CVG's just come away from hands-on session with the Wii U and you can rest assured we put sweaty finger prints all over that hefty controller to bring you these in-depth hardware impressions.
So you know what it looks like, and basically what it does, but how does that controller feel in your hands? Surprisingly, for a unit so large, it's actually pretty comfortable. It's by far the biggest twin-analogue controller we've ever used (sorry original Xbox, your chunky crown has been stolen) and yet it sits in your hand remarkably well.
This is thanks in the most part to a sharp outwards pointing ridge that runs along the rear of the unit. It's like a wall of curvaceous plastic perfectly positioned to rest in between your middle and index fingers.
Let's first talk about that massive screen. Nintendo reps refused to talk to us about resolution, but we can tell you it's impressively sharp for a 6.2 inch screen. The pixel count must be up there. We looked closely - you can still see pixels so the density isn't quite is high as iPhone 4. But it's clearly sharper than the 3DS' upper screen, and one person in the surrounding crowd even noted as we played New Super Mario Bros. Mii that the controller display looked clearer than the HDTV. The colours were also slightly more vivid and crisper than the TV, too.
It's touch capability is often put to good use for menu navigation in the demos on show, allowing you to tap your way through to the desired mode and level as easily as you have been on DS. Also similar to the DS is a small stylus that slots neatly into the upper left of the unit, two speakers on the lower panel that were loud enough for us to hear over the E3 bustle (with volume slider on the top), an infra-red sensor, headphone port and AC adaptor port presumably for recharging.
It also dons what appears to be an expansion port on the bottom for attachments, with two bracket clips on either side that would hold your add-on peripheral in place. We've already seen that port in use - one shot of the controller during Nintendo's press conference showed it plugged into the top of a gun attachment, serving as a zoom scope.
For a controller so large and square in design, the face buttons and sliders are as typically well-positioned as you'd expect from Nintendo,. The triggers are nicely curved like those on the GameCube controller but are simple clicky buttons as oppose to the GC's deep triggers. The shoulder buttons are easily reachable when using the twin analogue sliders but we found them to be a little far away when you're using the d-pad and face buttons. You tend to slide your hand up higher on the unit to reach them, which in turn makes reaching down for the buttons an effort for your crumpled thumbs.
Rather than packing the analogue sticks you'd expect on a console controller, you might have noticed that Nintendo has opted for a pair of analogue sliders not unlike the one you have on your 3DS. They feel almost the same in fact, if a little larger in size and movement range - a good thing for increased accuracy. The important thing is we can see these nubs performing just fine with a hardcore first-person shooter. At last.
Comments
32 comments so far...
jtthegame on 8 Jun '11 said:
I have a wii weather i get this depends on the games that come for it. the games that have come out on 3ds has made me decide i am buying one of them as for this we will have to see if there is any games that make me want it
a3HeadedMonkey on 8 Jun '11 said:
I'm getting severe deja vu from this tech that is obviously another generation behind again... Oh, & with an iPad as a controller.
Looks like we're going to have to wait for the casual to bore of Nintendo & see another sales fail similar to the N64 for Nintendo to wake up, grow some balls & really compete with MS & Sony at what is now their market.
potnoodle1 on 8 Jun '11 said:
First off I don't like the idea of the analogue sliders. The slider on the 3DS is already proving to be a hindrance to fighters, and that D-Pad looks to be just as awkward and uncomfortable to reach.
I'm intrigued by the tech enough to see what it's capable of, though price is going to be a big deciding factor for me. I don't think it's the revolution in video games we've all been waiting for; I've certainly never found my controller to the barrier Nintendo claim it to be (not with proper design anyway) but it's a clever idea all the same. Could it be designed better? Absolutely!! And while they're at it, sort out that bloody god awful name!
Ominous on 8 Jun '11 said:
Am I the only one thinking this new console/controller combo looks a bit clunky and unapealing? The console resembles a small, rounded DVD player- unimaginative and has a distinct "consumer electronics" feel to it. I know it is but it wouldn't have hurt them to make it look different and interesting. The controller itself looks clunky and redundant. Nothing sexy about both. I'm hoping for a redesign.
Second thing is the whole idea of the Wii U. Seems to me this is something that can be easily made by interconnecting PS3 and the PSVita, or Xbox360 and a windows phone with good software. All the concepts Nintendo showed us, were more or less aplicable to the Sony hardware. I could be wrong here though. Don't quote me. It just feels that way to me.
rbt2 on 8 Jun '11 said:
I think it looks fresh and different. Trouble is, people in general don't like change.
