A scan from the upcoming issue of GameInformer shows Lost Planet 3 set for Wii U release on a game preview. Capcom have yet to comment on this.

We’re a mere 15 hours away from Nintendo’s press conference, and the above, purportedly leaked image of Metroid Prime 4 running on the Wii U has popped up on NeoGAF.

Fake or not? I’m leaning towards fake, personally – it looks like a slightly modified version of the Metroid Prime Trilogy start screen, and the low, grainy resolution could be an attempt to cover up the photoshopping artifacts.

Achievements with giant hammers and unlockable soundtracks? I wouldn't mind.

An anonymous developer revealed that the Wii U features a console-wide achievement system. This system is said to have a “Nintendo-spin” on it that “tracks gamer-time, scores and more.”

As with all stories sourced from anonymous developers refusing to name themselves, take it with a healthy dose of salt. Nintendo have not exactly had the warmest attitude towards achievement systems in the past, but they have implemented them into some of their biggest releases like Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Wii Sports Resort. Anything is possible, especially in the final days leading up to E3.

A leaked image of a newly designed Wii U controller has been released. It is unknown at the present time if the source is legitimate, but it seems to be real. Notable changes are the new analog sticks, previously analog nubs, which have been moved diagonally from the D-pad and directional buttons. Also, a slew of ports can be found the new controller design which were previously unseen or non-existent. It appears the controller can be charged, however, which can put to rest the worry of having to purchase batteries in bulk.

Forget The Box, from whom we’ve heard that the Wii U might feature eReader-like capabilities and that Nintendo are working on at least three new franchises for the console, have another batch of Wii U rumours for us, this time regarding what we can expect to see of the console at E3 2012.

According to their unnamed sources, roughly 70 games are currently in development for the Wii U. Ten or eleven of these are published by Nintendo and will be shown at E3, of which four will launch by the end of the year (two extremely likely candidates are Pikmin 3 and Retro Studios’ secret project, and a). A variety of third-party games will be present as well, though that’s hardly a secret – many third-party developers have been talking about their Wii U projects since E3 2011.

Another interesting detail is that Nintendo are considering pricing the Wii U lower than they really want to. While it might spell a few losses for the company, there is absolutely no doubt that getting a powerful and capable next-gen console out there at an affordable price will help it sell, which will in turn attract more developers to it. Look how well the $80 price cut worked out for the Nintendo 3DS!

Finally, we are apparently due for “a tsunami wave of 3DS and Wii U software this holiday season to soften the blow from hardware losses.” Sounds good to me!

A rumour sprung up that Nintendo have at least three brand-new franchises in development for the Wii U, by a number of different studios. As great as Nintendo’s tried-and-true properties like Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Kirby are, they do receive quite a bit of flack for constantly “rehashing” their games from year to year.

Whether you believe that or not, it’s always nice to see a company trying new things, and the Wii U seems to be all about just that. If this rumour is true, expect to hear more about these mysterious franchises at E3.

Gaming blog Dual Pixels has received word that Ubisoft are currently working on a new entry in the The Experience series starring Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga: The Experience is allegedly in development for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Wii U, and PlayStation Vita; and was scheduled for an E3 2012 reveal.

The past two games in this series, which featured Michael Jackson and the Black Eyed Peas, were not exactly hits with the critics – moreover, the music genre of games has seen a massive decline over the past few years. But I wouldn’t put it beyond Ubisoft to pump out another one of them for every platform under the sun.

There’s a rumour floating around claiming that “a prominent UK racing studio has committed to support Wii U with one project each year.”

Who this developer may be is anyone’s guess, but current speculation indicates Sumo Digital (F1 2011, Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing) and Codemasters (DiRT, Race Driver) as possibilities. A DiRT game was announced for the Wii U last year, and there have been rumblings of a Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing 2.

On the heels of IGN’s leaked Wii U and Xbox 720 relative power levels, the publication Develop revealed an alleged leak of their own. Their source claims that the Wii U is twice as powerful as the Xbox 360, when both general processing and graphics rendering capabilities are taken into account.

This figure seems noticeably lower than the other rumour’s, but it should be noted that the source made this claim sometime last year – presumably, they might have been working with an underclocked prototype dev kit.

A twofold advantage over the Xbox 360 is “broadly above market expectations,” according to Develop, but apparently, it’s not quite enough. Their source claims that a project designer “[complained] it’s underpowered compared to what Nintendo announced, resulting in people having to de-scale their plans”.

CVG have caught wind of a rather interesting rumour – and one that I personally hope is true. “Serious discussions” are apparently being held between Nintendo’s higher-ups over the Wii U’s name, debating whether it will be strong enough to differentiate the console from its predecessor.

I don’t think anyone can blame Nintendo for wanting to keep the Wii brand alive – after all, it did sell well over 80 million hardware units. But according to IGN’s sources, “[the] bulk of Nintendo’s second guessing apparently comes from how the 3DS was received, with many potential buyers wondering if the system was simply an upgraded DS.”

And that’s a scenario I don’t want to see the Wii U suffer through – many of my classmates at school all think the 3DS is just a 3D DS, including one of my closest friends. No doubt they’re not the only ones thrown off by the “DS” in “3DS”, and I expect its hurting the sales of an otherwise fantastic next-gen handheld.

If Nintendo let you rename the Wii U, what would you call it?