Hands On With Nintendo's Wii U
After waiting in Nintendo's long lines for hours and warding off the hordes of swooning booth babes, we were finally able to get our hands on the highly anticipated Wii U. For purposes of avoiding further confusion and mystification, we'll do our best to stay away from calling it a controller, system or magical touch-screen wand thing and go along with the enigmatic U. 
Of course like most of the people here at E3, our first reaction to the U was a combination of bewilderment and skepticism with a side of curiosity. After spending some time getting used to the device and getting a hold of the controller, we were finally able to test out the game play and really get an impression of the device's potential. 
One of the very first things we noticed is the level of attention that our eyes were having with the U Controller and the TV screen. Unlike the Nintendo DS systems, our eyes were either glued and immersed in the small screen within our hands or the large TV screen in front of us, in some cases quickly jolting back and forth between the two. Some may find this back and forth distracting.
In addition to playing ping pong with our eyeballs, the motion controlling function of the demos was fairly interesting. We're still not sure what to think about moving our arms and bodies to navigate the virtual worlds in front of us but one thing is for sure: the technology definitely has a lot of potential that wasn't entirely explored with the provided game demos.
Although one of the initial concerns with the U Controller was its relatively large size and potentially heavy weight, we were pleasantly surprised with the controller's comfort. First of all, the button placement, trigger placement and overall feel was spot on. Holding the device was like holding an XXXL DS, that wasn't too heavy but at the same time not too light.
One of the more disappointing aspects of the U was its surprisingly mediocre touch screen. Compared with the touch screen of any modern smart phone, the U's screen is definitely overrated. Maybe it was the lighting of Nintendo's booth but the screen was definitely lacking in brightness, and it got a little bit of a glare.
It might not have been the most beautiful of screens but in the end it gets the job done and is comparable to the rest of Nintendo's hardware. On the other hand, a potential deal breaker with the screen is its lack of a multi-touch function.To be fair though we didn't even do much touching with the demo, but it certainly is a limiting factor for the device's potential. 
Exiting the booth we still have a lot of the same impressions we had walking into it. The U is definitely an interesting and potentially fun new way to experience Wii gaming but we can't help but feel a little bit disappointed with expectations of an entirely new console experience. Of course the upside with the Wii U is its extreme potential, which is already being taken advantage of by big time developers such as Konami. Take Ninja Gaiden 3 on for example, imagining players twirling around in circles and slashing the air furiously with their U controllers. Sure somebody or something could get seriously injured, but what could be more fun than pretending to be the most badass ninja of all time?
Until Nintendo decides to release and give us some juicy details on an entirely new gaming system, only time and developer commitment will be able to tell whether or not the Wii U is truly going to fulfill its promises and expectations.
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I'll wait until next year to really judge the Wii U controller, this is still early demo hardware. Hopefully they can improve the display a little. I remember editors talking about how much the feel of the Wiimote improved in the months leading up to launch.
Question for Tom's: How did the buttons/analog sliders feel??
Question for Tom's: How did the buttons/analog sliders feel??
The buttons and sliders were great actually, not too stiff and pretty comfortable overall. It really was a bit like holding an oversized DS, though the buttons are a bit softer.
If there's one thing you can't say about Nintendo is that they lack build quality. It's no surprise you found the controller to be very good overall.
Anyway, besides Nintendo fanbois, I'd say that the Wii U (Weu? xD) will be a tough bone to sell. Regular families which still own a functional Wii won't have much incentive for the new console. Even more when it has so-so multimedia capabilities (no Blue ray? For real?) and a sucky online store... No person associated UID, but console associated? A lot of minus points also in that regard.
Nintendo better treat Devs very nice so they develop great games for it. And let's see if MS flames the party with the "720" being incompatible with the "360" arch (making the Wii U hard to port into). Sony still has to get it's act together so it's a non-factor ATM.
Cheers!
and a sucky online store... No person associated UID, but console associated?
The online infrastructure has not even been talked about yet so where do you get this from? The most we've learned so far is from Ubisoft and they did say you get individual accounts.
Unless this new system can handle a graphics engine like the newest Unreal engine, flawlessly, then I won't expect much. Also, it HAS TO be in 1080p and have 3D. And, have the same thing Kinect has, but better. Build this all into one system, AND give home users a 3D/Blue-Ray/DVD player all into one, you've got it sold. The PS3, XBOX 360 were so sophisticated that they will be hard to 'sell' newer versions of them. I can see why they're waiting a few more years. I just hope they're right on par with the highest end PCs upon release.
hey joshkorn kid, guess what. if you want good graphics you get a PC. everything else you get nintendo. sorry, kid. that's just the rules.
Screw the Nintendo, I want to see more pictures of this "Alisha".
Give it a couple of months/years Sony/Microsoft will have their own rendition of this technology. Remember the motion sensing controller? Nintendo had one, then Sony acted like they always had one... btw, what happened to that in the 6-axis controller? Oh I forgot, it's now call the "Move". Nintendo, revolutionary? Maybe not, but for the majority? Yes.
