Ahead of this year’s E3 gaming conference, Nintendo has taken the wraps off it’s new Wii U Controllers. The Wii U will contain not only the tablet sized Wii U Gamepad, but also a pro controller for more serious gaming. You’ll notice from the comparison above that there’s some very strong similarities to another controller on the market.
The Wii U Pro controller features the same shape, triggers, bumper buttons, left thumb stick and plus pad. The main difference is the switch in positions of the A,B,X,Y buttons and the right thumb stick. While the positions of the X and Y buttons have been flipped, even the select and start buttons are copied.
While the Wii U wants to transform gaming again in the next generation of consoles, the pro controller is not a good demonstration of that innovation. The retail version of the Wii U Gamepad aka Wii tablet, has had a few small tweaks since its prototype, but remains largely the same layout.
Nintendo also showed off the new home screen for the Wii U. It contains not only Mii’s from your console, but friends and other Mii’s you’ve met while playing online. This looks like a reaction to the success of Xbox live which successfully used this technique to connect gamers for years. While the Wii dominated sales in the last round of console wars, long-term engagement spurred on by gaming with friends around the world was won by the Xbox.
During a Pre-E3 video of the Wii U, Nintendo describe the Wii U as something that builds on Wii by supporting your investment in peripherals, while delivering on new ideas. If you’d like to stay up to date with Nintendo’s announcements during E3, you can follow @NintendoAmerica.
More information via Engadget
