Nintendo just finished their “Pre-E3 2012″ live-stream with a host of new details for the Wii U. Shots include, a new Wii U wireless pro-controller, multiple Wii U touchscreen controller features and a lot of screens to enjoy. There is even new social interfaces.
The idea behind the video was how Nintendo is “Creating Something Unique” with the Wii U. That phrase comes from the Japanese characters that took the scene during the presentation. The Nintendo Wii U will come with a lot of features and redesigns, since it was first shown at E3 2011. We will start with some of the biggest additions that were announced during the presentation.
First we will start with the controllers. Nintendo announced that all previous controllers made by Nintendo for the Wii, will work with the Wii U. The Wii U touchscreen controller is now officially called the Wii U “Game Pad”. The biggest announcement came with a new Wii U pro-wireless controller (shown on the right), that will allow hardcore gamers the proper control they will need, to play the AAA titles that they love.
Nintendo also showed off some of the redesigns on the Wii U Gamepad itself. The analog sticks can be pushed in, just like on other consoles and have been slightly moved for easier gameplay. The bridges were put on the back to make it sturdier to hold. You can see these changes being implemented to the right, there are even more pictures of the changes below. This includes how the Wii U analog stick was slightly moved above the left-side D-pad, as shown on the picture to the right.
Another great feature that was announced, is the Wii U’s ability to become a Universal Remote, simply by pressing the TV button on the front of the Wii U. You set this up with your existing remote and you can start changing the channel and fighting over how loud the television is with someone else, all with just a few quick clicks. It’s definitaly a great feature to have, it will also use the touchscreen interface, as shown on the right.
The Miiverse or Mii+Universe, is how you will interact with others in the Wii U world. When starting your Wii U, you will see your family, friends and other people in your region who are playing the most popular games. You can interact with these people in a number of ways. The Miiverse will be accessible through the Nintendo 3DS, PC and anywhere else you can get online, even talk with your friends through smartphones. Though no details were given if that would be an app or through the browser. There are many screens about the Miiverse below.
You will also be able to browse the web with the Wii U gamepad, then play the video or audio seperatley on the television. You can do this with, or without, showing the rest of the content of the screen. This allows you to play movies and clips on the television without clogging up the screen with articles, ads or filler-content. You can even put a “curtain” in front of the video until your ready to show it.
The main idea behind the presentation, besides showing you some great hardware, was how the Wii U will bring you closer together with other people that enjoy gaming. If that person is in the room with you, or in other state. There is a social component in the Wii U, using the touchscreen to send messages, emotes and pictures to other players. Developers can even add in the feature to their games and allow your friends to leave messages for you during certain scenes of the game. Something like, ‘I died here 300x this morning’, ‘I hate King Koopa’ things like that.
Of course not all the information was spilt during this event, though a lot of information was given out. You can see some smaller screens that we captured from the event to see some of the images that were handed out during the press event. The event can be seen in its entirety below.
Expect more this week during Nintendo’s E3 conference. So do you like what you see so far from Nintendo?
