Nintendo's new tweaks to the Wii U controller

Did a QA tester accidentally post a picture of the new Wii U controller to Twitter? It sure looks like it, and there are a few interesting changes that appear to have been made since Nintendo first showed off the controller's prototype design when announcing the Wii U at last year's E3. According to GamesRadar's Hollander Cooper, the image of the updated controller was allegedly uploaded via the Twitter account of an employee at Traveller's Tale Games – who you might recognize as the developer of a huge chunk of Lego-themed titles, as well as a number of Disney Interactive games. The image has since been pulled from the Web, and it appears that the account in question, @MATTYBOOSH, has been scrubbed of all postings back to 2008. Go figure. Cooper's published a great, annotated comparison shot of the differences between the two versions of the controller. There aren't many, and they don't seem super-significant in that the general shape and appearance of the controller remains roughly identical to what you're already seen. Additionally, it's unclear whether the updated controller is actually indicative of what Nintendo plans to release as a final model, or whether the new elements are just appearing on Wii U developer kits. That all said, Nintendo's gone and updated the controller's thumb sticks from small (ugly) nubs to actual analog sticks, akin to what one would already find on the original Wii's nunchuk controller. The "Wii U" name has been stamped on the bottom portion of the controller's front side, and the "select" and "start" buttons previously sandwiching the controller's "home" button have been relocated to just underneath the cluster of "A," B," "X," and "Y" buttons on the controller's right-hand side. Finally, there's a new and mysterious square-shaped button on the controller's left-hand side, right underneath the directional pad – that's a new bit that never appeared on the Wii U's original design. While some are speculating that the "new" controller shot is actually an image of a controller that predated Nintendo's previously revealed design, Cooper says that the new image does seem to fit rumors from earlier in the year that Nintendo was working on some controller redesigns prior to E3. The Wii U is expected to launch in the U.S., Japan, and Europe by winter.