Project Café
Encyclopedia
The Wii U is an upcoming home video game console
by Nintendo
, and is the direct successor to the Wii
. The system is expected to be released in 2012 and was unveiled during Nintendo's press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011
on June 7, 2011. The console has been described as belonging to a new eighth generation
.
The Wii U 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 U games can support compatibility with Wii peripherals, such as the Wii Remote
, Wii MotionPlus
, and Wii Balance Board
. However, it will not be backward compatible with Nintendo GameCube
media or peripherals.
, 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.
Internally 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.
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 television
s 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, 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
s.
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.
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. Although it may look like a tablet, all processing is done on the console itself and the screen only supports single touch, not multitouch, going against a popular trend across the technology industry. Games that were confirmed are LEGO City Stories
, a new Super Smash Bros. game, and a new Pikmin title. A list of third party titles was 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 did not understand Nintendo's strategy, expressing the concern that the controller would be too expensive and not as innovative as 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.
such as an accelerometer, gyroscope, camera, as well as a built-in microphone and resistive touchscreen.
Processors:
Storage:
Ports and peripheral capabilities:
Controller:
Note: The Wii U is also compatible with the Wii Remote
, Wii Nunchuck, Wii Classic Controller, and the Wii Balance Board
.
Video:
Audio
confirmed that Pikmin 3
, which was initially being developed on Wii, will be released on Wii U. Satoru Iwata
also mentioned the next Super Smash Bros. title
; the game has not started development yet, and will not until the completion of Kid Icarus: Uprising
.
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
, and is the direct successor to the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
. The system is expected to be released in 2012 and was unveiled during Nintendo's press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011
Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011, commonly known as E3 2011, was the 15th Electronic Entertainment Expo held. E3 is an annual trade show for the computer and video games industry presented by the Entertainment Software Association . The event took place June 7–9, 2011 at the Los Angeles...
on June 7, 2011. The console has been described as belonging to a new eighth generation
History of video game consoles (eighth generation)
In the history of video games, the eighth generation of video game consoles is a term to describe the next iteration of video game consoles that are expected to follow the current seventh generation: Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, and Nintendo's Wii. It also describes handheld game...
.
The Wii U is Nintendo's sixth home console and the first Nintendo console to produce 1080p
1080p
1080p is the shorthand identification for a set of HDTV high-definition video modes that are characterized by 1080 horizontal lines of resolution and progressive scan, meaning the image is not interlaced as is the case with the 1080i display standard....
high-definition
High-definition video
High-definition video or HD video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1,280×720 pixels or 1,920×1,080 pixels...
graphics, and features a new controller with an embedded touchscreen
Touchscreen
A touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touching the display of the device with a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus...
. 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 U games can support compatibility with Wii peripherals, such as the Wii Remote
Wii Remote
The , also known as the Wiimote, is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console. A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and pointing through the use of accelerometer and...
, Wii MotionPlus
Wii MotionPlus
The is an expansion device for the Wii Remote video game controller for the Wii that allows it to more accurately capture complex motion. According to Nintendo, the sensor in the device supplements the accelerometer and Sensor Bar capabilities of the Wii Remote to enable actions to be rendered...
, and Wii Balance Board
Wii Balance Board
The Wii Balance Board is a balance board accessory for the Nintendo Wii video game console. Along with Wii Fit, it was introduced on July 11, 2007 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo...
. However, it will not be backward compatible with Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
media or peripherals.
History
The console was first conceived in 2008, after Nintendo recognized several limitations and challenges with the WiiWii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
, 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
Shigeru Miyamoto
is a Japanese video game designer and producer. Miyamoto was born and raised in Kyoto Prefecture; the natural surroundings of Kyoto inspired much of Miyamoto's later work....
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
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. It was decided that a new console would have to be made to accommodate significant structural changes.
Internally 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
VMU
The VMU, or Visual Memory Unit is a memory card peripheral for the Dreamcast. Its official name was changed by Sega for each of the three key regions:-* Japan = Visual Memory System * North America = Visual Memory Unit...
for Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
'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 DiscBlu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
drive built in with a release sometime in 2011. However, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata
Satoru Iwata
is the fourth president of Nintendo, succeeding the long-standing previous president of the company, Hiroshi Yamauchi in 2002. He was responsible in great part for defining Nintendo's strategy both before and during the release of its Nintendo GameCube video game console in 2001, a vision which...
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 television
3D television
A 3D television is a television set that employs techniques of 3D presentation, such as stereoscopic capture, multi-view capture, or 2D-plus-depth, and a 3D display – a special viewing device to project a television program into a realistic three-dimensional field.- History :In the late-1890's,...
s 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
Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010, commonly known as E3 2010, was the 16th Electronic Entertainment Expo held. The event took place on June 14–17 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. E3 is an annual trade show for the computer and video games industry presented by the Entertainment Software...
presentation, Iwata revealed to the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
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
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
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
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
's PlayStation Vita before it was announced. Claims have been made that the new machine is significantly more powerful than the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
.
