im happy about the analog sticks, i was worried about the circle pads...there was no point in choosing those over sticks for a home console.
the new location of the + and - buttons is more convenient for quick and easy access, you wont have to move your hand, your thumb should be able to reach them now from the normal position.
also, what is with the random grey square located under the D-pad?
May be a simple sticker or something on the concept.
furthermore, i agree with everyone/anyone who has asked for clickable analogue sticks.
The circle pads wouldn't have had a clickable option, but now that they are going with sticks they should include clickable sticks.
This allows simply for another two physical inputs, not to mention Nintendo has been ignoring clickable sticks for two console generations already.
But I'm happy with this redesign. Looking forward to E3!

the video looks absolutely ridiculous. not sure if in a good or bad way. but what the hell is even going on in that game?
yikes.
good luck to all those who play it!

this is slightly misleading. it's not really a 'rock' album but i'd classify it as post rock. if you like explosions in the sky, if these trees could talk, caspian, god is an astranaut, you'll feel right at home with this album.
personally im loving it.
it's not quite as consistently on par as Explosions in the Sky (some tracks are really fantastic, some are just OK and some tracks, including "Zelda's Reprise" start off well but get kind of corny at parts, but then again are awesome in other parts!) overall good but inconsistent so all around a good album but not as great as it could have been.
i've heard orchestra (sounds most natural) and of course techno covers of this music (hate the techno but it works so well due to the fact that it sounds similar to the original 8 bit songs) but i never put two & two together for Zelda and post rock, but it's dripping with epicness. i could see this partnership between kojo's music and the post rock idiom working incredibly well as a soundtrack to a new, darker, much more serious, and epic Zelda game, but i don't foresee it happening lol.
Anyway, out of all Zelda cover albums and re instrumentations and arrangements etc, this album has them all beat hands down.
In fact, there are many songs on this album that stand alone on their own two feet, regardless of the zelda themes used, and if released as a post-rock band's original i'd love it just as much. all around very good....and you can't beat legally downloading this 23 track, 1.9 hour album for free!

@RVN yes. agreed. i don't do hand helds anymore. not since GBA. two factors. i got older and found myself less interested in playing games everywhere i went, but also although this sounds backwards, the increase in power in DS/PSP was a turn off. I dont really like looking at 3D games in a small screen. I dont really care to play Ps2 or N64 or now Wii level games on the go, if I wanted that, I'd just play my Wii at home.
I liked the retro gameplay that came with the GB, GBC, and GBA. DS still largely had some games like that, but now with 3DS its going all 3D. But i really dont want to stare at that small screen to play a good looking game, i want to view it in full glory on a nice big TV!
Anyway, 3DS has been getting some games that make me consider buying one. Mario 3D land, MK7, OoT3D, SF643D, and KI Uprising.
The mario games, I'm not worried about because there will be more on the Wii U. OoT i've already played to death anyway and the graphics overhall really didn't impress me enough to spend more money on the same game ive been playing for years. Same with SF643D. But KI uprising, now I do hope that becomes another Nintendo franchise and makes an appearance on Wii U, because unless I get a 3DS (which I dont plan on) I wont ever get a chance to play that game.
I think between Mario, Zelda, the NSMB series, DKCR, Kirby, the return of Pikmin, and hopefully a return of: the metroid prime series, F-Zero, Star Fox, and now Kid Icarus, the Wii U could have the most AAA Nintendo franchises all on one system since the days of SNES

My speculation?
Aliens: Colonial Marines
Assassin's Creed III
Batman: Arkham City
Battlefield 3
Darksiders II
DiRT 3
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Formula 1 All Stars
Ghost Recon Online
Just Dance 4
Killer Freaks from Outer Space
Marvel Super Heroes
Metro Last Light
Monsters Party
New Super Mario Bros. Mii OR SOME OTHER MARIO TITLE, not necessarily this exactly as we saw at E3 last year.
Ninja Gaiden III
Pikmin 3
Rabbids Party Land
Rayman Legends
Wii U mini game compilation pack-in (all demos from last E3)
Splinter Cell 6
Star Fox or Metroid Prime or F-Zero by Retro, one of these. Nintendo can't have Mario be the only AAA Nintendo license at launch. Then again they have Pikmin 3, but Pikmin isn't for everyone, i never really got into it. Another fan favorite would definitely help boost sales, especially bc a lot of hardcore Nintendo fans dont really want NSMBM, we'd rather have another 3d mario adventure, but if we can't have that i'm sure i'm not the only one who'd get more excited about a new SF metroid or F-Zero than NSMBM.
Wii Sports HD
Tekken (based off Tekken 6, but not a port of the exact game. Tekken 6.5 or something with Wii U exclusive features, and updates brought in from whatever Tekken is in the arcades now)
Tiger Woods PGA 2013
Your Shape 2013 (or some kind of Wii U fitness game)
Assorted shovelware.

Now this seems like a hefty list and Nintendo went on record saying they don't plan to have an oversaturated launch line up but if you look, a lot of these are simple ports from games already out or games already made for ps360. and a lot of them are also annual games or expected sequels. The biggest thing that may not happen at launch is the inclusion of a star fox/fzero/metroid as I suspect retro is making after the recent NL article. But I beleive if it is not a launch game, whatever it is, it will be more or less in the next batch of games to come out for Wii U.

If Star Fox on Wii U took full potential of the HD graphics, included ship battles such as in Star Fox 64, and perhaps SOME but not a lot of on ground stuff, and better done than the SF outings on GC, then we may very well have ourselves an incredible and true successor to the original SF and SF64. (i didnt care for the gc games too much)
Oh, and if this or an F-Zero was a launch title, that's a wrap for me. I'd be getting the console at launch then.

