Wii U Final Console Design at E3 2012

The final Wii U console design will be seen at E3 2012 next June revealed Nintendo President Satoru Iwata.

The Wii U was first officially revealed at Nintendo’s Pre-E3 2011 Press Conference this past June, where the system and it’s unique tablet controller were shown for the first time. No official games were shown (just third-party titles were announced), but a number of demo’s were given by Nintendo that showed off the unique features the system supports, like how the Tablet controller, with its own screen, can allow gamers to see a “second window”, or a new perspective or viewpoint, on the action happening on the TV screen. And how you can switch from playing on the TV to playing on the controller.

But since E3, we’ve heard nary a peep from Nintendo about the Wii U. Now we know that we still won’t hear final details on the system until well into 2012. Which means that a system launch for Wii U is likely not going to happen until the Summer or holiday 2012.

Iwata also stressed that Nintendo has learned many lessons from the launch of the Nintendo 3DS (which didn’t go as planned, and the system’s sales have lagged; made worse by a lack of strong exclusive games) and thus will be ready to make sure the Wii U is a success when it launches next year.

To quote:

“As we learned a bitter lesson with the launch of the Nintendo 3DS, we are trying to take every possible measure so that the Wii U will have a successful launch.”

Looks like the Nintendo 3DS will remain Nintendo’s focus for the foresable future, well into next year. Which is a good thing because the 3DS needs that support. Nintendo will help it in huge measure this year with hot holiday titles including Super Mario 3D Land on November 13th and Mario Kart 7 on December 4th. Followed by Resident Evil Revelations, Kid Icarus: Uprising, Super Smash Bros. Universe (working title), Luigi’s Mansion 2, Animal Crossing 3D and Paper Mario 3D and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance all scheduled for early next year.

The Wii U meanwhile will replace the current-gen Wii, which will be going out in style with this holiday’s AAA title and Nintendo’s biggest game of all time, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. As well as the recently launched Kirby’s Return to Dreamland.

Here’s the presentation of the Wii U from E3 2011.

Via IGN