THUMBSTICKS, BOOM! This is a very good thing. Picture features the old design on the left (with shitty 3DS circle pads) and the new design (taken from the Twitter account of a games tester for TT Games) on the right. A few other changes too, but dat thumbstick.

There's also a strange square below the d-pad...? Here's hoping they've updated the touchscreen, too.

EDIT: Oh, should've linked to the tweet. https://twitter.com/#!/MATTYB00SH/status/203939010610085888

I still think it's weird having the face buttons below the left thumbstick, guess I'll just have to try it out myself to see if it's weird.

Nice! The circle pad is fine for a handheld, but a console controller just wouldn't feel right without the regular thumbsticks.

The D-Pad is kind of too far away in the new design.

This is a smart move.

the right stick over the face buttons looks really weird

That controller looks awkward to play with.

The guy posting this is going to get SO sued.

That controller looks fucking horrible. It doesn't look designed for human hands.

Cool, now lets just hope Nintendo actually delivers great games on a constant scale and I'll be very happy.

@Gargantuan: actually I think it looks like one of the more comfortable controllers in resent memory.

It still doesn't look comfortable to hold, but we'll see I guess!

@Gargantuan: I thought and still think the same about the N64 controller

They've actually redesigned the back of the thing where you grip it, too. There's a big thing on GAF about it with drawings. Nintendo controllers are usually amongst the comfiest to hold, so I'll wait until I actually get a go. Still, yeah, it looks horrible to hold right now.

@Gargantuan said:

That controller looks fucking horrible. It doesn't look designed for human hands.

I don't know if I had just forgotten that it didn't have thumbsticks before or if I just missed that when it first came around but this is GREAT. I've never used a Vita, but always thought that the PsP thing was awful and uncomfortable and while the 3DS's circle pad was a step up it still doesn't compare to some regular sticks.

@Cheesebob said:

@Gargantuan: I thought and still think the same about the N64 controller

I've never played N64 games so I googled the controller. What the fuck were the designers thinking?

Can you click in the thumbsticks now?

Please. Please. Please.

PLEASE.

Nintendo has not made a good controller since the SNES IMO. This looks about as stupid as the N64, Gamecube and Wii controllers. The PS controller feels like the continuation of the SNES controller. You don't need anything crazy when that works fine.

@Gargantuan said:

That controller looks fucking horrible. It doesn't look designed for human hands.

What looks bad about it?

Shit, I think it looks awesome.

I like it. E3 is going to be wild.

If thumbsticks make people happy, I'm cool with that. 
 
Also this. 
 
@Claude said:

I like it. E3 is going to be wild.

@Gargantuan said:

@Cheesebob said:

@Gargantuan: I thought and still think the same about the N64 controller

I've never played N64 games so I googled the controller. What the fuck were the designers thinking?

That was the first controller with a stick, I think. The designers of it probably presumed you would be using that or the DPAD, but never both. It is perfectly comfortable to hold (even for FPS), but games tended to need a lot of auto aim / limited verticals because of the single stick nature of it (e.g. push should button to aim, otherwise your relying on auto targeting for accuracy). The biggest strike against that thing was durability (the springs in those age fast), consistent center sensing, and resistance to movement (it feels really shackey after the spring wears a bit).

Still, good enough to do the first modernish type shooter (Goldeneye, ie before cinematic style) on a console really well.

@Cheesebob said:

@Gargantuan: I thought and still think the same about the N64 controller

I've never played N64 games so I googled the controller. What the fuck were the designers thinking?

That controller looks fucking horrible. It doesn't look designed for human hands.

Nintendo has not made a good controller since the SNES IMO. This looks about as stupid as the N64, Gamecube and Wii controllers. The PS controller feels like the continuation of the SNES controller. You don't need anything crazy when that works fine.

@Willy105: Agreed. The N64 controller may look awkward, and it certainly couldn't cope with elements of more modern game design, but it was [and still is] almightily comfortable in the hand. I have seen people who are used to more modern controllers struggling with it though: gripping it on the side prongs and reaching helplessly for the analogue stick, that sort of thing. I suppose a controller that requires some instruction to hold correctly isn't perfect, but then anyone unfamiliar with controllers would probably struggle with some element of any of them.

So yes, past experience suggests the Wii U controller will feel better to hold than it looks, though I share some people's concerns about button placement. Reports from E3 on all aspects of the console can't come soon enough as far as I'm concerned.

Of the conventional, modern controllers I've always preferred those for the Gamecube and the 360. The dualshock has never sat well in my hands.

Edit: Actually, on reflection the buttons and d-pad being diagonally downwards and inwards from the sticks is hardly unusual, it just looks a little off without being able to see whatever ergonomic design is going on at the back. I expect it's fine.

Good to see they ditched the circle pads.

Still don't care for it. It looks uncomfortable to hold.

Trying not to be hipster but, the more I see of the wii U, the less I care. If it's anything like the previous console, and am skipping this one and seeing what Sony has next.

Ripped from neogaf:

I'm sorry, I cannot abide any GameCube Controller hatred. Go play Windwaker seven times and REPENT!

@Gargantuan said:

@Cheesebob said:

@Gargantuan: I thought and still think the same about the N64 controller

I've never played N64 games so I googled the controller. What the fuck were the designers thinking?

What!? You didn't know that back in the 90s people actually had three hands?

Nintendo's always innovating

@BestUsernameEver said:

Trying not to be hipster but, the more I see of the wii U, the less I care. If it's anything like the previous console, and am skipping this one and seeing what Sony has next.

I don't get this? "if it's anything like the previous console" .... how exactly? If you mean: a console that plays games then shit, I guess it's like the previous console.

I'll just assume that you mean something like "a system that gets mostly shovelware party games and is held back by weak graphics and forces you to wave your arms around" then you KNOW that this is NOTHING like that. There is zero chance for you to have missed that messaging. The controller is huge, because it has a touch screen in the middle that happens allow for a separate view of the game or a maps screen or inventory or whatever the devs come up with (see: Aliens Colonial Marines with the motion sensor thing). It's gonna have all the online shabazzle we've come to expect (accounts, voice chat, browser, netflix, blabla) and in the words of Randy Pitchford they "wouldn't make the game for the platform if it didn't support all the stuff they needed" (talking about online).

The controller now has sticks, which have been said to be clickable, the backside has grips that are reminiscent of the GCN or 360 controller and on top of that you get some extra shit like cameras, speakers in the controller, the gameplay streaming to the touch screen, NFC, motion sensors and more horsepower.

So how can it be anything like the previous system? Unless you really do me "if it is a console that plays games".

Still looks pretty awful, if I do get a Wii U it's going to take me a long time to get use to that controller. Just doesn't look natural.

Still looks entirely awful to hold, which is kind of the main point when designing a controller

I don't think it looks uncomfortable, it just looks like the best they could do with a controller that has a big screen in the middle. Though I don't plan to get the Wii U.