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Wii U: Your thoughts

June 12th, 2011 Posted in Features, Posted by Valay, Wii U

It’s finally done. After months of speculation, Nintendo has unveiled their brand new home console. A good amount of the rumors were surprisingly spot on. The controller does indeed have a 6.2 inch screen, which is a touch sensitive, and it includes a camera as well.

Since a few days have passed since Nintendo’s E3 2011 conference, perhaps it’d be a good time to reflect on the Wii U’s showing. I’ll share my thoughts below and hopefully you guys will as well in the comments area!

The reveal

Wii U was introduced in an… interesting way. Satoru Iwata came out right at the beginning of the conference to discuss how Nintendo’s next console would be “deeper” and “wider”. However, that was only a tease! After a bit of background information, he left the stage to give the 3DS some airtime. A bit later, Reggie finally introduced the controller. To be honest, the reveal felt a bit out of sync and anticlimactic. That’s just my opinion!

The controller

Again, rumors about Wii U’s controller were quite accurate. So, in a way, the reveal of the “tablet” wasn’t all too surprising. It was nice to see the actual controller, though… there’s no denying that. The trailer shown was also a fantastic way to demonstrate the many ways that the controller could be used not just in a gaming setting, but also for more casual experiences such as web browsing and video watching.

The name

I don’t think ANYONE saw the “Wii U” name coming. There were a ton of codenames and possible final names that publications were throwing around: Project Cafe, Feel, Stream, even Nintendo. Yet none of them turned out to be the true name of the console. Nintendo isn’t abandoning the Wii brand, which might be a smart move. Not only has the Wii generated incredible success for the company, but the Wii U actually uses all of the Wii’s peripherals. Hopefully consumers will understand that the new console is fully backward compatible.

The games

We saw some interesting things in terms of “games”. As far as Nintendo goes, perhaps the most game-like demo we saw was New Super Mario Bros. Mii. There were a bunch of other tech demos to play and watch, such as the Zelda HD experience. There’s no question that the Zelda demo alone was enough to excite passionate fans. Still, it would have been great if more concrete software was available to preview.

The third-party support

Say what you will about Wii U getting some third-party games a year after they’re released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. But you can’t deny that it’s a fantastic sign that the console is getting some heavy hitters in the future, most of which are very mature titles. Batman: Arkham City, Darksiders II, Metro: Last Light, Aliens: Colonial Marines, Ninja Gaiden III: Razor’s Edge are among the list of games that have all, for the most part, been promised for the console. Heck, even EA came on stage to tease the possibility of seeing Battlefield 3.

Ubisoft will also be taking a risk by launching a new, somewhat mature IP for Wii U, Killer Freaks from Outer Space. They’re also developing Ghost Recon Online, Assassin’s Creed, Raving Rabbids, and a mystery multi-sports title for the system. Ubisoft and Nintendo having a joint conference on Wednesday was something that could bode well for future third-party support, since it means that Nintendo is really making an effort to maintain better relationships with outside publishers.

Some folks do like to point out that we’ll be seeing most, if not all, of these announced third-party titles on other platforms before Wii U. But would anyone have guessed that we’d see the likes of Darksiders II on a Nintendo system? Third-party publishers seem much more open to embracing a possible “hardcore” audience that the Wii U could have.

Alright – now it’s your turn. What do you think of the Wii U? Like the controller? Hate the reveal? If you have any thoughts about the console, feel free to post them in the comment section!


  1. 22 Responses to “Wii U: Your thoughts”

  2. By bob on Jun 12, 2011

    i was glad they had mario there but it looked the same as the wii one :(
    they needed to talk about online more
    i was happy mostly

  3. By Brawlio on Jun 12, 2011

    What I hated the most was that they confirmed a new smash bros and didn’t show a trailer, screenshots and they didn’t gave us a name at least.

    Knowing how much important is the franchise in the gamer community I think that was a really stupid move from nintendo.

    And I hope they add Travis Touchdown for this one, can’t wait for another smash dojo!

  4. By Brawlio on Jun 12, 2011

    I hated how they confirmed a new smash bros game without showing a trailer, screenshots or giving us a name at least, knowing how important this franchise.

  5. By mizo on Jun 12, 2011

    The only thing I’m worried about is what’s going to happen next gen, will WiiU be ignored by third parties once the other consoles release?

    I know I’m going to buy WiiU for sure because there are some Nintendo games I can’t live without, I’d just rather do all my gaming on one console and have a full experience.

