The description of the Wii U Pro Controller via various retailers has revealed that it features “a rechargeable battery that can last up to 80 hours on a single charge”. A controller for the Xbox 360 and PS3 lasts between 20-30 hours, making for a fairly significant (and impressive) gap.
(via ign.com)
We’ve heard some not-so-favourable things about the Wii U Pro Controller in the past, but Nintendo Life has shared a set of impressions that are much more tightly-packed with praise:
…aside from the weak rumble, it performed admirably. It’s a comfortable, responsive and well-constructed pad, which is pretty much all you can ask for with this type of controller.
You can read the full preview for their complete thoughts.
EDGE has spent some hands-on time with both the Wii U’s GamePad and Pro Controller, and walked away with quite a lot of positive things to say, sharing that:
The Pro Controller is light and ergonomic enough to occupy the function of a standard twin-stick controller, while the GamePad screen is sharp enough to handle all but the most hyperactive scenarios in the palms of your hands.
You can read the full preview for their complete thoughts.
Brian Ashcraft of Kotaku is not a fan of the Wii U’s Pro Controller. As shared in his recent article, he thinks that it’s too light, has weak force feedback, feels cheap, and has mushy buttons. The title of the article — I Hate the Wii U Pro Controller — screams of sensationalism, but you still might like to read his thoughts.
Nintendo has confirmed that the Wii U Pro Controller will cost $49.99 when it launches with the Wii U on the 18th of November in North America. It’ll be a worthwhile purchase if you want a traditional control method.
In an interview, Katsuya Eguchi has spoken about the Wii U’s Pro Controller, sharing that its presence “may make it easier for multi-platform games to come out on the system”, and:
Wii remotes don’t have things like analog sticks. To make it as easy as possible to enjoy certain multiplayer experiences it was important to have that Pro controller.
From there, Eguchi explained:
We’re all gamers as well and we appreciate the interest of those [hardcore] gamers, and we don’t want them to feel left out, so we’re making big strides and changes in that area.
Even with the improved control schemes though, people will find something to complain about.
When discussing the Wii U Pro Controller, Michael Pachter said that:
Activision never said anything to me, but I know that [for] big games like Call Of Duty they said, ‘No, we’re not putting it on there if you don’t give us a conventional controller’. So they gave in.
(The “they” is in reference to Nintendo.)
He seems confidence in his stance, suggesting that, without a doubt, Call of Duty is on its way. We sort of already knew this, but Activision continue to remained quiet about the game. For those of us who are keen to use the more traditional controller, this might be a moment where we share a slice of gratitude for Activision.
Weird.
Update: It turns out Pachter’s thoughts were not based on insider information:
I am putting two and two together to conclude that Activision put pressure on them. I do not know this either first-hand or third-hand; nobody told me. I am merely deducing it from what we know, and it’s an educated guess.
Some people are saying this was obvious based on what he said. I thought his wording implied that there was some thread of insider knowledge. But I guess that just proves how tricky language can be.