E3 2012: Nintendo WiiU Features Strong Online Support, New Controller and Porn Sharing!?
Earlier today, Nintendo got the E3 hype rolling early with their streaming presentation of Iwata Asks, displaying new functions of the WiiU before their formal press conference in a few short days.
Through seeing the controller in motion, displays of the equipment and an incredibly cheesy skit that’s sure to make the rounds as part of the annual “embarassing E3 moments” that everyone eagerly awaits, Nintendo was able to show that the WiiU will be more than just a Wii with a tablet.
Features include:
The WiiU tablet, now known as the “WiiU Game Pad,” will have larger analog sticks that press down, can function as an independent TV remote and has a sensor that can read cards and figures for game play. I guess that explains the figures used in the Rayman Legends trailer. Can anyone say Skylanders?
Support for the Wii Remote, Nunchuck and Balance Board. So no more having to buy a whole new set of equipment!
A new remote called the WiiU Game Pad Pro will be released as a stand alone control for the supposed hardcore crowd. It looks like the Classic Control Pro except it’s wireless and functions independently. I’m wondering though, will old Classic Controllers work?
Out of all the announcements, the biggest one would be Nintendo’s new online strategy. Trust me, with their history, I would have never expected to say that Iwata and company might have the most expansive online component of any gaming console out there, but that was before they revealed the MiiVerse.
MiiVerse will connect through the Nintendo Network and support the WiiU, 3DS and all future Nintendo hardware. The home menu will show friends, Mii’s on your console and people who are playing recent games that you have played, where these groups can chat in real time about the game their currently engrossed in. The tablet can be used like PictoChat, Swapnot and Flipnote Studios to write and draw messages to these groups for easy communication. Game play can be suspended at any point to leave messages on a forum type environment to ask questions, leave tips and communicate with those playing the same games that you are. Eventually, gamers will even be able to chat through PC’s and all mobile devices, which is a great idea since it would be better to embrace smart phones rather than treat them as competitors. Even during game play, the Mario title displayed showed players from each stage commenting on their experience. Iwata assures us that they will keep away spoilers, but I’m not too sure on how they will be able to filter that.
But the most telling part was that the WiiU Game Pad will feature full video chat support. So yes, the company that made it impossible to play with friends online for nearly a decade will now allow video chat featuring creepy old men watching 20 somethings play with their action figures while asking if they’re their best friends. At least that’s what I took from the video skit, which was like an episode of the Big Bang Theory, except it was slightly entertaining.
Keeping up with the theme of sexual deviancy, the last feature showed was the ability to browse the web on both the tablet and the TV, much like the games displayed last year. If you want to share your web browsing experience with your friends, then why not? So once I have a WiiU and I decide I’m gonna sit back and watch some porn, when Jonathan inevitably pops into my head, I can say, “Hey! This is the kind of work Jonathan can enjoy!” And just like that, I can share my porn with the rest of the world. And even though the browser will display on both the TV and the tablet, you can cover the TV in case you don’t want people in your house to see what you’re doing. But being the innovators that they are, Nintendo is bringing fun to browsing by letting off festive music and confetti when the curtain is pulled off the TV. So when my wife walks in on me, it’ll be like a really fun surprise!
Head over to Nintendo.com to watch a replay of the stream. Hopefully that can hold you off until Tuesday when the formal press conference takes place. And trust me, after watching this edition of Iwata Asks, I can’t wait to feed zombies a bullet sandwich!