  6. By Ivan on Jun 12, 2011

    I was very excited to nintendo reveal her new console, and when she did… OH GOSH, WHAT THE F*** is that?! Is it an IPad? ¬¬

    I didn’t like the new controller, cause If I want an IPad, I’d buy an IPad.

    Didn’t like the new name too, WiiU, not ‘Nintendo’, not ‘Stream’, but she chose dis horrible name.

    Nintendo killed her new hardware, did not mention only one time about it! And when we saw, it was a dead hardware.

    Nintendo used some games to show what WiiU could do, but later, Reggie revealed that the games weren’t from the new console and so for the PS360, it’s a shame, nintendo.

    Well, the only good thing that happened at Nintendo Conference was the new games for 3DS, and what wiiU can handle, high definition and good third party titles. That’s it.

    I hope Nintendo changes that controller and console design, really.

  7. By francisco on Jun 12, 2011

    i have high expectations in the wii U altough the name sucks, but i really belief in its potential and right now i have in my mind 1000 awesome ways of using the controller
    sometimes people can be close-minded, for example i saw yesterday de ghost reacon video and it was pretty cool, imagine in an NFL game drawing in the touch pad the strategy or in a cod game while playing in the big screen, activate de killstreak in the small one so yo can play in both at the same time instead of hiding to use it

  8. By Extreme-Brah on Jun 12, 2011

    I won’t say I hate it but I really hope Nintendo doesn’t just use the same IP’s. I think I’ve seen enough Mario and Zelda at this point. Making them HD does not mean it’s an all new IP Nintendo…

  9. By Nightwatch on Jun 12, 2011

    I love Wii U, ok the name is..you know, but see Zelda in HD, very good. Also the suport of third party may give to Wii U one thing that Wii dont have and people feel that. Ok the name, maybe the design, are not the best, but come on, thats relevant? We cant only see the bad things, ei the graphics are better than 360 and PS3, can use Wiimote etc, and Wii games, the controler have a lot potential, a lot of great games, what do you want more? Just buy it and enjoy.

  10. By Nightwatch on Jun 12, 2011

    I came to this site a long time ago, i dont comment very mutch (because my english is not the best lol), but i see your comments and i respect you a lot people, and most of the time i agree whit you, but come on, say that Wii U is bad or something? I cant agree. Wii U is everything a gamer want, i even see a lot of Playstation and Xbox fans crying for a Wii U. Whit this hardware we can see the games everyone want to see in is best form. Why not a Pokémon RPG for Wii U? A open and big world of Pokémon like monster hunter. Or a COD that use Wiimote but whit great graphics. Or GTA5 that use the tablet to altern weapons or something.

  11. By Francisco on Jun 12, 2011

    Nightwatch i can agree with you more. The pokemon idea is pretty awesome

  12. By NiFl on Jun 12, 2011

    I have to say … I like most of the Wii U. The Controller is not a tablet with buttons, it is a controller with a screen – So its no iPad Clone for me. It seems big, but lets see how it feels. The Third-Party Support was … great! Really. And the presentation of the console was okay! The one and only thing I am a little bit worried is the tech behind it. It doesn’t seem far away from ps3 or xbox360 and so the question is: How will it look in 3 years when sony or microsoft bring a new console? I hope it won’t be too difficult for the Wii U then.

  13. By thomas on Jun 12, 2011

    forum getting up anytime soon?

  14. User avatar

    By Valay on Jun 12, 2011

    Yup. Started work on that today. For some reason, the site was nearly destroyed by the integration when we made the switch to a new server right before E3. Most of the maintenance will be done tomorrow… will probably make an update on the site about that.

  15. By Nightwatch on Jun 12, 2011

    Only a idea Francisco, because with Wii U graphics, and controler (including the use of Wiimote in some games), we il see on Wii U a very good list of some epic games i belive. About sony and microsoft new console, i read somewhere that sony only will release a new console in 2016 or 2017. I dont know if its true, but make sence because they make PS3 for more than 10 years, microsoft also said that they dont il launch another console soon because of th 360 good sells. But even if they release new consoles at the same time of nintendo Wii U il have support of third partys, if the games have good sells, like 3DS have for exemple.

  16. By chrona on Jun 12, 2011

    too bad sony already said they are going to rip off wii u … just like they always do … we knew it was going to happen soon …

  17. By Nightwatch on Jun 12, 2011

    Let sony copy whatever they want, it il be just a copy, not more not less. But no big deal, i dont belive many people il use vita as controler for ps3, and i belive less that il be release many games that use vita as controler. But with Wii U is difrent, that is the main controler and everyone that buys the console get the controler, so the games can use that revolutionary controler in every game.

