Wii U
The Wii is nearing its end. It was a bold, innovative little machine, dominating
the home console market with its unprecedented appeal to casual gamers. Microsoft
and Sony didn’t know what hit them and have poured a lot of effort into
mimicking the Little Console that Could with Kinect and PlayStation Move, respectively.
But Nintendo consoles tend to have a lifespan of little more than five years,
so it came as no surprise when, at last week’s Electronic Entertainment
Expo in Los Angeles, Nintendo officially unveiled their new console: the Wii
U. “It’s a system WE will all enjoy together, but also one that’s
tailor-made for YOU,” explained Nintendo of America president Reggie
Fils-Aime at the company’s E3 media briefing. After its experience with
the Wii, Nintendo has presumably decided that misspelled pronouns are good
luck.
The Wii U will feature HD graphics and will be fully backwards compatible
with Wii games (and controllers), but it’s the new controller that
really defines the system. Something of an iPad with buttons, the Wii U controller
includes a 6.2-inch touchscreen and a front-facing camera along with the
traditional face buttons, triggers, D-pad, etc. Although Nintendo didn’t
have any real games on hand to show the Wii U in action, they did feature
a number of demos that hinted at the controller’s potential. A Zelda
demo showed a battle scene completely uncluttered by any heads-up display,
which had been relegated to the controller’s screen. Another demo showed
someone flicking ninja throwing stars off the touchscreen, which then impacted
on targets on the TV screen. Although Nintendo stressed that the Wii U is
not a portable gaming device, games can be played exclusively on the controller’s
screen, freeing up the TV for others. No price point was announced for the
new console or its expensive-looking controller. As much as the Wii’s
success owes to its creative design, it may owe even more to the fact that
it was significantly cheaper than the competition, so it’ll be interesting
to see how much that extra letter adds to the price. CV
