Nintendo’s New Console Will Change How You Watch Television

Nintendo’s New Console Will Change How You Watch Television

Nintendo’s Wii U is better than its enormously popular predecessor in all the expected ways. The new console, which comes out on Sunday, has more processing power and prettier graphics than the six-year-old Wii. But what’s most noteworthy about the Wii U is its new controller. The Wii U GamePad combines the buttons and motion sensors of the original Wiimote with an iPad-like touch screen equipped with a microphone and a camera. This will allow kids to play a hi-def Mario game on the tablet while their parents watch something else on the TV. It also enables new types of gameplay. The gory horror game ZombiU, for instance, uses the tablet as an overhead map, a keypad for electronic doors, an inventory screen for juggling weapons and tools, a crosshairs view when you’re using a rifle, and even an augmented reality display. Hold it up in front of the TV, and it seems to scan the virtual environment and reveal previously hidden items.