Wii 2 touchscreen

Wii 2 touchscreen

Wii 2 touchscreen. Nintendo will wrap up the major 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo game-company press conferences with its own media briefing. The company has already confirmed that the centerpiece of its presentation will be its new console--reportedly code-named Project Cafe--which will see release sometime next year.

Today, the Nikkei news service (registration required) has confirmed one of the bigger rumors surrounding the console. As speculated, the console will have a controller with a six-inch touch screen at its center, allowing players to play games as they would on a tablet computer in conjunction with traditional game buttons.

Furthermore, the controller can be used as a "portable game device." Though earlier speculation had the controller streaming games onto its screen from the Wii 2, Nikkei reports that "Nintendo aims to attract more users by offering a console that doubles as a portable game system," implicating the controller can be used independently.

Nikkei also confirmed that the controller will have a camera that will allow players to create characters based on pictures they snap. It also said the Wii's successor console could launch as early as mid-2012.

Read more: gamespot