Isn’t that..? It does look a lot like it..
You’d be mistaken if on first glance you think you see Nintendo’s new “Wii U” console – and President Satoru Iwata and Mario-maker Shigeru Miyamoto will both confess to the similarities between Japanese karaoke machines from JoySound and the new Nintendo home console currently offending hardcore gamers after being unveiled at the E3 Conference, in Los Angeles yesterday.
The white frame, generous touchscreen and TV-to-handset display are features shared by both gadgets and Miyamoto ‘fesses up to the comparibles “In Japan, karaoke is very popular” with the creator of the block-bashing plumber adding “It comes with a remote control, and on the larger screen it displays the information of the song that’s currently playing, and the person who’s up next is selecting the song on the screen of the remote.”
The Big Man himself, Iwata chips in “It’s very similar with how in karaoke, the information of the song that’s playing now is being displayed on the bigger screen, while someone’s choosing what to sing next in the palm of his or her hands”.
Co-operative content on both the hand controller and big screen set, as well as sharing content with a large group was something emphasised heavily during the “Wii U” presentation by Nintendo.
Having previously supplied karaoke gadgets for Nintendo’s original Wii format, it would appear some ideas may have in fact been stolen from JoySound, along with some of the gameplay sampled in the yesterday’s presentation, which has now been credited to Sony’s Playstation and Microsoft’s Xbox. Naughty Ninty!
Perhaps the undeniable similarities here may suggest that the inspiration for Nintendo’s latest came from a drunken night a karaoke bar somewhere in the Far East – it would certainly explain a lot!
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Source: Iwata Asks, Kotaku