The games industry's getting stale. This could be the shake up it needs.
As for the controller, Nintendo have always innovated when it comes to them. The potential for games using this thing could be huge.
shellster2 on 8 Jun '11 said:
I have read somewhere, maybe ign that the sliders are not like the one on the 3rd, rather they feel more akin to the stick on the Wii nunchuck.
I am genuinely surprised by all the negativity I've heard as I think it looks really fascinating and IF you have a wife/girlfriend/kids then the ability to switch display into the controller sounds brilliant to me. I appreciate everybody has their own view but we really don't need another 360 or ps3 as we already own those.
Lastly I'm hearing good things on the graphics front and wouldn't be surprised to see major titles Inc 3rd party like batman running 1080p natively. Now that would be nice.
Padua on 8 Jun '11 said:
Maybe it will be styled different for production. As it is I am not excited yet.
I'd rather have a regular console and an iPad which I can use anywhere although I do see this possibly a must have for the Wii Fit people who don't have to turn their TV/Wii on to check on their weight/stats/email
The were very clever with the alternate uses for their screen controller - its nice to see Nintendo playfully original.
Battlefield would look amazing on this system - as would most games. Imagine being able to scan the ground before you as you walk looking out for IED's or scanning in the distance for the enemy ... hmmm maybe I am getting excited now
Super Mario Galaxy HD would look utterly amazing
Faktor on 8 Jun '11 said:
Some serious negativity detected. Fanboyism maybe??
The fact is Nintendo do not see themselves competing with Sony and Microsoft.
With the Wii they enticed a new group of players (with detriment to hardcore players), now they are enabling the hardcore players to play the high end games while still keeping the casual audience and maybe even attracting more with the possibilities of the new controller.
To be honest , I can't see it being anything other than a success.
silversun_111 on 8 Jun '11 said:
No Fanboyism here, it just looks s**te.
KK-Headcharge78 on 8 Jun '11 said:
I have next to zero interest in this personally, I have a Wii, somewhere, but it's a long while since it has been used. I used to love Nintendo but either I have changed or their new brand of casual, predominantly kids focused games just doesn't interest me anymore.
Same goes for this new PS hand held.
Still respect Nintendo though, they know how to make money.
buffig on 8 Jun '11 said:
theres an article on ign where the editor discusses the fact that the PS3 + Vita could achieve what the WiiU is attempting. I'd be interested to see how true this is. All the tech appears to be there.
Headsrinker on 8 Jun '11 said:
silversun_111
No Fanboyism here, it just looks s**te.
I wouldn't say it looks sh*te, but its not amazing like we all would have hoped. The controller looks massive to be fair, and im pretty sure a 5-12 year old would get arm ache holding that out infront of them. Nintendo excels in these age groups, so its suprising to see really. However, i myself have stated before that they need to compete more with PS3/360 in terms of hardware capabilities and big title releases so this machine may be able to compete. However it will only be able to do so for a year or 2 before the next gen consoles a released. In my mind, this is not a next gen console.
rbt2 on 8 Jun '11 said:
All the 'fears' about the controller being too heavy should be put to rest. There's an article on here stating how light it is.
boskersrevenge on 8 Jun '11 said:
Are you really? This is the internet. I thought it was actually powered on negativity?
There are a lot of "OH MY GOD THIS IS EXACTLY HOW IT IS GOING TO BE BECAUSE I PLAY GAMEZ"...
The fact it is, this should not have been all that surprising coming from Nintendo and sticking to the household brand of Wii (remember that small time console that all gamers seem to bitch about yet somehow smoked MS and Sony in the sales and shares stakes.. you know, the thing a successful business wants to do?) makes sense.
I would have preferred something like the "Nintendo - Killyourface Extreme 9000", styled all in black with blood dripping from it's vents while a small baby cries in the background and you level up just by being in it's God-Damned presence, but there you go. Including all the brands currently out, they have over 50% of the entire gaming market share to look after and not alienate.
Weighing it up it still has a lot to prove to "core" gamers. Sitting on a power PC multicore (still reckon it's 3, tops) and some kind of AMD arrangement for the GPU (final specs would be super, thanks) it's got enough grunt to push what we have today but does it have more to give?
This we need to know.
I think it has a lot of potential. I would like to see a revamp of the classic controller pro, not being bound to the big-arsed tablet would be reassuring.
gobbybobby on 8 Jun '11 said:
The internet feeds on negativity.
I think it looks interesting.
