And now we play the waiting game

Well, let the hype begin. Nintendo held a barn burner of a press conference today, setting ablaze buzz all over the internet.
What wound up dominating discussion of the presser was their unveiling of the upcoming Wii U, a completely new (and interestingly named) console. The system features a controller the likes of which we've never seen before, with a six inch HD screen and cameras. At first, I was horrorstruck when I thought that the thing to which Nintendo fans have been eagerly looking forward turned out to be nothing but a new controller. But Nintendo kind of botched the whole presentation, never once mentioning an actual game console. There actually is a game system to which the controller will be connected. The company chose instead to focus primarily on the revolutionary new controller. It didn't help that the unveiling began with a video of people playing a game that looks nearly identical to New Super Mario Bros. Wii using Wii remotes. As it turns out, the upcoming system will be fully backwards compatible with Wii games and peripherals, saving Wii owners the expense of going out to buy new controllers. And the game featured in the unveiling was New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which allows players to play the game using their own Wii avatars.
Once I got over the shock of thinking it was only a controller, I realized more and more what fantastic implications the device had for the gaming community.  One of the great things that have been confirmed about the Wii U is the ability to play games entirely on the controller if someone else wants to use the TV. There were also situations in which players pointed the controller at the TV screen, and, using the camera and HD display mounted into the controller, were able to zoom in on certain areas on the screen. It really does boggle my mind when I think about the possibilities. As of now, we still know very little about the device.
For a second, I thought I was going to get over not being able to get my hands on a Nintendo 3DS when I feasted my eyes upon the Wii U's fantastic features. However, right after the unveiling of the Wii U, Nintendo had a knockout punch of an announcement, including a new Mario Kart, Super Mario 3D, Luigi's Mansion 2, and plenty more. All of a sudden, the 3DS's paltry lineup has been loaded up with star power. And I'm going to go crazy waiting for it all.
EDIT 6:33PM: How the hell could I forget about this! Nintendo president Satoru Iwata dropped hints that Smash Bros. may be on the way for both the Nintendo 3DS and the Wii U, and there will be some sort of connectivity between the two versions! That was my favorite moment of the conference.