The legend that is Reggie assures us that the Wii U's online is up to scratch.

One of the features not talked about at E3 (which also happens to be the feature I’m dying to know about) is the Wii U’s online capabilities. The Wii wasn’t exactly world renowned for its online features so it will be interesting to find out how they have improved on this. CEO of Nintendo, Iwata, himself noted that the Wii’s online features were not up to scratch which is why they sought outside help when developing the Wii U’s online network.

Though Reggie refused to say  anything much about the Wii U’s online when asked about the Wii U’s online in comparison to PSN and Xbox live he said that the Wii U will have “all that capability built in”.  What this suggests, only the mind can wonder but I guess we can expect the Wii U’s online systems to rival PSN and Xbox Live.

While talking about third party involvement in the Wii U’s online capabilities he had this to say: “the best of what each of our third party partners has to offer, marrying that with the best of what Nintendo does, and bringing that versus a more rigid, a more closed type of environment.” While also going on to say that Wii U’s online service will have a flexible approach.

This sounds like exciting stuff, and as long as Reggie keeps his word we should be hearing about the Wii U’s online systems in a couple of days.

How we have yearned for Pikmin 3 to appear and now it seems our wishes have come true. It had been rumoured that Pikmin 3 would be making its way to the Wii U but now we seem to have a quote from Miyamoto which almost guarantees that the game will be coming sometime in the future.

“Well, Pikmin was a Wii game we were working on. However, as we’ve been working on Wii U hardware and I’ve been looking at those high-definition graphics and that beautiful controller, I’ve been getting the feeling I wanted to see Pikmin there instead,” 1UP quoted Miyamoto as saying.

If this isn’t a hint of Pikmin 3 coming to the Wii U then I don’t know what is. Nintendo was pretty shy about talking first party games for the Wii U, the focus was very much on what third parties were doing with it. I still expect that Pikmin 3 will make a debut on the Wii U but the question is when.

One of the tech demos displayed at E3 to show off the new Wii U was a demo showing off New Super Mario Bros Mii. It seems to play pretty similar to New Super Mario Bros on the Wii but the key difference is that Miis are playable characters in the game.

The four player action revolves around one person using the Wii U’s new controller while the other players use the standard Wii controllers. The Wii U’s controller screen could be used to select characters and to display what was going on in the game.

Reggie made it clear at the Nintendo conference that the tech demos being displayed were just that, tech demos and were not necessarily real games. Even so, I think there is a good chance that the idea of New Super Mario Bros Mii could develop into an actual game for the Wii 2.

Carry on reading for screenshots.

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What could Ubisoft have in mind for the Wii U?

We know that Ubisoft will be bringing Rabbids, Ghost Reacon and Assassin’s Creed to the Wii U but now it has been announced that Ubisoft are bringing more games to the Wii U in the form of two new IP’s.

“Nintendo is an industry reference for game design and accessibility. We are very honored to be a strong part of this new chapter of the videogame industry,” said Yves Guillemot, chief executive officer at Ubisoft.

What type of games these new IPs will be remains a mystery but we can probably expect these new IP’s to make it for the Wii U’s launch sometime next year.

Zelda coming to the Wii U?

A few games are already being mentioned to be coming to Nintendo’s next home console the Wii U: Tekken Wii Successor, Darksiders 2, Batman: Arkham City, a new Assassin’s Creed, Ghost Recon Online, and Ninja Gaiden, just to name a few. A Zelda and Mario game was also shown while demonstrating the controller.

EA is also showing a lot of support from Nintendo and suggests how a Battlefield game on the Nintendo console could be enhanced by the new system’s capabilities.

It was also teased that Super Smash Bros. will be coming to both the Wii U and the 3DS and that the two versions will have some sort of connectivity.

LEGO City Stories will also be making its way to to the Wii U. It will have open world elements as well as the usual humour we’ve come to know and love in the LEGO games.

This is the controller we've been discussing for months

Nintendo’s press conference has started and we finally know what the Wii 2 will be called. And that is… the Wii U! Not the Stream or the feel or the cafe but the Nintendo Wii U.

Reggie’s justification for the name was the fact that it is a system tailored made for one person in particular. You.

The Wii U’s new controller has also been shown and it does indeed have a 6.2 inch screen. The Wii U’s controller will allow you to carry on playing games on it when the TV is being used for something else.

The device will have twin 3D pads, D-pad, two shoulder buttons, twin triggers, microphones, accelerometer, camera, speaker and gyroscope. The controller can also be used to web browse,  to find images to share on the big screen, or Web chat.

Right as Sony’s conference came to a close, Nintendo put up a short video clip by Reggie to help stir the buzz for their show tomorrow (not as if they needed it).

Just look at that content grin on his face. I think Reggie knows he’s got E3 in the bag.

Is your body ready?

Following up on the last great 4chan leak, a batch of details surrounding the rumoured Super Mario Café have surfaced, thanks to an anonymous user claiming to have early access to an E3 press kit. Take it with a good supply of salt by your side, as always, but what the user describes really does sound like a plausible evolution of the Mario concept to me. Continue reading…

A 4chan user by the name of Round Cactus claims to be an ESRB employee who has screened the sizzle reel Nintendo will be showing at E3 in less than 48 hours. It’s quite possibly the most grandiose “leak” we’ve had so far, rivaling even those of Emily Rogers. I’ve got my suspicions about the authenticity of his info, because he claims that ‘Zelda Universe’ is the name of a 25th-anniversary collection of Zelda games, but it’s still a great discussion piece.

Full list after the break!

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