NINTENDO KICKED off the next round of the console wars as it unveiled plans for its upcoming Wii U at games exhibition E3 in Los Angeles yesterday.
The company announced some details of the hardware in a video presentation by its president, Satoru Iwata at the weekend and used its presentation yesterday to show off exactly what the console could do, with 23 games unveiled.
The Wii U has a touch-screen game pad that can be used as a personal screen to play games, as a controller or to complement the controller with additional functions. The console itself will come with higher resolution graphics than its predecessor offered.
Nintendo confirmed there would be a new Mario title for the console, along with Mass Effect 3, Assassins Creed III and ZombiU.
Nintendo is the only major console company that has already committed itself to refreshing its hardware this year.
Microsoft took a shot at smart TVs and rival console makers as it announced new Xbox 360 features.
The company kicked off the E3 announcements on Monday with the news that Xbox had become the top-selling console worldwide.
It is a position Microsoft wants to maintain, with plans for greater voice integration into both third-party games and the Xbox dashboard, and the ability to integrate phones and tablets with the console to turn it into a second screen, displaying additional content, or controller.
With the new service, users will be able to interact with their console using devices they already own, regardless of whether they are Android, iOS or Windows.
The move coincides with Microsoft’s decision to bring Internet Explorer to the Xbox, the first time it has introduced a web browser to the platform. Instead of a keyboard, users can interact with the browser through their smartphones – zooming, scrolling and selecting links.
Microsoft is also partnering with Nike to bring a new personal trainer programme to Kinect. It announced details of voice-control integration for EA titles Fifa 13 and the latest version of Madden NFL.
Sony, meanwhile, continued to focus on games, with Sony Computer Entertainment president Jack Tretton saying: “Our one wish for all of you is that you never stop playing.”
It was pushing its Move controller to gamers and announced a new accessory, dubbed the Wonderbook – an augmented reality “book” that works with the motion-sensitive controller. The first book to launch on the accessory is a spell book by Harry Potter author JK Rowling.
The console maker also unveiled plans for greater cross-platform play between its PlayStation 3 and Vita devices, and demonstrated games such as The Last of Us and God of War: Ascension.
The E3 show closes tomorrow.
