Nintendo at E3 2012 : Other Conferences do what Nintendon’t
Nintendo makes a U-turn
by Chris Fox
©2012 Chris Fox
With Nintendo having already teased us with a pre-E3 video (showing us the Gamepad redesign along with the announcement of Miiverse and the prayer-answering Pro controller) the gaming world held their breath for some real surprises.
Nintendo had left everyone scratching their heads after last years baffling Wii U reveal and it was time to see whether Nintendo could finish what they started twelve months ago.
Instead, I’m still left scratching my head.
Pika Pika
A pikmin filled skit led Miyamoto San onto to the stage, where he spoke about Pikmin 3.
Bill Trinen then joined him onstage to translate.
Both went on to talk about entertainment though the Wii U gamepad, but it was hard to distinguish what either were saying as both their mics were at the same volume. Another great E3 moment.
The feverish chatter of both of them led to an actual confirmation of Pikmin 3.
The enhanced resolution of the Wii U can show many pikmin performing multiple tasks on screen at once. The game will feature Wii remote and nunchuck compatibility. Pikmin 3 promises ‘deeper fun’.
Sounds sexy.
Reggie Fils-Aime stated that he felt just like a purple pikmin as he took to the stage. The Wii U promises to change your gaming and the way you interact with your gaming friends.
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We’re only about the games! Now about Facebook…
Reggie then put a smile on my face by telling everyone they would only talk about games (after announcing various video streaming services, of course).
He also mentioned Nintendo Facebook and Youtube integration. Nintendo has discovered the internet, everybody!
Double simultaneous gamepad game play was confirmed. So at least they’re half the way there.
We were given a detailed tour of the gamepad.
Features include vibration and a headphone slot. As was teased in the Miiverse reveal, hundreds of Miis will populate the Wii U home screen, congregating and communicating in different ways through rich media.
Nintendo seem to have finally got the idea of connectivity between users. And praise the Deku Tree for that.
Miiverse will be accessible through PCs, smart phones and tablets. There will be no escape.
Mario is back. Surprise.
New Super Mario Bros. Mii has become New Super Mario Bros. U and will feature a heavy Miiverse presence and a new flying squirrel suit!
Most Nintendo fans are surely happy with this news alone.
Just like the previous Wii title, four players can play simultaneously.
Batman makes a U turn
Martin Tremblay, after being introduced by Harley Quinn herself, took to the stage to talk all things Warner Bros.
Specifically, Arkham City: Armored Edition.
Thank God this game is coming to the Wii U this Christmas, as gamers haven’t had any way to play it yet. [Editor: dripping with sarcasm still I see]
The gamepad screen will be used for B.A.T. mode, allowing all of the bat gadgets to be displayed in the user’s hands. Very cool.
Scribble here
The WB discussion continued with Scribblenauts Unlimited for Wii U. The game’s key word was ‘Exploration’.
The ability to create new summons were shown in the form of a dog car (think Dumb and Dumber’s Mutt Cutts Van).
Next came a sizzle reel featuring Darksiders II, Mass Effect 3 (to cheers), Tank! Tank! Tank!, Tekken Tag Tounament 2 (wih Mario mushrooms), Trine 2, Ninja Gaiden 3 (.5 out of 10) and Aliens Colonial Marines.
Third party support for the Wii U is the best Nintendo has had since the SNES.
Reggie, clearly feeling antsy, came back onto the stage to boast about his body that he achieved thanks to Wii Fit.
Wii will, Wii will, Fit U, Fit U!
Any guesses that this lead into? No? Well, it was Wii Fit U. Surprise!
Wii U features pedometer integration and a luge game that will get you lying on that balance board of yours. What’s that? You already sold it?
Oh well, never mind then. At this point of conference, I felt frustrated and unimpressed.
Come on, Nintendo!
My complaints were hastily silenced with the debut of Sing (working title).
Now you can read the lyrics for your chosen pop hit on the gamepad screen. The future is here. As were a cacophony of groans.
