E3 Nintendo Presentation 5 o'clock today

[{{909}}]

[{{909}}]

Nintendo's released the first tech specs for its new machine the Wii U.

If you missed it (yeah right) the Wii U was announced moments ago as part of Nintendo's E3 press conference.

Here's everything the Wii U is packing:

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 analogue 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 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.
Note: Details are subject to change.

Confirmed games
Assassin'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

[{{909}}]

maybe i should make new posts for each of these...


The Nintendo Wii U is being supported by two Unreal Engine games and, it seems, the Unreal Engine 3 tech generally.

Batman: Arkham City and Aliens Colonial Marines are the games in question, both of which are currently in production for Nintendo's new machine.

Since both titles are built using Unreal Engine 3, it looks like Epic Games is fully on board with the new innovative Nintendo tech.

Develop pressed Epic Games VP Mark Rein on the notion and he said that the theory "isn't an illogical conclusion to make."

Although he wouldn't reveal more about Epic's future with Wii U, he did hint by saying "Water, meet fish" a reference to a statement he made last month saying, "the second Nintendo releases a piece of hardware that can run our engine well, we'll be on it like water on fish."

[raelmadrid]

IGN hands on:

E3 2011: Playing the Wii U

Nintendo's new console is here, and we've played it.

US, June 7, 2011



Level 15

by Richard George

EVENT COVERAGE
E3 2011

It's the dawn of a new Nintendo generation. After five years of pursuing a "blue ocean strategy," the Big N is shifting to a new console, one that rivals (and potentially exceeds) consoles currently in stores. After months of having IGN's Nintendo team tracking down sources and bringing you a comprehensive picture of Wii's successor, I've finally had the chance to use the new controller and play demos on the system.

In short, Nintendo's gamble works. The controller is the best of both worlds, mixing traditional button inputs with the advantage of having an interface unlike anything we've seen from a home console.


More IGN Videos


THE CONTROLLER BASICS

What we've been reporting and suspected is true. The primary controller for Nintendo's next console is tablet based, featuring a 6.2 inch touch screen. This new device also features a very standard array of buttons, including a d-pad, four face buttons, four shoulder triggers, a power button and a camera.

One of the more interesting alterations to conventional design is the system features two analog sliders at the top of the controller rather than traditional sticks. Don't make the mistake of thinking these sliders are like the 3DS "circle pad." The texture and top shape of the sliders are much more akin to Wii's nunchuk, meaning the grip and precision of movement are much better.



The tablet itself appears large, but is actually quite comfortable to grip. The two sliders both being located at the top of the tablet make holding it considerably easier. A staggered configuration would only have worked with a much smaller design. Nintendo was also smart in making the new controller extremely light for its size, resulting in something that might look strange but is not as burdensome as it would seem.

The other major design element is a horizontal "grip" that runs underneath the tablet. The grip, however, is mostly there to house two of the system's triggers, with the remaining two being on the shoulder of the main body of the device.

More important is the fact that the new console is backwards compatible with Wii controllers. Nintendo's demos suggested it is very intent on utilizing its current generation remotes - without alteration - alongside the new tablet. In fact while the number of Wii remotes changed between mini-games, I only ever used one tablet controller.

THE TECH DEMOS

In addition to a few mini-games and one major franchise cinematic, Nintendo's presentation to me included a couple sequences designed to show off the power of the system and the innovative applications of the controller. The first, simply called "HD Experience," featured a hawk soaring through a traditional Japanese setting including cherry blossom trees and a temple. Graphically the scene was far better than Wii, of course, but I wasn't impressed at all with the quality of the textures or aesthetic design. For something that was supposed to demonstrate the power of the system, this particularly sequence failed to impress. One noteworthy element was that the tablet controller was replicating the visuals on the TV on its smaller screen, and moving the tablet would cause the camera behind the hawk to move, allowing the player to see more of the landscape.

The rough shape of this demo is no cause for concern, however. At the end of my time with the new system, Nintendo played an interactive cinematic that put all my fears to rest. The difference in quality between that sequence and this was light years apart, making me wonder why I watched the hawk video in the first place.

The second major tech demonstration featured live footage of Japan, with a camera moving down a crowded street, hovering above vehicles. Like the hawk demo, the tablet was also featuring the footage shown on the television. But as I moved the new controller, I was able to see more of the city around me, without altering what was being shown on the larger screen. I could move the tablet upward to see the sky, or downward to see the street moving under me. Even more impressive, I could start to rotate the controller or "aim" it behind me to see where I had been. Pressing a button would also flip the portable display behind me, allowing me to see backwards similar to a rearview mirror. The potential for racing games with this sort of technology is truly impressive.

