GAME NEWS:
Nintendo's E3 announcement of the Wii U was, by far, one of the weirdest things we've ever seen.
Two months ago, the internet rumors began that Nintendo would be announcing a new gaming console set to launch in time for the holiday season. Those rumors turned into a steady stream of information, with the final word being that the new system would be announced and that it would release in 2012.
So, needless to say, Nintendo's E3 event yesterday was a highly anticipated event.
The world anxiously awaited the launch of a new system, one that would be high-def and would actually compete in a world of gaming consoles. For the Nintendo Wii has been, as any gamer will tell you, mostly for the kids.
But what we got instead was one of the oddest press conferences we've ever seen.
Nintendo did officially announce a console, but the way in which they announced it was just a bit odd. The console isn't finished, which means everything they announced is tentative. As in, that's what they're planning on it being able to do. Whether or not the finished product will be capable of doing everything they've announced remains to be seen.
Here's a list of what Nintendo has claimed that the new system, tentatively titled the Wii U (just when you thought Wii was the worst console name, Nintendo managed to top themselves) will boast:
Size: Approximately 1.8 inches tall, 6.8 inches wide and 10.5 inches long.
Other Controls: Up to four Wii Remote™ (or Wii Remote Plus) controllers can be connected at once. The new console supports all Wii™ controllers and input devices, including the Nunchuk™ controller, Classic Controller™, Classic Controller Pro™ and Wii Balance Board™.
Media: A single self-loading media bay will play 12-centimeter proprietary high-density optical discs for the new console, as well as 12-centimeter Wii optical discs.
Video Output: Supports 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p and 480i. Compatible cables include HDMI, component, S-video and composite.
Audio Output: Uses AV Multi Out connector. Six-channel PCM linear output through HDMI.
Storage: The console will have internal flash memory, as well as the option to expand its memory using either an SD memory card or an external USB hard disk drive.
CPU: IBM Power®-based multi-core microprocessor.
Other: Four USB 2.0 connector slots are included. The new console is backward compatible with Wii games and Wii accessories.
These facts come straight from Nintendo's official Press Release, though it's still a bit odd that a company as large as Nintendo would hold an E3 event, announce the new console Wii U, and not have the device fully functioning or even finished yet.
It almost felt as if the internet hype-train which first launched the rumor of the new console forced Nintendo's hand to announce a new product they weren't really ready to announce.
So much so, that Nintendo's featurette of the games that will be available on the Wii U wasn't actual footage from the Wii U, but rather the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3. Why compose a video featurette highlighting what your system can do by using video and images of what other systems (ones you are competing against) can produce?
The only reason to do such a thing is to make a big splash at E3, but isn't making a splash at E3 based on what you've accomplished. Not what you will accomplish? Sure, there is such a thing as marketing, but when you're marketing footage from other company's works it just seems to defeat the point all together. That's not marketing. That's laziness.
The biggest part of the show was the Wii U controller, arguably because that was seemingly a finished product.
The Wii U controller looks like Sony's PS Vita, but it functions specifically as a controller. The device itself is interesting, but hardly the revolutionizing piece of technology we expect from Nintendo at this point. The company who dominated the gaming market with their ingenious Wii design has just announced a more glorified version of what the old Gameboy and Gamecube could do. While the new technology is sure to be better than the old, it doesn't necessarily make it new.
Make sure to check out the video below for a sneak at just what the controller can do.
We're reserving judgment until we see a final product.
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