Nintendo President and CEO Satoru Iwata let loose some cats out of the bag in a pre-E3 video address concerning their new home console that will be known as the Wii U. First announced at E3 in 2011, the Wii U will continue from where the Wii left off, where its predecessor has already shipped over 95 million units worldwide, so the time is ripe for an updated model, or should I say, a next generation console, to arrive in the market. This new home console will boast of a touchscreen display as the main controller, allowing it to interact with your TV so that it doubles up as a dual screen setup that is the same as Nintendo’s DS.
The controller will be known as the Wii U Gamepad, where it has gone through a redesign exercise ever since it was first announced to the public. The circle pads have been ditched, where the controller will now sport a couple of analogue sticks located on either side of the touchscreen display. Not only that, there is a near fields communication (NFC) scanner located at the bottom of the tablet, whose purpose is to read specially designed cards and figurines while incorporating them into gameplay for a more integrated gameplay experience.
Those who prefer to stick to a more traditional gaming experience can always fall back on the Wii U Pro controller, which is rather similar in design to the Xbox 360 controller, although the position of the stick does help set it apart somewhat. Iwata mentioned that the Wii U Pro controller was light and “more attractive for longer and more intense forms of gaming.”