For me its all about the launch titles. I didn't buy any of the current gen systems at launch due to lack of titles that grabbed my interest.
I got a 360 and Wii a year after they each came out, once some good games that I wanted to play were available.
The issue I foresee with Wii U is the rumour surrounding the Mario title they are planning to launch the system with. If it's another entry into NSMB, only a few months after NSMB 2 comes out on 3ds, I'm not so sure that I'd be so eager to get the system right away.
If it launches with that, Pikmin 3, and perhaps either a new IP or something else, ok, than I'd want to probably get one at launch.
But another NSMB isn't going to do it for me.
I'd end up holding out a while until the games I want are there.
It isn't even so much a matter of price. I paid $350 for my pretty crappy X360 with a 20gb hdd and the original chip/drive set up that makes it overheat & get the RRoD. But hey it still lets me play all the games I want.
and i got the Wii at full price too, before it had any cuts.
If Wii U cost $400 i'd still buy it day one if it had the right titles alongside of it.
I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

loved legos as a kid. love zelda to this day.
as an adult, i would once again make a lego purchase if this came into production.
i know they make adult lego sets, but this one would most likely be for children. it will never stop me

zelda is and always will be my favorite series. because of classics such as ALTTP, OOT, and MM contributing epic adventures in incredibly realized fantasy worlds with lore, different races, legends, gods, everything you'd want in a fantasy universe, but it was somehow different from what you typically see in the fantasy genre. Also, I love the idea of questing to find something that will forge you into a hero and then also give you the strength to defeat the enemy (master sword!)
ANYWAY
SS was fun, the dungeons were clever, a decent difficulty, and combat with M+ was pretty great. However, I felt there was no scale. Most zelda games the difficulty level in the dungeons really racks up by the end, but in SS i felt that the game was pretty flat from beginning to end as far as difficulty. i felt the first dungeon was actually pretty hard for a first dungeon, but after that they didn't really get that much harder.
Also, the entire exploratory segments were pretty shotty as far as zelda games go. OK, maybe hyrule field in OOT isnt the most exciting place to roam around but everything felt connected, like it was part of one beautiful land. You could see all the locations from hyrule field...the desert, the castle, death mountain, everything was there. It felt immersive in that way, especially for its time.
In SS the idea of going back to the sky to go anywhere else on the ground was terrible. I understand they wanted the player to have to work harder in each area, and they tried to tread the line between overworld and dungeons more by making overworld areas dungeon like, but to be honest i didnt really feel like they pulled it off that well.
And although riding the bird was a ton of fun, the sky was the most boring location in zelda history. Even the ocean in WW was better.
Also, I felt like the game could've made use of better new items. I wasn't that thrilled with the bug, the gust jar was cool, the whip was cool, but you didn't get to use these items enough. And in the dungeons that did call for them, the novelty of them wore off for me pretty quickly. They just didn't have the impact that getting a Bow or a bomb bag or hookshot has in zelda games.
I think overall Skyward Sword was a beautiful game, I loved the art style it worked really well for the Wii's graphical limitations, the dungeons once you got into them were all fairly pretty good and did provide some variety from previous zelda games, but overall I just felt that the pacing wasn't that great, the difficulty could've provided more ups and downs, and the entire design of the world you played it could've been much more connected, immersive, and more exciting to be in. It was a good game, but I remember enjoying twilight princess better when it first came out. (although now i really hate playing TP on the wii, it's just a waggle fest)
I do have high hopes for the next zelda on Wii U.
Graphics in the style of what we saw in that demo please, but it's time for a new model of link. the TP model is great but let that be for the Wii.
Also, I want either a return to Hyrule thats not just bigger for the sake of being bigger (TP) or Link to travel to a new land thats a new LAND, not the sky, not the ocean. Land.
More dungeons, more difficulty, M+ controls from SS should return, and new items that are more iconic and exciting. Heck, even the story in SS wasn't as epic as i thought it would be.
OoT and WW both had better storytelling.

this is a great article and the news nintendo has confirmed is wonderful to hear.
I need just 2 more things from Nintendo to change before they really "get" online, and primarily the first one over the second.
1. Lose the friend codes. I don't know if its too late to save the 3DS or anything, but Wii U NEEEEEEDS to launch with usernames akin to XBL and PSN. This is the most important thing they need to do to bring Wii U owners online.
2. Wiiware & Virtual console purchases from Wii owners should be transferable from a Wii to the Wii U, however, given that there is no account associated with the Wii U home screen, I don't see that necessarily happening. Although every Wii does have a specific serial number, if the serial numbers are in any way associated for each download, perhaps in that way they can create a transfer system.

LOL at the ezio statue ahahaha thats rly funny. the game looks great! but the player using the wii u controller to move platforms seemed to be not doing much else other than that. then again there were another 4 players using wii motes actually playing the game sooo i guess its a cool way for a 5th person to get involved. the NFC is cool but to be blunt if I'm dropping 60 bucks on a game i don't want to have to spend extra money on little toy figures.
hopefully other games using the feature will sell something cheaper like cards or something. then they could sell the cards in packs, say of 5 cards for 5 bucks and you get 5 cards that do 5 different things. i bet you Ubi would sell each figurine they showed for at least 5 or 10 bucks. cards would be the way to go to get more people involved.
Remember, the whole figurine NFC stuff started with that Spyro game, and was geared towards children since they could play with the figures outside of the video game and then within the videogame as well. its a wonderful idea for kids but i don't see older gamers like myself being all that interested in dropping excess money on toys.

what I want to know is what does this mean for the New Super Mario Bros game coming out on Wii U in November?
Two titles in the same series that will most likely play identically to one another being released only 3-4 months apart?
That doesn't seem to be a smart move, even on different systems.
Not to mention Super Mario 3D Land hasn't even been given a full year to rake in sales.
You know what I hope? Since I don't own a 3DS, but will own a Wii U, I hope this means that the Wii U game will be a departure from what we've seen. It will be old school but truly new. Different physics, worlds themes, gameplay elements, etc. Not just the inclusion of Miis.

New Super Mario Bros 2, utilizing the same power ups featured in Super Mario 3d Land, about half a year after the latter came out? Then, launching with the Wii U, New Super Mario Bros Mii, only about 3-4 months later? Never thought I'd say this, but it sounds like Nintendo is taking the activision root of recycling the same game to make a quick buck! I know NSMB Wii grossed 25 million USD, twice that of Super Mario Galaxy, but Nintendo c'mon, Mario deserves better treatment.
I just hope that NSMB 2 on 3DS and NSMB Mii on Wii U are varied, challenging, fun, and include something different then previous NSMB entries, and more importantly, are different enough from each other. But two NSMB games in one year? 4 months apart? Just seems redundant.

