It was over a month ago when I sat in the Nokia Theater in downtown Los Angeles, California, and was formally introduced to Wii U at Nintendo’s E3 media briefing. Since then I’ve had several weeks to ruminate on my impressions of the initial unveiling, my hands-on time a day later, and questions raised about the future of Nintendo console gaming.
Rather than share my thoughts in one big dump of random musings, I’ve decided to kick off Wii U Week here at TheHDRoom. Over the course of the next five days I will be discussing my initial reaction to the first image of Wii U’s controller, my hands-on time with Wii U at Nintendo’s booth, Wii U third-party support, questions left unanswered after the unveiling, and the future sales and software potential based on what we know now.
To begin, let’s travel back to June 7, 2011 when Wii U became a reality. The first two-thirds of Nintendo’s E3 media briefing on that day felt like the opening act for the main attraction. Even as marquee first-party titles for 3DS such as Mario Kart and Luigi’s Mansion 2 were unveiled and a full orchestra expertly performed the Zelda theme song, the crowd – and audiences watching via a live stream from around the world – were on pins and needles waiting for Wii’s successor to come out and play.
And then it did, and an almost creepy silence prevailed.
Wii successor rumors had been flying rampantly for months leading up to the big reveal. The prevalent one suggested a new controller would include a small touch-screen and the console would be full high definition. This rumor turned out to be true, from a certain point of view.
The first image unveiled to the world of Wii’s successor was of the new controller and only the new controller. The problem, and driver of the silence, is that the controller resembled a tablet computer more than a video game controller, despite it having all the necessarily gaming sticks and buttons on either side. It had a front-facing camera like 3DS, and the ability to take a game away from the television and play it remotely from the console via the controller. Those were cool ideas, but 99% of the focus was being placed on the controller and 1% on the console – confirmed to be full definition but not shown at the time.
Silence, at least in my case, was because questions began swirling around my head as I glanced at the controller. How heavy would it be? Where’s the console, and why aren’t they talking more about it? What happens if you drop the controller? How big is it? Will you have to buy a giant protector cover to kid-proof it? How can this one controller not cost more than the entire Wii console does now if it includes a camera? Do you need two of them? Is the screen resolution on the controller full high definition? To repeat: where’s the ACTUAL console?
With one image, the unveiling of what Nintendo has dubbed Wii U turned into a dog and pony show. Reggie Fils-Aime was trying to convince the world that the future of gaming for Nintendo will revolve around a new control concept that would bring together casual and hardcore gamers alike on a unified platform. Many, myself included, were rendered skeptical and disappointed by the approach. Many remain so today.
As I walked out of the Nokia Theater with the lasting image of a Wii U controller on the ground displaying a golf ball embedded in a sand trap, I forced my mind to open up. Thinking back half-a-decade, my initial reaction to Wii’s controllers was along the lines of a hysterical laugh and some choice four-letter words directed at Nintendo. That motion-control experiment worked out pretty good for them and I still play Mario Galaxy with my daughter to this day.
I needed to give Wii U a fighting chance before passing judgment. Thankfully, an appointment with Nintendo 24-hours later would allow me to get up close and personal with it.
Check back tomorrow part 2 in this five-part series on Nintendo’s Wii U.
– Dan Bradley
Wii U Week Part 1: Announcement Reaction
Wii U Week Part 2: Hands-On and a New Nickname
Wii U Week Part 3: Third Party Support
Wii U Week Part 4: Questions and Concerns
Wii U Week Part 5: Optimism Prevails
