CES 2012: Nintendo's Wii U and Zelda in HD, hands-on [Video]

The most interesting and impressive gadget I saw at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show this week was Nintendo's next video game console -- the Wii U. It was also one of the riskiest products I saw, outside of Nokia's new Windows Phone handsets.

Despite not offering games with high-definition graphics, Nintendo's Wii home console changed the way people play video games, introducing motion sensing controllers called Wii remotes and a then-new level of casual games that appealed to millions of people who in the past didn't consider buying a gaming system. But since the Wii's launch in 2006, the gaming landscape changed as well.

Microsoft's Xbox has controller-free motion gaming with its Kinect technology. Sony has motion-sensing controllers with its PlayStation Move controllers for the PlayStation 3 console. Casual gaming is increasingly taking place on smartphones and not home consoles.

The Wii U intends to have an answer to all of its rivals, Nintendo of America's President Reggie Fils-Aime told me this week in an interview and hands-on demo of the new system in Las Vegas (you can see a video of our hands-on above). The demos we played were the same demos Nintendo showed off at the E3 gaming expo in Los Angeles last year.

The most obvious feature that separates the Wii U from rival hardware is the system's new tablet-like controller. Traditional buttons, triggers and joysticks are found in the Wii U controller, as is a 6.2-inch touchscreen in the middle of the unit that can be used by hand or with a stylus. The controller was 5.3 inches tall, 9 inches long and about 1 inch deep. There's also a built-in accelerometer and gyroscope, with a front-facing camera, microphone, speakers and a motion-sensing strip to interact with the remotes introduced on the Wii.

So what can this new controller actually do? One gaming demo, called Chase Mii, was essentially video-game hide and seek. My character in the game was the one being chased and, with the Wii U controller's screen, I saw an entirely different view of the game then those I was playing against with an included map of the terrain I was using to hide from my chasers.

In another demo, Fils-Aime and Nintendo spokesman J.C. Rodrigo showed me a recording of a car driving around a street in Japan. The same image that was on the HDTV that the Wii U console was connected to showed up on the Wii U controller in my hands, but when I moved the controller to either side or above my head, the view changed. I could see the street in 360-degrees; the sky, the cars passing by, a rear view, all just by moving the controller around.

The potential that this sort of technology offers video game developers is hugely exciting if you love playing video games, as I do. The military shooter genre is hugely popular right now -- how about the ability to see a digital battlefield in 360 degrees while not disrupting the view on your TV? Maps and menus on the Wii U's controller are an obvious choice as well.

The most important feature of the Wii U for video game developers, however, might be that it can handle high-definition gaming, up to 1080p in resolution. This can allow for developers to more easily develop games for Nintendo's new hardware alongside high-definition titles being made for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

We'll have to see whether or not Nintendo can actually get developers on board en masse to bring major titles to the Wii U, but adding HD gaming should make this option more attractive.

I saw a demo of a Legend of Zelda game in HD and it looked outstanding. The main character of the game, Link, had texture details in the fabric of his clothing that simply weren't possible on the Wii's lower-powered hardware. I was able to change major environmental details, such as being able to switch the scene from night to day and back, with just a tap on the Wii U controller's touchscreen.

The touchscreen also seemed to me to be a play to court developers who are building for smartphones and tablets. The Wii U's hardware will enable it to be a console that (if enough games are made) can offer something for the hardcore gaming crowd and something for the smartphone set. Angry Brids or Cut the Rope on a Wii U controller? Yeah, I'd love to see that and I'm sure Nintendo would too.

The Wii U controller's second screen can also act as the only screen for gameplay too. For example, if you're playing a game, and your roommate or partner wants to watch the latest episode of their favorite TV show, the Wii U can stream the game to the controller so you can keep gaming. Despite looking like a tablet, the Wii U controller isn't a tablet and isn't usable without the Wii U nearby.