No. This does not amply show off the Wii U's new power, and although it may make interesting use of the tablet I think a 3d Super Mario adventure game would have been so much better suited to show off every potential of the new console, from sprawling vibrant worlds in HD, to use of the tablet.
The NSMB Mii demo from last year looked IDENTICAL to NSMB Wii, as if it was running on an emulator on a PC in HD. That's ALL it was!
And if I'm playing a Mario game I want to play as mario - not mario's body with a Mii head on it. That holds no interest for me.
I'm rather disappointed. You can't expect Nintendo to not make a sequel to NSMB Wii since it was so successful, but that as Mario's first outing on the new console?
I'll tell you one thing - this better be because it's a simpler game and therefore easier to have ready by launch. Nintendo best be having something incredible cookin' under their sleeves for Mario's first 3d adventure on Wii U.
That, and they better have some other big Nintendo franchise ready for launch (Pikmin 3 is cool but I'd rather see F Zero or Metroid) to move those consoles off the shelves.
NSMB Mii is not going to make me buy a Wii U on launch for full price, not by a long shot. If there are other great games (not 3rd party, because I can always get those on my 360) on launch by Nintendo, then maybe I'll still pick up a Wii U on launch, and then I'll get this game anyway. But if not, then I'm going to be waiting until bigger & better Nintendo titles come along.
Don't get me wrong - NSMB Wii was incredible and I loved every second of it. But another one - i just don't know how they are going to change it up enough that it isn't simply an HD clone with Miis....to be honest NSMB Wii was the same thing as NSMB on DS, just with multiplayer and new levels.

It's about time for a fresh idea for Super Mario.
I don't want another New Super Mario Bros game. I'd rather see a brand new entry in the 3d 'adventure' super mario games instead.
I don't want a Galaxy 3 either. Galaxy 1 and 2 are plenty in that type of gameplay.
I want a game with a large overworld worth exploration that carries secrets, stars, and you have to figure out how to gain access to levels, the way you did in SM64 and Sunshine, as opposed to the bland, very linear, not at all exciting design of the Space ship from Galaxy 1 just used as a useless hubworld, where they got rid of it basically altogether with Galaxy 2 where essentially you just pick your level on a map.
I want to see open worlds again. I remember having so much fun simply exploring Peach's castle and Delfino isle.
I hope Mario Wii U is new, exciting, and huge.
NSMB Mii wouldn't cut it for me. It would end up being too similar to the other two entries in that series, and wouldn't make the best use of the HD graphics. It wouldn't cause me to say, "I need this system the day it launches". A new 3d Super Mario would, though.

i can see this going one of six or seven ways.
1. Direct remake of ALTTP for the 3DS in a full 3D world, think console zelda games n64 and up. (Could also have dungeons in full 3d, but overworld in the style of the original, but that to me sounds like a bad idea. But they could mix it up though as far as camera angles from top down and 3rd person, i think they could make it work.)
2. Direct remake of ALTTP for 3DS built from ground up but still 100% top down perspective, albeit new graphics and animations and what not, but keeping layouts of maps and dungeons the same from the original game.
3. Direct remake of ALTTP for the Wii U in a full 3D world. Wouldn't make any sense to include any top down perspective.
4. Direct sequel to ALTTP for 3DS in 3rd person 3d world, either 100% or mixed with top down. Could possibly be 100% top down, but now that we've tasted OoT on 3DS I'm sure they'll want to do some sort of 3rd person view.
5. Direct sequel to ALTTP for Wii U, 100% 3rd person 3d world.
6. See #4 and #5, but instead of sequel, prequel.

Personally, because I don't own a 3DS, and I will definitely own a Wii U, I would like to see #3, #5 or #5 as a prequel. I think the tone and story of ALTTP could really benefit from the kind of art style we saw in the Zelda HD demo. Realistic, mature, and beautiful. And with the amount of small detail they could include in an HD wii U game, Nintendo could really throw long time Zelda fans lots of little tie-ins to the original, lots of nods and easter eggs so-to-speak. It could also help tie together a ton of the Zelda lore that Skyward Sword sort of tried to help sort out, but didn't really do a fantastic job.

I'm not sure exactly why, but for some reason I see the Wii U tablet controller as being PERFECT for the return of F-Zero. F-Zero skipped the Wii, and I understand why. It wouldn't make great use of the Wii mote. Motion controls would be hard to nail precisely for a game that fast paced, and also with such loose controls. It's not like mario kart. And to be honest I never used the wiimote sideways for mario kart either.
But for F-Zero, with control sticks and buttons and glorious HD, it could be the best game in the series to date.
Miyamoto is talking about a surprise factor? There's no surprise that it wasn't the best game with the Wii, but it really is a great fit for Wii U, and what I'd like to see is a fully realized brand new F-Zero for Wii U, with potential DLC for more characters, classic tracks, etc. I don't want to see a small Wii Ware version of F-Zero on Wii U though, it wouldn't do the series justice.

this makes me realize and remember how many insanely fun, addictive, and overall great games there were back in those days. They were often simple, but that's what made them so compelling to play. There are simpler arcade style games being made now for Wii Ware, PSN, and XBLA, but they just don't capture that 8 bit vibe that I started out on as a young gamer.
The sheer number of illustrations here, in their comical, mischievous, action packed, and fun way, really do capture the glory that was NES.
It sort of makes me want to go download every single Virtual Console game the Wii offers lol. If only they were cheaper.
Once it gets to the Wii U, prices should really go down. NES games should be like, $1.00 each. And SNES can be $2.50. N64 should go down to $5, and gamecube could be anywhere between $10 & $15. Digital versions of Wii games could even be distributed, for a more substantial sum, $20 - $30. And, similarly to XBLA and PSN, full retail Wii U games could be distributed digitally for a slightly discounted price, say $50 instead of $60.
I hope Nintendo does this.
Then I truly will go on a downloading craze!

