Wii U Hardware Preview: Everything You Need To Know About The Wii U

Posted on Monday, June 11 @ 12:49:03 Eastern by Anthony Severino

Wii U Gamepad

Nintendo made the right decision redesigning the Wii U Gamepad since E3 2011. The addition of analog sticks makes it feel more like a controller than a tablet, while keeping the touchscreen features intact. Unfortunately, it isn’t multi-touch—something that is commonplace with tablets and smartphone screens. Lacking this could be a hindrance or at least a missed opportunity for Nintendo, but I do understand the need for Nintendo to keep costs in check.

The analog sticks themselves are tight and give just the right amount of rotation. They also have that L3, R3 click. The added triggers in the rear are especially helpful for shooting and other things. All of the buttons are located ergonomically for comfort. You never have to reach far, unless you want to power off the Gamepad or hit the home button.

In addition to all of the buttons, like the Wii-mote, there are some tilt and point features with the built-in accelerometer and gyroscope. And it must be using some form of MotionPlus, because it was much more accurate than the Wii-motes I use at home. Also like the Wii-mote, the Wii sensor bar is required.

The Wii U Gamepad is capable of replacing a TV remote, but that wasn’t on display at E3. The idea is a good one, and if Nintendo adds more features like this, I can see the Wii U finding a home in the living room more often. Plus, having the ability to play Wii U games on the screen while the TV is off is incredibly appealing. And it looks great, too. There’s also near field communication tech in the Gamepad, allowing for experiences similar to the smash-success Skylanders, but alas, Nintendo had nothing to show at this time.

Two Wii U Gamepads are supported per console, and one will come bundled with the console when it releases later this holiday season.

Page 3: Wii U Pro Controller Hands-On Preview>>

Tags: Wii U, Nintendo, E3

Comments

ShadeTail
Joined: Nov 2006

Posted: Jun 11th, 2012 at 2:00 pm
I'm not really interested in the actual innards of the console (like CPU clock speed or how much RAM it has), but it would have been nice if they'd shown it off during E3 at least a little bit. At their WiiU conference, they showed a brief featurette of the Gamepad, spinning it around to show the various parts while describing its functions. They should have done something like that with the console also.

And I pretty much agree with the author about the Pro controller. Aren't there enough WiiU accessories already? Did we really need another one?

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wildmario
Joined: Jan 2007

Posted: Jun 11th, 2012 at 3:33 pm
It could be worse. They could do another wheel or wait a year to make a GamePad Plus.

Nintendo also focuses more on the games themselves rather than showing just how powerful they are in graphics.

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ShadeTail
Joined: Nov 2006

Posted: Jun 11th, 2012 at 10:20 pm
Oh sure, I understand the focus on games and all that, and I think that's wise on their part. But at the start of their E3 presentation, they had a five-ish minute featurette on the Gamepad. I think they could have spared one or two minutes for something similar with the console.

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TheJx4
Joined: Jun 2011

Posted: Jun 11th, 2012 at 3:39 pm
Yes, because when I play shooters, I don't want to use a tablet. I don't wanna use a tablet for any console games, actually.

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ShadeTail
Joined: Nov 2006

Posted: Jun 11th, 2012 at 10:14 pm
Well, why not? The Gamepad is just a standard dual-analog controller with a few extra features. And everyone who has held one, not just the author of this article, claims that they're light-weight and have a comfortable button setup. Why spend extra money on another controller that you don't actually need? Unless you anticipate needing multiple dual-analog controllers for local multiplayer, which I acknowledge is entirely possible, it doesn't make much sense.

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TheJx4
Joined: Jun 2011

Posted: Jun 11th, 2012 at 3:34 pm
Still uses Friend Codes. Online system sounds terrible...I mean, 4 stages of moderation for messages? Fuck out of here. The next-gen will be here in a year, most likely, so unless the games are $49.99...the Wii U and I have no future.

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wildmario
Joined: Jan 2007

Posted: Jun 11th, 2012 at 3:50 pm
You sure are quite the downer before the race even started.

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ShadeTail
Joined: Nov 2006

Posted: Jun 11th, 2012 at 10:17 pm
Nintendo has announced that the WiiU uses an account-based system; you can have something like ten or twelve accounts on a single console. So it's not the same as the friend codes on the Wii and 3DS. Also, the moderation of the Miiverse is not as invasive as you think. They only start paying attention when someone gets flagged for repeated abusive behavior. And you're basically allowed to moderate your own console, so you don't need to rely on them anyway.

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NickKmet
Joined: Jan 2007

Posted: Jun 11th, 2012 at 3:36 pm
I was under the impression that only one gamepad would be supported per console. If they upped that to two, that could make things more interesting.

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Anthony_Severino
Joined: Oct 2010

Posted: Jun 11th, 2012 at 3:39 pm
Yessir, two per console now. Just announced.

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Bras
Joined: Jul 2008

Posted: Jun 11th, 2012 at 3:44 pm
With good first and third-party titles, I can see it selling well. It's a nice surprise that it supports 1080p and not only 720p as some people said.

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usaglory
Joined: Mar 2009

Posted: Jun 11th, 2012 at 6:00 pm
The fact that they didn't showcase the console and that no launch date or price was revealed leads me to believe that they still have no f*cking clue on how to go about launching the U. I'm guessing they were waiting to see how people reacted to the tablet and the games at E3 to set a price and launch date. Judging on said responses they'd better set a low price or delay the launch and produce a better console.

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pennpsu
Joined: Sep 2010

Posted: Jun 11th, 2012 at 7:16 pm
If Wii U turns out to be a small step up from Wii, Nintendo will be in serious trouble. People will still view it as the console for kids and casual fans. Only fanboys will flock to the Wii U to play the major third party titles, if they are even released on Wii U. Nintendo absolutely has to pull in more core gamers with some killer third party titles. All of those grandparents, aunts and uncles who bought Wii's only to play them until the novelty wore off or when the kids came over will not be back this generation. Guaranteed. That was a one time market demographics for consoles. If your Wii is collecting dust why buy a Wii U? Microsoft has the best model moving forward. Transforming the XBOX into the media and entertainment hub of the household is the holy grail here (maybe not for game development exactly). Far less piracy issues or used game revenue to worry about when gamers and non-gamers alike use your system for digital movies and music, and soon,digital only game distribution

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