But as impressive as the demo was, Fils-Aime and Nintendo didn't show up to CES with much new information about the Wii U. We still don't have a price for the system, launch titles haven't been announced and hardware specs are few and far between. The Wii U will play downloadable games and games on-disc. It will also be backwards compatible with Wii games. It will also have some undetermined amount of internal flash storage, four USB ports and at least one SD card slot will also be included for expanded storage. IBM is supplying a multi-core processor and AMD is supplying a graphics processor as well.

Fils-Aime also wouldn't say whether or not the Wii U will be able to support multiple Wii U controllers or not. This, in my opinion, is a huge question for an otherwise solid-looking piece of hardware. If the Wii U only supports one Wii U controller, I think Nintendo will be making a mistake. Unlike the Wii Remotes, the Wii U offers the experience of a traditional controller. Some games are better played by pushing buttons and using joysticks rather than flailing your arms. For example, with fighting games and shooters, many gamers prefer the precision and speed that a regular-old controller can offer. If only one person can use a Wii U controller at a time, playing the sorts of games with friends on the couch won't be as fun. Hopefully the new console will support multiple Wii U controllers and give gamers the ability to choose the gameplay set-up they prefer.

Nintendo still also hasn't offed any details on what it will offer in terms of online multiplayer. In my opnion, Microsoft's Xbox Live service is the best in console gaming and allows gamers to play with their friends online and talk in real time as they play in their respective homes. Online multiplayer has been something that so far Nintendo has flatly failed to include in a compelling or easy-to-use way with its home consoles. For that reason most games for the Wii are single-player games. I believe Nintendo has to get online gameplay right in order for the Wii U to succeed.

So, when will our questions be answered? Hopefully at E3 2012 in June, which will be the next time Nintendo makes a big push before the press with the Wii U.

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-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Nathan Olivarez-Giles on Google+

Twitter.com/nateog

Image: Zelda in HD on the Nintendo Wii U console. Credit: Nintendo

CES 2012: Nintendo's Fils-Aime on declining Wii sales, prepping for Wii U [Video]

Nintendo is set to launch the Wii U, a new video game console, later this year. And while there is a lot of excitement around the Wii U, there are also a lot of questions hovering around the Japanese company, which seems to have its back against the wall despite a history of innovation and success in an industry it has helped define.

The company's current home gaming system, the Wii, is on the decline, selling about 4.5 million units in the U.S. in 2011, down from about 7 million sold in 2010.

Meanwhile, the 3DS, Nintendo's new hand-held console, started out selling slowly when it launched in March. But by the end of 2011, the system sold about 4 million units in the U.S., hitting that mark faster than the Wii when it first launched in 2006.

With all that in mind, I sat down with Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America, at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. You can see parts of our interview in the video above, but as expected, Fils-Aime said he didn't see sliding Wii sales as a negative but a positive leading into the release of the Wii U.

"The Wii is now approaching 40 million homes here in the United States, so from a penetration standpoint we're beginning to top out in terms of the total number of systems sold, and that's why it makes so much sense to prepare for the launch of the Wii U," he said. 

The Wii U will still use the motion-sensing controller system introduced in the Wii, but will add to the mix a new tablet-like controller with a built-in 6-inch touch screen. Some have said that, so far, the Wii U's new controller is a winning idea, while others have questioned if it's already destined to fail.

Fils-Aime said Nintendo is on the path to breaking new ground again, just as it did when it added a joystick to a controller for the first time or when it was first to add motion and rumble feedback to controllers as well.

"The big innovation with the Wii U is the controller and the ability to have an interactive experience that leverages all of your traditional input buttons as well as a screen built right into the controller," Fils-Aime said. "Yes, the system is HD capable; it'll generate the most gorgeous pictures. But for us that's not enough.

"We need to continue pushing the overall experience forward. We need to bring new types of entertainment. New types of gaming and the combination of a big first screen -- your home TV -- coupled with a second screen in your hands, in our view, is going to bring gaming to a whole new experience and to continue driving the industry."

Fils-Aime offered little new information about the Wii U -- we still don't know much about specs and Nintendo isn't announcing launch titles, pricing or release dates yet.

