Nintendo Announces Official Wii U Gamepad And Pro Controllers

Nintendo’s Wii U has been no secret for a while now, as they gave us a demo last year at E3, however, they have made the infamous Gamepad controller official today during a live-stream. The Nintendo Wii U Gamepad is something completely different from any gaming controller that we have seen in the past, and if you didn’t know any better, you might even think it’s a mobile gaming device due to the on-board touch screen. The controller features a touch screen in the center, with an analog sticks on either side (which is a change from last year’s demo), a d-pad on the left, and the standard four-button layout on the right. The idea behind the new controller is that the touch screen will revolutionize the way that we play video games, and sort of combines handheld gaming and console gaming, two things Nintendo is very successful at.

The Gamepad isn’t just a handheld controller though, it also features motion control, NFC capabilities, and a front-facing camera to top things off. This new controller will likely be the centerpiece of Nintendo’s next-gen gaming efforts. The only problem with that is it may be a little expensive for multiple players at one time, depending on how necessary it is to play. The Gamepad and Wii U will come in black and white iterations, both launching at the same time. Nintendo also announced their Pro controller which is much more similar to traditional gaming controllers, and actually looks similar to the prototype controller originally shown for the Playstation 3. It has two analog sticks, two bumpers and two triggers, a d-pad, and four buttons–pretty standard stuff here, folks. This will also most likely be a little less pricey, and is also probably going to be Nintendo’s way of attracting “hardcore gamers”, who usually would be in favor of a Playstation or Xbox  over a Nintendo console. Both of these will be available at launch with the Wii U.