Wii U

Not to be confused with Workers' International Industrial Union.

Wii U

Wii 2
File:Wii 2 console illustration.svg File:Wii 2 controller illustration.svg The Wii 2 console and controller prototypes were first shown at E3 2011. The main feature of the controller is its built-in touchscreen, which either supplements or replicates the game displayed on the television screen.
Developer	Nintendo
Type	Video game console
Generation	Eighth generation
Release date	Q4 2012
Media	12 cm proprietary high-density optical disc 12 cm Wii optical disc
CPU	Custom IBM Power Architecture
Storage	Internal flash memory SD card, SDHC Card USB storage device
Display	Video output formats Composite video 480i S-Video 480i RGB SCART 480i Component (YPBPR) 480i, 480p, 576p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p HDMI 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
Graphics	Custom AMD Radeon HD
Sound	Audio output formats A/V-Multi Analog stereo HDMI LPCM 5.1ch
Controller input	Wii 2 controller, Wii Remote (and Wii MotionPlus / Wii Remote Plus), Classic Controller (Pro), Wii Balance Board
Connectivity	4 × USB 2.0
Online services	Nintendo Network
Backward compatibility	Wii
Predecessor	Wii

The Wii 2 (/ˌwiː ˈjuː/) is an upcoming video game console by Nintendo, and is the successor to the Wii. The system was unveiled during Nintendo's press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011 on June 7, 2011, and is expected to be released in the holiday season of 2012 in North America, Europe, and Japan. The console has been described as belonging to the eighth generation of video game consoles.

The Wii 2 is Nintendo's sixth home console and the first Nintendo console to produce 1080p high-definition graphics, and features a new controller with an embedded touchscreen. The controller allows a player to continue a gaming session by displaying the game even when the television is off. The system will be fully backwards compatible with Wii, and Wii 2 games can support compatibility with Wii peripherals, such as the Wii Remote, Wii MotionPlus, and Wii Balance Board. It will not be backwards compatible with Nintendo GameCube media or peripherals.

History

The console was first conceived in 2008, after Nintendo recognized several limitations and challenges with the Wii, such as the general public perception that the system catered primarily for a "casual" audience. With Wii U, Nintendo explicitly wishes to lure "core" gamers back. Game designer Shigeru Miyamoto admitted that the lack of HD and limited network infrastructure for the Wii also contributed to the system being regarded in a separate class to its competitors' systems, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It was decided that a new console would have to be made to accommodate significant structural changes.

Within the company, there was much debate over the idea for the new console, and the project was scrapped and restarted several times. The concept of a touchscreen embedded within the controller was originally inspired by the blue light on the Wii that illuminates to indicate new messages. Miyamoto and his team wanted to include a small screen to provide game feedback and status messages to players (in similar vein to the VMU for Sega's Dreamcast). Much later in development, this was expanded to a full screen that could display the game being played in its entirety, a concept which was suggested but not financially viable earlier in the project.

Pre-announcement

Initial beliefs about the Wii's successor were that the new console would be an "enhanced version" named the "Wii HD". Many journalists claimed that it would have a high-definition video output along with a Blu-ray Disc drive built in with a release sometime in 2011. However, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata later stated that he saw "no significant reason" to include HD into the Wii and that such an addition would be better suited for a successor. Shigeru Miyamoto also expressed Nintendo's interest in working with HD graphics but clarified that the company is primarily focused on the gameplay experience. In October 2009, Miyamoto said that they had no concrete plans about a successor yet, but knew that the successor would possibly still feature motion controls and they expected its interface to be "more compact" and cheaper. Iwata also mentioned that the Wii's successor might be 3D-compatible but concluded that the adoption rates of 3D televisions should increase to at least 30% first.

In 2010, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime commented that he felt "confident the Wii home entertainment console has a very long life in front of it" and declared that a successor would not be launched in the near future. At the E3 2010 presentation, Iwata revealed to the BBC that they would begin announcing a new console once Nintendo ran "out of ideas with the current hardware and cannot give users any more meaningful surprises with the technology [they had]". Later, at an investors meeting, he disclosed that they were "of course studying and developing the next console to Wii", but they were simultaneously keeping its concepts secret because it was "really important for [his] business to positively surprise people." Reggie Fils-Aime commented in a CNN article and claimed that Nintendo's next home console would not likely feature stereoscopic 3D, based on the 3D technology Nintendo had experimented with.

