Nintendo revealed its latest controller for Wii U on Sunday night, right before the company heads for the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the ultimate expo in the video game industry.
The Wii U Pro Controller stands high in its popularity for being wireless. However, some of its features will return to more traditional format, including the abandoning of touch screen and multimedia services such as the Near-Field-Communication (NFC), aiming to suit more popular hardcore games such as Darksiders 2 and Batman: Arkham City.
Considered as a kickoff before the 2012 E3 conference, Nintendo’s early preview of the Wii U hardware was presented on its online-video series by the president Satoru Iwata.
“For those who are mainly interested in multiplatform games, with more traditional means of control, we will also offer the Wii U Pro Controller as a separate [play style], which is lighter and maybe more attractive for longer, more intense forms of gaming," Iwata said.
The new controller has two analog sticks at the top with the Select, Home, and Start button between them and a typical pack of D-Pad and X-Y-A-B buttons below them respectively. It also has a trigger button on the back. Such a design looks very similar to Microsoft’s Xbox 360 controller; however, it has become obviously chunkier than all of the former controllers of the company. Though it may feel heavy to some gamers, the sharpened grip can mean a lot when they are experiencing intense fighting.
Right before the reveal of the anticipated launch of Wii U, the presence of its Pro Controller showed that Nintendo may expect more audiences who like traditional controls instead of the mainstream gaming. The main controller of the console, the Wii U GamePad, was marketed white and was targeted toward casual users according to the principal that they tend to like inexpensive games played on tablets or smartphones by swiping the touch screens.
Most importantly, the Wii U Pro controller will be compatible with the Wii U GamePad, just like all the other supplementary or alternative controllers such as the Wii Remote, Wii Nunchuck, and Wii Balance Board.
It seems that Nintendo has really put a clear development into the eighth generation of the video game console, wishing to meet everyone’s need. More interesting information could be found at the E3 Expo on Tuesday, when Nintendo holds its press conference.
During its announcement on June 3, Nintendo also introduced the Miiverse, which integrates social media functions into one GamePad.
