May 23rd, 2012

A few (apparent) details about the controller for the Wii U

56 Comments

A new round of rumors from NeoGAF suggests that, the version of the controller that was leaked a few days ago has a screen size that is “slightly bigger” than what we’ve seen in the past. The difference is “less than an inch” though, and even with the increase, “the resolution hasn’t changed”. The screen has not been upgraded to multi-touch, and:

The mysterious small square under the D-PAD, is not a vitality sensor, not even in a light version, not a touchpad, not a mini pulse sensor as on sports equipment, not a decorative thing, or whatever. This is the NFC sensor.

It’s then clarified that:

The demonstration of this feature in the Rayman leaked video isn’t representative of how it will work, such a use could obviously have bad consequences for the screen if people would put figurines briskly on it.

These leaks and mysteries and more are starting to pile up. E3 2012, hurry up. You’re taking too long.

  • Co-Wink-Key-Dink inc

    I thought the leaked controller was an old prototype that will never see the light of day
    But the demo video showed the official controller

    • jobro

      and the person showing the controller lost his job-it was an actual post.If this would have been the old controlller , he would maybe not have lost his job.
      AND the demo was Showed”Months ago”so It is more realistic the leaked pic shows the new one

  • Captain Falcon

    Multi-touch would’ve been nice :/

    • Ricardo

      Multi-touch is bad because it is known for causing lag.

      Besides, multi touch is useless. You’re clicking on ONE thing, not multiple. -_-

    • Rickyrick

      If they have put a multitouch screen we wouldn’t be able to draw accurately with a thin tip stylus

    • Okami

      Both wrong. Multi touch can be used without lag. And have you used a multi touch device? It opens up many more possibilities. I have absolutely no problem with lag too. And secondly, there are pens that work with a capacitive screen, and third, there actually exists good multi touch resistive screens:

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1GCI5B5ntk

    • Ricardo

      @Okami – I see your point there, but when you are playing a REAL game that uses touch (So far, the Wii U) having multi touch is redundant because there is only need for a single, sensitive touch.

    • jobro

      MAybe.But thiss would have caused FAR too many possibilities for programmers (the control).Even now they have o work a lot for this.
      (And it would be more expensive-Nintendo wants the console to be cheap^^)

    • MM-Royalninja

      i think multi touch would have bien great ! Like for zooming in and out ,or for a game like guitar hero ! i dont know why It wouldnt be a good feature….

    • Eric Estrada

      Ricardo, you’re stupid.

      Multitouch is where it’s at.

      The only reason you’re restricted to singular touch is because is because the screen isn’t multitouch. There’s only “one thing to click,” because that is the limit, and it doesn’t have to be.

      Just quit living.

    • Ricardo

      @Eric – Be careful what you say to people, because who knows, one day they might take your ignorant advice and actually kill themselves.

      So, I’m stupid and I should die because of my own opinion? I like single touch, so what? Just because YOU like something, doesnt mean that everyone else has to. Also, you misread my post and your response is completely irrelevant.

      I am more mature than you, therefore I only speak to people like you, once.

      Please go to http://www.dictionary.com and look up the word opinion, because it will teach you a lot in life. I am a forgiving person and I already forgive you, but I am the person who tries to forgive and forget, so this will be the last time I talk to you. You should learn something from this post, it’ll help you out in life.

      Good day, Eric. :) Have a nice life!

    • Okami

      Very unpleasant when people wishes someone to die like that… So unnecessary.

      Anyway, the main reason why I believe Nintendo would be better off with multitouch, resistive or capacitive is that it is a system that supposedly will have at least a 5 year life. It will just be more future-proof if it has multi touch.

    • Total911

      Think about it: when the hell are you going to use multi-touch? There are PHYSICAL BUTTONS. We don’t need to EVER have more than one finger on the screen!

    • http://MacroManJr.blogspot.com/ Brian L.

