The Nintendo Wii U is the first next-gen games console to break cover and will be the first to go on sale when it hits the shelves in time for Christmas later this year.

We had our first taste of it back at E3 2011 and our initial impressions were positive. Nintendo's fortunes have been mixed since then, so it will be hoping the Wii U can strike a note in the hearts of consumers in the same way the original Wii did back in 2006.

When the Wii first emerged, it too represented a new breed of games console. But ultimately a combination of dated hardware, lack of third-party games and a failure to engage the traditional gaming market led to Wii sales dropping through the floor. Wiis now collect dust in dark cupboards the world over, and Nintendo just posted its first ever financial loss in 30 years.

Nintendo needs the Wii U to be a big hit to get the cash rolling in again.

The Wii U philosophy

The Wii U is all about its fancy new GamePad which introduces a second screen into the traditional gaming setup. A 6.2-inch touchscreen mounted in the shell of a wireless dual analogue stick controller, a hybrid of traditional pad and tablet PC. Unlike a tablet, however, content is streamed wirelessly from the Wii U base unit.

For the gamer, it's both TV supplement and replacement. A second screen for displaying maps, inventories and objectives or a place to continue the game, should the TV be needed by someone else - make the call and the game streams to your hands, lag-free.

More interesting is the potential for the two screens to work in direct tandem, an extension of ideas tested on the Nintendo DS. A touchscreen interface enables play types that transcend buttons and analogue sticks.

Likewise, inbuilt gyroscopes and accelerometers act as a third set of analogue control inputs, allowing gamers to physically move the device to adjust their aim or orientation on screen.

This is a gaming experience selfishly honed for the holder; explaining the addition of a loner 'U' to the pluralistic 'Wii'.

The spirit of Wii lives on in more than name, though. Wii U is compatible with all former Wii software and hardware: the remote, nunchuck, balance board and classic controller are all invited to the party. Some are obvious fits: controlling a Wii Fit weigh-in session with a handy touchscreen makes more sense than the rigmarole of setting up the living room.

Others are more experimental and offer the potential for novel multiplayer experiences – imagine four pals with Wii-motes sharing a TV as a fifth creates mischief on the tablet screen. Nintendo calls this type of experience 'asymmetric gaming'.

There is also a Wii U Pro controller which looks a lot like the Xbox 360 pad. It's lighter though and feels decidedly cheaper in the hand.

Specifications

Little is known about the specs of the console itself. Nintendo is being very cagey on the subject and prefers to promote the new experiences the Wii U can offer rather than talk about CPUs and graphics chips.

What we do know is that the console's processing power is provided by a bespoke Power-based CPU designed and built by IBM. We know it's multi-core, but we don't know anything about clockspeeds or raw power.

Likewise, Nintendo has also revealed that the graphics on the Wii U will be powered by an AMD Radeon GPU, something this console is likely to have in common with the PS4 and Xbox 720 when they finally emerge from meta-land. But the identity of the actual chip has yet to be revealed.

Current rumours suggest, though, that Wii U's high definition graphics, while far superior to the Wii, will be closer to current Xbox 360 and PS3 offerings rather than the other forthcoming next-gen consoles. Hopefully when specs are confirmed this will turn out to not be the case.

Wii U content comes on disc and the console has a disc drive on the front. This drive will only be able to play Wii U discs though - there's zero DVD and Blu-ray compatibility so you'll need to keep hold of your existing playback gear if you're thinking about picking one of these up.

In-use

If the GamePad is a mess of features and bulky design on the page, the idea unifies once in the hands.

It's lighter than it looks, for one, about the weight of an iPad, and sits comfortably in the hands thanks to a ridge on the back designed to rest on clasping fingers.

Face buttons, analogue pads, triggers and bumpers are all within easy reach.

The screen itself is lovely but packs a so-so resolution of 854 x 480. Colours are pure, vivid and vibrant both when the touchscreen is used as a second display and when games are streaming direct to the pad.

When playing Super Mario Bros U though, the GamePad screen mirrors the game and there were clear signs of pixellation. We're not sure whether this could only be fixed by using a higher resolution display or whether the Wii U struggles to scale down the resolution for the second display.

Gaming

While the original Wii console was aimed unashamedly at casual gamers - a decision which looked like a stroke of genius for the first few years of its life cycle - the Wii U is designed to cater for both markets right from the outset. The cutesy family games and cartoon graphics are still there, but sit alongside some graphically impressive and resolutely adult titles like ZombieU and Batman: Arkham City for the hardcore traditionalists.

ZombieU is a perfect example of Nintendo's desire to lure in the hardcore gamers who shunned the original Wii. It looks great, it's gritty, extremely violent and gory, and most importantly it's fun to play.

It looks very pretty indeed, a match for most of what you'd see on the Xbox 360 or PS3 but we're certainly not talking about ultra-next-gen uber-graphics here.

ZombieU is actually a great title to showcase the ground-breaking experience that's provided by having a screen inside your controller. You can manage your inventory using the touchscreen without having your view of the action on your TV obscured.

The game also makes interesting use of the Wii U GamePad's gyroscope and accelerometer. You can use it to look around your characters environment by actually moving the device in any direction.

It's an interesting idea, one that Nintendo calls Panorama View, and has been seen before most notably on the PS Vita.

We noticed a problem with this feature while playing one of the mini-games in Wii Fit U, the new Wii Fit game that makes use of the original Wii Fit board. In the game you move the controller to direct a water cannon while using your foot on the board to control the spray.

The GamePad screen frequently got out of alignment with the console so that when you return to facing directly forwards towards the TV after swiveling, your character is actually facing off to the side. Pressing a couple of buttons re-syncs your orientation in-game but it does go to show that this tech is not perfect yet and it was mildly irritating – it happened three times during one round of a 2 minute game.

Nintendoland

While Wii Sports was the launch title used to shift Nintendo Wii consoles, the collection of mini games for the Wii U is called Nintendoland. It offers a variety of puzzle and arcade games, all of which make different use of the controller.

It's not a title that shows off the graphical power of the console, but it does offer some genuinely interesting games and level design. This is Nintendo at its best.

Some of the games allow up to four Wi-mote-toting gamers to play as one more pulls the strings on the main controller. It really does work and offers a snapshot into Nintendo's vision for the future of this console.

Early verdict

We like the Nintendo Wii U a lot. It looks like a great console and will delight casual gamers in the same way the Wii did.

The idea of being able to turn off the TV and play on the GamePad instead will please parents and kids.

The games too, look like great fun and the addition of some more adult games to the Wii universe can only be a good thing.

But we just can't help feeling that Nintendo might be making some of the same mistakes it made with the original Wii. That console suffered from being too different from the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC platforms. It was too tricky to port games across and so the majority of developers focussed on the other platforms.

Could this be the case with the Wii U, too?

We also wonder just how appealing this console will be to traditional console gamers. It depends how many AAA exclusive titles it has.

So it could all hinge on the price. Latest rumours suggest a price of around £280 which is £100 more than the Wii sold for early on in its life cycle. This will get even more expensive for anyone who doesn't already own a Wii as you'd likely need to buy additional Wiimotes to unlock the multiplayer side of things.