But for now, the Nintendo executive said hardware horsepower isn't the point as much as what the Wii U and its new controller will be able to do that rival gaming platforms -- the Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3 and even Apple's iPhone and iPad -- can't.

"The system is capable to do the most complicated, the most HD-intensive types of games. But plus, now with a touch screen in your hands, all types of other gaming possibilities exist. So we want the full experience," Fils-Aime said, later adding, "One of the things that we think makes us different from all of the other companies here at CES is that we leverage technology for people to have fun."

Stay tuned to the Technology blog for more on the Wii U from CES. I also got to go hands-on with the Wii U, and on Saturday I'll offer my take on just how much fun the new system is.

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-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Nathan Olivarez-Giles on Google+

Twitter.com/nateog

Image: Nintendo's new Wii U controller. Credit: Nintendo

Sony to launch PlayStation Vita in Japan in December

Sony will launch its next-generation handheld gaming console, the PlayStation Vita, in Japan on Dec. 17 and debut it in other countries next year, reports say.

The Vita, expected to be a strong competitor to Nintendo's 3DS gaming console, will reportedly bypass the holiday shopping season in the U.S., Europe and other parts of the world, missing out on potentially big sales.

At a Wednesday news conference, Hiroshi Kawano, head of Sony's Japanese game unit, said the device will be "packed with every possible function," according to Dow Jones Newswires.

Indeed, the Vita will contain some fancy specs, including a 5-inch touch-screen display and a touch pad on the rear for controlling games with finger motions, cameras in the front and back (features the Nintendo DS line has had for a while) and wireless capability.

The Vita will also have functions outside of gaming. Kawano said the console will have a music player, its own Web browser, photo and video apps and access to social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, according to Dow Jones Newswires. 

The console will be priced at $249 for the Wi-Fi only model and $300 for the 3G/Wi-Fi version.

The Vita could help prop up Sony's gaming business, which was dealt a serious setback this year when hackers dug their way into its PlayStation Network, compromising the personal data of millions of gamers and forcing the Japanese company to temporarily shutter its online gaming service. The consumer electronics giant estimated the cost of repairing the hacker damage at nearly $172 million, only about $30 million less than the damage suffered from the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March.

By releasing the Vita after the holiday season, Sony will also miss a chance to speed past Nintendo as the leader in sales of portable gaming consoles. Despite fanfare surrounding the device, Nintendo's 3DS console has yet to catch on with consumers in a big way, selling 4.3 million units worldwide so far. Last year, Nintendo sold 27 million units of the previous generations of DS consoles. On Aug. 12, Nintendo dropped the price of the 3DS to $169.99 from $249.99.

Handheld gaming consoles are facing serious competition as people increasingly play games and watch entertainment designed for smart phones, tablet computers and social networks.

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Photo: Sony Worldwide Studios chief Shuhei Yoshida demonstrates the company's new PlayStation Vita during a speech at the Tokyo Game Show on Thursday. Credit: Koji Sasahara / Associated Press

Sony PlayStation Vita pushed into 2012 for U.S. and Europe

Sony's launch of its PlayStation Vita handheld gaming system won't occur this holiday season in the U.S. and is now being pushed into 2012.

The new gaming system, which will be a follow-up to both the successful but aging PlayStation Portable (PSP) and the slow-selling PSP Go, was previously expected to hit retailers in the U.S. and Europe by the end of the year.

That will no longer be the case, Sony Executive Deputy President Kazuo Hirai told Bloomberg on Thursday. He added, however, that the Vita will launch in Japan before the end of the year.

By not having the Vita in U.S. and European stores this holiday shopping season, Sony is passing up on a chance to rake in big sales.

Bloomberg noted that Sony took in more than 40% its revenue last fiscal year from Christmas sales in the two regions -- something it sorely needs after eight straight years of losses from its Bravia TV unit and costs of more than $172 million related to hacking attacks against the company this year. The cyber attacks have cost Sony nearly as much as the company suffered in damage from the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March.

"The PlayStation business is a key pillar," Hirai told Bloomberg. "The video-game industry is evolving constantly. My expectation is for the PlayStation business to remain at the forefront of this very dynamic industry."

