Redesigned pad unwittingly unveiled just three weeks ahead of E3
Nintendo’s ongoing revisions to its upcoming Wii U hardware have been informally disclosed by a QA tester at UK development group Traveller's Tales.
The image, which was posted on Twitter on Saturday and promptly deleted, shows several amendments made to the Wii U’s tablet-like controller.
In what appears to be in response to industry and market feedback, Nintendo has replaced the coin-shaped circle-pads with a more traditional and pronounced twin set of analogue sticks.
Other controller furniture has undergone a rearrangement, as shown in the comparison pictures below.
Press shot, June 2011
Leaked shot, May 2012
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Traveller's Tales, owned by Warner Bros Interactive, is believed to be building new content for Nintendo’s upcoming console. Developers and publishers have signed particularly thorough non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with Nintendo, which the leaked image is thought to be in breach of.
The leaked image may not represent the final, commercial design of the pad.
