Apparently, decision makers for the Nintendo brand were so eager to show off the upcoming Wii U at E3, it didn’t matter if the footage being shown was even for the console being shown. From their perspective, the final product will feature graphics that look as good as the demonstration’s, so what’s the problem? In case you’re curious, Nintendo’s entire E3 presentation is available at the official site, and there’s a YouTube of the Wii U presentation:

When the Wii, PS3 and 360 had their demos back in the day they showcased games like Super Mario Galaxy, Killzone 2 and Gears of War. Which far surpassed anything graphically that the PS2, GameCube, Xbox had to offer. While the WiiU showcased current gen games running on their competitors platforms. The WiiU’s press conference just seems like such a nonevent in comparison.

Over at GameTrailers.com, one of their correspondents confronted Reggie Fils-Aime, the President of Nintendo America about the Wii U’s presentation, and that’s when we arrived at the “that’s what it’s going to look like when the Wii U is released” explanation, which is transcribed to read:

“We’re talking a year away from when the system’s going to launch. The system’s going to be 1080p,” Fils-Aime claimed. “You’re going to see games that take full advantage of a system that has the latest technology and can push out some incredible graphics.”



Of course, currently, there’s no way of knowing whether the Wii U’s graphical prowess is anything near the PS3 or the Xbox 360. Yes, the Zelda footage on the flat-screen television looks nice (at the 3:02 mark of the trailer), but, without knowing for sure, can you trust that the Wii U was responsible for the footage? Luckily for Nintendo, there’s another video that features the Zelda game, meaning it’s OK to take responsibility for the images.

The demonstration of a prototype at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the gaming industry’s annual convention, in Los Angeles on Tuesday, appeared to leave investors disappointed and skeptical. Nintendo Co. shares closed at 16,970 yen ($212.44), down more than 5 percent.

As far as the graphics of the device goes, the Wii U’s spec sheet indicates it will support the major resolutions, including 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p and 480i; and the screenshots of the obligatory Super Mario game that will undoubtedly be released when the Wii U launches don’t look bad either. Too bad Nintendo was too concerned with showing off instead of being honest. Besides, it’s not like the false boasting improved the company’s financial outlook.

It turns out not to be the Wii 2, or “Project Cafe” or even simply “Nintendo” as some speculated. The Wii U looks to bring HD gaming to Nintendo staples while sticking true to its motion play roots.

The huge innovation that comes with the Wii U is the touchscreen controller. It pretty much looks like we speculated, with a large screen and built in front-facing camera.

Here are some specs of the console and controller, from the Nintendo E3 site:

• Console is 1.8 inches tall, 6.8 inches wide and 10.5 inches long
• Console supports 1080p quality with HDMI and Component outputs
• Internal flash memory, with external USB hard drive or SD card memory expansion options
• IBM power-based multi-core microprocessor
• The controller has a 6.2 inch 16:9 widescreen touch screen, built in accelerometer and gyroscope, microphone, sensor strip, stylus, and front facing camera

The controller can be used as a standalone gaming device or in congruence with a larger TV, though the latter is the preferred method of play. For instance, a game being broadcast on the TV screen can be fully transferred to the handheld screen mid-play.

Nintendo announced some titles that will be coming out for the Wii U, including Batman Arkham City, Assassin’s Creed, Tekken, Ninja Gaiden 3, and Ghost Recon Online. One that has been rumored for some time that was also announced is Lego City Stories.

Also available on the 3DS, Lego City Stories is a continuation of the very popular Lego games featuring plots from Batman, Star Wars and Indiana Jones. It is described as an “open world game packed with action, humor, and a city full of LEGO vehicles coming exclusively to Wii U and 3DS.” Sounds like Grand Theft Auto: Lego to me. Maybe with less prostitute killing, however. (Maybe not?) Image courtesy of the Lego wiki:

The Wii U will be released sometime in 2012.

Microsoft announced that for those with a Kinect console, the Xbox live experience is going to streamline, adding voice controls. There will be a new voice search feature, powered by Bing. This search feature will cover Netflix content, Hulu Plus content, as well as games content. For instance, just say “Xbox, Call of Duty” and the search feature will pull up all COD related content.

Also, Microsoft announced that YouTube will now have a featured channel on Xbox Live, bringing millions of videos directly to the console. The new Bing-powered search feature will pull content from YouTube as well.

They also announced that many upcoming games are going to feature Kinect compatibility. Tiger Woods, Madden, FIFA, Mass Effect 3, and all future Tom Clancy game will support Kinect functions, but no extra detail was provided on exactly how.

The biggest announcement for gamers, I presume, was the last minute reveal of a Halo 4 teaser trailer. The upcoming edition of the popular sci-fi shooter will be released during the “holidays” of 2012. It was also unveiled to be the first in a “new trilogy” starring the legendary Master Chief. Wait, did they just announce Halo 5 and Halo 6 as well?

Below is the just revealed Halo 4 teaser trailer. Enjoy:

Though Nintendo’s press conference at the event doesn’t begin until 12 pm EST on Tuesday, there might be some information on exactly what shape that new console is going to take – at least its controller.

Of the many rumors surrounding the the Wii 2, or Project Cafe as it is said to be codenamed, one of the biggest and most resounding across the gaming world was the talk of a touchscreen controller.

