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New Wii U control surfaces online, then is yanked

A picture of a new controller for Nintendo's upcoming games console appeared online, but was then swiftly taken down.

Joe Svetlik Reporter
Joe has been writing about consumer tech for nearly seven years now, but his liking for all things shiny goes back to the Gameboy he received aged eight (and that he still plays on at family gatherings, much to the annoyance of his parents). His pride and joy is an Infocus projector, whose 80-inch picture elevates movie nights to a whole new level.
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Joe Svetlik
2 min read

Could this be an alternative control for Nintendo's forthcoming games console, the Wii U? It certainly looks that way.

A QA tester at TT Games, the company behind Lego Harry Potter, Lego Star Wars and more, tweeted the pic along with the message: "Nintendo fanboys alert: look what we have at work! #BoysAndTheirToys". The tablet control features dual analogue sticks in place of the circle pads, Joystiq reports, hinting we could be in for more of an arcade experience.

It looks like the real deal, unlike some suspect devices spotted online. And further supporting its credentials, the tweet was inexplicably pulled shortly after being uploaded. Someone could be in trouble...

The Wii U logo is also at the bottom left-hand corner of the control, and the plus and minus buttons are now on the right. There are also two mysterious button-like indentations below the d-pad and between the battery light and power button. Their function? Your guess is as good as ours.

The Home button now seems to have an Xbox 360-style ring light, which wasn't on the original controller outed last year, and the control's edges look more sloped than before. The indentations surrounding the analogue sticks are circular rather than octagonal, as on the Wii Nunchuk and Classic Controller.

Will this be the standard control bundled with the Wii U? Or a peripheral sold separately? We'll have to wait for games expo E3 to kick off to find out. E3 lasts from 5-7 June in Los Angeles, and we'll bring you all the news as it happens. It was the stage Nintendo used to launch the Wii U last year, and we're expecting plenty of fresh details and a killer launch line-up this year.

Do you prefer this design or the original? What does the Wii U have to do to succeed? Flail around in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.