The Nintendo Wii U tablet controller needs some changes

I’m sure by the time Wii U launches some time in mid-2012 there’ll be a few design changes that were implemented since the big reveal during E3 2011.

However until that happens, it’s up to us to nitpick while we still can. In this entry I’m going to go into some detail on the U Controller’s features, what needs to change on the controller and why. Some of it will be things that are universally agreed upon, other things will by really nitpicky, but whatever.

To begin this entry, let’s have a look at the version of the Wii U controller shown off during E3 2011…

Nintendo is betting it all on this controller and the video game concepts it will give birth to, just like they did when they unveiled the Wii Remote years ago.

A look at the Wii U Controller as it is

Now that you’ve gotten a good look at the controller’s front, let’s go through all of its features.

On the front of the controller there is a large 6.2" 16:9 resistive touchscreen which works with both your finger or a stylus, however because it is a resistive touchscreen and not a capacitive touchscreen, it’s not capable of multi-touch, a common feature in newer smart phones and tablets as well as the PlayStation Vita. The quality of the screen is said to be very good, quite a lot of people who got to hold the controller in their hands commented how the images on the screen looked superior to what was being shown on the HDTV the Wii U was connected to… I’m guessing the screen is just a standard LED-LCD screen since smaller screens tend to generally look better than larger screens.

Above the screen is what Nintendo calls a “sensor strip” that includes a camera of unknown resolution, though I assume that it may match the native resolution of the controller’s screen which I theorise is 854×480. I don’t know what else this “sensor strip” may do but I’m sure we’ll find out in the future… presumably it may house two infrared lights on either side and act as a sensor bar just as the rumours had told us a month or so ago.

Moving along to the rest of the features on the front, there are two analog circle pads on the left and right of the controller, a d-pad, four digital face buttons (A, B, X, Y), a + (plus)/start button and a – (minus)/select button as well as a home button, power button, battery life indicator, microphone hole and two speaker holes on either side for stereo sound.

On the top side of the controller you have the two digital shoulder buttons (ZL and ZR), a stylus holder with a stylus that comes with the controller, a 3.5mm headphone jack, volume slider and what looks to be the same kind of proprietary port found at the bottom of the Wii Remote. In addition to that there also appears to be an AC adapter hidden under a plastic tab.

The back of the controller is pretty empty of any features but has two digital triggers (L and R) and a red sync button. Finally, on the bottom of the controller there is another proprietary connector which is much different from the one located at the top of the controller. Internally, the controller features an accelerometer, gyroscope and rumble feature.

All-in-all, it’s a feature packed controller, almost to the point where it could potentially be used as a portable handheld system, however Nintendo quickly dispelled any of that and bluntly told everyone at their conference that this is NOT a portable handheld system and can only work in proximity to the Wii U console.

The controller relies on a constant wireless signal coming from the console itself to display the video on the controller’s screen. From watching a few videos of people showing of the demo units and comparing them to the video on-screen, there is no discernible lag between the controller’s screen and the HDTV… of course this will probably vary depending on the quality of your HDTV.

I find the entire concept to be an excellent idea and it’s something that Nintendo has been thinking about doing for quite a long time, though it’s only recently that the technology to allow streaming video from one source to another with minimal or no discernible lag was possible.

Changes that need to be made

As I said at the very start of this entry, I realise that the controller design revealed at E3 2011 is a prototype design but I’m still going to have to nitpick through it.

To that end, after a billion hours in Photoshop, I’ve created a really crappy mock-up of some of the changes I’d like to see with this controller design based on the full image of the controller I posted up earlier in this entry…

The first thing I would do with the U Controller is to try to reduce its size any way I could. Reducing its size will not only make it look more comfortable, but it will also make it easier to hold vertically as well as allowing players to reach the touchscreen with their thumbs while holding it normally. Another reason why reducing the size of the controller is extremely important is because not everyone is going to be able to hold a large controller comfortably in their hands, particularly children.

While the circle pad works perfectly fine for a portable device like the 3DS, I don’t agree with Nintendo on its implementation on the U Controller. There is no way that those two circle pads are going to be a viable replacement for analog sticks. I really hope that on the final design, those circle pads are replaced with decent analog sticks.

Specifically, I’d like the feel of the analog sticks to resemble that of the ones found on the GameCube controller and the Xbox 360 controller rather than the Wii’s Nunchuk controller. Ideally, I’d also like the analog sticks to have a digital click to allow for better cross-platform compatibility. I realise that’s a lot to hope for, but if Nintendo is serious about recapturing the “hardcore” gamer crowd, this is one of the things they’re going to have to do.

On the other hand, while some people may find it strange and unusual, I do like the placement of both of the circle pads (or analog sticks) being above the d-pad and face buttons so I personally wouldn’t change that part of the controller despite what others may think of it.

The second major change I’d make to the front of the controller is the placement of the power button, battery life indicator, microphone hole, + (plus)/start button, – (minus)/select button and home button. Currently all of these are placed under the screen and are very hard to reach. I feel they should be repositioned either side of the sensor strip to allow easy access, particularly for the plus, minus and home buttons which are completely inaccessible in their current position under the screen.

On the back of the controller (not pictured) you can find the L and R triggers. On the current design the buttons are digital which I feel is a big mistake. The best thing Nintendo could do with these triggers is to take inspiration from the GameCube controller.

One of the best things about the GameCube controller is the analog L and R buttons that also had a digital click when you depressed them far enough. This mechanism was a brilliant idea and Nintendo really needs to bring it back for the triggers on the Wii U controller.

Finally, and this is probably the most important point that I’m going to lay down here… screw white, the console and the controller MUST be black.