Nintendo Looking into Games that Support Two Wii U Controllers

Nintendo’s Wii U controller is such an extraordinary device that we’ve been hearing some skepticism from readers that the company would expect gamers to have more than one of them. After all, the thing looks expensive. It’s got a screen, and a mic, and a camera, and lots of buttons.

Is Nintendo going to expect people to have four of these things for local multiplayer games?

Katsuya Eguchi, who is working on a five-player Wii U prototype here, doesn’t make it sound like that’ll be a requirement. In fact, it may not even happen at all.

“We’re considering our options with maybe two screens,” Eguchi told Kotaku, who said he considers multiple New Controller games to be “an interesting idea.” That would mean games that used two new Wii U controllers. Eguchi’s five-player prototype, here at E3, has one person using a new controller and four other people using Wii Remote-Nunchuck combos.

While Eguchi didn’t explain why Nintendo isn’t looking into four-new-controller gaming, it’s possible that the Wii U couldn’t output to four screens at once (plus a TV). It’s also simply possible that Nintendo would find that configuration too pricey for its customers. Nintendo hasn’t said what the new controller will cost. But Eguchi answered my question about whether gamers should be concerned about the controller’s price by saying that “I do understand that if the price is too high that would be an obstacle.”