Nintendo Wii U A Console For Test The Interest Asymmetric

Attractive Gamepad for Wii, Uthe Wii U suffers from unequal use of the touch screen controller. The experience of the game goes to great titles as banal. Promising, but still it requires to find his way and its price.

A new Nintendo console to install in our living room, it does not happened since 2006. At the time, there was some air in excitement, impatience for see who had been called Revolution during its development. Six years later, the Wii U feels the coffee. We spent a great week in his company. Our impressions.
Work in progress

Before you even look at the console itself indicate that we were able to use a non updated. This last provision, today, 30 November 2012, when the official release of the Wii U. So we had a console in the hands of its private eShop, his Mii Ware, its YouTube channel, its video service, etc.. In other words, a console that serves as a console and nothing else. In 2012, this is a lot but not much. Also hope to finish this introduction, the update is deployed improve the loading time of the interface of the Wii U. Pass settings for a game or even start it is rather slow. A little more even with the Wii.

Accordingly Box & Finishing

Now for a quick tour. Externally, the Wii U has the air of Wii a bit more massive. It offers video output owner, introduced with the Wii, an HDMI port to enjoy HD and four USB ports, which is a good thing to be able to connect external hard drives, since the storage is limited to 32GB in its maximum. difficult. without access to the eShop whether downloadable games and DLC will be very space consuming. However, it did not seem possible to install games on the local disk, as can be done on an Xbox 360 or a PS3.

The optical drive - format eat disc as on the Wii - will tend to make a little noise, joined in this task by the large fan positioned at the rear of the beast. Moreover, according to several websites, which iFixit, inside the Wii U has a lot of empty. We can not say that Nintendo has sought to optimize its industrial design. The power adapter is another proof. Without reaching the size of that of the original Xbox 360, it's huge and accounts for nearly a third of the volume of the console. In the rest of the box there are other elements more or less incidental. All - cradle, joystick, console and even small shims to keep the vertical console - gives an impression of finishing honest but a little rebate anyway. So every shake of the Wii U pad is accompanied by a small bell hawser which comes from the slight play in the keys and the directional pad.


The star of the day

Wii U Gamepad has also his right to independent charger. We can either connect directly to the controller to continue playing in the loading or connect it to a docking station, which is reminiscent of the 3DS first of the name. Moreover, the mablette the Wii U has in common with the first models to offer a range 3DS quite small. Count about 3 hours before seeing the flashing charge indicator. It's short.

Ergonomics of Wii U Gamepad

However, apart from a little time for adaptation given the layout of the buttons vertically analog sticks, the handling of the joystick is nice. Its a bit light plastic Because of its weight advantage for long gaming sessions The touch screen of 15.7 inches diagonal it is reactive , while being confronted with MonoTouch interface is sometimes a bit surprising in an era where the multipoint is king.

Resolution of 854x480 points, approximately 158 dpi, ratio 16/9, is very satisfying to play. Even when small icons tend to be rasterized and elements the graphics like surrounded by a little fuzzy.

A Wii U Gamepad, the uses

In use, the Wii U Gamepad however deserves its role as star of the console. If we sought to develop a classification, one could say that the screen is used in three ways. As extended screen, as screen competitor and then like remote display. In the first case, there displays additional information on the main screen. This may be an inventory or even, in some ways, a way to see beyond the limits of the TV display.

The screen competitor is typically at the heart of asymmetric multiplayer gameplay as touted by Nintendo. A player sees on the joystick interface different from that of his comrades who watch them on TV. Finally, the remote display is a duplicate of the primary display. The best example is of course a single player game New Super Mario Bros U. In this context, the "Wii U Gamepad" can simply replace the TV if you want to release it for other purposes. This is also the time that remains a little frustrated. Frustrated that the "Wii U Gamepad" is just a controller and not a stand-alone console. Frustrated over not being able to get away from the Wii U count three or four meters, a little more without hindrance. Even frustrated not being able to enjoy on the Wii ... With the issue of sudden heart of a member of the editorial novice in terms of console: «why can not I just have the controller? I already have a Wii.»

The ambiguity of the relationship Wii U and Wii U Gamepad

In other words, the inexperienced eye does not necessarily see the contribution of the console beyond the joystick. The fact that the Wii U is given to be at least as powerful as the Xbox 360 does anything. Because, ultimately, HD graphics (but not Full HD) are nice. They flatter our retinas pixels accustomed to increasingly smaller, but their contribution is not always obvious. ZombieU yet very honest graphically is the latter. Just Dance 4 is also the kind of game that can accommodate fairly detailed decorations. In fact, the Wii U arrives too late to enable be seduced by its graphics as we are accustomed to HD and both the Wii was a UFO on this point.

In short, Nintendo still has work to understand that the Wii U, is not that the Wii U Gamepad, is an inseparable pair, which requires the power of one to the other drive. We can even say that the Wii U without his gamepad does not much attractive. What therefore focuses attention on the Wii U Gamepad. However, Wii U pad is used differently in different games, with varying inspiration. Rather less for adaptations of games already available, which should, however, tend to be less frequent. This means that the interest of the Wii U Gamepad, in some games is not always obvious and therefore does not warrant that the player opts for the Wii U. Conclusion serious consequences for that console launches.


Sometimes worse, the use of Wii U Gamepad gives the impression that the tablet is such a good idea, some kind of gimmick, as could be the systematic use of the Wiimote. Fortunately other, it becomes clear that it is a success and a real good idea. However, publishers, Nintendo and the first will be careful in future to avoid the confusion introduced by the double screen. Sometimes we just do not know which one to watch. The TV or the gamepad? And this starts with the configuration of the console, there is still evidence of the design work and teaching on the one hand and the need to get used to each other.

A promising potential

Ultimately, the Wii U is a console that seems full of potential. The problem is that much of it is not yet present. Beyond gaps related to non updated versions we tested, which did not offer multimedia services online, Wii U still lacks games that envy and leap. Worse, we know from experience that a large part of the seduction potential future based on Nintendo and a small group of publishers will be able to produce titles engines. All is not lost, however, major titles already exist. ZombieU, Nintendo Land and New Super Mario Bros U are good contenders for this as a spur to the act of purchase. However, at present, the price of the Nintendo console still seems a bit too high to crack without thinking.

Strengths of Wii U



- The Wii U Gamepad when used with relevance
- Nintendo and Zombie Land, sold in a pack with the console.
- The reuse of Wiimotes

Weaknesses of Wii U

- Price (A $ 299)
- The finish of the mablette
- The Wii U Gamepad that sometimes seems unnecessary
- The limited storage space on the entry level model