Nintendo’s E3 Conference: Wii U Announced!

Nintendo’s keynote is currently taking place at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles where they are expected to reveal the successor to the Wii. We will post notes below as they reveal information; you may want to refresh once in a while to see new information.

• Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of North America president, has announced the Wii U, the Wii’s successor! (The third picture below is of the actual console.)
• The Wii U’s controller looks like a pad / tablet (as you can see in the second picture below and to the right). It features a 6.2 inch touchscreen which will duplicate the game action from the television screen on to the controller’s screen (so if you’re playing Pokemon Battle Revolution, what you see on the TV is what you will see on the controller’s screen). The controller can also serve as a second “window” by providing additional gameplay information for new Wii U games (as seen to the right).
• If someone wants to watch TV while you are playing the Wii U, you can move the game from the TV to the controller pad and continue playing it there. You cannot move far from the main console and use the controller pad as a portable console, however, as the main Wii U console uses a wireless signal to reliably transmit all the video, audio, and game information to the controller.
• To control your games, you can move your whole body with the controller pad (as it features motion sensors), use the touchscreen to do things like aiming a gun, or use the physical buttons and joysticks on the controller itself – there’s a way to play for everyone.
• Both the console and the controller can be used to browse the web. If both are on simultaneously, you can lift the controller to the television screen and use its screen as a magnifying glass.
• The Wii U will feature high definition graphics, not that there was any doubt. The controller will not, however.
• The Wii U is backwards compatible with all Wii and Gamecube games and they can of course be played on the controller itself.
• The Wii U can still use Wiimotes and is compatible with all old Wii devices.
• The Wii U will be released sometime between April and December of 2012.
• Super Smash Bros. is going to be made for both the Wii U and the 3DS!