GamePad
The Wii U GamePad is the main Controller and Input Device that was sold alongside the Wii U Console. It features a D-Pad, ABXY Input Buttons, Dual Analog Sticks, Dual Shoulder Buttons, Bumpers and a Resistive Touchscreen. It also incorporates an Infrared Light for TV Control, Stereo Speakers, NFC Chip used for Amiibo, A Female socket for Nintendo's Proprietary 240v GamePad Charger and an Analog-to-Digital Volume Slider.
Side A
* (In Red) STMicroelectronics UIC-WUP MCE GH226 * (In Orange) STMicroelectronics MSA3D 01F * (In Yellow) Texas Instruments TSC 2046I Low Voltage I/O Touch Screen Controller
Side B
* (In Red) InvenSense ITG-3280 Gyroscope * (In Orange) Micron 25Q256A 256 Mb Serial Flash * (In Yellow) DRC-WUP 811309J31 1217LU603 * (In Cyan) Texas Instruments AIC3012 Audio Converter * (In Blue) Texas Instruments 1010007
Pictures and information from: http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nintendo+Wii+U+Teardown/11796/4
LCD Screen
The Wii U Gamepad uses a 854 x 480 FWVGA Display with TFT-LCD Pixels in a 16:9 Ratio. It supports 16 Million colors and has a Resistive Touchscreen.
5GHz WiFi Module
The Wii U GamePad incorporated a modified 802.11n 5.2GHz WI-FI Chip also built into the console to make a low latency yet high detail video and input connection with the console. It connects to the console through a variant of the WPS Process. It uses a proprietary encoding and transfer protocol that was co-developed by Broadcom for the Wii U. The console sends video under the H.264 Codec using the latter in which the GamePad decodes it.
NFC connectivity
Pokémon Rumble U
Pokémon Rumble U is the first Wii U game to make use of NFC connectivity. NFC figures are writable and store data for use in-game. No two figures are alike; each has unique stats and information in-game. For more information see Rumble U NFC Figures.
Amiibo
The marketing name for the NFC enabled figures. See: http://www.amiibo.com/ , http://www.nintendo.com/amiibo
Amiibo Figures
Available NFC enabled figures:
- 01 - Mario
- 02 - Peach
- 03 - Yoshi
- 04 - Donkey Kong
- 05 - Link
- 06 - Fox
- 07 - Samus
- 08 - Wii Fit Trainer
- 09 - Villager
- 10 - Pikachu
- 11 - Kirby
- 12 - Marth
- 13 - Zelda
- 14 - Diddy Kong
- 15 . Luigi
- 16 - Little Mac
- 17 - Pit
- 18 - Captain Falcon
Amiibo Supported Games
- Super Mario Maker
- Super Smash Bros. for WiiU
- Mario Kart 8
- Captain Toad Treasure Tracker
- Mario Party 10
- Yoshi's Woolly World
NFC data from Pokémon Rumble U figures
For more details on Amiibo, see here.
UART header
The Wii U Gamepad features a UART header near the battery connector:
The pinout is as follows:
- 1 (black): RXD
- 2 (green): UART boot
- 3 (blue): TXD
- 4 (yellow): Vcc (2.8V)
Ground can be found in the battery connector or on nearby test point TP128.
The Gamepad runs this UART at 115200 bauds, with 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity.
The service firmware uses this as a serial console, it outputs debug information over the console and also accepts commands that can modify various settings.
The Gamepad can also boot code over UART. Here is how to use this feature:
- Tie the UART boot signal (pad 2) to ground. This enables UART boot.
- Turn on the Gamepad. It will appear to do nothing.
- Over serial, send the length of your code blob (4 bytes, LSB first), then send the code blob itself.
The code will be loaded at address 0x0 in RAM. The first 32 bytes are the ARM exception vectors. When the code is completely loaded, it will be launched, starting at the reset vector.
This functionality could be used to restore a bricked Gamepad, but also to develop and run custom code.