wii U needs a real, new, super mario game. as new as galaxy was.
it needs a mario kart, a 2d super mario that is NOT just another NSMB that's exactly the same, a new Zelda in a year or two due to how recently SS was released, a new F-Zero as a launch title, a new Metroid Prime (i know it was supposed to be a trilogy but by god that was such a good series), Pikmin 3 at launch, Super Smash that really changes up the formula a bit and keeps it competitive and fair, a new dedicated Yoshi game where he's not just a guest character for Mario, a new Donkey Kong in 3d would be great - think DK 64 sequel. Long overdue, that game was underrated. It needs a new Star Fox which could really take advantage of the Tablet if you held it up and used it to look around beyond the TV to see the space around you during flight, a new Paper Mario or maybe a fully realized 3D Super Mario RPG - a sequel to the SNES game! That would be very cool. Imagine on the wii U in glorious HD yet still stylized in the typical mario fashion, a huge Peach's Castle to explore and interact with. and lastly, a BRAND NEW IP from Nintendo. The last one on a home console was Pikmin. Let's see some new ideas - i know Miyamoto has something cookin', hopefully it'll be a launch title.
But more directly associated with the article - yes, Nintendo is relying too much on Mario, and I think they have such wonderful other fan favorite series that they can exploit more to move consoles. I think if Wii U launched with an F-Zero as a racing game, Pikmin 3 as a strategy game or whatever it's categorized as, Metroid Prime 4 as a shooter/adventure, and some sort of fighting game the system will fly off the shelves. Not to mention great 3rd party titles like Assassin's Creed 3, Skryim, Arkham City, etc. For those who only own wii's, I'm sure they'd be excited to play games that have been out for a year they couldn't play. For me who also owns a 360, I'm holding on Arkham City so it'll have all DLC and expansions most likely, as well as Assassin's Creed 3 since it'll likely run in 1080p and just be nicer to look at with the HUD moved to the tablet.

In a way I disagree with the article. The notion that graphics are becoming less important, I feel is overwhelmingly the opposite of the truth from the gaming community at large.
As a long time nintendo fan and owner of a Wii and DS, I can attribute that no, graphics are not everything. I love both systems.
However, I can say that from the perspective of a 360 owner and your typical gamer who's mouth waters at a pretty game, that the closer we get to photo realism and Avatar/pixar -esc graphics in real time, the more and more I want to actually see it happen all the way. I feel many "hardcore" gamers probably feel the same way, but even just the gaming community at large.

I do think that developers need to focus on quality of the games though, because although Battlefield 3 and Crysis 2 may be two of the prettiest games on 360, I for one was not a fan. I got burnt out on the FPS genre by COD4, after only owning 2 & 3 before it. Nothing has come out thats been so good that has brought me back to it, I just simply cannot enjoy it anymore.
So with that one example, do graphics make the game? No. Because then I would've enjoyed it.
But, with a game like Skryim, did the graphics overhaul from Oblivion make it a better game? It sure as heck helped! A lot of mechanics were changed for the better in Skyrim, and graphics were definitely a leap forward from Oblivion. All helped for immersion, and overall enjoyment. I loved being on top of a mountain and peering over the vast beautiful world around me.
Assassins Creed is a series that benefits greatly from great graphics as well. Immersion is the word here, folks.
Mario games, in 1080p, will only make the vibrant colors and brilliant levels pop in an eye-catching way more than ever before.
Zelda games will benefit in a way similar to Skyrim for having great graphics.
Pikmin would benefit in that tiny world to having sharp, realistic textures when you get up close and personal to a plant 10x the size of the pikmin.

I will simply say this - power cannot hurt. It also gives the developers more room to build what it is they want to build, with less struggle. And they can build bigger, more expansive, more detailed worlds with better processing and graphics.
The Wii U needs to be more powerful than the current generation.
Not equally powerful, and CERTAINLY not weaker. Nintendo will destroy itself if it releases a SECOND console this generation that is not even as powerful as 360/ps3.
It needs to be more powerful than anything out there today. Even if it is flat out beaten by the ps4/xbox 3, it needs to be better than current consoles otherwise it will never be considered next gen.
Also, the Wii sold because of it's controller.
The Wii U will not sell simply because of the controller. It has sticks and buttons that have been used in gaming for a very long time.
It has a touch screen. Just like a DS.
It is not such a brand new idea that it will sell off the "gimmick" of the controller alone.
Although I'm excited for all the uses on that touch screen combined with a TV and glorious HD, THAT'S THE THING! GLORIOUS HD, i didnt even mean to type that, it came out. I'm excited to see a powerful nintendo console once again. It is something I miss dearly.

Nintendo Wii was one generation behind in terms of power. But we know that the Wii is capable of producing graphics that were somewhat better than Xbox, Ps2, and gamecube. It was referred to often as a gamecube 1.5 in terms of power.
I will reiterate. The Wii is considered one generation behind. But, it is more powerful than all of the consoles of the previous generation, even if it is only slightly.
That being said, the Wii U will be on par, if not slightly more powerful (at least) than the current gen.
Nintendo would be, quite frankly, the dumbest company in the world if they were to come out with a next gen console that is not even capable of producing the same power as the current gen of consoles.
It will be at least just as powerful, and like I said, I'll put my money on it being equivalent to an Xbox 360 v 1.5, as opposed to equivalent to the next generation xbox/ps, but also as opposed to being weaker than the 360/ps3. To me, that sounds obsurd, and I refuse to believe Nintendo would sh*t all over their fans and gamers, by releasing a console that is not even current gen, AGAIN! So, two consoles (wii and wii u) coming out 6 years apart, neither of which are on par with 360/ps3? Yeah, right. That makes sense.

