E3 2012 Nintendo: Wii U, Nintendoland, new Pikmin, new Mario

Nintendo had arguably the best keynote of the week, since they showed off their new hardware, the Wii U.

Reggie Fils-Aime, President of Nintendo of America, started off the program showing the final design of the GamePad tablet and the Wii U hardware itself, in sleek black.

The company then confirmed New Super Mario Bros. U, which is of course similar to past games but with new features and mechanics. 5 players can play, one with the tablet and four others with Wii motes. There also seemed to be a new suit that comes from eating acorns. You can also play with Yoshi.

Next, Fils-Aime announced that Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Video, and YouTube content will be available to Wii U gamers in the future: "In the future, we'll show you how the Wii U will integrate and elevate entertainment in your living room."

The boss then showed a montage of upcoming games including Batman Arkham City: Armor Edition, Darksiders 2, Tank! Tank! Tank!, Tekken Tag Tournament, Trine 2: Director's Cut, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge, Mass Effect 3 and Aliens: Colonial Marines. Ubisoft had 8 titles in total with the coolest being ZombiU, which really showcased the Wii U's tablet features:

Fils-Aime concluded the show showing off Nintendo Land, the game that will come bundled with all new consoles just like Wii Sports did for the Wii:

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 5 Jun 2012 11:55

wolfniggr

Nintendo is finally the first to bring a next gen console before the competition. This would have been great if it wasn't for the fact that the new console is no more powerful than the competion's 7 and 6 year old hardware. The fact that they are releasing games for the U later this year that have been available for ps3 and the 360 since last year solidifies how much they've fallen behind.

The wii's success was do to a new innovation in control and a low cost compared to the competition. After using the U pad, I don't feel the same impact I did when I used the wiimote for the first time. Bottom line, I don't feel the added screen on a controller justifies the $350 to $400 price tag.

I really wanted Nintendo to succeed. What a disappointment.

5.6.2012 14:12 #1

Linkdx

what makes you think that the Wii U has similar hardware to the current gen? did you even look at the specs? they look much higher than the current gen.. atleast the HD graphics chip. it has a multicore IBM power pc processor to. yes this should have been there 6 years ago but meh whatever.

5.6.2012 17:31 #2

bobiroc

Originally posted by wolfniggr: Nintendo is finally the first to bring a next gen console before the competition. This would have been great if it wasn't for the fact that the new console is no more powerful than the competion's 7 and 6 year old hardware. The fact that they are releasing games for the U later this year that have been available for ps3 and the 360 since last year solidifies how much they've fallen behind.

The wii's success was do to a new innovation in control and a low cost compared to the competition. After using the U pad, I don't feel the same impact I did when I used the wiimote for the first time. Bottom line, I don't feel the added screen on a controller justifies the $350 to $400 price tag.

I really wanted Nintendo to succeed. What a disappointment. Nintendo will succeed so no need to worry about that. The hardware specs are pretty modern for the most part but in the end it comes down to game play and game software. It will have HD graphics capability which is a plus but not all games need that. Too many games focus on visuals and lack in game play and replay factor. Nintendo is focusing on making gaming an entertainment source for gamers of all levels and all I hope is that the third party developers step up to the plate this time and do not dismiss Nintendo unjustifiably with bad ports of their games or outsourcing to some other shady developer for a watered down version of the Wii U games.

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5.6.2012 18:18 #3

Mysttic

Quote:The wii's success was do to a new innovation in control and a low cost compared to the competition. After using the U pad, I don't feel the same impact I did when I used the wiimote for the first time. Bottom line, I don't feel the added screen on a controller justifies the $350 to $400 price tag. Nintendo hasn't confirmed an official price point as of yet. You never know the system may launch at $300. We'll just have to wait a bit longer to find out.

6.6.2012 10:25 #4

SProdigy

All I can say is, that Gamepad is destined for a Metroid game.

6.6.2012 14:53 #5

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