There’s a theory about Nintendo that goes something like this: Nintendo has the best IP in video gaming, the characters with the highest Q score. Mario, Wario, Zelda, Kirby, Metroid, Donkey Kong, Pokémon, you name it. Add up all the Mario-themed games alone and you’ve got the bestselling video game franchise of all time. But that’s just part of the equation — call it the “apps” half, the one where leaping over barrels, butt-stomping bad guys and lighting torches to open doors is lingua franca in gaming-dom. The other half involves the way you interact with Nintendo’s characters, settings and design tropes. Call it the “interface” half. If you have an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, take a look at the controllers. We have Nintendo to thank for popularizing what’s there: the four-way d-pad (the Nintendo Entertainment System), the diamond configuration face buttons (the Super Nintendo), the thumbstick employed to navigate 3D worlds, trigger buttons and force feedback system (the Nintendo 64). For all the talk about missed opportunities — that Nintendo ought to take Mario and Co. multiplatform — you could argue Nintendo wouldn’t be Nintendo without its focus on how we play, as much as what we play. (MORE: Nintendo TVii: The Next Big Thing Isn’t Here Yet) Which brings us to the Wii U, Nintendo’s attempt to sneak what it calls “asymmetric gaming” — playing the same game from different perspectives — into our living rooms. Out of the box, the system doesn’t look so different — a 3.5-pound base station that could pass for a slightly longer, curvier Wii. Flip it around and you’ll spot its new HDMI port (better late than never). Plug in the Wii-style sensor bar, dust off your old Wii Remote or Balance Board and you’ll find everything syncs and works just as it did before. Slide a copy of New Super Mario Bros. U into the slot-load optical drive and you’ll discover what it’s like to play a Mario sidescroller in stunning high-definition for the very first time. But the showpiece this time![]()
