Tablet technology is hardly new, but it has never quite seen the use that it will be receiving when the Wii U launches later this year. Many see the divergent path Nintendo is taking as one fraught with danger for the industry mainstay; some analysts familiar with the gaming landscape have gone as far as to prematurely dub the console a “failure.” Mark Rein, Vice President of Epic Games, is not among this group of naysayers.

Speaking with Eurogamer, Mark Rein had this to say about the potential of Nintendo’s forthcoming wave of hardware. “I like the Wii U. I think E3 will be a big eye-opener for people…I played Batman: Arkham City on the Wii U and they are doing some really cool stuff with the controller. Do you remember the Zelda demo they had on it? Would you not buy a Wii U just to play that? Of course you would. That’s what Nintendo is all about. Their hardware is the software delivery service for their great content. That Zelda demo was gorgeous and we can do even more than that with Unreal Engine 3. I think it will do great.”

Rein went on to acknowledge Nintendo’s staying power as a trusted household name among families as well as the breadth of experiences (particularly Battle Mii, a brief technical demo which featured one player using the tablet controller with two others operating basic Wii remotes) already shown for the console at last year’s E3.

Epic’s support of the Wii U is unquestionable, but whether or not that level of enthusiasm extends to the mass market won’t be seen until the second half of 2012 when the system launches in North America.

[Nintendo Universe]