Nintendo is stepping into the next generation of game systems, which is a cross between the current gen and a concept we've never seen before. The Nintendo Wii U is the company's first high-definition game system, and its graphical power rivals the Xbox 360? and the PlayStation 3?. But its best feature isn't the ability to compare favorably to 7- and 6-year-old game consoles. Its big selling point is a huge, tablet-like controller that combines the motion controls of the Wii, the physical controls of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and the touch screen of the Nintendo 3DS?. This gamepad signals not only a step in Nintendo's console evolution, but a curious and bold twist on gaming conventions. The Wii U is bursting with potential, but since some key features aren't yet enabled, it will take some time before we'll know if that potential will be fulfilled.?
Editors' Note: While the Wii U is available for purchase, at the time of this writing, the console is missing features including TVii and support for multiple gamepads. Nintendo plans to launch the TVii feature in December, and individual gamepads will not be available for sale until 2013. We will reevaluate the Wii U when these features are added.
First, the basics: The Wii U is available in two versions. The glossy white Basic set is a $299.99 (list) system that gives you everything you need to start playing the Wii U, but nothing else. It includes the game console with 8GB of memory, the Wii U gamepad, power cables for each, a sensor bar, and an HDMI cable. The glossy black Deluxe set ($349.99 list) throws in a handful of useful accessories and a pack-in game. It includes everything in the Basic set (with 32GB of memory instead of 8GB), plus a charging cradle and a stand for the gamepad, a stand for the console to let you set it up vertically like the current Wii system, and a copy of Nintendo Land. At just $50 more, you get a lot of extras with the Deluxe set, making it the better deal (and, at the time of this writing, the rarer version to find at retail).
Console and Gamepad Design
While the Wii U looks as slender and compact as the original Wii, it's much heftier (but still more than a pound lighter than the recently slimmed-down Sony PlayStation 3). It weighs 3.4 pounds and measures 10.5 inches long while keeping a relatively slim 1.9-by-6.6-inch profile (HW). The front of the system houses a slot-loading optical drive, Power and Eject buttons, a syncing button for the game controller, and a plastic door that flips open to reveal an SD card slot and a USB port. Beside the built-in storage, which varies depending on the version of the console you buy, you can expand storage with an SD card or USB drive. You need an SD card for Nintendo's Byzantine system transfer process to bring your WiiWare and Virtual Console games to the Wii U from your old console. The back of the system houses an HDMI port, a power port, a sensor bar port, two USB ports, and an A/V port that uses the same component or composite video cables the Wii uses. The Wii U only comes with an HDMI cable, so if you want to use the analog inputs you'll have to buy a cable (or use one from your old Wii).
The big draw of the Wii U, like the Wii before it, is the controller. Instead of a motion-sensing Wiimote (which the Wii U can still use), the Wii U uses an ambitious gamepad that's more like a tablet than a traditional game controller. It features a 6.2-inch, 854-by-480-pixel resistive?touch screen that serves as the primary method of information input and menu navigation. The touch screen is sensitive enough for one-point activities, but it can't handle multi-touch gestures like smartphones and tablets. The low-res display is fine for most activities, but pales in comparison to some other touch-screen devices, like the PlayStation Vita's? brilliant 5-inch, 920-by-544 OLED screen or the Nexus 7? tablet's tightly-packed 7-inch 1280-by-800 IPS screen.
The gamepad also acts as its own display, either mirroring the Wii U's picture from your? HDTV, or offering additional information and menu options. You can also stream games directly to the gamepad and bypass the console entirely. Like its gamepad name implies, the controller also has a full selection of physical controls surrounding the screen, including dual analog sticks, six face buttons (A, B, X, Y, Start, and Select), a direction pad, four shoulder buttons, and Home, Power, and TV Remote buttons. You also get motion controls, just like with the Wiimote, so it can detect how it's positioned and at what angle. Despite its large size of 5.3 by 10.2 by 0.9 inches (HWD), the gamepad feels surprisingly light at 1.1 pounds, and is comfortable to hold.
A microphone on the bottom side of the gamepad can pick up your voice, two speakers let the controller provide its own music, and a front-facing camera lets you video chat with other Wii U users, and take photos for various reasons (like making a Mii avatar based on your face for use in games; it's not intended as a stand-alone camera for snapshots). A headphone jack sits on the top edge of the controller, along with a volume slider, a power port, and a removable stylus. The Wii U gamepad charges through a cable that plugs into the wall with the bundled adapter, but Deluxe owners can charge the gamepad with an included cradle, which easily connects through two contacts in the bottom of the controller. If you bought a Basic set, you can pick up the $20 cradle separately.
The gamepad will communicate with the Wii U at distances up to 30 feet. However, walls, corners, and physial obstructions can interfere with the wireless signal, which is based on a proprietary system Nintendo created to minimize latency. I used the gamepad all around my relatively small studio apartment, but I couldn't walk more than halfway down the length of the large PCMag Labs before the gamepad lost its connection to the Wii U.
On a single charge, the gamepad lasted between 3 to 5 hours in my tests. But if you run out of juice, you can use it as a wired controller with the power cable plugged in. Also, the gamepad battery is removable, so expect extended batteries from third-party companies in the coming months. Still, a 3-5 hour battery life for a home console controller is disappointing, and if you plan on marathon gaming sessions expect to keep the gamepad tethered.
(Next Page: Setup and Software)
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