WII U GAMEPAD
E3 kicked off with Nintendo Direct today. Â We finally got to see Nintendo’s Wii U controller which from now on will be known as the Wii U GamePad. It is similar to the prototype Nintendo unveiled at last year’s E3. Â Instead of sliding analog buttons they put clickable analog sticks. Â It has a touchscreen in the center that will work with some Wii Games and also with your television. The GamePad can also work as a television remote with the NFC reader and a TV Control button, and also has a camera. The four buttons under the right analog stick remain the same (Y, X, B, A) and the directional pad on the left. I wonder how this will work with the analog sticks so high up in the corners. Â They said the back has been designed for better grip. Hopefully it’s a design that is easy to get used to.
WII U PRO CONTROLLER
The Wii U Pro Controller is for those games that cant be played with the GamePad and for those who prefer the original gameplay style. It looks similar to the XBox 360 controller. It has the “home” button in the middle like the Wiimotes. This seems to be more of a traditional design with trigger buttons on the top right and left of the buttons. But it reminds me of how Nintendo always wants you to buy another accessory and another accessory. I have so many things for my Wii that are not universal to all Wii games.
MIIVERSE – NINTENDO’S SOCIAL NETWORK
Nintendo is finally entering the online gaming world with Miiverse. Â Allowing you to chat online while playing your game, players can chat and share content to help each other through difficulties in the game. Networking can be done with voice messages, hand doodles, and emoticons.