Definitely need a black version. The Wii U looks overall too similar to Wii right now, I know they want to keep it sleek and simple, and they should, but they also need to make sure that Wii U stands apart from the Wii.
Black is a slick choice as the article said to match some home entertainment setups, including my own. The white is a good option too though, almost has that 'futuristic' type sterile look we often see in sci-fi movies and such.
But they should definitely offer bundles with games and have special editions - OR - they could at least do something akin to the 360's 'skins' thing where you can customize it yourself. But with that said there have been game-specific special editions of the 360, Nintendo could definitely do some seriously great looking stuff to that system with their own franchises.
Honestly I don't know that I could afford a Wii U at launch, but I know I want one.
If there was a Zelda Wii U game coming out maybe within the first year, with a special edition console, it would probably be enough to push me to buy the console even if I wasn't ready to yet financially.
And btw...loved the black gamecube. Thought it was so cool. Had a purple one but always wanted to trade it for a black one lol. Color options definitely help.

they should release this on Wii U

Glad to hear it. Even if the Wii U does eventually become a "dreamcast" scenario where it's an 'in-between' generations console and therefore is flop even if it is an incredible console, Nintendo will be ok.
The way I see it, is Nintendo knows they can't be so far behind in hardware now. They know they have to continue supporting and nurturing the casual audience they grew with the wii (hence all Wii mote & 'chuck support on the Wii U, and backwards compatibility) but they also know that they have to win back the hardcore audience which has been on a steady decline as the installbase for the big N ever since Gamecube, or, arguably, N64.
The Wii U seems like the perfect console to do this, but as I said, if it does happen to suffer in sales due to any or all of these following reasons; gamers don't feel the need for a new system yet so won't invest, hardware is better than current hardware but not so good that it won't be able to stand up to the next gen systems from the competition, it's too expensive due to the tablet controller, or a bevy of other possible reasons, I do know now thanks to this article that Nintendo's nest egg ensures that it won't go the Sega route of becoming software-only due to one failed system.
To be blunt, Nintendo can clearly afford to have the Wii U be an utter failure, and then make a comeback in the generation after this new one.
I'm very happy hearing this news, with the comfort knowing that Nintendo's worst case scenario being that the Wii U flops, they lose any money spent on the system/time/resources, they wait out the entire 8th generation (be it another 6 or 7 or 8 years or whatever it ends up being) and then come back strong with an up-to-date rock steady console in the 9th generation that in no way could be considered "in-between" generations or one generation behind in terms of power.
But here's to the Wii U and future news, I get more excited for E3 to see what this baby can do every day. How can anyone not love Nintendo? They are a game company for gamers and fans, truly, a source of never ending innovation, and if it weren't for them homeconsoles would not be what they are today, or what they will be tomorrow. as an owner of microsoft and sony platforms as well from the ps1 to the ps3, original xbox to the 360, as well as the n64 to the wii, even fanboys of competitors need to have love and respect for Ninty. But why am I preaching to the choir? After all I'm on Nintendolife

LOL watch it becomes a spinoff standalone game. Super Mario Pro Skateboarding. After all, it may be the only sport mario hasn't done yet loll

ive had every AC game on 360. Was planning on getting wii U, now I definitely will and get AC3 on Wii U instead. Why? Wii U runs 1080p, and definitely has more power than ps3/360. I think AC3 will look more or less the same on all 4 systems (PC too) but, as in a high-end PC, it will simply run better on Wii U than 360/ps3. Faster load times, higher frame rate, higher resolution, less lag, potentially even better lighting/shadow effects/special effects/etc.
I know AC3 release OCt 30, and Wii U is launching in Nov. That means I'm going to have to wait, but I REALLY hope that this is a LAUNCH game for Wii U.

doesnt really make a whole lot of sense to reprint...if they really wanted to try to profit they could've waited till the end of the year and thrown this on the Wii U as a downloadable game. Wii U is doing with gamecube games what they did with n64/snes/nes/etc games on the Wii i believe.

I mean, i think it's a brilliant idea to create a new game like that and then release it via virtual console or something, and then even a physical release such as this one for nostalgic purposes and really enthusiastic collectors and gamers who have the system still.
But honestly they are missing a big opportunity if they don't make a digital copy of this game.
And it's a really intriguing concept...producing a brand new game but under the limitations of a retro system...if a company produced a new game under the limitations of N64 though it would just look dated. But new NES and new SNES games are actually quite a brilliant idea...it would look and feel retro, but it would be brand new. Then release them on VC!
They could very easily have produced this game for Wii or even Wii U in HD, and made it a 2D game, much in the vein of DKCR, KRtD, and NSMB, how they are new but retro in style and gameplay. But to actually limit yourself to the hardware of the retro system....it's almost ingenious lol.
I'm curious as to what happens with this game.

Nintendo is smart.
They are not including a built in HDD, Bluray or even DVD support. The r&d costs are relatively low for a new system due to the support of all Wii devices & accessories. Even the look of the new system is based off the original Wii.
This will all drive costs down, leaving room for higher costs with the controller & power.
I'm guessing the Wii U will cost between 3 & 400.
If they sold below 400, they will be selling at a loss, something Nintendo does not have a history of doing. That said, it may not mean anything though and they may still do it. If any gaming company has the software to move hardware at a loss, it's Nintendo. They will still profit especially since the best games on the systems are always Nintendo made anyway.
I will buy a Wii U if it sold for $400, but I actually suspect $300 or $350 because I think Nintendo would be scared to launch a system that high...they would lose a large portion of the casual market who isn't willing to pay that much for video games.
But I do think Nintendo needs to heed Gearbox's urges..for the Wii U to really be NEXT gen, they can't simply play catch up to what's been out for 6 years already. They need to leave 360 & PS3 in the dust.

while this was a lot of good 3DS info, i was kind of disappointed in this Nintendo Direct announcement.
They built it up, and because of that I watched it and found info that i normally wouldn't have gone looking for. That's good advertising.
But, I was really hoping for some Wii U info.
I don't know what I was expecting, they probably are not going to show any screen shots or system specs until E3. But Reggie teased us at CES saying that they were going to release bits of information about Wii U throughout the year!
So I thought this Nintendo Direct would have something about it, but not even mentioned :/

