Wii U Hands-On

Wee-juh. The secret is out and it was pretty much exactly what was rumoured and leaked leading up to E3.

While the new controller showed a lot of potential, the market reacted very negatively to the announcement and the lack of actual games at E3 was surely a disappointment to gamers. Is it a case of too little, too late or does the new controller hold enough promise to win everyone over?

There was a lot of confusion after the Nintendo press conference. Some were even asking if it was just a new controller that Nintendo had shown. Of course it wasn't. We've seen the new slightly bulkier console in action, and rest assured the Wii could not muster the Legend of Zelda or Japanese Tea Garden demos we tried at E3.

The Controller, the Games

Our main concern was how it would feel to hold the massive controller in our hands and if the sheer size and weight of the thing would impede gaming in any way. We came away surprised that it felt so natural after just a few minutes. The new controller is much lighter than we first expected, and the positioning of sticks and buttons felt good. The promise of being able to stream the action on to the controller screen is something that sounds extremely useful. The fight for control over the remote no longer needs to be quite as bloody.

What Nintendo offered us at E3 was a concept more than a fully realised console. It was an idea and something for developers to explore and try and come up with new ideas for. Therefore it was rather disheartening to see what third parties had for the console.

Sure, Nintendo fans have been longing for their own version of titles such as Batman: Arkham City and Aliens: Colonial Marines. But there was no mentioning of how these games will make use of the new controller and the showreel of PS3/360 ports just seemed to cement the idea that the console is on par with the now five year old consoles and is just sitting there waiting to be leap frogged by whatever Sony and Microsoft present next.

But even more disappointing was the fact that Nintendo themselves did not show a single proper first party title. They mentioned a new Super Smash Bros and Pikmin, games we can easily imagine will make nice use of the new controller or not depending on how you wish to control things. And that is probably Nintendo's whole point. They don't want to tie the player down to one choice on how to control their games. A nice thought, at least in theory. Providing a wide range of control options is also a limitation to developers, as they may not be able to provide the same depth for all options.

The Demos

Demo 1

The first demo I got my hands on was the Japanese Tea Garden demo. Basically just a graphics demonstration and nothing too interesting. Sure it was pretty, but I was a bit disappointed to find that the camera I controlled on the controller screen was merely a fixed one that could be rotated. I expected to be able to see garden from the bird's eyes.

Demo 2

Then there was the Legend of Zelda demo. Unfortunately this demo only gave us a glimpse of what Skyward Sword could have looked like, and while it was inspiring it only made it all the more depressing to see a Legend of Zelda playable on the floor on a hardware generation that's a decade old (more or less). I'm sure Skyward Sword will deliver, but in giving us a brief glimpse of what a 1080p Zelda would look like, Nintendo did Skyward Sword no favours at E3.

Demo 3

The next little demo saw us face off against the lady demonstrating the new device in a game of measuring. Using the touch screen we both followed on screen instructions to try and draw lines and geometrical shapes to the best of our abilities. A fun little Brain Training-esque exercise, but one that I might as well play on a smartphone or tablet.

Demo 4

Super Mario Mii was fun and it's not hard to imagine a game coming out of this demo. But it may not have been the most revolutionary use of the new hardware.

Demo 5

Next up was Shield Pose. we could easily see this a mini-game in an upcoming Rhythm Paradise title for Wii U, and although it was a little hard to hear commands and find your rhythm on the busy showfloor it still played well. It also gave us an idea of just what it will be like to use the controller and its screen to really play games in a 3D space. We really enjoyed this one and perhaps it was the demo that showed the most promise in terms of new gameplay applications with the controller.

Demo 6

The final demo I tried was Chase Mii. A basic labyrinth game where four players where chasing the fifth. The chasing players used Wimotes and each had a fourth of the screen, while the fifth player used the new controller and screen to see the playfield from above. Very similar to Pac-Man Wii and the early days of "Connectivity". A fun little game that encouraged co-operation and communication. The fact that the game made us think of a concept Nintendo introduced 8 years ago may not have been encouraging, but it was still a fun little demo.

Developer Opinions

Many developers at E3 showed interest in what Wii U may bring, and there is no doubt potential to be found here, but there was also a sense of disappointment. Nintendo are leaving the door wide open for Microsoft and Sony to some in with more powerful machines who mimic some of the ideas brought forward with Wii U. Most of the ideas presented with Wii U and its demos can be mimicked today by the PS Vita and Playstation 3. Meanwhile, Bioware's Ray Muzyka seemed happy to move the user interface and menus onto the controller screen in future Bioware RPG's on Wii U when we spoke to him, but it was rather discouraging to see Nintendo spend valuable minutes of their E3 press conference with TT Games' Lego City Stories and a rather ugly new Tekken game. Where was Shigeru Miyamoto's new game? The game that would have us line up to buy the next new Nintendo console? Maybe Pikmin Wii U is that game, but we didn't see it at E3.

Final Thoughts

It may not have been the start of a new generation most expected, but there were was some promise with what was shown at E3. It's just that we might need to wait until this time next year for Nintendo to share a clearer vision of what it believes the next generation will look, feel, and more importantly, play like.

Watch Bengt and Petter's opinion on the Wii U announcement and other Nintendo reveals, directly after its E3 press conference, below.