In April 2011, an uncredited source indicated that Nintendo was planning on unveiling the successor to the Wii during E3 2011, codenamed Project Café, that would be capable of gameplay in HD resolutions and will be backward compatible with Wii software. It was also rumored that the console would feature an all new controller with a built in high-resolution screen. The origin of the rumor for the codename (and many other details) was French technology publication 01net. 01net had previously revealed the technical specifications of Sony's PlayStation Vita before it was announced. Claims have been made that the new machine is significantly more powerful than the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Many claims focused on the new controller, which would feature dual analog sticks, a standard D-pad, two bumpers, two triggers and "possibly more". IGN compared the functionality of the new controller to a Nintendo GameCube controller. 01net claimed the controller would be "a touch tablet controller, with moderate graphic output," comparing the controller to an iPad with buttons. They also added that there would be a front-facing camera on the controller. Supposedly, the controller would also feature six-axis motion controls that outperform a PlayStation Move motion controller (in terms of fidelity), as well as a built-in sensor bar. The new controller features a 6.2-inch touchscreen. 01net took the rumor a step further and claimed that the touchscreen would be single-touch. Sources from CVG claimed that the controller featured a high-resolution screen. IGN claimed that the controller would allow players to stream entire games to the controller from the console, and that the console itself "is likely to resemble a modernized version of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)."

According to Edge, THQ president Brian Farrell allegedly told investors: "We don't expect new hardware any time soon from either Microsoft or Sony. It's different on Nintendo – we'll let them announce their new hardware".

On May 4, 2011, Kotaku reported that Project Café would have 8 GB of flash-based memory on-board, with the assumed purpose of storing game saves. The game discs used by the console were said to be of a proprietary format, and to hold up to 25 GB of data, which is similar to the capacity of a single-layer Blu-ray Disc. In early June, Nikkei issued a report confirming earlier rumors that the new console will feature a controller with a six inch touchscreen that will give tablet-like controls to games, as well as a rechargeable battery and a camera. Nikkei says the system will be released in mid-2012.

Post-announcement

The Wii U shown at E3 2011, demonstrating the various options of the controller.

On April 25, 2011, Nintendo released a statement officially announcing a system to succeed the Wii. They simultaneously announced that it would be released during 2012, and that playable console units would be present at E3 2011 (June 7–9). Speaking at an investor's conference, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata stated the Wii successor "will offer something new for home game systems." Iwata also confirmed that the successor to Wii will not launch in the fiscal year of 2012, meaning that it will release after April 2012.

A prototype version of Wii U was showcased at the E3 2011. The design of the console and controller were not definitive versions. The controller demonstrated features a touch screen over 6 inches wide and contains a built-in microphone, speakers, gyroscope, accelerometer, rumble and camera. All processing is done on the console itself, the output of which can be displayed either on a TV, the controller, or both simultaneously; however, the screen only supports single touch, not multitouch, going against a popular trend across the technology industry, and, at the time of unveiling, the system only supported output to one tablet controller at a time, though Nintendo is reportedly looking into allowing for such functionality in the final version of the hardware. Games that were confirmed are LEGO City Stories, a new Super Smash Bros. game, and the movement from Wii to Wii U of the long-in-development Pikmin 3. A list of third party titles was also announced to be available at release, and were on show with video clips taken from PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions.

Shares of Nintendo fell almost 10 percent in the two days following unveiling of Wii U to levels not seen since 2006. Some analysts expressed skepticism of Nintendo's addition of a touch screen to the controller, expressing concern that the controller would be less affordable and less innovative than the original Wii Remote.

On July 5, 2011, when asked about whether or not the Wii U was going to support 3D, Iwata told Mercury News, "If you are going to connect Wii U with a home TV capable of displaying 3-D images, technologically, yes, it is going to be possible, but that's not the area we are focusing on".

On October 27, 2011, Iwata stated during an investors meeting that the Wii U will be released after March 2012, and its final specification and form will be revealed at E3 2012.

Nintendo presented the Wii U at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (January 10–13).