  18. By Millah on Jun 13, 2011

    The problem with Sony trying to copy WiiU like they’ve proposed, is that in order to make that. Happen the user has to own BOTH a Vita and PS3. Which a lot of users won’t have. So a developer cannot develop a game to exclusively take advantage of the concept, because he is only targeting a small percentage of the PS3 install base. It’s the same situation with the Move, except the Move is only a much cheaper accessory while the PSVita is a 249 dollar gaming system.

    WiiU on the other hand, every single owner WILL have the controller. So developers can develop WiiU games to take full advantage of the system technology. That’s generally why launching system-changing accessories in the middle of a console lifespan rarely ends up successful, because either users ignore it or developers ignore it.

    Sony can copy all they want. That’s really all they’re good for. But they won’t execute nearly in the same fashion that Nintendo will. They’ll always be the imitator while Nintendo is the innovator. And imitation is NEVER as good as the original. Right Elvis?

  19. By Robbie on Jun 13, 2011

    I actually saw the Wii name coming, I always had the feeling Nintendo wasn’t gonna drop that name anytime soon anyway.

  20. By Mack on Jun 13, 2011

    I still wonder if Kotaku’s rumor about this console not having a hard drive was/is true.
    I know that from reading the specs (from what Nintendo has shown) on this console it appears to be true but I would still like a 100 procent confirmation on whatever Wii U has a hard drive or not.

  21. By Captain N on Jun 13, 2011

    No hard drive is inside the system. It will have flash memory, rumours of 8GB and will also be able to hook have SD cards to upgrade the memory. A hard drive can be supported through the USB ports though, so you can by your own seperately.

  22. By Hyawatta on Jun 13, 2011

    Nintendo Wii U 3DS Controller

    There are a few upgrades that should be made to the Wii U controller before it is released and to the Nintendo 3DS for its next iteration. The Wii U controller should have a multi-touch capable screen. Four Wii U controllers should be usable for simultaneous play on a single Wii U console so that games such a Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles and The Legend of Zelda Four Swords can be played. For example, Pac man Vs. only needed one player to have a screen, but these two games require all four players to each have their own screen. Also, if two players are playing madden and they are picking their plays, they should both be able to choose from the display on their respective controllers; currently, they would likely have to take turns picking their plays from the same controller.

    The Nintendo 3DS should have a second circle pad. Already, games such as Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater and Splinter Cell 3D are suffering because of the lack of a second circle pad, and they a resorting to using the buttons for camera control. The Nintendo 3DS needs a second circle pad in order to properly substitute as a Wii U controller. Games such as Battle Mii and Killer Freaks from Outer Space use both circle pads and the motion controls together at the same time as their control method. A Nintendo 3DS would not be able to replicate this in its current state. For better functionality as a Wii U controller, the Nintendo 3DS should have a wide screen, 16:9, aspect ratio for its bottom touch screen. Finally, just as the Wii U controller should have a multi-touch capable screen, so should the Nintendo 3DS. For a new iteration of the Nintendo 3DS, it would be worth losing the backwards compatibility with the DS in order to have complete functionality with the Wii U through the inclusion of a second circle pad and a widescreen, multi-touch capable bottom screen.

    P.S. I prefer to use the Wiimote and nunchuk over dual analog sticks for FPS’s on the Wii. I dislike having to go back to dual analog when I feel the the Wiimote and nunchuk is superior. I understand the Wii U can use the Wiimote and nunchuk, but I do not see any way to make use of the Wii U controller’s touchscreen while using the Wiimote and nunchuk at the same time. If the functionality of the controller’s screen is not critical to the gameplay such as when using the gyro and the screen to aim in Killer Freaks from Outer Space, I can still use the Wiimote and nunchuk instead. However, when the functionality is important to the gameplay such as in Ghost Recon Online where you have a map, drones, and markers to deploy, I don’t see how I can still use the Wiimote and nunchuk without losing the added functionality that the Wii U controller’s touchscreen provides. In this case, I would be forced to use the dual sticks so that I can retain access to the Crosscom 2.0.

  23. By Hyawatta on Jun 13, 2011

    After reading an article on IGN about improving the Wii U controller, I would like to add that, although I don’t believe that it’s necessary to replace the circle pads with analog sticks, I do believe that the circle pads/analog sticks should be clickable. For example, pressing down on the left circle pad to duck in a FPS. I also believe that the ZL and ZR triggers should be analog with a click when pressed all the way down like on the Gamecube controller.

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