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
Nintendo GameCube controller
The Nintendo GameCube controller is the standard controller for the Nintendo GameCube video game console.-Overview:Released alongside the Nintendo GameCube console, the standard GameCube controller has a wing grip design. This controller was bundled with all new GameCube systems throughout the...
. 01net claimed the controller would be "a touch tablet
Tablet computer
A tablet computer, or simply tablet, is a complete mobile computer, larger than a mobile phone or personal digital assistant, integrated into a flat touch screen and primarily operated by touching the screen...
controller, with moderate graphic output," comparing the controller to an iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
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
Touchscreen
A touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touching the display of the device with a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus...
. 01net took the rumor a step further and claimed that the touchscreen would be single-touch. Sources from CVG
Computer and video games
A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but following popularization of the term "video game", it now implies any type of...
claimed that the controller featured a high-resolution screen. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
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)
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
."
According to Edge
Edge (magazine)
Edge is a multi-format computer and video game magazine published by Future Publishing in the United Kingdom. It is known for its industry contacts, editorial stance, distinctive anonymous third-person writing style, yearly awards and longevity....
, THQ
THQ
THQ Inc. is an American developer and publisher of video games. Founded in 1989 in the United States, the company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices...
president Brian Farrell allegedly told investors: "We don't expect new hardware any time soon from either Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
or Sony. It's different on Nintendo – we'll let them announce their new hardware".
On May 4, Kotaku
Kotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
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
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
s.
In early June, Nikkei
Nihon Keizai Shimbun
is one of the largest media corporations in Japan. Nikkei specializes in publishing financial, business and industry news. Its main news publications include:* Nihon Keizai Shimbun , a leading economic newspaper....
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.
Announcement and E3 2011 unveiling
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. Although it may look like a tablet, all processing is done on the console itself and the screen only supports single touch, not multitouch, going against a popular trend across the technology industry. Games that were confirmed are LEGO City Stories
Lego City Stories
LEGO City Stories is a upcoming sandbox-style action-adventure video game, currently in development by TT Fusion, a division of TT Games, to be released on the Nintendo 3DS and the Wii U in 2012....
, a new Super Smash Bros. game, and a new Pikmin title. A list of third party titles was 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 did not understand Nintendo's strategy, expressing the concern that the controller would be too expensive and not as innovative as 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.
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 3DSNintendo 3DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo. The autostereoscopic device is able to project stereoscopic 3D effects without the use of 3D glasses or any additional accessories. The Nintendo 3DS features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS series software, including Nintendo DSi software...
such as an accelerometer, gyroscope, camera, as well as a built-in microphone and resistive touchscreen.
Technical specifications
Nintendo released technical specifications of the Wii U hardware, noting that aspects are subject to change.Processors:
- CPUCentral processing unitThe central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
: IBM Power ArchitecturePower ArchitecturePower Architecture is a broad term to describe similar RISC instruction sets for microprocessors developed and manufactured by such companies as IBM, Freescale, AMCC, Tundra and P.A. Semi...
-based multi-core 45 nm microprocessor based on the POWER7POWER7POWER7 is a Power Architecture microprocessor released in 2010 that succeeded the POWER6. POWER7 was developed by IBM at several sites including IBM's Rochester, MN; Austin, TX; Essex Junction, Vermont; T. J. Watson Research Center, NY; Bromont, QC and Böblingen, Germany laboratories...
architecture found in the Watson Super Computer. - GPUGraphics processing unitA graphics processing unit or GPU is a specialized circuit designed to rapidly manipulate and alter memory in such a way so as to accelerate the building of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display...
: Custom-designed AMDAdvanced Micro DevicesAdvanced Micro Devices, Inc. or AMD is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Sunnyvale, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for commercial and consumer markets...
Radeon HDRadeonRadeon is a brand of graphics processing units and random access memory produced by Advanced Micro Devices , first launched in 2000 by ATI Technologies, which was acquired by AMD in 2006. Radeon is the successor to the Rage line. There are four different groups, which can be differentiated by...
similar to the R770Radeon R700The Radeon R700 is the engineering codename for a graphics processing unit series developed by Advanced Micro Devices under the ATI brand name. The foundation chip, codenamed RV770, was announced and demonstrated on June 16, 2008 as part of the FireStream 9250 and Cinema 2.0 initiative launch media...
chip.
Storage:
- Internal flash memory, expandable via SDSecure DigitalSecure Digital is a non-volatile memory card format developed by the SD Card Association for use in portable devices. The SD technology is used by more than 400 brands across dozens of product categories and more than 8,000 models, and is considered the de-facto industry standard.Secure Digital...
memory cards and USBUniversal Serial BusUSB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....
hard disk drives - Slot-loading optical disc drive compatible with 12 cm "proprietary high-density optical discs" (25 GB 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 16:916:916:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ...
resistive touchscreen - Two Circle PadsAnalog stickAn analog stick, sometimes called a control stick or thumbstick, is an input device for a controller that is used for two-dimensional input. An analog stick is a variation of a joystick, consisting of a protrusion from the controller; input is based on the position of this protrusion in relation...
and one D-padD-padA D-pad is a flat, usually thumb-operated directional control with one button on each point, found on nearly all modern video game console gamepads, game controllers, on the remote control units of some television and DVD players, and smart phones... - StylusStylusA stylus is a writing utensil, or a small tool for some other form of marking or shaping, for example in pottery. The word is also used for a computer accessory . It usually refers to a narrow elongated staff, similar to a modern ballpoint pen. Many styli are heavily curved to be held more easily...
