Nintendo showed an impressive Wii U tech demo at this year's E3 gaming expo in Los Angeles.
There have been rumors that the Wii U is more powerful than current gen hardware. But when pressed, third party developer Ubisoft struggled to explain how powerful the machine is.
Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto is more specific. At E3, he told GameSpot in a recently published interview that the Wii U may not "necessarily dramatically outperform the systems that are out now". The reason for this seem to be price concerns, and Miyamoto acknowledged that at certain price points the console might not be something parents would buy for their kids.
"We're very sensitive to pricing because people have generally only a certain amount of their spending that they'll devote to entertainment," said Miyamoto, adding that the inclusion of the new touchscreen controller might be "somewhat reckless" from a pricing standpoint.
The idea for the tablet style touch screen controller isn't a late addition, Miyamoto said.
If Nintendo can get the Wii U under $350, it should be a success. Even if it's not significantly more powerful than the PS3 or the Xbox 360, who doesn't want to play Mario Kart at 60 frames-per-second at 1080p? Fancy new controller or not, the pretty graphics alone with sell consoles.
E3 2011: Miyamoto speaks his mind - News [GameSpot via Gamasutra]
(Top photo: Kevork Djansezian | Getty)