Everyone expected to have their socks blown off by the announcement of Nintendo's new system, now known as the Wii U. Did it deliver? I'd answer that question with a resounding yes. Nintendo's goal with the Wii U is to deliver something for every type of gamer, both casual and core. They acknowledged that the Wii's lack of HD support was one of the main causes of this schism in the first place, so Nintendo is making sure this system is a graphical power house. It supports 1080p, is more powerful than the Xbox 360 and PS3 (although we don't know by how much), and can stream content to it's greatest new feature, the touch screen controller. But all of that power wouldn't mean anything without great software, which is why Nintendo announced some of the best third party support a Nintendo system has seen since the NES days. They showed a demo reel featuring core games like Dark Stalkers 2, Ninja Gaiden 3, Aliens: Colonial Marines, Tekken, and Batman: Arkham City. EA, Ubisoft and several other publishers and developers also announced their excitement for the system and their intent to develop for it.
Click "read more" to find out what I think about the rest of the conference, as well as watch a trailer of what The Legend of Zelda might look like in HD
Click "read more" to find out what I think about the rest of the conference, as well as watch a trailer of what The Legend of Zelda might look like in HD
The controller itself is also exciting, threatening to change the way we play console games the same way it's predecessor did. The controller features a 6" touchscreen, front facing camera, microphone and a gyroscope, eliminating the need for several peripherals right out of the box. The touchscreen will not only change the way we play games, but also how we experience them. Nintendo will strongly incorporate AR technology, something they have already been toying with on the 3DS, as well as remove pesky HUDs from games and make inventory management seamless. Games like Diablo 3, which would seem really cumbersome on traditional controllers due to the lack of buttons and the need to pause game or assign complex shortcuts in order to manage inventory effectively, can be played with ease on Wii U. I'm hoping Blizzard sees the same potential I do. This controller has so many possible applications that I couldn't even begin to list them all.
Nintendo also announced strong support for the 3DS, showing Super Mario 3DS, Mario Kart 3DS, Starfox 64 3D, Kid Icarus: Uprising, and my biggest surprise, Luigi's Mansion 2. I loved the first Luigi's Mansion on Gamecube, so the sequel will surely be a must buy for me. Kid Icarus: Uprising features AR card support, and a new;y announced multiplayer mode, and Mario Kart features new elements like underwater racing and hang gliding. Super Mario 3DS, made by the galaxy team, also looked astounding and featured an old fan favorite in the trailer, the tanooki suit.
The Wii was no slouch either. Nintendo showed an amazing trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, as well as announced a new 4 player co-op Kirby, Rhythm Heaven and Mario Party 9. Unfortunately, The Last Story and Xenoblade were nowhere to be seen, which makes me sad. Pikmin 3 was confirmed to have development shifted to the Wii U, a bittersweet announcement. I want to play it as soon as possible, but I know it will be even better on the new system.
Overall, I thought Nintendo had one of the best e3 conferences they could possibly have. They literally had something for everyone. The Wii U looks amazing, the 3DS will finally have good support, and the Wii will bow out gracefully.
Arbitrary Grade: A
Nintendo also announced strong support for the 3DS, showing Super Mario 3DS, Mario Kart 3DS, Starfox 64 3D, Kid Icarus: Uprising, and my biggest surprise, Luigi's Mansion 2. I loved the first Luigi's Mansion on Gamecube, so the sequel will surely be a must buy for me. Kid Icarus: Uprising features AR card support, and a new;y announced multiplayer mode, and Mario Kart features new elements like underwater racing and hang gliding. Super Mario 3DS, made by the galaxy team, also looked astounding and featured an old fan favorite in the trailer, the tanooki suit.
The Wii was no slouch either. Nintendo showed an amazing trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, as well as announced a new 4 player co-op Kirby, Rhythm Heaven and Mario Party 9. Unfortunately, The Last Story and Xenoblade were nowhere to be seen, which makes me sad. Pikmin 3 was confirmed to have development shifted to the Wii U, a bittersweet announcement. I want to play it as soon as possible, but I know it will be even better on the new system.
Overall, I thought Nintendo had one of the best e3 conferences they could possibly have. They literally had something for everyone. The Wii U looks amazing, the 3DS will finally have good support, and the Wii will bow out gracefully.
Arbitrary Grade: A