I remember when Sony said that the Wii motion controller was nothing but a gimmick and people will be bored of it after a few weeks. A few years later, Sony released the new Move controller and how they were saying is the next generation controller as if the were the one who truely brought the motion controller into the gaming industry.
I wouldn't be surprised if the 720 and PS4 comes out with a screen on the controller (I know Sega done this already but Nintendo was the first to actually make full use of it instead of showing pictures).
A few things:
- Why the focus on comparing the screen to a smartphone screen, it's simply a controller/tablet/U and not meant for phone duties?
- Why focus on multitouch when that's probably not required?
A few things:- Why the focus on comparing the screen to a smartphone screen, it's simply a controller/tablet/U and not meant for phone duties?- Why focus on multitouch when that's probably not required?
Yeah, there is no immediate relevance for that kind of feature. Perhaps people are trying to envision this as being more than it needs to be? I hope sales don't take a hit due to this mindset.
I just cant see a single reason at all to buy one. Its completely and utterly pointless.
I don't get it, what is a TV needed for then? IT appears that the whole game can be played on the Controller screen. People who have i/e=pads need this WiiU for what exactly? I guess to play MArio and Zelda in 1080p, but that 1080p is for TV which brings me back to the first question. What is the TV needed for?
PASS! give us PS4 news Sony.
[citation][nom]JOSHSKORN[/nom]Unless this new system can handle a graphics engine like the newest Unreal engine, flawlessly, then I won't expect much. Also, it HAS TO be in 1080p and have 3D. And, have the same thing Kinect has, but better. Build this all into one system, AND give home users a 3D/Blue-Ray/DVD player all into one, you've got it sold. The PS3, XBOX 360 were so sophisticated that they will be hard to 'sell' newer versions of them. I can see why they're waiting a few more years. I just hope they're right on par with the highest end PCs upon release.[/citation
You do realise that in order to have a system to run the newest Unreal Tech you would need four of the fastest GPU's running together. Thats $1500 spent already. 3D capability. Add another $500. Blue-ray, another $200. Sure who wouldnt want that. But I'm living on planet earth. I have no idea where you're living.
The online infrastructure has not even been talked about yet so where do you get this from? The most we've learned so far is from Ubisoft and they did say you get individual accounts.
3DS store. Go check it out.
You can bet MS won't do a re-work on that just for the Wii U, unless they take the hint, off course. And Ubisoft can do it for it's games, just like EA does. In Steam you have the Steam account and the EA account.
Cheers!
I don't get it, what is a TV needed for then? IT appears that the whole game can be played on the Controller screen. People who have i/e=pads need this WiiU for what exactly? I guess to play MArio and Zelda in 1080p, but that 1080p is for TV which brings me back to the first question. What is the TV needed for?PASS! give us PS4 news Sony.
Looks at the ghost recon trailer.
Sure, for some wii u games it's a vital part, and maybe a gimmick that requires no tv screen, but for other it's simply a really cool tool to add..
Imagine giving your squad orders in Battlefield 3 through a commander like futuristic overview in your hand
This makes me wish I could preorder the wii u already XD but all the sites up for pre order only offer notification..
I do not know why Nintendo and everyone is quite about it, but this hardware may become THE ULTIMATE living room entertainment system. Think about it. The controller can become KEYBOARD and touch-pad. You can browse internet, and actually type! You can play games like WoW on it! This is holly grail of entertainment system!
I don't get it, what is a TV needed for then? IT appears that the whole game can be played on the Controller screen. People who have i/e=pads need this WiiU for what exactly? I guess to play MArio and Zelda in 1080p, but that 1080p is for TV which brings me back to the first question. What is the TV needed for?PASS! give us PS4 news Sony.
MxM nailed it. You have the TV for a main viewscreen and the WiiU controller for a touchpad/personal screen.
I too need to see more of the Wii U before I give any real judgement, but really to me it looks like the success or failure of something new like this is in the hands of game developers (similar to Kinect and Move, for example). If they find unique, creative, and intuitive ways of incorporating the Wii U's tech and controller into their games, the Wii U could end up being a success. Likewise, if all game devs do is use the screen just to use it, and it doesn't add any added value to games, then the Wii U could end up not succeeding at all.
Screw the Nintendo, I want to see more pictures of this "Alisha".
lookit the rack
Imagine giving your squad orders in Battlefield 3 through a commander like futuristic overview in your hand PRICELESS..
You actually have a interesting idea here. I wouldn't be interested in such a feature on this console. But to link a tablet to a online multi-player PC game where a player assumes a commander role and tactics are extremely important would be a great feature. Even more so if the commander doesn't even require a PC to begin with and can command games across the globe. Instead of simply saying "Squad Alpha go to this point" The commander could even draw out a suggested path from the troops to follow if the commander knows of dangers lurking or to better setup ambushes.
Consider your idea stolen as I go tell a buddy of mine about this.