As previously speculated, the controller for the Wii U will feature a large touchscreen in the center, combined with a camera located at the top. The controller resembles a tablet device but features two analogue sticks, a d-pad with standard Nintendo buttons, a microphone and the start, select and home buttons that you usually see on a Wiimote controller.

The display screen built into the controller will be a 6.2-inch touchscreen enabled display, which has full support for multitouch features and also motion control like the WiiMotes. The device will also have support for an included accelerometer and gyroscope as well – basically it can do everything. Oh, we forgot to mention that it can also bring up a web browser and make video calls too, we’ll be bringing full details on this aspect when we get it.

So when is the thing out you ask? At somepoint in 2012 according to Nintendo, obviously no specific release date yet, but no timeframe either which is the only downside from the unveil.

We’ll be bringing you full analysis on the Nintendo Wii U very shortly. For now, give us your immediate reaction to the console? Can it take on the Xbox 360 and PS3?

We’re pretty sure that most of you are already aware that Nintendo will be streaming their event live at 9am PT today, but we’d hate to feel responsible for not informing the ones that have no idea.

With that in mind, make sure you bookmark Nintendo’s E3 website here and you can watch the event live there directly in just over 5 hours time. Alternatively, if you’re after some other live coverage of the event, you’ll be pleased to hear that places like GameTrailers and GameSpot will also be providing their own live streams of the event.

As we previously hinted before, Nintendo has a real opportunity to snatch the ‘winning trophy’ for E3 2011 ahead of Sony and Microsoft as they are unusually last to unveil their plans later on. As you all know, the company will be showing off Project Cafe aka the Nintendo Wii 2, while you can also expect to see premiere gameplay for upcoming Zelda and Mario titles.

It’s all about the Wii 2 for us though, and whether or not Nintendo can deliver a console that can outshine the PS3 and Xbox 360. Will they do it in your opinion? Give us your expectations of the event below.

Considering this is a brand new piece of hardware that Nintendo will announce, we’ve actually had a decent amount of information on the console already, prior to it’s announcement. However, the biggest leak has perhaps been saved until last, and it comes courtesy of an anonymous user and their information posted to NeoGaf forums.

The info has been split into three categories, Specs, Controller and Games for the system. We’ll be just talking about new spec updates for the console though, as we’re hearing that the Nintendo Wii 2 will run on a IBM triple-core CPU, with 3.6GHz per core, an AMD R700 graphics chipset and 1-1.5GB of RAM.

Furthermore, we’re hearing that titles on the Nintendo Wii will all support 1080p visuals, and early evidence from insiders suggest that games are looking ‘stunning’.

It’s pretty mouthwatering stuff isn’t it? Just to put those hardware specs into perspective, the current Wii runs on the Broadway CPU which operates at 729MHZ, with the Hollywood GPU running at 243MHZ with 3mb of graphics memory.

A new Nintendo Wii console with three processors each clocking in at 3.36Ghz will be able to handle some serious gaming grunt, so if the specs are confirmed at E3 2011, it’s going to be extremely interesting to see what both Sony and Microsoft think with regards to their upcoming PS4 and Xbox 720 consoles.

Has Nintendo just emerged as the new favorite to deliver the most impressive next generation gaming console after the Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360?

The rumors have surfaced from Kotaku, who report that Omnivision are the company that could be designing cameras for Nintendo’s upcoming Wii successor. This is likely due to the fact that Omnivision dropped a pretty big hint during their last financial results that they had a acquired a ‘significant design win’ for an upcoming gaming console.

It doesn’t take too long to work out that the company they are probably referring to is Nintendo. If the news is true and this is yet another potential E3 2011 spoiler, it can only mean great things for future Wii 2 buyers, as the camera on the iPhone is right up there with the best and proves that it’s not all about the higher megapixel number, but rather the quality behind it.

So not only will these Nintendo Wii 2 controllers have a large touchscreen display built into them, but they may also have a camera on them too – pretty outrageous when you think about it. I for one can’t wait until E3 kicks off, it’s going to be a cracker.

Today we will look at how a Nintendo Wii 2 release date in 2011 could result in Nintendo taking the lead in the next-gen console market, in fact even if it arrives by mid 2012 it should still have enough time to establish itself before the next-gen Xbox and PlayStation consoles show up.

Some people have said that the Wii 2 hardware will be based on a custom version of the R700 architecture (see here) and will feature an IBM CPU, this will allow it to support 1080p HD displays and stereoscopic 3D, this is a huge jump for the Wii, but not when compared to Sony and Microsoft’s current consoles.

The fact of the matter is that if the Wii 2 turns out to be more powerful than the PS3 and 360 it will attract interest, mix that with a “truly unique gaming experience” and we could have a formidable console on our hands, even if it is based on dated DirectX 10.1 spec hardware. Some people think that the next-gen Sony and Microsoft consoles won’t arrive until 2014-2015 which means that the Wii 2 has some time to establish itself and take the lead.

It is pretty much certain that advances in technology will result in the PS4 and Xbox 720 being much more powerful than the Wii 2, but in this day and age people don’t mind buying a console to bide their time until a better option arrives, this is where the Wii 2 could see some success, what do you think?

