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The Metroid theme park entrance is on the left, featuring Samus's helmet as a logo. Unlike previous Nintendo consoles that featured online play, the Wii U provides personal accounts for each user in the household rather than relying on a single system-wide account.
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The Wii U uses a new online service called " Nintendo Network", also available for the Nintendo 3DS. The GamePad also features a camera, a microphone, its own sensor bar, motion sensors similar to the Wii Remote +, and NFC technology. In the trailer displayed at E3, players using the prototype GamePad were able to send media like videos wirelessly to the television screen through the use of the touch screen. The GamePad allows players to continue a gaming session by displaying the game through its screen, even when the television is switched off. The console is the first Nintendo console to produce high-definition graphics, and features a new controller, called the GamePad, with an embedded touchscreen interface. The Wii U is also compatible with the Wii Remote, Nunchuk and Balance Board peripherals, which were initially designed for the Wii. The Wii U is compatible with games from the Wii, but sacrifices the functionality of Nintendo GameCube games or its peripherals (although an adapter allowing the use of GameCube controllers has been released, but they are quite rare). The console was announced at E3 2011, where a prototype version was playable. It was released in North America on November 18, 2012, in Europe and Australia on November 30, 2012, and in Japan on December 8, 2012. The Wii U, codenamed Project Café, is a home console created by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii.