Nintendo finally announces Wii U, also new Mario Kart

JAPANESE CONSOLE MONSTER Nintendo has announced its successor to the Wii games unit, the interestingly named Wii U. However, it took its time getting around to it.

Nintendo's keynote at E3 took a little time to get going. It started badly with a faux TV show like introduction that was excruciating in its execution and then descended into anarchy.

The recorded introduction began to play back and forth while the announcer's volice-over was jumpy and appeared to keep stopping and restarting. Finally some sanity broke out - well, we thought so for a moment anyway, but then an orchestra started playing songs from Zelda and no one announced a Wii 2, which after all is what we were there for.

Nintendo wanted to draw out the information about its 'new console' and although nearly every face that showed itself mentioned those words no one went any further than that in the first forty-five minutes.

Instead it concentrated on the 3DS, which in case you don't know, is hated by the Daily Mail but liked by gamers that like to play games in 3D, naturally.

Yes, the 3DS is in 3D, we got that. And we would have eaten a hat, any hat, had Nintendo not announced versions of Mario Kart, Star Fox, and Mario Land for the handheld. Yeah, they are great games, we know that - and they look fantastic - but we thought, do you fancy getting to the new console?

No? Oh okay. What's this then? Kid Icarus? Right. Another old game. Let's guess what's next, is it in 3D? You betcha.

Any more? Yes, a Game Cube title. We remember those too. Whats this one, Luigi's Mansion 2. Oh. According to Reggie Fils-Aime, president and COO of Nintendo, this includes "not one but several new mansions". But its no new console.