While Nintendo has plenty yet to reveal about the Wii U (price, release date (though it will be coming this holiday season), etc.), they did announce plenty about their new console at E3 2012. In this post I’ll cover everything I can gather about the Wii U announced at E3, including plenty of info regarding the controllers, web interaction, and console specs.
The GamePad
The most obvious feature of the Wii U is the new, unique GamePad controller. Watch the above video for all of it’s magical features.
In addition to all the features shown in the video, here are a few other noteworthy things:
- The battery life of the GamePad is 3-5 hours depending on screen brightness. Charge time is 2 and 1/2 hours, though you can play while the GamePad is charging.
- If a developer makes use of it, games can also be played off of the TV. The feature is called Off-Play TV and will most likely be tagged on boxes.
- The Wii U will support up to two Wii U GamePad’s at a time, though console performance takes a hit – frame rate drops to 30 FPS.
- In addition to the Wii U GamePad, the console will also support up to four of the new Wii U Pro Controller or Wii Remote (or Wii Remote Plus) controllers as well as Wii accessories like Nunchuks, Classic Controllers, and the Wii Balance Board.
The Console
The Wii U is a powerhouse. It looks to have better graphics than that of the Xbox 360 and PS3. Don’t believe me? Compare these shots from Batman: Arkham City. Click on the image and look really closely.
And here is the Wii U’s tech specs.
The Wii U will also have an eShop ready at launch where users will be able to download both download titles and retail titles and users will also be able to transfer their existing Wii Virtual Console game library to the Wii U.
The Miiverse
Nintendo is implementing a new online social network for use in the Wii U, 3DS, and future Nintendo consoles called the Miiverse. I covered it in my Nintendo Direct post (which has a lot more information about Miiverse than this post does), but there are a few new things Nintendo announced. There are a number of interesting features they are adding, both good and bad. Here are some of them.
- There will be three levels of security for posting messages one of which is having actual people read them.
- Because of this it will take about 30 minutes to have a message posted.
- Friend codes still exist, but are being redone.
- Users will be able to have a different level of contact with their friends than the general population.
- You can have up to 12 accounts on each system.
- Miiverse is tailored to the users featuring certain games for different users.
The Games
Nintendo has announced the full list of Wii U titles to release on or close to launch. Here is the full list below.
- 2K Sports – NBA 2K13 – Holiday
- D3Publisher – Ben 10: Omniverse – Holiday
- D3Publisher – Family Party: 30 Great Games (working title) – Holiday
- D3Publisher – Rise of the Guardians: The Video Game – Holiday
- Electronic Arts – Mass Effect 3 – Holiday
- Maximum Games – Jett Tailfin – Holiday
- NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. – TANK! TANK! TANK! – Holiday
- NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. – TEKKEN TAG TOURNAMENT 2 (working title) – Holiday
- Nintendo – LEGO City: Undercover – Holiday
- Nintendo – New Super Mario Bros. U – Holiday
- Nintendo – NINJA GAIDEN 3: Razor’s Edge – Holiday
- Nintendo – Nintendo Land – Holiday
- Nintendo – SiNG (working title) – Holiday
- Nintendo – Wii U Panorama View (working title) – Holiday
- Nintendo – Game & Wario (working title) – Launch Window
- Nintendo – Pikmin 3 – Launch Window
- Nintendo – Project P-100 (working title) – Launch Window
- Nintendo – Wii Fit U – Launch Window
- SEGA – Aliens: Colonial Marines – TBA
- SEGA – Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed – Holiday
- THQ – Darksiders II – Holiday
- Ubisoft – Assassin’s Creed III – Holiday
- Ubisoft – Just Dance 4 – Holiday
- Ubisoft – Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth – Holiday
- Ubisoft – Rabbids Land – Holiday
- Ubisoft – Sports Connection – Holiday
- Ubisoft – Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013 – Holiday
- Ubisoft – ZombiU – Holiday
- Ubisoft – Rayman Legends – TBA
- Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment – Scribblenauts Unlimited – Holiday
- Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment – Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition – Holiday
- Broken Rules – Chasing Aurora – Holiday
- Frozenbyte – Trine 2: Director’s Cut – Holiday
- Gaijin Games – Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien – Holiday
- Nicalis – Aban Hawkins & the 1,001 Spikes – Holiday
- Pwnee Studios – Cloudberry Kingdom – Holiday
Various photos and information found on GoNintendo, Wii U Blog, ONM, and Wii U Daily.
rumphy 