Pitchford: Wii U GamePad "the best controller I've ever had from Nintendo"

For Gearbox chief Randy Pitchford, the recently unveiled Wii U GamePad is "the best controller I've ever had from Nintendo".

Last night Nintendo held a pre-E3 press conference to unveil the final design of the Wii U GamePad. It now has two longer analogue sticks instead of the circle pads the prototype device featured last year at E3. The sticks can now be clicked down, too. The GamePad's buttons and handgrips have been moved around to make it more comfortable to use. There's a TV Control button that, when pressed, transfers the telly's image to the GamePad screen or vice versa. And the GamePad can also act as a television remote once the Wii U console is turned off.

The GamePad also has an NFC reader/writer that can decipher cards or figurines placed on the screen. There are gyroscopic and motion sensors, too. You can use the Wiimote, nunchuck and Balance Board with Wii U.

"When I play with the controller, I immediately realise that for the types of games I like to play and make, this is the best controller I've ever had from Nintendo," Pitchford, who is at E3 to show off Borderlands 2 and Aliens: Colonial Marines, told Gamasutra.

"For Aliens: Colonial Marines, it's really exciting to have that screen there because I can do things that are very unique to this universe. For instance, we have a motion tracker in this universe. Now our motion tracker can literally be in our hands and we can see and hear it - and scan the room in 360 degrees, since it's a motion device."

Meanwhile, Gearbox confirmed that Demiurge Studios, maker of cel-shaded side-scroller Shoot Many Robots, is creating the Wii U version of Aliens: Colonial Marines.

Demiurge has a history of helping some of the industry's biggest players. The company was responsible for the PC ports of Mass Effect and BioShock, contributed to Borderlands and worked on several titles in the Rock Band franchise.

Gearbox chief Randy Pitchford told Gamasutra roughly 80 per cent of the work on Colonial Marines is being done in-house at Gearbox.

Last month senior producer Brian Burleson told Eurogamer Section 8 maker TimeGate Studios and outsourcing specialist Shadows in Darkness were helping out.

Demiurge spent nine months on the prototype before being handed Wii U development duty.