While competitors were talking about how their consoles will extend beyond the gaming realm, Nintendo spent its E3 time trotting out new game titles for the upcoming Wii U and talking up asynchronous gameplay. The console manufacturer also showed a handful of games that are expected for the Nintendo 3DS handheld system.
Nintendo's upcoming Wii U will have plenty of content partners, including Netflix, Hulu Plus, YouTube and Amazon Instant Video. However, that was almost a side note at Nintendo's E3 press conference. Instead, the company focused on upcoming games from established franchises, such as Mario, Pikmin, and Batman. All are expected to be released in time for the 2012 holiday season.
An emphasis was placed on asynchronous gameplay, a style of game that Nintendo feels is unique due to the Wii U's new touchscreen controller. This will provide a whole new way to interact, versus the Wii Remote and Nunchuck combo that's been a standard on the Wii since its inception. However, those exisiting controllers will also play a part (or many) in Wii U gaming.
Asynchronous gaming will be a new element on the Wii U. According to Nintendo, the player with the Wii U controller will have different duties, whether cooperatively or competitively, than the up to four players using motion-sensing Wii Remotes.
The company showed an early example featuring multiple players hunting for ghosts in a mansion. However, the one with the Wii U controller was actually a ghost trying to scare other on-screen Mii characters. Nintendo says this asynchronous gameplay will "require communication with the other players." For instance, the players hunting ghosts need to state their locations and ghost spottings for cooperative gameplay.
Even in single-player mode, the Wii U touchscreen will provide new elements of gameplay. In a demonstration of Ubisoft's Zombie U, the controller showed standard functions, such as triggers, directional controls and vibration feedback. However, the screen and touch capabilities let the player access inventory, as well as target and take out zombies with an augmented reality-style viewpoint modifying what's displayed on the TV. There was also a dialpad-style combination lock, letting players unlock doors to advance in the game or escape zombies.
While the TV is still a big part of gameplay on the Wii U console, Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of the Mario, Zelda, Pikmin and Star Fox franchises, explained that "in order for it to be a complete entertainment device in the living room, it had to be independent of the TV." The game developer, who has a strong influence on Nintendo's hardware and software, went on to explain that when someone in the household is watching TV, games played on a TV-dependent game console can't be played. However, that changes on the Wii U system, which allows most games to be played independentally of the TV. The Wii U console also powers up and is ready for play so you don't have to "wait for the TV to power on," says Miyamoto.
Nintendo will release the Wii U console in time for the holiday season, along with a slate of games from Nintendo and third-party publishers. Nintendo showed a total of 23 Wii U titles, including Miyamoto's Pikman 3 and Super Mario Bros. U. Both of those titles should be available in time for the Wii U's launch.
Third-party titles will include Batman Arkham City: Armored Edition and Scribble Nauts Unlimited from Warner Bros., as well as Darksiders II, Mass Effect 3, Tank! Tank! Tank!, Tekken Tag Tournament, Trine 2: Director's Cut, Ninja Gaiden 3, Aliens Colonial Marines, and Lego City Undercover, among others. Ubisoft will also release Zombie U, Rabbids Land and Rayman Legend. Ubisoft's Just Dance 4 is also adding a "puppet master" control mode, which lets the keeper of the Wii U controller select dance moves that other players have to perform.
Nintendo competitors Microsoft and Sony both discussed reaching out to other devices, such as mobile phones and tablets. However, Nintendo doesn't need those other screens; they built one right into the Wii U controller.
For More Information:
