my house. Long live Nintendo but my poor pocket book...
Posted by: Jason | Jun 7, 2011 10:29:50 PM
wow thats awesome
Posted by: Jason | Jun 7, 2011 10:36:28 PM
Im stilll optimistic and i still would like the ps3 better
Posted by: DrVex007 | Jun 8, 2011 8:12:06 AM
What Nintendo is doing here is very clever. They are avoiding the inevitable comparisons to exisiting consoles. For everyone who is proclaiming Nintendo as a champion, let's not forget the Wii console. The Wii was severely underpowered when compared to the PS3 and Xbox 360, so they cleverly made their amrketing all about the motion controllers and it worked for awhile. the problem is that people soon realized that the game were terrible. They were 10 years old in design and they were all the same because real game developrs saw the limitations of the machine. So what is the new WiiU? A correction of the mistake that Nintendo made by going cheap on the first system and yet, there is a reason that they focused solely on the controller and not the new console that comes with it. It is still underpowered. Sure it is 1080p apparently and sure it is catching up, but how excited would you be if you found out that all they did was add a new controller and yet still fall a little short on power to the existing consoles, nevermind the new XBOX and PS3/4? that are on their way. The Wii sales have fallen off the table for a reason. People got sick and tired of saying, "that looks good for a Wii game".
new controller has some great possibilities and I have owned all three systems and although the Wii was a HUGE disappointment, I'll give the Wii U some consideration when it comes out.
Posted by: chris b | Jun 8, 2011 8:34:05 AM
fail. they make it portable but stress that it shouldnt be used as one. the hell with wii u... im getting a 3ds. this still wont have good processor capabilities and it still wont run any good 3rd party games. nintendo has driven themselves into a corner. no more developements to rip people off with.
Posted by: Nick | Jun 8, 2011 9:45:13 AM
chris b: are you kidding me?? Nintendo makes the innovations that other companies rip off. People sat and laughed at the Wii and it's motion controls. What did Sony just come out with?? The Move?? Kinect took the idea Nintendo had and pushed it one step further. Remember that Nintendo saved the Video Game industry with the NES, they innovated with the Game Boy, they implemented the first controller to use an analog stick, that all systems have since copied. Nintendo keeps pushing the boundaries and all other companies are forced to follow suit. Sure the controller looks questionable, but until we are able to put our hands on it and see what it can do, how can you honestly make any judgements on how well this system will do? The Wii outsold the PS3 and Xbox 360 by a considerable margin even with it's SD graphics and non hardcore games. I think Nintendo knows what they are doing, and we all would be wise to just wait and see for ourselves.
Posted by: patrick young | Jun 8, 2011 10:01:32 AM
drvex007, you are so wrong. they have the WII more for kids, there are not many games on xbox or ps3 for kids, and it gets people nvolved in the games. They are not 10 years old. The knect is awesome and I thought nintendo would be doing something more like that with all round 3d cameras. f you want to sit on your butt with the ps3, or use the move which is crap, then go ahead.
Posted by: patrick young | Jun 8, 2011 10:01:33 AM
drvex007, you are so wrong. they have the WII more for kids, there are not many games on xbox or ps3 for kids, and it gets people nvolved in the games. They are not 10 years old. The knect is awesome and I thought nintendo would be doing something more like that with all round 3d cameras. f you want to sit on your butt with the ps3, or use the move which is crap, then go ahead.
Posted by: Mike | Jun 8, 2011 4:21:36 PM
With owning all 3 (got a Wii when blockbuster went under..)obviously the PS3 is best with blu ray and top performance grahics.....XBOX 360 tend"ed" to have more and better titles.....Wii main sale was for kids...and with that it dominted the other two (xbox/ps) in sales i think with over 20 million more consoles sold....First off the DS outsold the PSP like 100-1 (i have a psp love it...no DS)...So if you want numbers ....dont know what nintendo is spending thier profit on...but in sales numbers nintendo is ahead by like 40million consoles (wii/ds,etc..) over the other 2.....It isnt hard for you "newb gamers" to check online to see which console/company domintes the market, use google (did half work for you)..
Posted by: DrVex007 | Jun 9, 2011 3:08:22 AM
re: patrick young
I am aware that Wii WAS mostly for kids, but it didn;t take long for the kids to realize that playing Wii tennis is just not as good as playing Halo, COD, etc.
I mentioned that I own a Wii. In fact I have all three, and I can tell you that the Wii was used heavily for a few months and then the novelty of the Wii controllers wore off because the games were terrible and the actual response time was not accurate enough. The Wii is best used as a simply fitness machine, but even then as you said the Kinect is much better.
This new console is going to sell, but only until the PS4 or xbox720 (or whatever they call them)come out.
Plus, Nintendo has painted themselves into a corner. People have traditionally bought the Wii because it was the cheapest. If the OLD PS3 is still more powerful when the New Wii U comes out and yet is also cheaper, that could be a problem for Nintendo.
Posted by: Gordon | Jun 9, 2011 9:30:06 AM
Nintendo WiiU is not very favourable on the stock maket-wise. Nintendo has made the wrong decision and needs a better product than this WiiU.
Posted by: Osiah | Jun 9, 2011 1:25:51 PM
You can't state that sony ripped off any type of movement controller, I do believe it was sony who introduced the first motion capture webcam for consoles. Not a lot of designers produced product for it so it failed. Now sony releases thier "move" products on top of thier already existing motion capturing camera. Then again, when you really think about it, Nintendo did give us the power glove back in the day, truly the first motion capturing device for consoles. All that aside, the where Nintendo lacks in high powered graphics they make up in ingenuity. And I believe that is what Nintendo has always strived to be, an innovator in the gaming industry. Never following trends but making thier own.