Wow Nintendo. Simply WOW.
I'm fresh off watching the Nintendo E3 Press Conference, and if you thought Microsoft had a lot to say yesterday, think again. Anyone who grew up liking and playing games as kids should be familiar with the brand "Nintendo" and the legacy it carries. So what exactly did it put out in the show floor? Lots I tells you, and let me spill out the details about this surprisingly exciting conference!
Reggie Fils-Aime, President and COO of Nintendo of America, started the show by greeting gamers, then introducing everyone to the much anticipated trailer of the new Legend Of Zelda game for the Nintendo Wii - The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword! Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of the series, then appears in a video message, holding the same sword and shield he carried to announce the new Legend Of Zelda game back in E3 2004. Gameplay demonstration is then held for this pretty looking action game, which is then joined by Miyamoto himself, who bursts into the E3 2010 scene from behind the screen to show fans what the new Zelda is made of. The game requires and makes good use of the Wiimote's Motion Control Plus add-on, turning that and the nunchuck into main character Link's Sword and Shield, respectively. Miyamoto then demonstrates bit-by-bit the unique new gameplay features that are in store for this title, then caps the whole segment by introducing another trailer for Skyward Sword. Pretty awesome.
Reggie then returns on stage, and introduces more stuff for Wii owners to watch out for, particularly on the games side. After talking about some sports related games, a trailer for a new Mario Sports game was shown, which was then revealed to be "Mario Sports Mix", which will see release next year along with the Zelda game.
Afterwards, Reggie goes on to talk about the success of the Wii in terms of sales last year in the US, and discusses ways in which Nintendo can expand the way in which Casual peeps can experience the console in a whole new way. Here enters "Wii Party" - a social interactive game which acts as a "Bridge title" that makes use of Mii characters created by the users and allows them to play group based games and activities, due in stores by this year's holiday season. Reggie then follows things up with a new trailer for Just Dance 2, the sequel to the move and step hit for the Wii. Up to 8 players can join in and dance, and the game will see a fall 2010 release.
In the next segment, DS Talk comes into the picture, and the latest trailer for the new Golden Sun shows - Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. Afterwards, we get more Wii action coming, with the announcement and debut trailer of a new Goldeneye 007 game! Despite the excitement felt in the air over that one, it wouldn't compare to the gameplay footage of Disney Nintendo's newest game project - Epic Mickey! Not only did gamers get to see this 3D action platformer game in action, we got treated to a few details about the game's plot, which includes visiting forgotten zones and adventure islands to making decisions that vastly affect the outcome of the game itself. This was mindblowingly awesome on so many levels, and if you're a fan of the mouse, you'd definitely be expecting this one, especially when the game also includes nostalgic trips to places based on classic cartoons from Disney's history, including Steamboat Mickey! Afterwards, things really got better with the Wii when a new and cute Kirby game was announced, called Kirby Epic Yarn! It reminded me so much of the classic sidescrolling platform games I used to play in my NES days like Super Mario, and even had a Little Big Planet feel to it with all the colorful and abstract lines shaped into yarns! All of these are definitely must haves when they come out!
Reggie then segways to another DS title, namely DragonQuest IX, explaining the features and modes of play fans can expect from the title. However, he goes back to the Wii again, and shows everyone another hot game that needed some new gameplay trailer footage - Metroid: Other M! This one brings elements of the classic Metroid back in a new way, and combines that gameplay with the one experienced in the Metroid Prime series! It will see an August 31 release this year, and as if that weren't enough classic titles getting remade for you, another one makes its long awaited return! Retro Studios brings back the lovable characters of Donkey Kong for a new adventure in the Wii, and it's aptly called Donkey Kong Country Returns! Same old school gameplay as the SNES classic we all know and grew up with, and it's coming to the Wii! Nice one Nintendo, real nice!
If the impact of Nintendo's games was strong this year, they laid the icing on the cake with their next reveal - Their newest and 3D supporting handheld platform, the Nintendo 3DS! This baby has two 3.5" inch widescreens mounted to it (one for regular and the other for 3D), and has built in wifi support, two camera lenses, and an analog stick attached along with the customary buttons and D-pad. Graphic improvements and 3D Support were the focus of the 3DS' capabilities, including confirmation on media support for today's 3D movies. Eventually, games came back into the picture, and the once unidentified "Project Sora" title wa revealed to be a new Kid Icarus game - Kid Icarus Uprising! It's a shooter that looks and feels like a PS2 game, but will see release on the 3DS! Additionally, Nintendo then announced and showed a trailer featuring most of the world's most recognized 3rd party game developing companies who signed up to make games for the 3DS, which includes names like Square Enix, Capcom, SEGA, Activision, and even Konami! Along with other respectable programmers and game makers, Hideo Kojima appeared on the trailer and confirmed that a Metal Gear Solid game is being made for the 3DS (Holy cow, now I need to get one)! Finally, Nintendo capped things off with a promotional and fun 3DS trailer, featuring the big heads and personalities like Reggie and Miyamoto on the clip.
Like I said - "Wow". Nintendo really outdid themselves this year, and made up for a lot of setbacks from their previous lackluster E3 shows. I'm so excited for the 3DS now that I can hardly contain myself, but there's one more company that's still going to present their stuff in a few hours time. Nice one Nintendo and Microsoft. Looking forward to you now, Sony. For more, heck Kotaku for more details and stories!