      @ Okami

      Well, I think Nintendo thinking about one thing with multi-touch touchscreens: Multitouch makes units cost more to make and to buy. That’s the most likely reason why they didn’t include it–to keep the production costs and consumer price as low as possible.

      Also, the smaller the touchscreen, the more you obscure what is being pointed at with your fingers. For the purpose of console gaming, on a controller that already has several control inputs, and all with the aims of keep the price as low as possible, a single-touch touchscreen is sufficient.

      And even 5 years down the road, technology will surely change, but the purpose of single-touch touchscreen on this controller here won’t change too much.

      @ Eric Estrada:

      Yeah, dude, that’s was completely uncalled for and unnecessary. If you cannot win with reason, don’t try to win with arrogance. Grow up, man.

    • http://MacroManJr.blogspot.com/ Brian L.

      @ Okami:

      Oops, I forgot to add this line after my third sentence:

      “For most games, where you’ll be using the touchscreen for menus and virtual buttons, most of the time, you’ll be using one of your two thumb.

      And just to add, I would love a multi-touch screen myself, but I can see where Nintendo’s coming from with the single-touch screen here. I think the extra costs is their main reason here, but maybe we’ll see a multitouch version of the controller later. :).

  • Kurei

    Ah okay, this must be the ‘sources’ dddd indicated, and from Ideaman no less.

    I was wondering about scratches to the screen. Well thats one less rumor then.

    Still 2 weeks away….

  • XZAceNintendo

    SLIGHTLY BIGGER TOUCHSCREEN FTW!!!

  • Trulaw

    something doesn’t add up because the “new” controller screen looked smaller in comparison to the rest of the controller so it that probably means that it was not a new controller, this rumour is false or the new controller is even bigger than the original.

    • antiform47

      The new controller IS bigger…well wider anyways :)

    • http://n00bpwners.com zxride64

      It could be the angle of the picture could have made it appear that way.

    • D2K

      Agreed. The controller in the “leaked” photo had a smaller screen but was larger in size. Even in the leaked footage of the Rayman game being played on the Wii U the controller looked the same as it has since it’s reveal last year at E3.

      So I say the controller hasn’t changed from what Nintendo showed us at E3 2011, or at least the leaked photo was probably from a dev kit in which controllers usually look a little different than the final commercial copy.

    • Okami

      The rayman controller could have been an old controller though. The rumors from the same man suggests that these new controllers have just started to been distributed (as the “look what we have” could suggest, since we already knew they had a Wii U controller, since they are making Lego City Stories for the Wii U.)

    • D2K

      True, but remember last year when the “leaked” photos of the Wii U (which at the time was being called Project Cafe’) came out and the final Wii U design looked nothing like that. So it’s still up in the air.

    • Okami

      Yeah, but we don’t even know if those leaks were real. And also, some of those actually might have been real prototypes, since prototypes often look nothing or very different from the final product.

      I would say that this controller definitely is real at least. After all he did work with a company making a Wii U games. And i really don’t think the twitter account would have been closed, and he fires, if it were fake.

      I believe that’s the final design. It just seems like that has better features. Like sticks (that most people seem to want), a more ergonomic angle between the sticks and abxy/d-pad, the (what it looks like) LED notification light around the home button (probably the same function as the Wii disc slot light/3DS notification led).

      But we’ll see at E3! Less than 2 weeks now! :)

  • dubYA

    How do you figure the leaked controller is an older model than the one shown at E3 ’11? The leaked controller looks better on all counts. Analog sticks ergonomically offset from face buttons and d-pad, better placement of start

    • zeta

      the idea was the actual use of it, because of their height and placement, it might actually be harder to switch between the analog and the buttons, if you try it on a hardcover book you should see what i mean

  • Viridi, Goddess of Nature

    Im sorry but what is a NFC sensor?

    • Trulaw

      Near field communication. Its a way for one gadget(in this case the controller) to “communicate” with another gadget, smart card, etc simply by placing them near each other.