A look at the Vita's specs shows just how serious Sony is taking its gaming business.

The Vita will feature a 5-inch touch screen on the front of the unit and a touch pad on the back for controlling games using hand gestures (a move that can be considered a response to the rise of gaming on touch-screen smartphones). It will also have two cameras, one on the front and another on the back(features the Nintendo DS line has had for some time), that will be used for photos as well as augmented reality gaming.

Sony is also passing up an opportunity to overtake Nintendo as the leader in portable gaming console sales. Nintendo's new handheld, the 3DS, has yet to catch on with consumers and produce the blockbuster sales of its predecessors. So far, Nintendo has sold more than 4 million 3DS units worldwide. Last year, Nintendo sold 27 million units of the previous generations of DS consoles.

As a result, Nintendo is dropping the price of the 3DS to $169.99 from $249.99 starting Aug. 12.

Sony's Vita, when it enters the U.S. market, is set to sell for $249 or $300 in a 3G wireless model.

Hirai told Bloomberg that Sony has no plans to lower its launch price in reaction to Nintendo's move.

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Photo: Sony's PlayStation Vita at the E3 convention in Los Angeles in June. Credit: Fred Prouser / Reuters

Nintendo 3DS price dropping to $170

Nintendo is dropping the price of its latest handheld videogame system, the 3DS, to $169.99, as the device has failed so far to match the sales power of its predecessors -- the DS, DS Lite and DSi.

The drop from the 3DS launch price of $249.99 will go into effect Aug. 12, Nintendo said.

So, unless you like paying a higher price for the things you buy, it might be a good call to just wait until August for a 3DS purchase.

Nintendo said that in the United States, it has sold more than 830,000 of the 3DS -- which does not require 3-D glasses to play 3-D videogames and watch 3-D movies -- since its March 27 launch.

Those who have already bought a 3DS might not be too happy about the price drop so soon, which is why Nintendo is planning to give them a bit of a thank you gift.

"These Nintendo 3DS owners represent some of Nintendo's most loyal customers, and Nintendo is rewarding them for getting in on the action early with 20 free downloadable games from the Nintendo eShop," Nintendo said.

But there's a bit of a hitch.

The early adopters have to use "a wireless broadband Internet signal to connect to the Nintendo eShop at least once before 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on Aug. 11" to get the free games, which Nintendo is calling its "Nintendo 3DS Ambassador program." Half the free games will be available in September, the other half by the end of the year.

Nintendo said Thursday that it has sold more than 4 million 3DS systems worldwide since the device launched in February in Japan.

Last year, Nintendo sold more than 27 million DS consoles.

"We feel the price change and several prominent software releases by the end of the year will definitely change the situation," Nintendo President Satoru Iwata told Reuters and other reporters in Osaka, Japan.

Iwata was referencing new high-profile titles for the 3DS set to launch this year, such as new Super Mario and Mario Kart games. So far, the biggest release has been a 3-D remake of the classic The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

News of the price drop also comes as Nintendo posted its first-ever quarterly operating loss, a loss of 37.7 billion yen, or about $48.4 million, on lower-than-expected sales of DS systems and the Wii home gaming console, Reuters said.

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Photo: Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata holds a 3DS prototype at the E3 convention last year. Credit: Alex Pham / Los Angeles Times

Nintendo unveils Wii U with tablet-sized touch-screen controller

Nintendo revealed its new home console on Tuesday, dubbed the Wii U -- a new high-definition video game system that will use a new touch-screen controller to play games both on and off the TV screen.

The Wii U's white, plastic, controller is about the size of some tablet computers and features a 6.2-inch touch screen, as well as a standard array of gaming controller buttons. But a tablet the Wii U controller is not.

Images displayed on the Wii U's controller are all produced by the Wii U console itself and the screen is just that -- another screen.

The display on the Wii U controller can work in a few different ways: as a complement to a game on a TV, adding extra information or control options; as a mirrored screen, displaying the same images as what's on a TV; or as the only gaming screen, for when a friend may want to watch a TV but a Wii U user might want to keep playing a video game.

