Eurogamer reports today that fresh details about the Wii U’s controller have been revealed in Wii U patent documents that have just been unearthed by NeoGAF. According to the plans, the touchscreen controller will have flash memory, an IR port, a speaker similar to that on the Wii Remote, a microphone, and a magnetometer. According to The Video Game Writers, the patent says that the magnetometer is designed to work in conjunction with the controller’s gyroscope and accelerometer. Apparently the PlayStation Move has something similar, which is basically designed to ensure that the motion sensor works as accurately as possible.
Some other very welcome news revealed by the patent is the fact that the controller will be powered by rechargeable lithium-ion batteries instead of the AA batteries that are currently used in the Wii Remote. The patent doesn’t give away much in terms of specs, or how any of these various features might work, but as The Escapist notes, some of the illustrations seem to indicate that the actual Wii U console will be very similar in size and shape to the original Wii. One of the illustrations (pictured here) shows how you would play a golf game using the Wii Remote, and with the Wii U touchscreen controller placed on the floor, presumably so that the player can use it to line up their shot, or something similar. Intriguing!
Source: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-08-12-wii-u-patent-reveals-tablet-details
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/112261-Patent-Documents-Reveal-Wii-U-Controller-Details
http://videogamewriters.com/more-wii-u-tablet-controller-innards-revealed-in-patent-20027
