The console itself is a little taller, a little wider, but about 4cm longer than the current Wii. It has curved edges and currently cannot stand on its side like the Wii. So far it has only been shown in white, but as with all Nintendo hardware different colours will eventually be released.
It has a sync button more conveniently placed next to the power button on the left hand side. In its front flap there is a SD card slot and two USB sockets. On the rear there are two further USB sockets, a HDMI socket, power and sensor bar connections.
The controller is where its at. The basic premise is that if you held a Wii Remote and Nunchuk in your hand, and then joined them together with a screen, this is what you'd get. This time though there are two 3DS circle pad like joysticks at the same height, one on the left, one on the right. Under the left is a D-pad similar in size to the Wii. On the right hand side are the usual A, B, Y and X buttons.
On the top of the controller is a built in sensor bar and in the middle is a front facing camera. On the bottom are HOME, +, - and Power.
The screen measures 6.2” in a wide-screen format, it is single touch and not capable of true HD output. However Nintendo has stated that as the screen size is small and the streaming is of quality there should be very few instances where you would actually notice a difference.
One thing I have to admit I've down, is laid down my four Wii Remotes, taken out the middle two and put them on the end, then take another one from the middle. Thus making the size of seven Wii Remotes. This is the size of the controller!
No actual games have been shown off for the console. Just “experiences”, these range from the beautiful; Zelda to the random; Shield Pose.
Zelda: HD Experience – This was purely made to show what HD visuals would look like in a Zelda game. The demo shows Link entering a temple or church and then getting attacked by a large spider. The controller here is used to show equipment, or show the full game but also to change from day to night. Seeing the lighting change so seamlessly is beautiful.
New Super Mario Bros Mii – This is New Super Mario Bros Wii with added Miis. The screen pans out so you can see all players really far apart. There is a small bump in picture quality but apart from this I just don't see the point.
Chase Mii – If you remember E3 from a few years ago, Nintendo tried trumping a game called Pac Man VS. The aim of the game is four players chase one other lone player around a maze, they can't see this player unless looking at him. The fun comes from the fact that the player being chased has the new controller and can then see all of the action and know where to hide!
Shield Pose – This seemed like a mini game ripped right out of Rhythm Heaven. Players had to move the controller to the beat of the music to avoid arrows being fired from pirate ships either in front of you or to your left and right. Moving the screen to your left and right is the only way you can see these other pirate ships.
Japanese Garden – This was purely a video demo a little similar to the Rebirth demo from the Gamecube. It follows birds flying around a Japanese garden, showing off lighting, texturing, bump mapping, nature physics such as water and snow. There are several versions of this video floating around the web, some of which are of a lower res version, so make sure you find the right one!
Its too early to understand how the Wii U will be perceived . I thought it was very unlike Nintendo to show a console this early, if they had debuted it at E3 2012 everyone would be wetting their pants with excitement. The hardware appears sound but the software which even Nintendo says is what matters was lacking...Lifting the curtain on it this early may have hampered its chances.
0 comments:
Post a Comment