Nintendo Wii U console shown off in close-up pics

After the madness of E3, one of the big stories to emerge was the launch of a new console from Nintendo, the Wii U. Except, we didn't really get to see what it looked like.

Well, now that's changed after some chaps from Inside Games managed to either convince someone to show off the console later on, or it orchestrated a white-gloved raid on the stand and made off with the prototype.

TechRadar has put together a video of what you need to know about the Nintendo Wii U:

Sadly, we don't really learn a lot more about the Wii U; it looks a lot like the old Wii except a bit curvier, has an HDMI-out as you might expect, and has vents fitted on its white plastic exterior.

Trigger happy

The touchscreen controller is on show too, looking, well, like it does in the press shots, but you can see how slim the design is as well as noting the weird lip on the rear of the unit with the trigger buttons moulded into the chassis.

There's nothing more useful than that, with nothing like a release date or price attached as you might expect from a covert pictures operation – but we're a little sad nobody at Inside Games found anything new about the console.

But, we have got some lovely close-ups of the console, which took second place to its tablet-like controller when it was announced at E3 2011.

Still, there's nearly a year to wait for the thing, so we'll keep our eyes peeled for more information as and when we get it – and in the meantime, head on over to the Japanese site to see the Wii U from all angles.

Via Engadget