Update – It turns out that this is actually from an old Mario Kart 8 commercial according to the folks at Nintendo Life. It seems that bad effects/editing has made it seem like there is a new GamePad controller – sorry to disappoint!
The Nintendo Wii U has been out for several years now, so could it be about time that Nintendo refreshes its hardware? Well Nintendo recently did that with the new Nintendo 3DS handheld console, so it might not necessarily be a stretch of the imagination. That being said, Nintendo has recently released a new Mario Kart 8 commercial and in the video, it could have potentially revealed an updated GamePad.
The ad itself is pretty standard as it just shows a family enjoying a game of Mario Kart 8. However what makes the ad interesting is that at one point (around the 0:08 mark) it shows off what looks like an updated version of the GamePad. Now Nintendo has made a point to blur out the hardware, choosing instead to focus on the screen.
Now it could be that they just wanted gamers to pay attention to the game, but at the same time, some have speculated that Nintendo could have blurred it on purpose so as to keep the hardware a secret, at least until they make it official. Based on what we can see, the device in the video is drastically different from the original GamePad.
The current GamePad is fatter and has thicker bezels, but in the video it shows the device to have slightly thinner bezels and a less chunky design. Of course the hardware could just be a placeholder and could mean nothing at all, but what do you guys think? Could we be looking at a potential hardware refresh?