The Nintendo Wii U GamePad touchscreen
The gaming giant Nintendo is planning its comeback for this fall with a new game console that takes a page from the stream of touch screen devices that’s recently flooded the mobile market. The last time Nintendo released a game console was in 2006 with its signature Wii (would like to play), but times have changed since then. The iPhone as well as Android devices were released, which included access to many engaging games in their arsenal. From Angry Birds to Temple Run, more and more users started opting for mobile devices other than Nintendo’s and it showed.
Last year, Nintendo lost almost half a billion dollars— its first in thirty years— so the company can’t be blamed for wanting to try something new, taking a different approach and ahem engaging its fan base again. That is why they are releasing what they call the Wii U. The Wii U is incorporating the changing times in its hardware as the console comes with a GamePad touch screen. The GamePad touch screen is a controller that looks oddly enough like a big smart phone with regular game buttons, but maybe that was Nintendo’s intention.
The large screen is suppose to provide users with more information while they play games, but it can also become the main screen as users navigate through their house. That means users don’t necessarily have to be in front of their TV to play! The console also incorporates social networking features so users can play with buddies or play against them.
Nintendo is also looking to include something akin to Sony’s online structure on its PS3. The online aspect will allow users to access and download games, demos and other content online. However unlike Sony, Nintendo can’t guarantee it will offer these services for free.
The Wii U console
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said “We cannot promise here that Nintendo will always provide you with online services free of charge no matter how deep the experiences are that it may provide, but at least we are not thinking of asking our consumers to pay money to just casually get access to our ordinary online services.”
Regardless of the free services Nintendo offers, this could be a make or break product for the company, which could be left eating Android and Apple’s dust.
Are you excited for the Nintendo Wii U?
