This interview is a few days old, but I thought it was worth sharing, seeing how many people are thinking of the Wii U controller as an “iPad with buttons.”

Speaking to VentureBeat, Reggie Fils-Aime claimed that the Wii U’s controller wasn’t influenced by the iPad, explaining that they began development on the Wii U before tablets became the phenomenon they are now.

VentureBeat: Were there some developments in the air that also influenced the design, such as the popularity of the iPad?

Reggie: We were well in development before the the birth of tablets and, again, to be clear, this is not a tablet. It is a connected experience to the base console. It talks with the base console. It interacts with other Wii accessories whether that is a Wii Remote Plus or a Wii Balance Board. So it has very different functionality compared to a tablet.

He also makes it clear that the controller wasn’t even designed as a tablet, citing the lack of an integrated microprocessor in it as the way they plan to keep its cost “low.” The entire interview is quite interesting, actually, as it gives some insight into the design philosophy behind the Wii U, and Nintendo’s approach to revealing it. I’d recommend reading the rest of it.

We know that the Wii U’s controller will be able to play games without the use of the television set but what will the range of the controller be? Will you be able to play in your bedroom? At your friend’s house over the road?

Iwata has shed some light on these burning questions, and though he does not go into much detail, he does give us an idea of how far we will able to take our controllers from the Wii U console.

We are not saying we can get away from the living room at all,” Iwata told Time. “What I’m saying is that we shall be less dependent on the home TV set; more specifically, the images and all the others are processed within the inside of the console of the Wii U, not in the controller. So, for example, you cannot just take away the controller and continue playing.

From these quotes I think you can pretty much rule out a a friend’s house, but Iwata does seem to confirm that we might at least be able to go into different rooms in the house with the controller.

[It will have] a certain range. Also, it is possible for you to be in a separate room from the living room where the console of the Wii U will be located. However, dependent upon the thickness, for example, of the wall, we cannot tell if you will be able to smoothly play on that.

What do you think the range of the Wii U’s controller will be?

Two of the key features of the 3DS may become compatible with the Wii U. Streetpass which allows 3DS systems to transmit data to each other instantly and Spotpass which allows the 3DS to connect to wireless hotspots and receive data are key features of the Nintendo 3DS but it could be that the Wii U will share this feature.

Nintendo is talking internally about applying changes to Wii U software using updates received on the Nintendo 3DS, Iwata said. It is not expected that everyone will go online with the Wii U, so Nintendo is looking into what kinds of changes or new data can be sent to the Wii U using the 3DS.

Satoru Iwata noted that this transfer method would be great for those who would not connect their Wii U to the internet as they would experience changes on their Wii U system without having to connect the Wii U online.

In theory, you could walk around outside and receive a spotpass update from a wireless point or pass someone else’s 3DS and take that new data back to the Wii U.

It’s nice to see that Nintendo is trying to cover all bases with the Wii U and thinking about new ways to get updates and new things to the Wii U. This would also be a nice reward for those who have bought both the Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS.

So what do you think about this type of connectivity?

In a video interview with the publication EFE at E3, Reggie Fils-Aime said that they’ve only shown 10% of the Wii U’s potential off at this point.

There’s a lot more to be shown in terms of the games and the experiences, but what we are communicating is this idea of two screens – the main TV screen and then the screen you have up close – and how it can create new and different experiences.

This goes hand-in-hand with a previous report we’ve heard claiming that the Wii U’s final specs are yet to be revealed. Let’s face it: there is probably still at least a full year between now and the Wii U’s release, and Nintendo are probably holding back some of the bigger announcements about the console and its games until we get closer to its release date.

Let’s just hope that’s the case. Third-party support is great, but I’m aching to see some first-party projects behind this machine.

The arguably scandalous news that much of the footage of Wii U games that was shown at E3 was actually lifted from the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the same games caused a minor outburst among fans of all three gaming giants. Now, though, we’ve got a report that just might give us the reason why Nintendo pulled the plug on showing off actual Wii U footage.

Developers have underclocked development kits, and worked hard to deliver titles running on that hardware to demonstrate live at E3. However, due to titles not looking much better than what is currently available on Xbox 360 and the PS3, Nintendo decided late in the game to not show those titles and focus instead on tech demos. In particular, THQ stated that Darksiders II was running on development hardware and could have been shown. Also, Epic vice president Mark Rein tweeted during E3 that Gearbox’s Aliens: Colonial Marines was being made for Wii U with Unreal Engine 3, showing that Epic is bringing its tech to Wii U.