@Tech101 that's actually a pretty brilliant idea.
I hope this does come to the Wii U because as others have said, it would definitely help the system in the long run. the more big 3rd party 'hardcore' titles on the system, the better!
If nothing else, they just port the 360 version (devs have said the wii u is similar to develop for to the 360) and simply use the extra screen as inventory or something basic.
But personally, I was never a big RE fan.
Or if Capcom really wanted to put a lot of effort into it, they could have two control set ups.
The first being a direct port of the 360 with the controls mapped onto the facebuttons of the wii u tablet, and the second being motion plus controls akin to what we saw in the rerelease of RE4 on Wii.
on a side note...i hope all new Wii U games that decide to use motion control are required to be MotionPlus. To go to anything less than that now would be a step backward and can be especially felt due to the Kinect and Move.

if 3ds costs $250 (if nintendo were to profit on each device sold) for Wii level power, 3d output, and a combined screen size of about 7 inches thats not anywhere near HD, than for the Wii U to feature next gen, 1080p tech in the actual system (putting OEM costs alone around $450), plus a 6-point-something inch screen, in HD, with the same 3D as on the 3ds, than i'm scared of what the wii U will cost consumers.
If it cost $400, I'd still get it. But even at that price, Nintendo will be losing money on each system. Furthermore, a second controller (should the system support it) would cost well over $100, maybe $150, and perhaps even as high as $200 (if HD and 3d) for Nintendo to profit....
It's also unlike Nintendo to release such an expensive piece of equipment.
I am guessing that they'll try to sell the Wii U at or around $300 - $350, and take a decent loss.
The controller already looks great, it doesn't necessarily need to be 1080p. 720p would be more than enough on a screen that small. And the 3D is a no-no. If they really want to output 3D they should do it through the system on the TV for those who have a 3D tv, similarly to how Ps3/360 support 3d.
If they cut out DVD support to save a few bucks, than they should definitely not include a 3d screen, or even the HD screen. Not worth it.

it's still a home console. the console is going to have to be plugged in and on in order to stream to the controller which i imagine can only be so far away. Therefore, the console must be in the home, and the player with the controller must also be in the home, albeit not necessarily in front of the tv, but still in the home.
It's a home console.
Nintendo, I love you, but sometimes you just try to hard & overcomplicate things.

I hope the next Zelda is more open & connected than Skyward Sword, and more full of life than Twilight Princess. Skyrim is perhaps the best model out there right now of what it could be like - different areas of the world look different, architecture, environment, wildlife, etc. But it's all connected in one expansive world that loads in real time so there aren't any loading screens unless of course you enter a city or something. SS really didn't feel connected at all, it was really a rather well played illusion by Nintendo, most likely due to the lack of power in the Wii.
It was a pretty big world but with very clearly closed in sections.
And the sky was rather bland to be honest. I loved the game but i could see a lot of improvement in the next Zelda.
Also, I hope the screenshots from the Zelda HD demo ARE the first screenshots of Zelda Wii U.
They said those graphics were in real time, and that's just the demo. So if Nintendo can pull off those graphics or perhaps better, than it will blow away anything that 360/ps3 can do easily. They are still stylized, yet realistic and absolutely gorgeous. And as cool as the TP model of Link is, I might perhaps want to see a new version of him.
I definitely want the next zelda to be in Hyrule again, on the ground, no sky, no water, just in good ol' Hyrule. But make hyrule so full of life like we've never seen it. Hyrule in the 2d old zelda games had all those trees everywhere! let's see some true foliage and next gen graphics, exploration, and seemless connectivity between locations!
A return of on horse combat, support for both traditional and motionplus controls with an adaptable AI that knows which controls your using (it'll affect how they defend, ya know?) as well as a return to the open world ness of the very first Zelda! Let there be random dungeons that aren't vital to the story scattered over Hyrule for us to find with loot, special items, and challenges! Side quests a la Majora's Mask must also return.
Zelda HD should be the most epic and packed zelda ever created!!!

we were expecting DLC with 3ds & Wii U and i'm glad to here. mario kart is the first game that comes to mind. super smash bros also does.
expanding rosters & stages of course being the most obvious use.
thing is, in this article Nintendo's motivation is to keep up sales of a game, even after other new games come out & said game is "old".
With this in mind, a costumer who knows there are, say, 10 downloadable stages in MK7 meanwhile there is another competing game that just came out, perhaps they will choose MK7 over it. Or someone who owns and beat MK7 is thinking about buying a competing game, and then DLC comes out and they don't bother because they want to keep playing MK7. It ups Nintendo's competition.
However, to do this right, they need to release it cheap or free.
Otherwise, Nintendo games will start to suffer the current gen's plague of us getting incomplete games, or games that are purposely MISSING pieces just so we buy them later as DLC. I can think of a few games that have done that on X360.
I hope Nintendo treats it's consumers right.

the functionality described here by adding information to a QR card or whatever, sounds like it could be done using an SD card. i suppose this may be quicker since its all wireless. eh, if the tech is cheap and isn't going to make the Wii U cost anymore than why not?

I would definitely like to see another name for the console. I knew that the Wii U was a sperate entity from the Wii from the getgo, but I can understand why some may have been mistaken about it.
But I have no ideas for names..something simple. The NES 6? Nintendo Nexus? (as a play on the words NES and six, it being the 6th nintendo entertainment system essentially)

@RetroEagle i was simply saying that a Zelda game is highly unlikely as a launch title, due to the fact that Skyward Sword will have only been out for one year by the time Wii U launches. And also due to the fact that I too have read the rumors & interviews that say more Zelda is on the way, that also mention it will not be for some time.

