Wii U
- This article relates to the official games. See Pikipedia's "Wii U" article for more official information.
The Wii U is Nintendo's latest home console, and successor to the Wii. It was unveiled at Nintendo's press conference at E3 2011. The Wii U introduces a new controller known as the GamePad that has a touch screen, camera, buttons, as well as various other features. The Wii U was released in the 2012 holiday season; it was the third Nintendo console to be released in North America before Japan (the other two being the Nintendo DS and Wii).
The console's appearance itself is similar to that of the Wii, although it has rounder sides, a disc slot to insert Wii U high-density optical discs as well as the Wii's optical discs, and is also noticeably longer. The Wii U is the first of Nintendo's consoles to play games in high-definition 720p and 1080p. The console is roughly 1.8 inches tall, 6.8 inches wide and 10.5 inches long. As the Wii U is designed to sit on its side, it is similar to the Wii Family Edition.
The Wii U is backwards compatible with the Wii, and as such it also supports Wii peripherals, such as the Wii Remote, the Nunchuck, etc. Unlike the Wii, however, it is not backwards compatible with Nintendo GameCube hardware or software. Despite this, players may have the option of downloading GameCube titles on the Wii U at a later date, yet it is not known if other consoles will be represented.
Presently, the Wii U has support for two GamePads (leading to the possibility of six-player games if four Wii Remotes are being used in the same game). Similar to past Nintendo consoles, it cannot play DVDs or Blu-ray discs. It will have internal flash memory included, and it also has the option to expand its memory using either an external USB hard disk drive or an SD memory card. Games will also be digitally downloaded from the Wii U. The Wii U is the first console since the SNES to use a portion of its name with its predecessor.
Peripherals
Wii U GamePad
The Wii U GamePad has a wide variety of things to offer for players. In the middle is the touchscreen. Users can use their fingers or the included stylus to do things on the touchscreen. On the right of the touchscreen, players have the {{{2}}}, {{{2}}}, {{{2}}} and {{{2}}} buttons, as well as the 
Start and 
Select buttons, and a {{{2}}}. To the left, there is the {{{2}}}; underneath it is a 
and above it is another {{{2}}}. Both {{{2}}} can be pushed down, serving as additional buttons. Down at the bottom, there is the 
, then the 
, and a new TV button, which allows the GamePad to become the television's controller, as well as speakers and a microphone. The backside has a total of four triggers: {{{2}}}, {{{2}}}, ZL, and ZR. Above the touchscreen is a video camera, volume control, and a headphone jack. Below are speakers for users to listen to.
Virtual Tour
Wii U Pro Controller
If players do not feel comfortable playing on the GamePad, there is another controller available for players, known as the Wii U Pro Controller. The Pro Controller is highly reminiscent of the Wii's Classic Controller: dual {{{2}}}, {{{2}}}, {{{2}}}, {{{2}}}, {{{2}}} buttons, a {{{2}}}, {{{2}}}, {{{2}}}, ZL, ZR triggers, Start & Select, , and buttons. Unlike the Classic Controller, however, there is no cord, giving it the freedom to move about. Since it does not have the touchscreen like the GamePad does, not all games may be able to support the Pro Controller as an alternative to the GamePad.
Software
Miiverse
The Miiverse is a special social network and the main menu of the Wii U. This software allows players to see amount of Miis on screen gathering around accessible tiles. The Miis represent all the player's friends, familiars and miscellaneous individuals that are using the service and the tiles they are surrounding are the site they are communicating in real time. Being a social network, the user can explore the topics on every tile and look up for their friends what games they are playing. The Miiverse also offers chat, video conference and information sharing, and can be quickly accessed even when playing a game by pressing the button.
Release Bundles
Basic
The basic bundle of the Wii U costs $299.99 and is colored white. Included are:
- Wii U console
- Wii U GamePad
- AC adapter for each
- High speed HDMI cable
- Wii U sensor bar
- 8 GB of memory
Deluxe
The deluxe bundle of the Wii U includes everything in the basic and adds additional items, as well as it being colored black and costing $349.99. Included is listed below:
- Wii U console
- Wii U GamePad
- AC adapter for each
- High speed HDMI cable
- Wii U sensor bar
- 32 GB of memory
- GamePad Charging Cradle
- Stands for the console and GamePad
- Includes Nintendo Land
Games
Canon
- Pikmin 3
- Super Smash Bros. (tentative title)
- Nintendo Land
Fanon
- Pikmin 4 (Wii U)
- Pikmin 5: The Unknown
- Pikmin 6: The Final Stand
- Pikmin: Attack of the Breadbugs
- Pikmin: Doomed Time
- Pikmin: Back in Action
- Pikmin: Connection of the Worlds
- Pikmin: Destruction of Time
- Pikmin: Louie's Revenge
- Pikmin: New World
- Pikmin: Revenge of the Darkfreeze
- Pikmin: The Huge Debt
- Pikmin: The War of the Pikmin Planet
- Pikspore
External links
- Wikipedia's article on the Wii U
| Consoles |
|---|
| Real consoles |
| 3DS • GameCube • Switch • Wii • Wii U • Xbox 360 |
| Fanon consoles |
| Pikira • Pikvision • PikWii |