For starters, Nintendo has always been the pinnacle of gaming, always leading the pack, until other companies wanted a slice of the market. The two other gaming giants would be Sony and Microsoft, they have always valued performance over gimmicks, until they realized the Nintendo Wii's success with motion controls (the first of it's kind to hit the consumer markets in large quantities), with its amazingly low prices compared to the competitors.
Apparently, Nintendo has always targeted the casual gamers rather than the hardcore. Of course this isn't all bad, but that's about half or so of the whole market, not enough to keep a large competitor in. Seeing that Microsoft and Sony now moved to target the casual audience as well as keep their hardcore, Nintendo had no choice but to target both as well... And thus, the Wii U was born.
Of course this may seem like another gimmick, was the Nintendo Wii any different? Actually yes, it was! It was much more revolutionary, the only thing I can say is that they actually brought motion controlling to the consumers as a whole, which inspired everyone else! This time they just put on better specs, and stuck a tablet with motion sensing capabilities there. It may seem that they are competing with the whole family for not just basic gaming entertainment, but web browsing and so on... so they will be competing with the iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tablet, and many others if this is what they are trying.
You may be wondering what the specs are of this new console? Well here is what we know so far:
Nintendo Wii U Specs
| Launches: | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Size: | Approximately 1.8 inches tall, 6.8 inches wide and 10.5 inches long. |
| New Controller: | The new controller incorporates a 6.2-inch, 16:9 touch screen and traditional button controls, including two analog Circle Pads. This combination removes the traditional barriers between games, players and the TV by creating a second window into the video game world. The rechargeable controller includes a Power button, Home button, +Control Pad, A/B/X/Y buttons, L/R buttons and ZL/ZR buttons. It includes a built-in accelerometer and gyroscope, rumble feature, camera, a microphone, stereo speakers, a sensor strip and a stylus. |
| Other Controls: | Up to four Wii RemoteTM (or Wii Remote Plus) controllers can be connected at once. The new console supports all WiiTM controllers and input devices, including the NunchukTM controller, Classic ControllerTM, Classic Controller ProTM and Wii Balance BoardTM. |
| 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. |
| GPU: | AMD RadeonTM-based High Definition GPU. |
| Other: | Four USB 2.0 connector slots are included. The new console is backward compatible with Wii games and Wii accessories. |
Specs and chart courtesy of... Wii U Updates
This is more than enough to compete with the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. What about the future generation? Probably not, but I am sure that the PS4 and Xbox 720 won't have such new hardware as its predecessors did at launch, this is because they want to stay in budget and appeal to their audiences, which was not possible at release.
Games games games! Are the most important thing about a "gaming" console, what games do we know are confirmed for launch?
Confirmed gamesAssassin's Creed
Darksiders II
Ghost Recon
Dirt
Aliens: Colonial Marines
Metro II
Batman: Arkham City
Prototypes/Yet to be confirmed
Battlefield
New Super Mario Bros Mii
We can tell they are building a strong third party line up this time around, but we haven't got much information as of now. You can expect the traditional Mario games as well as other Nintendo titles (ex. Zelda), Here are some videos showing off the Wii U's capabilities as well as commentaries and such.
Wii U Hands-On Analysis -- E3 2011
Wii U Hands-On Analysis - E3 2011
Up Close with the Wii U
Kotaku Goes Hands on with the Wii U Console
Wii U Controller
Nintendo Wii U controller, first hands-on!
Wii U E3 Expo
Wii U Zelda -- 2011 E3 Expo
Wii U Zelda - HD Gameplay Demo (E3 2011)
Wii U -- E3 2011: Graphics Demo
Wii U - E3 2011: Graphics Demo
Wii U Game Line-Up: Nintendo Conference
Wii U Game Line-Up: Nintendo Conference (E3 2011)
Nintendo Wii U Controller Demonstration E3 2011 Video
Nintendo Wii U Controller Demonstration E3 2011 Video
Wii U Measure Up Demo
Measure Up Wii U Demo (E3 2011)
Super Mario Bros for the Wii U
New Super Mario Bros Mii (Wii U) - E3 2011: Hands On Demo
Hope everyone enjoyed the videos! Stay tuned for more updates and news!
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