Nintendo's Wii U greeted with confusion - The Times (subscription)

Video games were once the prerogative of young men who bashed buttons while holed up in their bedrooms.

Nintendo's Wii console changed that, as millions of families played by waving around its motion-sensitive controllers while in their living rooms.

Now, the Japanese maker of Super Mario is trying to transform the experience of gaming once again, launching a new games device in a move crucial to the company's future.

Nintendo launched its eagerly-anticipated Wii U console in Britain today, the successor to the Wii which was released six years ago.

The new machine's main attraction is its GamePad controller, a