Two things. I'm glad they don't want to try to force a game onto the Wii U that wasn't built for the console.
HOWEVER, to be perfectly honestly, although the Tablet features many unique and creative possibilities that don't currently exist in consoles, it also features the same classic button controls you find on t360 & PS3 controllers.
Nintendo didn't do this by accident, they did it on purpose to be a little more friendly to 3rd party developers. I know 3rd parties always had classic controller/gc controller options on the Wii, but of course they felt compelled to use the Wii mote.
Now, the main control scheme has all the new possibilites the tablet provides, but, as the Zelda HD demo showed us, it has the very SIMPLE possibility of taking the HUD off the TV and putting it on the controller & using plain old button controls!
That's why I think this statement is a little troublesome...
The Wii U can absolutely have done a direct port of this game from the 360/PS3, simply putting a map and the pause menu on the Tablet and using plain old controls. No other features of the tablet or Wiimotion+ needed to be used. 3rd party developer's need to understand this - Nintendo is hands out given them everything they could conceviably ask for - 1:1 motion controls if they want to use it, a touch screen on the controller, panaramic views, all the different demos of what the tablet could potentially be used for from E3, next gen graphics & power, internet functionality, and simple, good ol' button controls!
No developer needs to use any of the more creative stuff if they want to simply port, something that was an issue with the Wii (along with the lack of power of course) Do you think if Bethesda ends up porting Skyrim, they are going to do much more than simply but the menu's onto the Tablet? I guarantee they do not. And they should port it because it'll run a whole lot better on the Wii U than on 360/PS3!
My point is, I don't like the attitude of crystal dynamics or the fact that they seemed to be intimidated by the Wii U's control scheme.
But on a positive note it does also sound like they are interested in the Wii U and building a game specifically for it that does utilize the creative possibilites it brings to the table. So we'll see what happens in the future - i just hope that 3rd party games of this gen and the coming gen don't skip porting to the Wii U simply because of it's controller, Nintendo made it that much easier for them to port via the return of button controls, i hope they realize this.

oh yeah, and along with everyone else, if it is around $350 or below I'll try to scrape together the cash, plus one game. $400 is a lot to drop but this will probably be worth it. What will sell me is if I see any MAJOR, HUGE new titles in one of the following Nintendo series:
1. Zelda (unlikely, almost guaranteed no, but hey, one can wish)
2. Super Mario (more likely, and as much as I loved galaxy 1 & 2 i'm hoping for something more along the lines of SM64/sunshine with a nice big Hub world that also had stuff to do, unlike the hub ships in G1 & G2)
3. Metroid PRIME (make a return!!!)

Those three, particularly because they would probably take the most advantage of the new horsepower of the Wii U, as well as the fact that they are typically fairly large games and will last me a while if I only bought one game at launch. I think the only other game Nintendo could concevably launch with to move this console would be Pikmin 3, fans would buy this system just for that game.
They might do that NSMBMii, but to honest it wouldn't showcase the Wii U's power. They could throw us a surprise, new Starfox or F-Zero, anyone? You never know.
Oh, and yes they need a strong 3rd party launch line which looks like it will have. But as I said to sell me at launch I think I need one of those 3 games I mentioned above. I know the Wii had Twilight Princess but I didn't buy the wii at launch due to the fact that TP was on gamecube & i just got that version (at first) and the Wii didn't really have other games that compelled me to get it right away. Come on Wii U, this could be Nintendo's best sales figures ever if they do it right!

Smart. I was hoping for this. I probably won't get one at launch, i'm anticipating this item being $300+ and likely won't have that extra cash lying around. But for Nintendo' sake, this is obviously a smart move. I remember when the Wii first came out around that time of year, you couldn't find one, and stores had lines out the door for them.
I attribute the poor sales of the 3DS in the beginning not necessarily to it's high price alone, but absolutely also due to it's random Spring launch...when are gifts given or extra money randomly found in the middle of Spring? It caught me off guard completely...during the Holidays customers are saved money for gifts, and many people receive money as gifts so right after the holiday's they can go get whatever they want. They should've hyped the 3DS more, waited for SM3DL and MK7 as launch titles, and launched the 3DS during this past holiday season. It already did very well, but I think it would've done just as well at the original $250 price point, raking in loads more cash for Nintendo.
Anyway, here's hoping the Wii U flies off shelves. I actually hope that I can go to any major retailer at the end of the year, and find they are all sold out of Wii U's.

looks a bit bland if you ask me, shift 2 had more personality & excitement. However, i could see a lot of potential use with the tablet controller in racing games. most obvious would be for it to act as a steering wheel, but the wii mote already did that anyway. but who knows what we'll see..
one other thing - that trailer is on PC perhaps, but there is no excuse for the Wii U version to not look at least just as good. The thing about tech for new consoles when they come out is, they need to be able to at least match current PC's performances and have the potential to go above and beyond current performances to keep up with the times.
We all know the Wii U is Nintendo catching up to the HD world we live in, but it needs to also skip a generation power wise to catch up with the likes of microsoft & sony's next consoles. If Wii U can't match this trailer if not make it even better (which is a good looking trailer graphically) then I'll be sorely disappointed.
i've got hope though based on the Zelda HD demo. Can't wait for some actual gameplay footage at E3 this year.
#dothingsrightnintendo.

2 on the 3DS & one on the Wii U, have all 3 be related to each other in even more interactive ways than the Oracle games were, but in essence the same way...i.e. you don't get the FINAL ending on one unless you have a completed save file from the other two or something to that end.
Have interconnectivity between the 3DS games & the Wii U game.
This would be a smart move for Nintendo..they could get very creative in ways to connect the games and truly make for an epic story.
Also, it would give a very high reason for fans who don't own a 3DS and are very borderline about it, such as myself, to get one. It would also give 3ds owners who are borderline about getting the Wii U a good reason to get one.