CHASING AND BATTLING MIIS

I played two Mii mini-games on the new console. In a word, they are both fantastic. In concept, execut1on, scope and entertainment, they are leaps and bounds beyond what you experienced on Wii. I realize we all had fun with tennis and sword fighting, but Chase Mii and Battle Mii are very, very much capable of selling people on the capabilities of the new system. Most important of all, the concepts are easy to learn, but with some added settings and levels down the line, I'd very much like to see these as some sort of final product.

Click here to read more on Chase Mii.

Click here to read more on Battle Mii.

FIGHTING PIRATES WITH RHYTHM

It's no secret that I have absolutely no rhythm. I can't get one step right in Dance Dance Revolution. When Nintendo told me I'd be trying a music-based game, I cringed. Yet blocking airborne plungers with my shield in sync with a beat in the background turned out to be a rather painless experience. By far the most quirky demo I saw, Pirate Horde was fairly addicting, and the developers of the demo weren't afraid to step up the difficulty in relatively short order. This wasn't my favorite game, but it was strong.

Click here to read more on Shield Pose.

THE NEXT GENERATION OF ZELDA

To be honest, I didn't think Nintendo would be daring enough to show off any sort of Zelda HD demo, despite the fact that the franchise is clearly the one that would benefit the most from a vastly more powerful system. This was based off of the Twilight Princess era Zelda characters, not Skyward Sword, so those of you expecting Wii's last major game to jump ship, this demo wasn't proof of that.

I wasn't able to control Link, but the battle between him and Gohma that I saw was breathtaking nonetheless. Between changing the lighting, camera controls and even the tablet's display, this demo above all the others proved how Nintendo franchises might benefit from increased power. This was gorgeous stuff.

More The Legend of Zelda U Videos

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/117/1173582p1.html

[Billhouse]

IBM just confirmed that its using a Power 7 multicore 45nm CPU. (It comes in 4, 6 and 8 cores) and has plenty of embedded DRAM (stock chips have 4MB per core, enough for full 1080p, hopefully at 60FPS).

http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/07/i...intendo-wii-u/

The Power 7 CPU range is much, much more powerful than both the Xenon (Xbox 360 CPU Power 5) and the Cell (PS3 CPU modified Power 5).

So if the Wii U has a strong GPU and around 1GB ram, then were looking on paper at a console thats 3-5 times more powerful than the 360/PS3.

[russbeer]

Those pads will cost a fuckin fortune!

The nunchuck costs £20 and thats got fuck all in it compared to that!

[raelmadrid]

already been confitmed that it won't support more than 1 anyway so you won't need to (unless you break the 1 that comes with it)

[russbeer]

really? no local multiplayer? They're missing a trick there then. Didn't they realise thats what made the wii as successful as it was?

[raelmadrid]

rest of the players use wiimotes

[russbeer]

ahhhhhhhh

[{{909}}]

it gets more and more unusual, so the system will only ever use 1 of the screens? I'd have thought lots of gameplay options would be opened up with 1 per player but at the same time, 1 player having the screen and the others having the TV and wii remotes does too.

[Flat]

€491.45 @ zavvi pre order.

[Flat]

it gets more and more unusual, so the system will only ever use 1 of the screens?

where did you get that? seems wrong - check the "chase me" wii u demo.

[raelmadrid]

chase me uses 1 wii u controller and 4 wiimotes

as you can see here: http://e3.nintendo.com/videos/#/all/HW_demo

zavvi: http://www.zavvi.com/games/consoles/.../10475210.html

[Sanj[UK]]

All that ea footage shown was gameplay from the ps3/xbox 360 versions lol

[raelmadrid]

Wii U controller won’t be sold seprately, confirms Nintendo

Nintendo’s confirmed that the tablet controller for Wii U won’t be sold as a separate device, and will be packaged as one unit with the console.

“Both the controller and the console will be sold as one unit. You won’t be able to buy the controller alone,” a rep told CVG.
Nintendo also said that multiplayer games for the console is being made to use one tablet controller, while other users will need to use a Wiimote.
Nintendo unveiled Wii U for the first time during Nintendo’s press conference last night.


http://www.vg247.com/2011/06/08/wii-...irms-nintendo/

[Sanj[UK]]

That tablet is going to be intresting for web browsing, considering it's got a resistive screen.

[kracken]

AMD graphics and 25GB disk

[raelmadrid]