GamePad Confusion

Lyrics

Smells like new circuits and the store's floor polish.
Another white box.
But this… this is different.

Your plastic is cool in my hands.
Smooth, but with a grip.
A screen where the buttons should be.
Or… where there used to be nothing.
Is this for the box I already have?
The one we used for tennis on Christmas?
The name is almost the same.
Just one letter.
The sales kid looks tired of this question.

Tell me, what are you?
Are you the game, or just the window to it?
A tablet that talks to my TV?
An add-on? A sequel?
The box says Wii U.
But my body remembers the Wii.
And I don't know where one ends and you begin.

It's November 18, 2012.
The posters promise a revolution.
Satoru Iwata said it would change everything.
"Asymmetric gameplay."
The words hang in the air like dust.
One person sees the battlefield, the other sees the map.
It sounds brilliant. It sounds… complicated.
Am I brilliant enough for this controller?

Tell me, what are you?
Are you the game, or just the window to it?
A tablet that talks to my TV?
An add-on? A sequel?
The box says Wii U.
But my body remembers the Wii.
And I don't know where one ends and you begin.

Then he says, "Here, watch this."
He turns the television off.
And you're still alive.
The little plumber keeps running, right here in my hands.
A secret world, just for me.
The living room noise fades away.
Oh.
I get it now. I think.

But the price tag is for a whole new thing.
And my mom thinks it's just an accessory.
I put you back in the cradle.
The plastic clicks.
Maybe you're just a little too early.
A beautiful idea in the wrong shape.
A question nobody knew how to ask.