On Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. PDT, Nintendo will wrap up the major 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo game-company press conferences with its own media briefing. The company has already confirmed that the centerpiece of its presentation will be its new console--reportedly code-named Project Cafe--which will see release sometime next year.

　　A touch-screen controller is now all but confirmed for Nintendo's E3 press conference.

　　Today, the Nikkei news service (registration required) has confirmed one of the bigger rumors surrounding the console. As speculated, the console will have a controller with a six-inch touch screen at its center, allowing players to play games as they would on a tablet computer in conjunction with traditional game buttons.

　　Furthermore, the controller can be used as a "portable game device." Though earlier speculation had the controller streaming games onto its screen from the Wii 2, Nikkei reports that "Nintendo aims to attract more users by offering a console that doubles as a portable game system," implicating the controller can be used independently.

　　Nikkei also confirmed that the controller will have a camera that will allow players to create characters based on pictures they snap. It also said the Wii's successor console could launch as early as mid-2012.

　　For more on Nintendo's new console, tune in next week for GameSpot's live stream and blog of Nintendo's E3 2011 media presentation straight from Los Angeles.