On January 26, 2012, Iwata told investors that the Wii U will be launched by the 2012 holiday shopping season in all major regions. Furthermore, Iwata stated that the console will feature a unified online system known as Nintendo Network, which will feature user account support as opposed to the use of friend codes. Nintendo Network will also provide the framework for online multiplayer interactions, add-on content sales, as well as digital distribution of applications and video games. Moreover, Iwata mentioned that the Wii U controller will support NFC, which will allow the system to wirelessly interact with figurines and cards created by developers. It will also allow for microtransactions to take place wirelessly using credit cards that have NFC support.

Hardware

Controller

Main article: Wii U controller

The main feature of the controller is its built-in touchscreen, which either supplements or replicates the gameplay displayed at the television screen. The controller shares some characteristics of the Nintendo 3DS such as an accelerometer, gyroscope, camera, as well as a built-in microphone and resistive touchscreen. The controller will also feature NFC (Near Field Communication).

CPU

The Wii U CPU is designed by IBM. It is described by IBM as an "all-new, Power-based microprocessor", the processor is a multi-core design manufactured at 45 nm with an eDRAM cache. Although neither Nintendo nor IBM has revealed detailed specifications, such as the number of cores, clock rate, or cache sizes, references to the chip containing "a lot" of eDRAM and "the same processor technology found in Watson" indicate that the processor shares some characteristics with IBM's POWER7 processor, which powers the Watson computer system and incorporates a large L3 eDRAM cache.

The Wii U CPU will be produced by IBM at their 300 mm semiconductor manufacturing facility in East Fishkill, New York.

Technical specifications

Nintendo released technical specifications of the Wii U hardware, noting that aspects are subject to change.

Processors:

• CPU: IBM Power Architecture-based multi-core 45 nm microprocessor based on the POWER7 architecture found in the Watson supercomputer.
• GPU: Custom-designed AMD Radeon HD similar to the Radeon R700 architecture.

Storage:

• Internal flash memory, expandable via SD memory cards and USB hard disk drives
• Slot-loading optical disc drive compatible with 12 cm "proprietary high-density optical discs" (25GB single layer capacity) and 12 cm Wii optical discs

Ports and peripheral capabilities:

• SD memory card slot (supports SDHC cards)
• USB 2.0 ports (2 at front of console, 2 at rear)
• Sensor Bar power port
• "AV Multi Out" port
• HDMI 1.4 out port

Controller:

• Built-in 3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis gyroscope
• Speakers and Microphone
• Front-facing camera
• IR Sensor strip
• 6.2 inch (15.7 cm) 854×480 FWVGA 16:9 resistive touchscreen
• Two Circle Pads and one D-pad
• Stylus
• Select, Start, Home and Power buttons
• A/B/X/Y face buttons, L/R bumper buttons and ZL/ZR trigger buttons
• Rumble
• Controller sync button
• Bluetooth
• NFC

Note: The Wii 2 is also compatible with the Wii Remote, Wii Nunchuck, Wii Classic Controller, and the Wii Balance Board. It has been announced through Nintendo Network that the Wiimote will still be used not only for Wii games, but as a new way to combine it with the experience brought by the tablet controller.

Video:

• 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p, or 480i, standard 4:3 and 16:9 anamorphic widescreen
• "AV Multi Out" port supporting composite video, YP_BP_R component video, S-Video (NTSC consoles only), RGB SCART (PAL consoles only) and D-Terminal (Japan only)
• HDMI 1.4 out port supporting stereoscopic 3D images.

Audio

• "AV Multi Out" port. Six-channel PCM linear output through HDMI

Software library

Main article: List of Wii U games

Nintendo had pointed out that they are ensuring greater support for third-party games on the Wii 2; during E3 2011 a handful of third-party titles were confirmed to be in development for the Wii 2. Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed that Pikmin 3, which was initially being developed on Wii, will be released on Wii 2. Satoru Iwata also mentioned the next Super Smash Bros. title, which has started development according to Masahiro Sakurai.

Downloadable software

Nintendo is said to be designing an app store for the Wii 2 along with an e-book platform, which would allow the company to offer such materials as game guides, digital magazines, and more.

See also

• Wii
• Nintendo video game consoles

External links

Media related to Wii U at Wikimedia Commons