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[Ethan]

You're fanboyism are venomus.

[The Headliner]

The Wii U will not be released before June of next year, as Nintendo announce that the ‘final format’ of the new home console will be shown at E3 – suggesting a significant rethink of the device.

After a mixed reception at this year’s E3, Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata has confirmed that the ‘final format’ of the Wii U will be shown at next year’s event in June – confirming that the console won’t be out until the second half of the year.

Following yesterday’s not-as-bad-as-rumoured financial results Iwata mentioned the Wii U only briefly at a subsequent earnings briefing with investors.

‘As we learned a bitter lesson with the launch of the Nintendo 3DS, we are trying to take every possible measure so that the Wii U will have a successful launch,’ he said according to website Andriasang.

Although we were very impressed by what we saw of the Wii U at E3 there was a certain amount of manufactured confusion from some press, as to whether it was a wholly new console or just an upgrade for the existing Wii.

In the year since then we expect Nintendo will have engineered a redesign of the console itself, to make it look more visually different than the Wii, and perhaps even upgraded its graphical abilities.

The business about learning from the 3DS launch almost certainly refers to a proper online infrastructure and a stronger line-up of big name games from day one – both of which Iwata has admitted were mistakes made with the 3DS.

A new Zelda game has already been confirmed for the Wii U so we’d be surprised if either that or a new Super Mario wasn’t released at launch. When that launch will occur we still don’t know, but since Nintendo has confirmed it’ll be out in 2012, we assume it’s being lined up for autumn/Christmas.

I wouldn't be surprised if they change the name. A big problem with the 3DS is people assuming it's just another redesign of the DS, like the DS Lite, the DSi and the DSi XL (and even some retailers mix the games together on the same shelf). If Nintendo wants to avoid the same confusion with the Wii U then they might have to abandon the Wii brand, no matter how much recognition it's built amongst that less savvy audience.

[Ethan]

The 3ds was too expensive that was one of the main problems not so much about the branding. Though I get your point, I think the WII U will have the same problem. One of the reasons the Wii was so successful was the price versus the other two consoles.

[Matches Malone]

I hope a new controller (aside from the tablet controller) is also being considered.

[The Headliner]

The final version of the Wii U console will support two tablet style controllers, not just one, as the first hints of the console's redesign are revealed - including possibly a graphical upgrade.



When the Wii U was first unveiled at E3 in June it was implied (but never confirmed) that it would only work with one of the tablet-style controllers and that everyone else would have to use ordinary Wii remotes - in fact many of the tech demos were built specifically around this set-up.

But according to a source speaking to industry website Develop, 'Nintendo now know they absolutely need to support two tablets.'

'At E3 they didn’t commit to this, but they know how important it is to make it technically feasible to support two screens. Even if that affects frame rate, as a developer and player, I don’t care. It needs to work. Developers will design appropriate games for this. If you’re building a quiz game you’re not going to give a s*** about the frame rate.'

The foul-mouthed mole suggests that feedback from the console's outing has been 'welcomed' by Nintendo, and suggested that the console's final horsepower had also not yet been set in stone - with the amount of RAM and processor speed both currently in flux.

Although the controller looks like a tablet it's powered by the console itself. Adding another tablet means doubling the work of the console, although at E3 Nintendo seemed more worried about the cost to customers of having to buy an extra tablet controller.

Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata has already indicated that the 'final format' of the Wii U will be show at next year'ns E3 in June - implying that it could be noticeably different to the original prototype shown. The console is expected to be released in time for Christmas 2012.

[The Headliner]

Wii U confirmed for second half of 2012

Nintendo of America has insisted that the Wii U will definitely be out at some point between June and the end of the year, with more information promised on the new console before E3.



When Nintendo originally announced the Wii U at E3 in June last year they said the new home console would be coming out in 2012, although they never said whether that would be anywhere other than Japan.

After the mixed response to the console they’ve already hinted at changes to the hardware for this year’s E3, changes which some speculated could see it being delayed into 2013. According to Nintendo of America’s Reggie Fils-Aime though that’s not going to happen.

‘Wii U will launch sometime between E3 - which is in June - at the end of the year so essentially the second half of the year,’ said Reggie in a CNN interview at CES.

‘We haven't announced pricing and we haven't announced specific details. We'll share more information between now and E3, and after E3.’

It’s worth bearing in mind that Reggie is only talking about America here and it certainly wouldn’t be unusual for a console to be released in American and Japan first, and Europe several months later.

Although the Wii U was at CES this week, the show is not video game-focused and the demos were mostly the same as at last year’s E3.

The question now is what venue Nintendo might be intending to use for pre-E3 announcements. If it doesn’t host its own event the best guess is the Game Developers Conference (GDC), which runs from March 5 to 9.

Although GDC is not primarily a press event it does often get used as such, particularly by Nintendo - who has used it to announce new games for the last several years.

Even though this generation of consoles has lasted longer than any before, it still feels weird to think that the next gen starts this year.