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The Wii U controller's got dual analog sticks, a d-pad, four buttons, shoulder buttons, and triggers. That's a gaming device. It's a roughly 7.5" X 11" tablet with a touch screen, speakers, an accelerometer, a camera, and a central home button conveniently labeled "Home." That's an iPad.
It only does everything.
Nintendo gave Project Cafe a real name, Wii U, and while the console itself stays under wraps for now, the curtain went up on its controller…and it's a gaming iPad that Apple accidentally made backwards-compatible with the Wii and forwards-compatible to your LCD television. The applications for an interface that transfers content — games, video, pictures — from the device in your lap to a wall-mounted 48" screen (or vice versa) with a swipe of your finger opens up a lot of possibilities.
Game possibilities? Well, that's the big question, isn't it?
Certainly, it works with Wii games. Wii Sports — is anyone still playing that? — got a lot of air time using the Wii U controller. Put it on the ground and it's your golf tee. Center the target on a baseball pop fly, and you can catch it for an easy out. This thing absolutely leverages all manner of augmented reality gags, and mounted on a Wii Zapper, it makes one hell of a gunsight…in both "boom: headshot!" and "holy crap, that's unwieldy" terms.
And that's the thing. This is a big controller. How long do you hold your iPad up in the air?
It makes me wonder if Nintendo's shown their full hand on this. They repeatedly showed the Wii U controller used in conjunction with the Wiimote. Hopefully that works as an optional add-on, because there's a big difference between backwards-compatible and backwards-mandatory. More likely, Nintendo intends this as a laptop controller: fingers on triggers, thumbs on sticks, tablet resting on thighs.
Look at it that way and it's just a funny-looking Dualshock. But Nintendo's reaching for more. They want a repeat of the wow factor the Wii got on its debut. They want this to be both fully integrated into your living room and an independent unit you can play backgammon on when the TV's turned off. They want you to swipe ninja stars off its surface to nail targets on your LCD. Nice idea, but speaking purely in practical terms, how do I aim that star so it hits exactly what I want it to? Because if aim isn't a factor, that's a casual game, and I'll enjoy it…and then I'll move on.
I can name a lot of fun games on the iPad. Few would translate well to my living room television, and most are things I play on the move, when I'm not at home at all. Wii U can't afford to fall into that trap.
Controllers in hands may be bigger than they appear.
Also slightly worrying, the list of games confirmed to play on Wii U. A new Smash Bros. — promised to integrate with a 3DS port — is a solid title, launch or otherwise. Lego City Stories will be a great tween title, but can't possibly be targeted towards anyone old enough to actually afford a new Nintendo console. The rest? All cross-console games. Darksiders 2. Batman Arkham Asylum. Ghost Recon Online. Aliens: Colonial Marines. Even more concerning? Assassin's Creed, not Assassin's Creed Revelations. Dirt, not Dirt 3. Why are we pimping years-old games when new entries in those franchises are right around the corner? The Wii U can't afford to be the catch-up console. It should look further forward. New technology needs new games.
If we can trust the footage, they look good on Wii U. But ultimately, this controller — what it can do, what it can add to a game, how it feels as you play — will be the deciding factor for whether core game buyers go with the Wii port or take their business elsewhere.
"The goal of innovation is to serve every player," according to Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata. Make no mistake, judging from the controller alone, the Wii U looks like another innovative device from a company known for pushing the entire industry in new, exciting directions. I want one in my home. I just don't know if I'd game with it, or only use it for other things and other media. By trying to have it both ways, casual and hardcore, Iwata and Nintendo left the door open for me to take my core gaming elsewhere. Wii U must still convince me it's the best way to play.
Not too long ago, I wrote that Nintendo's Project Cafe needed to serve hardcore fans, while the Wii could dedicate itself to the casual base that adopted it and now own it completely. Wii U isn't that solution. Iwata, long a fan of finding a happy medium between those two demographics, wants Wii U to be a bridge. He wanted the same thing for the Wii. That didn't happen. It'll be interesting to see if the second time's the charm.