The screen's options will allow users to game at home without being tied to their TVs, but because the controller relies on the Wii U console for everything displayed on the screen, it isn't a true portable gaming system on its own.

The touch-screen will also be compatible with a stylus and feature two cameras, one front and one rear, that can be used for augmented reality games or to conduct a video chat session with friends who also own Wii U systems.

An accelerometer and a gyroscope are built into the new controller, so motion control (which is a trademark of the current Wii system) will play a role in the new device as well.

But the Wii U won't rely just on the touch-screen controller. The new system will be backwards compatible with the current Wii's motion controllers and other accessories.

Times reporter Alex Pham covered Nintendo's big unveiling at the Nokia Theatre -- the presentation is part of the E3 video game conference in L.A. this week -- and reported that Nintendo said it will ship the Wii U sometime after Apri 1, 2012. The company did not offer a price for the new system.

From Pham's report on our sister blog Company Town:

The console is called Wii U, "for unique, unifying," said Nintendo of America President, Reggie Fils-Aime at the company's press conference.

Nintendo hopes the new console will rev up sales for its products, which have fallen off a cliff after enjoying three years of double-digit growth that was fueled by demand from a broad audience of female and older consumers who bought into its novel motion controller and fitness games.

To read more about the Wii U's debut and what Nintendo hopes it will mean for its business, read Pham's report, "E3 2011: Nintendo's next game console to have touch-screen controller."

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Photo: Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's global president, speaks during the unveiling of the company's new Wii U game console at E3 on June 7, 2011 in Los Angeles. Credit: Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times

Image: The Nintendo Wii U and Wii U touch-screen controller. Credit: Nintendo

LulzSec claims it hit Nintendo in warm-up to FBI-related hacking [Updated]

The hacker group LulzSec said Sunday that it hacked Nintendo's U.S. website as a warm-up to its claimed attack on servers used by an FBI-affiliated site.

Nintendo has confirmed that servers hosting its American website were indeed hacked, in reports from both the Associated Press and Wall Street Journal, but the company also noted that no company or customer information was stolen in the attacks.

Last week, LulzSec (also known as Lulz Security) said it had hacked servers belonging to both PBS and Sony, which is now looking to the FBI to track down those responsible.

Officials at the Federal Bureau of Investigation were unavailable to comment on Monday morning about the attacks.

As previously reported on the Technology blog, LulzSec published on Friday data that it said were stolen from servers hosting the website of the Atlanta chapter of InfraGard, a security group operated by the FBI and the private companies to prevent terrorist and criminal activities against the U.S.

LulzSec said it took complete control of the InfraGard Atlanta website and defaced it, just as it had done to PBS' about a week ago.

On InfraGard's Atlanta site, LulzSec posted a video with words above it reading "Let it flow you stupid FBI battleships" before the group took their site down, which was still the case on Monday morning.

On Monday morning, members of LulzSec bragged on its Twitter account that no action had been taken against them as of yet.

"Nobody arrested, no significant logs leaked, website up, twitter up, Pirate Bay account up, IRC up, Lulz Boat sailing... victory for us. :D," the group said in a tweet.

[Updated 1 p.m.: The FBI declined to comment on LulzSec, it's claimed attacks or any of its ongoing investigations.]

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Image: A screenshot of a "Lulz Boat" in a text file posted to Pastebin by the hacker group LulzSec. Credit: Lulz Security/Pastebin

Nintendo slashes Wii price to $149.99

Nintendo is slashing the price of its Wii gaming console and throwing in some freebies as well.

Starting May 15, the suggested retail price for the Wii, once highly coveted by youngsters and energetic seniors alike, will be cut to $149.99 (a $50 savings from the current price). Included in the deal will be the Mario Kart racing game and a Wii wheel accessory, replacing the Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resorts games packaged with the console now.

The gaming giant will also launch Nintendo Selects, a bundle of four "must-own" games for $19.99, including The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Animal Crossing: City Folk, Mario Super Sluggers and Wii Sports.