    • eha081

      Do you mean like StreetPassing someone?

    • Kurei

      @eha081 No, not like streetpassing.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_field_communication

    • Eric Estrada

      Yes. LIKE streetpassing.

      Just not.

    • Ice Climbers

      A good example of NFC would be Skylanders.

  • BlueHawk007

    They really need to make multitouch on it.

    • Ice Climbers

      No they don’t. Multitouch causes lag and would raise the price of the controller. Nintendo is doing what they can to make sure the goods are delivered, while cutting costs too. For example, there’s no internal hard drive and it won’t play DVDs or Blu-Ray movies. External hard drives and SD cards are much cheaper.

    • Zack

      I really don’t see the point in multi-touch… maybe it makes sense for something like an iphone or ipad, where controls are completely reliant on a touch screen and therefore you would need more gestures. But for a game system with a good amount of buttons already, I can’t see a need for the screen being used any more than for the occasional tapping and swiping.

  • TheWord

    ©Ideaman, 2012

  • james braselton

    hi there i thought nintendo promised that the wii u controler will let you play games movies youtube internet apps e-book reader

    • Zack

      Yes, the Wii U should be able to stream Netflix, Hulu Plus, and the trailer showed it playing Youtube videos as well. And duh it will play games, as well as downloadable games from some sort of online shop. But as far as apps and e-books, those features are just rumors at this point.

  • Han Solo

    I liked the original controller better. Looked a lot nicer, and probably was more comfortable. I miss the analog nubs.

    • jobro

      but u have to got r/l3 to play COD^^
      or Battlefield.Or other shooters…
      Its been a good decision

  • hinkik

    The DSi also had those squares.

    • Zack

      Are you sure those weren’t just pads for when you close the lid? I know the DS lite has those and they are just pieces of rubber.

    • jobro

      There were screws behind these squares.
      But in this case it cant be screws becaus the old controller ddnt have these squares.If u cann follow my point

  • Zack

    Wait, what’s an NFC sensor? Or more specifically, what would an NFC sensor do on a home video game console? Google didn’t tell me much.

  • AndyG

    I don’t see a reason for multitouch on the controller, as long as it responds better than the DS. Hopefully like the iPod touch screen, i know some people didn’t like it but it was way more responsive and smoother than the DS.

  • AndyG

    Hopefully the final controller is not as ugly as the leaked photo version, i much prefer the original.

  • sam765

    What about a calibration button?

  • KeigoNiwa

    If the final controller doesn’t have multi-touch, it’s because developer’s didn’t see a need for it. Honestly I don’t feel that multi-touch would be necesarry.

    • frogger

      anyone wanting multi-touch is an out of touch IDIOT multitouch is for dumb phones NOT GAMING PRECISION nintendo last time i checked aint dumb like u multitouch DONT GET GAMING FOOLS,,multi touch has horrible lag no proper stylus support totally unsuited to gaming and DS like interface think before you post hay wink wink….

  • frogger

    UP-GRADED TO MULTI-TOUCH WHATTTT!!!!!! THAT WOULD BE DONE GRADED IN TERMS OF GAMING SUITABILLITY AND LAG AND STYLUS

    TRY MAKING SENSE

  • james braselton

    hi there zack thanks for the information nintendo tablet touch screen controler option is cool cool

  • james braselton

    hi there frogger there is zero lag time becuase wii u uses lighting flash storage not hard drive thats why hard core gamers going too wii over xbox 360 or ps3 hard core gamers want flash storage over slowest hard drives on the market when do we get tripple 10,000 rpm 1 terabyte voloci-rsptor hard drives or hybride ssd/hdd combo

  • SleepyGuyy

    NFC doesn’t need (nor use) a device on the outside. It generally just picks up signals (well… signal-like) like blue-tooth. Plus the “updated” control is old and not the final design. THAT I can say with 95% certainty.

  • james braselton

    hi there yeah nfc is like 3ds street pass