I know better than to get into these arguments, but for those people saying that they came up with the same idea independently, that isn't the only possible answer. Just because the public didn't find out about the WiiU until 2011, doesn't mean that industry insiders didn't know about it. There will have been many chances for someone from Sony to discover the WiiU in the last few years, such as game devs deving for both companies, so saying that they didn't copy it just because there was no public announcement before 2011 is just naive.
Perhaps they knew that a console is in the works, but they definatelly did not know the specifics. Every year console developers file tons upon tons of patents - the hardware we are seeing now has been thought through years ago.
Thing is, what is actually in development is always a deeply held secret until the company actually has something to "show", that's why instances of "Vaporhardware" - announced consoles that never see the light of day, are so rare. The moment "developers" get to know that something's cooking, beta SDK's are already ready for action. There is absolutely no need for "insiders" to know anything about the specifics of the system or its features unless they are directly connected to the development, and even then, they are bound by their contracts not to leak any information out. Let's just say that "severe consequences would follow", at least if the leak is *way* ahead of schedule.
Think of all those "prototypes" of consoles people learn about ages after the final product was released, all the scrapped concepts - neither of those was "announced" in any way. I was actually looking through some concept devices that were supposed to be "next generation GameBoy" back when the DS was in the works - pretty cool stuff.
In any case, it's entirely possible that Sony came up with this on their own. Moreover, it would appear that the device works on a slightly different principle then the Nintendo controler,
as the antena/reciever appears to be mounted on the TV nevermind, that's the Move thingamajig, isn't it?
'We stole the rumble pack....
We stole the analogue stick....
We stole the Third Party Developers....
We sorta stole the sequel to GoldenEye....
And we wish we had stolen Rare.
Now, we're back.
What nintendo creates, we take. SONY.'
This was years before PSMove too. Rofl.
'Nintendo,
You "stole" the analog triggers (From Dreamcast)
You "stole" the motion controls (From Midway, being developed for the Dreamcast)
You "stole" USB ports on consoles (From Sony)
You "stole" keyboard support (From Dreamcast, unless you count earlier console-computers too)
You "stole" built-in web browsing and modems (From Dreamcast)
You "stole" online gaming on consoles (From Sega, MegaNet debuting in 1990)
Your point being?'
Some things should just become generally accepted "inventions" because they are "good". That's that.
Pshh... screens on controllers...
Dreamcast: The hipster of video game consoles.
DC didnt have screens.
You just saw a picture of a Dreamcast controller with a VMU (visual memory unit) in it, CLEARLY with a screen and you choose to say "naw, ain't no screens there". Well done.
You do realize that the clamshell design and the slider design are not exclusive to any company as they are re-occouring and neither iRiver nor Nintendo invented either of them, the PocketStation effectively worked as a memory card while PocketPikachu was a Tamagotchi rip-off, the DreamEye is nothing like an Eyetoy, it's more reminescent of a normal camera, the Wii controller is a rip-off itself (Midway was working on a controller that worked on the exact same principle and looked suspiciously similar but works were discontinued due to the death of the Dreamcast) and suma sumarum you're only right about Famicon Wars, although Field Commander is, well, a different game, tbh?
