Nintendo has introduced the world to the Wii’s touchy new big brother: the Wii U.
The Japanese gaming giant on Tuesday unveiled the Wii video game console’s successor, which will broadcast high-definition video and feature a touchscreen controller that can detect motion and interact with what appears on a television display.
“Up until now, home console games had to occupy the TV screen in order to be played,” said Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. “The new controller for Wii U, with its 6.2-inch screen built in, means you won’t need to give up your gameplay when someone else comes in the room and wants to watch a TV program.”
The white touchscreen controller, reminiscent of Apple Inc.’s iPad and other tablet computers, can broadcast standard-definition video but also features a directional pad, microphone, dual analog sticks, speakers, two pairs of shoulder buttons and a front-facing camera, which can be used to make video calls.
The console itself will use proprietary high-definition optical discs, 1080p HDMI output and internal memory that can be upgraded with USB and SD technology. No other technical specifications were provided.
The prototype controller was demonstrated during the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the gaming industry’s annual convention, in several ways: displaying a player’s inventory in a “Legend of Zelda” game, offering an alternative way to play a chasing game, being used as a shield from incoming attacks in a first-person shooter game and showing the image of a teed-up golf ball on the ground before it was struck to a putting green depicted on a TV.
The controller was also shown being used to browse the Internet both on a TV and the controller. Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America president, noted that the touchscreen controller is not meant to be a portable gaming device and that the system is dubbed the Wii U because its “unique, unifying and maybe even utopian.”
Nintendo said the Wii U will be released between April and December next year and will be backward-compatible with Wii games and controllers.
“Smash Brothers,” ”Darksiders II,” ”Batman: Arkham City,” ”Tekken,” ”Assassin’s Creed” and “Metro: Last Light” were among the titles announced that would be released for the system.
The price for Wii U was not revealed.
The unveiling of the Wii U comes after two years of slumping sales for Nintendo’s Wii, which remains the overall top-selling home video game console against Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 and Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 3. Those consoles already feature high-definition graphics and added motion-sensing capabilities similar to the Wii last year with their respective Kinect and Move camera systems.
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More