Wild Speculation: Wii U/3DS Redesign

There are two questions on the minds of Nintendo fans everywhere. What is the Wii U controller going to do, and will there be a 3DS redesign? These are two very good questions that need answers, and it will all be revealed at E3. However I think I may already have the answer. I fully admit it doesn't make sense with all of the facts available to us, but here's my crazy theory.

The Wii U controller IS the 3DS redesign.

Like I said, I know this doesn't make a ton of sense from some very important factors, such as the fact that the 3DS and Wii U were being worked on simultaneously, but Nintendo has been known to pull out some quick thinking. After all, as recently as January 2012 Nintendo said the Wii U controller wasn't in its final form, so while it may not have originally been a 3DS redesign, they could have seen the trouble the 3DS was having, and reworked the Wii U controller to be the new 3DS. After all, the Wii-mote was originally going to be a Game Cube accessory, but they very quickly reworked it to be the whole focus of their next system. Who's to say that isn't the same with the Wii U controller being the new 3DS? Let's look at a few facts we DO have.

a) The Wii U controller has most of the same features as a 3DS last we heard, and it has a second circle pad which would be the main reason for a 3DS redesign.

b) Many people have complained about the fact that the last we saw, the Wii U has circle pads instead of analog sticks, and regular shoulder buttons instead of trigger buttons like on the Xbox360. These design choices could be in place to be consistent with how a 3DS would play.

c) Nintendo has made a point to tell us that the Wii U and 3DS will have a lot of connectivity. In slippery marketing language, one COULD say that to make people think it's the current 3DS they're talking about, but in fact they're referring to the Wii U controller/3DS redesign.

d) Nintendo has stated they want to do digital downloads more, and they COULD connect the Wii U controller/new 3DS to the Wii U eShop, and have you download games from there. If apple is making such a big dent into Nintendo's handheld market, selling the handheld WITH the home console and focusing on digital software for it could be the push in the right direction they need.

Now obviously there's the cost issue of selling the Wii U AND a 3DS together, so they will probably ditch the 3D to cut costs. This may seem crazy, but it also fits with what Nintendo themselves have said. Nintendo has said multiple times that they are going to be focusing less on the 3D aspect of the 3DS, and in an extreme case that could be interpreted as simply cutting it out entirely.

As for all of the games currently in development for the 3DS, they would probably still be released on the regular 3DS. This is a grey area I don't really have an answer for that puts a hole in my theory. Like I said, there are important aspects that screw this idea up.

In all honesty, I think this would be a brilliant move by Nintendo as their handheld market IS taking a hit by apple, so combining the handheld WITH the home console is something that even the apple crowd would have to admit is quite a deal. On the other hand, there's the problem of what to do with the millions of angry fans who bought a regular 3DS. If they put in place some sort of trade in deal, it would be a HUGE blow to their Wii U hardware sales, and it would piss off already angry inverters. However if they somehow pulled it off and made the transition, it could be just the thing they're looking for.

Yet even as I typed all of this, I forgot one thing until now. The Wii U controller only has one screen. This is really the biggest problem with my theory as games that have already been in development aren't going to be able to adapt to that, so at least for a while they would have to keep both products on the market. In Nintendo's recent financial report they said that the 3DS would eventually go back to its original price of $250.00, so is this to discourage people from buying the old 3DS and adapting to the single screen Wii U controller?

If this theory is correct, the question on our minds would now be "Is Nintendo ready to have too many products available and take the same kind of massive gamble that killed Sega?"

Like I said, not all of my facts add up, and in all honesty, I'm pretty sure this isn't going to happen. However Nintendo is famous for their crazy ideas, so there is a possibility of this happening. What do you think? Is the Wii U controller the redesign of the 3DS? Or is that just wild speculation?