The Wii was a huge blockbuster for Nintendo after its launch in 2006, when it became a sensation for its easy-to-use wand and motion-oriented games. From January 2007 until last May, the Wii was the top-selling gaming console almost every month in the U.S.

But falling sales have plagued the Wii and compatible games since last year as Microsoft Corp.'s rival Xbox 360 and Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 gained ground.

But last week, Nintendo announced that it will be showing off its next-generation gaming console, nicknamed "Project Cafe," at the E3 trade show in June. In March, Nintendo launched the Nintendo 3DS, a no-glasses, handheld gaming device which has sold more than 3 million units.

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Photo: The Nintendo Wii. Credit: Associated Press / Nintendo

Nintendo's follow-up to the Wii coming in 2012, will debut at E3 in June

Nintendo's successor to the Wii is a rumor no more.

The Japanese video game company confirmed Monday that it is developing a new home console, set to hit shelves in 2012.

The new console, which Nintendo hasn't yet publicly named, will make its debut at the video game industry conference E3 in Los Angeles this June, as Times reporter Alex Pham noted on the Company Town blog.

Rumors have been swirling for months that Nintendo was working on a new console, with names popping up across the Internet such as Wii 2, Wii HD and Project Cafe.

What will the new system entail? Some predict a simple push toward more computing horsepower and high-definition graphics. Others expect a console that uses a tablet computer as an alternative to the motion-sensing Wii Remotes that Nintendo currently employs.

Nintendo isn't yet talking about what the new system will look like, but the company is known for offering unique ways to play games.

The Wii, for example, was the first home system to introduce motion-sensing controllers -- a feature its rivals, Sony's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360, now have as well.

The newly introduced Nintendo 3DS portable system is the first to feature glasses-free 3-D images.

But although the Wii was a huge success for Nintendo early on, often selling out in retail stores across the U.S. and Japan, its favor has declined dramatically among consumers.

Nintendo announced the follow-up console while posting double-digit declines in sales and profit for its fiscal year that ended March 31. As Pham reported:

The Japanese game company on Monday said its revenue slumped 29% to roughly $12.4 billion last year. Profit slid 66% to $948 million.

The results were much lower than Nintendo had forecast for the year, issued last May, for sales of 1.4 trillion yen and net income of 200 billion yen.

It was the second year that Nintendo's earnings took a beating. During the previous fiscal year ended March 2010, sales were down 22% while profit fell 18%.

At the core of Nintendo's poor earnings lie depressed sales of video game consoles and the games themselves. From Pham:

After enjoying a massive wave of popularity, sales of the Wii fell 25% to just over 15 million units last year, compared with 20.5 million the prior year.

Sales of its DS series of handheld consoles also took a nosedive. In the fiscal year just ended, DS sales dropped 22% to 21.1 million units, including 3.6 million units of Nintendo's new 3DS console, which was introduced toward the end of March. The year before, Nintendo sold 27.1 million DS consoles.

Head over to Company Town to read Pham's full report: Nintendo, battered by slow Wii sales, to unveil new game console at E3.

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Photo: Two women play a game on a Nintendo Wii console at a trade show in Leipzig, Germany, in 2008. Credit: Waltraud Grubitzsch / EPA

Zelda, Street Fighter, Madden part of Nintendo 3DS game lineup, available March 27

Nintendo of America unveiled the game lineup for its new 3DS gaming system Wednesday, allowing users to play 3-dimensional games with the option of linking wirelessly to other players nearby.

The system goes on sale March 27 for $249.99, featuring games such as Super Street Fighter 4, The Legend of Zelda, Madden NFL and Lego Star Wars, with at least 30 games set to be released before the summer.

The device opens up to reveal two screens -– one with 3-D video that doesn’t require special glasses and can be adjusted or turned off, and a touch screen with an adjustable stylus. A motion sensor and a gyro sensor can adjust the screens as players tilt the device.

There’s also a 3-D camera built in.

The 3DS, which will be available in aqua blue or cosmo black, can also sense other systems nearby and launch games with them using the StreetPass function.

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