Will you buy the Wii 2 to just to keep you busy until the PS4 / Xbox 720 arrives?

Now it appears that an insider has revealed a few more details on the widely speculated ‘Wii 2’ controller. According to a recent article by Rob Crossley over at develop-online.net, a person close to the matter recently revealed that the new controller will include a front-facing camera.

As the insider noted, the front-facing camera can be used for in-game images. That wasn’t the only piece of information revealed either, as the source also confirmed that the controller will indeed feature a six-inch touch-screen that may well come with a stylus.

The Wii 2 pad will also feature a standard button layout. The new Nintendo Wii console is due to be officially unveiled during E3 next month. A recent report over on IGN claimed that Nintendo would be teaming with AMD to make a graphics processor that features a custom version of the R700 architecture.

Are you looking forward to the ‘Nintendo Wii 2’ being officially unveiled?

An article over at VG24/7 is reporting that the video (which you can see below) shows some diagrams of the console, and has the actual console sitting below. The video has no sound but you can also see examples of the rumored new controller as well.

Nintendo have said the video is just “purely rumor and speculation”, but you do catch a glimpse of what may be the new Wii 2 a few times. The console is set for unveiling on June 7 at E3 in Los Angeles; the video is thought to be an internal presentation.

The images of the controller make it look closer to what you would find with an Xbox except for a screen in the middle. The video may be fake and just staged by someone, but if it is the real thing images that surfaced when the first rumors began were spot on.

Do you think the video is fake?

We do not have much in terms of details, however we are led to believe that the game will be unveiled on June 15th, we’re not sure how accurate this information is, therefore treat it as a rumor for now.

Pokemon Black Version and Pokemon White Version arrived in Japan in late 2010 and in March 2011 in other regions, despite the imminent launch of the 3DS the games set new sales records for the Nintendo DS, therefore the next Pokemon title will undoubtedly do well.

Nintendo 3DS Blog say that the game will be unveiled on June 15th, we find it weird that the game is not being announced at E3 2011 during the Nintendo press conference, however as this is currently still a rumor don’t be too surprised if the game gets a mention during the expo at some point.

We don’t think that the next Pokemon game will come to the original Wii, therefore we presume that it will either be coming to the Nintendo 3DS or Nintendo Wii 2 (aka Project Cafe), which release would you prefer to see?

The website to bookmark for the livestream is http://e3.nintendo.com/, here they should reveal more about ‘Project Cafe’ and hopefully show us some hands on time with their next-gen console.

There seems to be a lot of hype surrounding the Wii 2, this is mainly due to two bold claims. Firstly it is said to offer a truly unique gaming experience (which left us fathomed here), secondly we have heard that the console will be significantly more powerful than the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

We do not know what Nintendo has in store for us, therefore we will undoubtedly be tuning in to the live stream, will it be called the Wii 2, the Nintendo Stream or Nintendo Fell? We just don’t know, one thing that is for sure is that if Nintendo get it right the console gaming market could be in for a serious shake up.

As and when we hear more regarding the Nintendo E3 2011 presentation we will keep you posted, are you excited about what Nintendo will unveil this year?

In order for the Wii 2 to have great success there needs to be a new Mario themed game, most Mario games receive great reviews and its because Mario is a household favorite. A launch title is essential for the Wii 2′s success and we very much doubt that Nintendo will overlook this.

We think that the Wii-related titles (Wii Sports, Wii Play, etc) were a way of showcasing the game’s unique controllers. If there were to be any new features in next years console, we would think that some games similar to these would appear on release. Compilations of mini games on one disc seemed very popular for the current Wii console.

Nintendo has always had it’s three major characters Mario, Link (Zelda series) and Donkey Kong. While we have already discussed the importance of Mario, Nintendo also has these unique characters that they can fall back on when competing with rivals.

Animal Crossing is a popular title for the Nintendo and did very well for the original Wii console. We think this could well appear for the Wii 2 but may not make the release due to the time between the previous release. Pokémon has had great success for the Nintendo DS but again for the same reasons would probably not make a release title for Wii 2.

We would put a logical argument forward that a dance game will be available on release due to the nature of the controller for the Wii console (which we guess will be mimicked in some form for the Wii 2. Just Dance was a popular title but some felt they were restraint by the one controller which really meant only one arm of the body was being monitored while dancing and not the whole body (like with Kinect).

Family games are very much a favorite for the Nintendo series and the first Wii console in particular, so we would expect to only see a few mainstream titles really push for the Wii 2′s release. However a racing game could appear as again, this is popular with the Wii style controller to use as a steering wheel.

Overall, we think a Mario title should be imminent. We could certainly see more Wii-titled games appearing to showcase the new console’s capabilities and act as a few fun games for the family to play when they unwrap the console. We will have to wait and see whether Wii-Fit makes a reappearance after it’s success amongst older generations but overall we can not be sure at the moment what will make an appearance in time for launch.

What games do you want to see upon release? How about a high-end first-person shooter?