A Japanese source Nikkei (via Mashable) is confirming the new controller that will be unveiled Tuesday will sport a nifty touchscreen. They say is will be the “size of about 6 inches.” They also say that the new controller will have a built in camera.

What could a 6 inch touchscreen controller mean for the new Nintendo console? Will gamers be able to play games directly on the small screen – basically making it its own handheld? Will the touchscreen be used to control various actions on your larger TV screen? Hopefully both? Or will the touchscreen have some other capabilities?

And about the camera, one has to think that some sort of video conferencing capabilities may be a part of the new system. Imagine online gaming chat being a visual thing, instead the pure audio chat you get with a headset.

The big rumor about the “project cafe” is that it’s going to go after hardcore gamers. It is supposedly upping the graphics and speed. If Nintendo is going to compete with Microsoft and Sony for the Call of Duty and Battlefield crowd, they have to provide something new and innovative. Video conferencing from the controller wouldn’t be a bad touch.

I guess we will see on Tuesday afternoon exactly how the new controller will work on the system. GameInformer has said that its sources think the new console will not be called the Wii 2, or Project Cafe, but simply “Nintendo.” That would be the equivalent of a band coming out with a self-titled release as their 5th or 6th album.

But hey, my mother has called every video game system I’ve ever had a “Nintendo,” so it wouldn’t be very shocking to hear it simply called that.

It will demo this June at the E3 gaming expo in Los Angeles.  From Nintendo:

Wii’s successor system

Nintendo Co., Ltd. has decided to launch in 2012 a system to succeed Wii, which the company has sold 86.01 million units on a consolidated shipment basis between its launch in 2006 and the end of March 2011.

We will show a playable model of the new system and announce more specifications at the E3 Expo, which will be held June 7-9, 2011, in Los Angeles.

Sales of this new system have not been included in the financial forecasts announced today for the fiscal term ending March 2012.

No official details have been provided about the specs of the upcoming console, but there have been a plethora of rumors surrounding the Wii 2, or “Project Cafe,” as its purported codename would have it.

Many speculate that Nintendo’s new console will be more powerful and more visually stunning that both the Xbox 360 and the PS3.  Low graphic resolution and slower performance were roadblocks that prevented the original Wii from becoming a hit with hardcore gamers.  If the new Wii console is serious about competing with the 360 and PS3 among loyal gamers, it is going to have to target more than casual gamers and children.

Oh, yeah, and that controller.

Rumors have the next gen Wii controller equipped with a 6 inch touchscreen display – which could totally change the way certain games are played.  Slashgear says that it is even possible that the Nintendo 3DS could be used as a controller on the upcoming console.

The announcement comes shortly after a severe price cut for the original Wii.  Strong sales of the Wii in 2006 and 2007 have been steadily declining ever since.

Are you excited?  Let’s hope the new Wii console is super-awesome, as I think I need some HD Mario in my life.

The Washington Post Online sent out six journalists to cover the annual video game industry tradeshow, who found themselves severely outnumbered by zealous bloggers, chasing down Steven Spielberg, and providing up to the minute coverage of the goings on there. Bloggers from Italy, from Japan, from Canada stacked atop one another in shared hotel rooms using shared laptops, chronicling the intricacies of “Halo 3.”

Before there was the exclusive worldwide club we’d come to know as the Associated Press, there were bands of aggressive journalists rowing boats (scores of them) out into New York Harbor, all fighting the waves, and each other, to climb aboard immigrant vessels, and scribble down the news from the “Old World.” Enough people were drowning that they decided form a union.

“The people who are blogging are the most enthusiastic, the most sort of evangelical,” online community manager for Xbox John Porcaro told the Washington Post.

Veteran journalists can be snooty, indifferent, or ignorant of the blogosphere and what is happening to the world of journalism. Bloggers acknowledge, too, that they’re not exactly journalists – bloggers don’t have to follow the rules. Some journalism idealists may extend (with only a hint of condescension) the ominous title of “tabloid,” and the accuracy that comes with it.

But outside the debate, the world and the blogosphere continue to spin. Journalists, who insist they’ve earned their titles and begrudgingly admit that blogs are fantastic first sources of information, continue to polish and publish the official version.

Bloggers, who don’t give a damn if they’ve earned their titles or not, continue to guide the discussion and give journalists something to talk about and to look into. It’s not that bloggers can replace journalists, or that journalists will never acknowledge the lay reporter – it’s that they’ve formed a symbiosis that makes news faster and more hard-hitting.

To criticize a blogger for being opinionated, poor at spelling, atrocious at grammar, incomplete in descriptions, or propagators of rumors, is to validate and praise the professional journalist for being the opposite, when in truth the two need each other for exactly those reasons.

Are we to criticize also Ms. Neufield, a blogger/business and religion major quoted in the Washington Post Online, who proudly announces that games are “a way of life?” Can one us of really say that her chosen majors are not exercises in and extensions of role playing fantasy — or that they are mutually exclusive in some way?

Can a writer belittle the gamer for living in a constant digitized fantasy world, when he has constructed his own from text? Can a journalist look down his nose at the blogger, or vice versa, for filling in the gaps when their arms become too short to stretch?

One also has to wonder how long it takes before shared hotel rooms and laptops evolve into an Associated Blogosphere, and the world will have to sit up and take serious notice.

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