a tour of Nintendo Wii U and its many, many features

Nintendo's Wii U stole the show at E3, but Nintendo downplayed its technical prowess, opting to place focus on the console's tablet-like controller instead. We know the Wii U can do HD graphics at 1080p resolution, but now we know it can support 3D games too.

 Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said, "If you are going to connect Wii U with a home TV capable of displaying 3D images, technologically, yes, it is going to be possible, but that's not the area we are focusing on."

Gamers lusting for 3D Mario, Zelda, Metroid and any other Nintendo franchise will have to stick to the 3DS. The Wii U's ability to support 3D is good news for developers and gamers who have already invested in expensive 3DTVs and 3D glasses. Even though Nintendo won't put any 3D games on its new game console, third-party publishers who want to, at least have the option to do so.

However, with the Wii U's controller taking center stage, who would want to fiddle with 3D games? Sony's pushing its PS3 3D gaming prowess mostly through its first-party games, Nintendo isn't. Microsoft isn't playing the 3D game either for its Xbox 360...yet.

In the months leading up to the Wii U unveil, Nintendo downplayed 3D for the home console based on three principles: 1) 3DTVs are expensive 2) 3DTV adoption hasn't reached mass access yet 3) wearing the glasses might look silly to others in the same room.

Nintendo's not throwing any punches with the Wii U. It's got the HD eye candy, the hardware power, and hopefully it'll have that robust Xbox Live and PlayStation Network online infrastructure come launch time next year.