Wii U is "effectively a 360" says Microsoft

After a less than impressive E3 showing for Nintendo, the industry is waiting for the company to announce the final pieces of the puzzle: launch date and price. Nintendo typically doesn't announce exact hardware specs, but with more games on display for Wii U, it's now becoming easier to size up its graphical horsepower (which beforehand some had said was better than PS3). Microsoft, however, recently told GamesIndustry International that it views Wii U as basically on par with Xbox 360.

Phil Spencer, corporate vice president of Microsoft Studios, commented to us in an in-depth interview, "I think their Pro Controller makes a lot of sense with the platform they've built. They are building a platform that is effectively a 360 when you think of graphical capability."

Spencer believes that Wii U will quickly become a machine for third parties to port a number of 360 games to, considering the 360-like Pro Controller.

"Now they are really making an on-ramp for the back catalog of games that are on 360. It is easy for those games to move over to the Wii U. They've moved the buttons around, and they've made a controller that feels familiar for 360 gamers, so I get why they are putting those pieces together," he said.

Spencer was even complimentary of Wii U, saying how he liked Ubisoft's ZombiU and the use of the second screen in general.