Its new people are gonna slag it off and go on what reviews say, I liked Meet the fockers and meet the parents, it got bad reviews I still love the movie!
I will give my opinion on the device when I have tired it in a shop.
Balladeer on 8 Jun '11 said:
Taken it for a run, you mean?
boskersrevenge on 8 Jun '11 said:
I think that's a round about way of mentioning it.
But let's not tread this road too much. Wheel know more closer to the time indeed.
*pun*
DAEDALUS79 on 8 Jun '11 said:
Maybe someone has already touched upon this but just how expensive is this controller going to be? I assume you will only get 1 or 2 with the system, and whilst I appreciate you can use standard wii remotes with the WIIu (I believe anyway), what If you want more than one special controller, or god forbid your only one breaks. That thing cannot be cheap to make...
shellster2 on 8 Jun '11 said:
what can i say, i'm the worlds eternal optimist.
i say to these people "Praise Miyamoto and see the light"
kirankara on 8 Jun '11 said:
really genuinely liking this idea, and could see myself owning one of these uptil, and alongside a ps4 or xbox 720(whatever they decide to call them). Playing nintendo titles in 1080p sounds glorious, plus getting all the games that come alongside(maybe in full 1080p with slightly enhanced graphics) on the regular consoles. The ability to play on the remote, whilst others are watching tv sounds awesome. I dont really need or want a dedicated portable gaming console, so this fits that gap nicely indeed.
im slightly confused though. as ive heard they wont be selling controllers seperately, so how will u play two player on say FIFA which ea hinted would be available at launch? Also, im not sure about how much controllers will be either. I dont think theyre as astronomically expensive as some predicting, as theyre not even close to ipad screen quality, and have no real components of cost inside(cpu, gpu etc), but still im guessing somehwere about the £50 mark or bit more (owch)
MrRage on 8 Jun '11 said:
Looks like a Steve Jobs & Fisher Price's love child
.
It's different but I doubt I'd ever get one.
Headsrinker on 8 Jun '11 said:
rbt2
All the 'fears' about the controller being too heavy should be put to rest. There's an article on here stating how light it is.
Yeah the article states that its suprisingly light. But its a bloke writing the artcile and holding the controller. So whats suprisingly light to a bloke, may not be suprisingly light to a 6 year old.
anytime on 8 Jun '11 said:
And you dont think nintendo, with all there experiance wouldn't take that into consideration? Once people see the actual system specs them opinions may change no matter how heavy the controller may or may not be!
krazykunal85 on 8 Jun '11 said:
The screen is WAY too small.... and its too FAT.... looks like a retarded toy!
MPH on 8 Jun '11 said:
The HDTV probably wasn't calibrated for that viewing environment.
genfactor on 8 Jun '11 said:
How powerful is this thing if it can stream multiple HD games to the controller?
Spudfella on 8 Jun '11 said:
They really should have analogue triggers for driving games so you can control throttle and braking. I really struggle to use the dpad on the 3DS for street fighter as it feels really uncomfortable and I see from the hands on it's going to share the same problem.
I really hope Nintendo refine the design for the final product taking into account comfort for long playing sessions for the true hardcore.
alan666 on 9 Jun '11 said:
people seem to be focusing to much on the controller, everyone said that the original Wii controller was rubbish & it wasn't, yes ok it looks a but cumbersome but do people really believe Nintendo are going to release something like this & not thought how people will see it, until you have tried it yourself you won't know, it was weird using the Wii controller, then using Kinect & the WiiU will be just the same, constantly posting, it looks to big & it's rubbish isn't going to change anything, just wait & see how things pan out over the next few months, after all it's not going to be released for twelve months.
lonewolf2002 on 9 Jun '11 said:
Reminds me of the Sega Game Gear.
Keeping my eye on the Wii U as it could have potential, although full specs would be nice (sure we will get them soon). In all seriousness the controller does not look too bad but would like to test the unit myself when possible.
As for extra controllers the official word was basically no comment, but one thing that is a slight worry is how much would an extra controller set you back.
MonkeyWrench127 on 9 Jun '11 said:
Doesn't this make you want to Wii U-self?
GlynCR on 9 Jun '11 said:
ive seen pictures of zelda ss being played with a U and it had the inventory screen bombs, health and s**t
it just reminded me of a ds tbh i'll wait to see the next console before i judge it
blakey2105 on 11 Jun '11 said:
I think nintendo should rename the wii u to wii ds home.If u think about it the new controller is the bottom half of the ds and your tv the is the top half.I can see alot of ds style games come to the wii u,any one for brain training HD.