- Select, Start, Home and Power buttons
- A/B/X/Y face buttons, L/R bumper buttons and ZL/ZR trigger buttons
- Controller sync button
- Bluetooth
Note: The Wii U is also compatible with the Wii Remote
Wii Remote
The , also known as the Wiimote, is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console. A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and pointing through the use of accelerometer and...
, Wii Nunchuck, Wii Classic Controller, and the Wii Balance Board
Wii Balance Board
The Wii Balance Board is a balance board accessory for the Nintendo Wii video game console. Along with Wii Fit, it was introduced on July 11, 2007 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo...
.
Video:
- 1080p1080p1080p is the shorthand identification for a set of HDTV high-definition video modes that are characterized by 1080 horizontal lines of resolution and progressive scan, meaning the image is not interlaced as is the case with the 1080i display standard....
, 1080i, 720p, 480p or 480i, standard 4:3 and 16:9 anamorphic widescreenAnamorphic widescreenAnamorphic widescreen, when applied to DVD manufacture, is a video process that horizontally squeezes a widescreen image so that it can be stored in a standard 4:3 aspect ratio DVD image frame. Compatible playback equipment can then re-expand the horizontal dimension to show the original widescreen... - "AV Multi Out" port supporting composite videoComposite videoComposite video is the format of an analog television signal before it is combined with a sound signal and modulated onto an RF carrier. In contrast to component video it contains all required video information, including colors in a single line-level signal...
, YPBPRYPbPr' is a color space used in video electronics, in particular in reference to component video cables. is the analog version of the YCBCR color space; the two are numerically equivalent, but YPBPR is designed for use in analog systems whereas YCBCR is intended for digital video. cables are also...
component videoComponent videoComponent video is a video signal that has been split into two or more component channels. In popular use, it refers to a type of component analog video information that is transmitted or stored as three separate signals...
, S-VideoS-VideoSeparate Video, more commonly known as S-Video and Y/C, is often referred to by JVC as both an S-VHS connector and as Super Video. It is an analog video transmission scheme, in which video information is encoded on two channels: luma and chroma...
(NTSCNTSCNTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
consoles only), RGB SCARTSCARTSCART is a French-originated standard and associated 21-pin connector for connecting audio-visual equipment together...
(PALPALPAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
consoles only) and D-Terminal (Japan only) - HDMI 1.4 out port supporting stereoscopic 3DStereoscopyStereoscopy refers to a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by presenting two offset images separately to the left and right eye of the viewer. Both of these 2-D offset images are then combined in the brain to give the perception of 3-D depth...
images.
Audio
- "AV Multi Out" port. Six-channel PCMPulse-code modulationPulse-code modulation is a method used to digitally represent sampled analog signals. It is the standard form for digital audio in computers and various Blu-ray, Compact Disc and DVD formats, as well as other uses such as digital telephone systems...
linear output through HDMI
Software
Nintendo had pointed out that they are ensuring greater support for third-party games on the Wii U; during E3 2011 a handful of third-party titles were confirmed to be in development for the Wii U. Shigeru MiyamotoShigeru Miyamoto
is a Japanese video game designer and producer. Miyamoto was born and raised in Kyoto Prefecture; the natural surroundings of Kyoto inspired much of Miyamoto's later work....
confirmed that Pikmin 3
Pikmin 3
Pikmin 3 is a game in development for Wii U. It is a sequel to Pikmin 2, a 2004 GameCube game and the third game in the Pikmin series....
, which was initially being developed on Wii, will be released on Wii U. Satoru Iwata
Satoru Iwata
is the fourth president of Nintendo, succeeding the long-standing previous president of the company, Hiroshi Yamauchi in 2002. He was responsible in great part for defining Nintendo's strategy both before and during the release of its Nintendo GameCube video game console in 2001, a vision which...
also mentioned the next Super Smash Bros. title
Untitled Super Smash Bros. sequel
The currently untitled fourth installment of the Super Smash Bros. series is an upcoming game that was first announced at E3 2011. It is being developed for both the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS consoles, and it has been confirmed that the titles will have some form of connectivity across...
; the game has not started development yet, and will not until the completion of Kid Icarus: Uprising
Kid Icarus: Uprising
Kid Icarus: Uprising, known in Japan as , is an upcoming title for the Nintendo 3DS video game system, developed by Project Sora and to be published by Nintendo. It is the third game in the Kid Icarus series and the first since 1991's Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters, a nineteen-year wait...
.