E3: Nintendo Press Conference

BEHOLD: that person has really nice hands

Nintendo held their press conference this morning and as expected, announced their new console, the Wii U.  The name is a little bit weird, but I'm impressed by the system itself.  The Wii U's big draw is the controller, which will involve motion control as well as a 6-inch touchscreen.  Everything I have read says that the console's E3 demos are loads of fun, Nintendo may not have the same level of resources as Microsoft and Sony, but they definitely know how to innovate.  However, this console will see the rift between Nintendo and the their two gaming rivals grow even larger.

It looks like the Wii's older, less flamboyant brother

Starting with the Wii, Nintendo created a console that was cheaper and more accessible to the average person, in other words they began catering more towards the "casual gamer." Meanwhile, the 360 and PS3 were more costly, powerful units that focused on better graphics and increased internet connectivity. The Wii U will continue this trend.  Details about pricing haven't been released yet but the demos played such as Chase Mii are geared more towards playing together in a living room than playing online with other people from around the world.

Increasingly, Nintendo consoles and Microsoft/Sony consoles will be considered in different categories of gaming and I don't see that ever changing.  Nintendo can't compete when it comes to making incredibly powerful consoles and there probably isn't room for all three in the same market anyways.
Look for the Wii U to hit stores in mid-2012.

A picture from the inevitable Zelda game for the Wii U

Speaking of Zelda, what will probably be the last big release for the Wii is The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

Nintendo will put tons of work into the game so it will probably be pretty good but the graphics in that trailer is one of the main reasons why Nintendo needs a new console.  For the first 30 seconds I honestly thought the video was mislabeled and this was actually footage from an old Gamecube game I'd never heard of.  Skyward Sword is set for a Holiday 2011 release