while im not really dissappointed by this, it would've been a great inclusion. however, i'm not surprised...i think they might be purposely leaving this out to potentially release HD versions of Wii games.
Let me put it in perspective. Xbox 360 is a generation greater than xbox in graphics, and is in HD. But the 360 does not have the ability to upscale xbox games into HD. Given that the Wii's graphics are considered to be gamecube 1.5 (basically just a bit better than the previous generation), let's round down and simply consider it to be part of last gen's graphics. Wii U, let's consider part of the 360 generation graphically (being modest! We all know it'll be much better! i hope!!) asking the wii u to have upscaling for wii games is like asking the 360 to do upscaling for xbox games which it does not do, so i'm not surprised.
furthermore, both sony and microsoft's current systems have released individual games and bundles both via download and on retail discs of last generation's gems in HD. I can foresee nintendo doing this with perhaps some of the hidden gems on the wii that never got the limelight they deserve...i doubt we'll see super mario galaxy 2 rereleased, because we are going to have a brand new ground up truly next gen mario game in full 1080p HD. It'll look way better than the upscaled screenshot of SMG2 included in this article, we can all count on that.
At the very least, i expect the Wii U to be equal to an xbox 540, so to speak. the next gen efforts of sony and microsoft may still beat out wii u in terms of power, but we all can count on the wii u making current systems look like yesterday's news (which it is at this point).
What i do have to say though is i can understand why some people might have expected this of nintendo even when no one else did it this generation when they went HD....it's because nintendo fell a generation behind in power...so when everyone is playing skyrim on their 360s in glorious HD, we're playing skyward sword with jagged edges in a lousy 480i or something. perhaps wii owners feel cheated...like the wii games we all love regardless of graphics shouldve originally been in HD anyway to keep up with the competition, so now nintendo has a chance to not only play catch up with sony and microsoft but also make amends for being a generation behind for those of us who rly are graphics fanatics (cmon, we all love a great game but we are all suckers for gorgeous games! admit it!) and also, if it did include upscaling, i bet you a lot of ppl who wanted a wii but never got one because they only wanted to play a couple games (mario, zelda, etc....i only have a handful of wii games myself they are all first party titles. if my wii wasnt given to me as a gift honestly i might not have ever gotten one) the couldve bought a wii u AND gone to the back catalog of wii games and picked them up which they still can do since its backwards compatible but it wouldve been a big incentive if they upscaled too..then nintendo wouldnt need to do any rereleases in the future, they could keep printing the original wii disc..no extra work on their part. but whatever. ive ranted quite a bit, apologies.

the controller is not enough to save the wii u from being dominated by the next xbox and playstation at e3 if this is true.
the ONLY way the wii u will stand a chance if the next generation consoles all come out around the same time is if the wii u's power under the hood is comprable to the power of the next gen Microsoft and sony systems.
if not, then nintendo will yet again be a generation behind in power, and although they got away with it with the wii because of the motion control, i highly doubt the combination of the wii motion plus and the new tablet are enough to separate it from the competition. simply put, i expect of the next xbox to be way more powerful than the current, built in kinect motion control, voice recognition, massive harddrive and/or cloud storage, strong online system, wireless internet, regular controller support, etc.
the wii u i expect to have wii motion plus, new tablet (which im very much looking forward to and IS different from the competition, but you never know if sony or microsoft will come out with something similar) wireless internet with strong online infrastructure, we know theres no harddrive so perhaps cloud storage or the ability to cheaply expand storage via usb 3.0 or something similar, multimedia functions, perhaps video/voice recognition (can be done using the tablet), etc. Sound's like it can definitely hold it's own to the next xbox, but what it needs is to be as powerful as the next xbox too. my fingers are crossed for nintendo this time around.

interesting. i think the best use for this as gamers is the digital strategy guide. perhaps if in a game such as zelda the controller was used as the inventory or map or something, it would be easy enough to put that function back to a pause button or an on screen mini map or something, and then be able to bring up a strategy guide that can use some sort of smart search type feature to find out where you are in the game and bring you directly to the appropriate page in the guide? that would be cool.
not too excited for any other use of it as an e-reader. especially since the controller is a streaming device and the console is where all the computing happens. means you can't take it with you or anything, you're going to have to be within some sort of close proximity to the console. using nintendo's own example from e3, if you're reading something, say a comic, on the tv screen and someone wants to watch TV, you switch it to the controller. ok...but that person is now watching tv...you probably want a quiet place to read your comic...how far is the controller going to be able to travel? just saying...sounds good in theory, but, how useful is it really? and this doesn't really mean much, it's just going to be a function of the console, not the controller, and simply like everything else we already knew about the wii u, you'll be able to stream it to the controller screen.

i understand no wiiware release...the wii is on it's last legs and now that skyward sword's out theres really nothing left for the system. but sega shouldn't forget it's still got an enormous fan base on the wii.
at least, they should put this on the 3DS. but perhaps it has to do with them not wanting to down-scale the HD version from the other systems.
Hopefully we'll see this on the Wii U at least then, with the HD version of Ep 1 also.

makes sense. i didn't like the set up of the virtual console, too many bland lists. the apple app store is organized, easy to use, and looks great. it also makes great sense with the tablet controller...developers could easily publish the same apps on the Wii U as the apple/android phones & tablets. i just hope the Wii U doesn't suffer from too much shovelware and casual crap that causes it's reputation to plunder in the hardcore audience, as was the case with the Wii. Remember folks, the Wii U is trying to be a serious contender in the hardcore gaming market.
So long as a lot of the shovelware retail games we saw with the wii move to being apps as opposed to full retail discs, and the full retail discs in the stores are our nintendo favorites alongside 3rd party hardcore games, i think the Wii U will succeed in being a system for both casual and hardcore gamers. So i think this app store and a strong online infrastructure will strengthen both ends of the market.

ive always loved the games & how they connect, seeing the different places recurring (such as temple of time) and everything.
This timeline makes a lot of sense except for one thing (and bear with me, it's been a while since ive played the first 2 zelda games)...what about the sleeping zelda?
wasn't the legend that the sleeping zelda in Adventure of Link the original Zelda? the very first princess zelda whom all other princesses are named after? and isn't that zelda supposedly then the very same zelda as in skyward sword?
If so, it just looks like those two zelda games are way late in the timeline..obviously it makes sense since they came after the imprisoning war & everything, but it just makes you think, where is that sleeping zelda during all those other games?
Oh yeah, and i didn't beat skyward sword yet, so i don't know how it ends but i read something about POSSIBLE SPOILER!
****zelda sacrificing herself? so is that how she's put to sleep?****
Otherwise this timeline sounds great.
There is plenty of room for a game to come before skyward sword, but if that's the first zelda i imagine then we might need a different princess, or simply feature hylia as the main female instead of zelda.