During Nintendo’s “Nintendo Direct” Pre-E3 event, company President Satoru Iwata gave us some juicy details on the Wii U, and what he hopes to accomplish with the new device. Come next generation, Iwata hopes to change the relationship between families and consoles, consoles and TVs, and enhance Internet integration more than any console has before it.
Iwata echoed that the Wii U’s mission is “uniting, rather than dividing,” and that will be accomplished not only through local social play (just like the Wii), but with the “Miiverse,” and Nintendo Network. The Wii U will also come fully equipped with its own remote control, accessible from the touch screen, to help with the TV integration aspect, and as previously announced, it will still support full gameplay when the TV is turned off.
He cited Sherry Turkle’s book Alone Together as an influence on the design philosophy behind the Wii U. Iwata promises that when you’re playing the Wii U, “you won’t feel alone.”
