Nintendo invigorated the family market with the Wii – its revolutionary controller was widely derided at first but ultimately made Nintendo a household name for the first time in years.
And, if a report from Nikkei turns out to be the truth, it looks like they’re going to do it all over again.
Project Cafe, the codename for the Wii’s follow-up, is set to be revealed at E3 next Tuesday.  Apparently it’ll feature a 6 inch touchscreen on the console’s controller which will give a ‘tablet-like’ aspect to games. The touchscreen can be detached, and used as a portable.
Sounds like the console can stream to the controller when the TV is being used for something else, for example – something that we’ve covered before.
The thing will also feature a camera, and will seemingly release in the second half of 2012 , a year from now. All eyes on E3 then – we’ll let you know what it’s like when we get our hands on it.
gaffers101
Sounds like the sort of arrangement the PS3 and NGP should have.
amiga_dude
What Sony did with PS3 and PSP in 2006 you talking about. Watch this video Sony E3 in 2006 playing F1 (1:20-3:00).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dK_o5CwDlk&feature=related
Death_In_Flamez
Mmmmmm not really that interested in touch screeness stuff..
Foxhound_Solid
Love E3, all three camps upping their game. Love it.
TURRICAN-808
The dreamcast had a Visual Memory Unit in the controller. This is now an extension of that premise.
Damn, the Dreamcast was way ahead of its time
Spence1115
And it had motion control!
Darksidesystems
And killed Sega as a platform holder!
iAvernus
No pirating did.
Klart
Best. Console. Ever.
Darksidesystems
Nope :)
bacon_nuts
hate touch screens, they are imprecise and prone to breaking. DO NOT WANT.
Buttons work just fine.
cam the man
Buttons for me too.
colmshan1990
This will be both, won’t it?
So there shouldn’t be a problem there.
It’s the price of each controller which worries me the most.
nofi
Looks at iPhone. Shakes head. :)
KeRaSh
While I agree on the premise that complex games require buttons for my liking I have yet to break anything that has a touchscreen. Since the controller will feature buttons and a complementary touchscreen I’m confident that it will work.
GamingBlueBoy
As long as it is precise and doesn’t break it’ll be finefine.
EviesDaddy Too
Haven’t broken a touchscreen? You’re probably not hitting it hard enough. I want motion sensitive buttons with screens on them! And a camera. I look forward to NGP/vita being useful as a PS3 conroller. Miss Gamecube/GBA hookups… I wonder if Crystal Chronicles will see a return for the new Nintendo…
whoelse
Imagine the price of each controller and the battery time. Intrigued but not optimistic
colmshan1990
I honestly hope this doesn’t do too well simply because if this catches on, controllers will be well out of my price range.
Seriously, €50 for a DualShock is not good.
But how much extra do you think Sony would charge for a touchscreen bigger than the NGP?
KeRaSh
That is a serious problem that Nintendo has to solve.
Looking at the battery life of a 3DS I’m not so confident anymore that they have something up their sleeves to reach geat battery times on such a controller.
Maybe ever console comes with a controller docking station and a long charching cable for longer gaming sessions.
Sad Panda
A full Wiimote and classic controller and motion plus would set you back in the region of £80. This will be closer to £100 a shot.
Peter Rushton
One can always wonder…
Kenny
Please let there be gimmicky games made solely to promote the controllers. The Legend of Zelda: Café of Stream! You know it’s going to happen.
KeRaSh
That’s what I was wondering. However, this would require the touch device itself having a processing unit to play the games. This would make the controller even more expensive.
damoxuk
Almost certainly 1 controller only per Wii 2 imo.
No idea why they are going this route – it might be unique but i’m afraid it’s gonna cost a lot (unless it’s some kind of cheap touchscreen tech ala DS?)