So, in other words, Nintendo kept back the “real” material from the Wii U because it doesn’t even represent the full power of the final system yet. It sounds logical to me, as they’ve still got lots of time to finalize the system’s specs.

Special thanks to Josh Dale for sending this in!

The Japanese website Inside Games was fortunate enough to get close to a Wii U console that wasn’t locked into a bulletproof capsule, and took a few nice close-up shots of it for us. Hit the break to see all seven of their pictures!

Continue reading…

I think Irrational Games are being a bit…you know, irrational. In an interview with the German site GamesweltTV, they confirmed that they’re not planning to bring BioShock Infinite to Nintendo’s latest and greatest. Not only that, but they don’t have anything else in the cards for the Wii U, either.

I find this a bit of a shame, seeing as third-party developers really don’t have any reason to complain about the Wii U anymore. I mean, it’s the most powerful console in existence at the moment (and still will be for at least a couple of years after its release), and offers up an enormous palette of gameplay possibilities with all the controllers it supports.

In an interview with Kotaku, Katsuya Eguchi more or less confirmed that a Metroid game was in the cards for the Wii U. He didn’t say anytthing about whether it was in development or not at this time, but did talk a bit about how a Metroid title could take advantage of the Wii U’s tablet controller.

I can’t give you any details now, but I’m sure there will be a new Metroid release making use of the new controller, not just to control Samus and her ship but also to give the player a new source of information. Maybe the player is looking at the screen but has the information that they need to defeat the enemy in their hands.

You could look through the screen and scan your enemy and find where its weakspot is.

From the sound of it, it seems very likely to me that something is indeed in the works, especially considering that Nintendo has been absolutely mum about their first-party support for their new console. Let’s hope we hear more soon.

Iwata found the time to meet up with his investors even through the E3 craze, and Nintendo have posted a transcript of the meeting online. In it, Iwata confirmed that the Wii U will feature neither DVD nor Blu-ray playback because you probably already have something that plays them.

Wii U does not have DVD or Blu-ray playback capabilities.

The reason for that is that we feel that enough people already have devices that are capable of playing DVDs and Blu-ray, such that it didn’t warrant the cost involved to build that functionality into the Wii U console because of the patents related to those technologies.

So there you go. The Wii U will almost certainly still be able to play movies via Netflix, seeing its penetration into almost every platform under the sun, so I doubt it’ll remain entirely movie-less. But let’s face it: you’re not gonna be buying a pricey high-end gaming console with one of the most complex controllers the industry has ever seen just to watch movies, right?

It looks like Nintendo’s getting ready for the Wii U’s release by grabbing a ton of domains related to it. Many of them suggest the possibility of games like Wii Fit U, Wii Sports U, or New Super Mario Bros. Mii (which there was ample reason to believe would turn into a full game, anyway). wiiuniverse.net in particular looks interesting – our friends over at 3DS Buzz speculate that it might be the name of the console’s new online network.

• kirbywii.com
• mariobrosu.com
• newsupermariobrosmii.com
• newsupermariobrosu.com
• rhythmheavenwii.com
• rhythmparadisewii.com
• supermariobrosmii.com
• supermariobrosu.com
• wii-u.com
• wii-u.net
• wiibalanceboardu.com
• wiifitu.com
• wiimusicu.com
• wiipartyu.com
• wiiplayu.com
• wiispeaku.com
• wiisportsu.com
• wiiubalanceboard.com
• wiiufit.com
• wiiumusic.com
• wiiuni.com
• wiiuniverse.net
• wiiuparty.com
• wiiuplay.com
• wiiuremote.com
• wiiuremote.net
• wiiuspeak.com
• wiiusports.com
• wiiuware.com
• wiiuwheel.com
• wiiuzapper.com
• wiiwareu.com
• wiiwheelu.com

Do note, however, that the registration of a domain in no way guarantees it will ever be used. For one, if the 3DS is anything to go by, it appears that Nintendo are dropping the “Ware” from their digital distribution services – probably in an attempt to disassociate themselves from their rather lackluster download experience on the Wii and DSi.