Nintendo head man, Satoru Iwata, recently held a pre-E3 Nintendo Direct conference in which he outlined some exciting new regarding the Wii U and plans that Nintendo have in store for the next gen console. So hold onto your hats because there’s a bucketload of information coming your way.

So the presentation started off With Satoru Iwata saying that was he was beaming live from the 7th floor in the Kyoto headquarters.

He then showed what will hopefully be the final design for the Wii U controller, or as it’s known now, the Wii U Gamepad. The thumbsticks have been changed to now allow them to be pressed allowing for more control options for developers. Even the button orientation has been changed to make it easier to hold and make it more ergonomic.

One of the cool features that the gamepad has incorporated is an NFC reader which will allow the player to place game figures or cards which can then be scanned to allow them to appear in the game such as what was recently done with Skylanders.

Not content with being a highly innovative controller, it can also double as a TV remote, pretty cool.

All the other bells and whistles that we’ve already heard about before are still present such as the bluetooth capabilities and the gyro function allowing you to really immerse yourself in the game by moving the Gamepad around your environment. There is also the backwards compatibility with existing controllers such as the Wii Remote, Nunchuk and the Wii Balance Board. There will be a browser built into the Wii U Gamepad which also allows you to broadcast the browser screen to the television set in your room.

The Wii U Pro Controller, seen above, is for gamers who after a more traditional gaming experience as opposed to a touch screen or motion gameplay.

Here you can see the interface that’s being designed for the Wii U and and the new Mii Universe or Miiverse for short, this is the new network communication system that Nintendo has pulled out for the Wii U. The Miiverse will allow you to interact with other gamers using an on screen keyboard for a virtual chat, add facial expressions or exchange handwritten notes. An exciting sidenote is that at first, the Miiverse will only be accessible using the Wii U but there are plans to make it available on PC’s, mobile phones and the 3DS.

No specific games were mentioned but there was a shot of what could be an updated New Super Mario Bros. for the Wii U which you can check out below.

In case you missed the presentation, you can catch it below, it’s really quite good and Iwata san makes for an animated host, great to see.

And down below, you can see the whole image gallery, there’s some great pics in there.

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