When Nintendo first introduced the Nintendo Wii at the 2005 E3 conference it was a complete break with videogame tradition. Eschewing the controllers we had grown up with in favour of motion control and a pitch at the mainstream crowd, the system caught the industry by surprise and went on to sell over 85 million units around the world. Six years later and Nintendo are hoping lightning strikes twice – they’ve just unveiled the Wii U.
While the system itself is still under wraps, the company showed off its new tablet controller at this week’s E3 conference. Approximately 6.8 x 10.5 inches in size with traditional game controls built around the screen, it’s a seriously impressive bit of tech. As the promo video demonstrates, the new controller allows you to view and play games directly on the touchscreen, supports stylus input, has a gyroscope (so you can control stuff my swinging it around), can interact with the current wii-remote, supports its own stand-alone games and even allows you to make video calls.
Details about the actual console itself are sketchy at this point in time. All Nintendo will say is that its HD and that the graphics and processing power are at least up there with the 360 and PS3. Also, the new system will be fully backward compatible with current Wii games. The price, meanwhile, is yet to be announced, but Nintendo expect to have the system on stores shelves late 2012.
Anyway, we don’t want to come across all fanboy like, but watch the video below and try not to be impressed.