3DS is still here….and Mario again!
Scott Moffett took over from Reggie to update us all on the latest happenings in the world of 3DS.
New Super Mario Bros. 2 is all bout the coins (more so than usual).
Nintendo then completely change it up by talking about Paper Mario Sticker Star. I sincerely hope no one is playing any drinking game involving taking shots at mentions of Mario.
These drinkers were then given a break from Mario next, however… with Luigi. Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, to be precise.
Thus far, Nintendo have had the least surprising press conference of E3 2012. And that’s saying a lot!
A 3DS third party sizzle reel then attempted to excite the crowd and featured: Castlevania Lords of Shadow, Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion, Scribblenauts Unlimited and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.
Wii Games Lineup Video
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Saved by Lego, dance and zombies?
Remember Wii U’s biggest game announcement of last year? Well fear not, Lego City was back featuring open world Lego shenanigans and crime solving using the Gamepad to scan through buildings.
Lego City then demonstrated how up to date it is with a Matrix reference. Cracking stuff.
Just when I thought that noose couldn’t look any more tempting, Ubisoft go into great detail over Just Dance 4.
A fifth player on gamepad is able to interact with the four players “dancing” with their Wiimotes.
I would tear into Just Dance, but you can’t argue with that ‘biggest selling third party’ money it rakes in.
ZombiU showed zombies on the London Central Underground Line as well as sniping and door hacking through the gamepad. Reggie’s face was also zombiefied using AR and the gamepad.
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NintendoLand!
“Welcome to NintendoLand”, exclaimed Reggie.
NintendoLand was revealed to be a virtual space a kin to a theme park.
The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest, Animal Crossing and Luigi Ghost Mansion are all multiplayer mini-games that will be included in the NintendoLand package (that will be presumably bundled with the console).
NintendoLand promises asymmetric gameplay. Luigi’s Ghost Mansion was touched on and bared more than a striking resemblance to Pac-Man.
I remember when everyone else used to copy Nintendo’s ideas. Now only Sony are doing it.
By the time the overly long live demo of Luigi’s Ghost Mansion was over, my patience was hanging by a thread.
E3 victory was in Nintendo’s grasp, but has it ever slipped through their fingers.
Where was the price talk?
The long game plan for online play?
All the questions gamers were left with last year have still been left unanswered, frustratingly.
©2012 David Hilton
Filed under: Xbox 360 Tagged: | 3DS, Aliens Colonial Marines, Aliens Colonial Marines Wii U, Animal Crossing, Arkham City: Armored Edition, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Darksiders 2 Wii U, Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion, facebook, Gamepad, Just Dance 4, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Kingdom Hearts D3: Dream Drop Distance, Lego CIty, Luigi Ghost Mansion, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Mass Effect 3 Wii U, Miiverse, New Super Mario Bros, New Super Mario Bros 2, nintendo, Pikamin 3, Scrbblenauts Unlimited, Scribblenauts Unlimited, Sing, Sing Wii U, Super Mario Sticker Star, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Wii U, The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest, Wii, Wii Fit U, Wii U, ZombiU
of course, a fan does not take a look at the bigger picture. a serious gamer does that. and as a serious gamer my interest in the wii u is there but the main signals tell me that nintendo is far from arriving at the current gen. not only that they actually showed nothing that the serious gamer was interested in but some facts are raising doubts:
- still no inbuilt hdd (excuse me, nintendo?) .. at least it is rumoured that an external hdd may be attached (again, excuse me, nintendo?? this is a little bit odd in the year 2012)
- still no talk about achievements or trophies other than the ominous miiverse.. which can be cool or can be a total laughable app.. the few impressions did not help to determine what it will be. also, without trophies or achievements the dlc will be doomed on the wii u. i would not have bought one single dlc this gen if it was not for trophies.
- no talk about how they are going to solve the storage problem. i mean, 3rd parties do not care about intelligent storage use and so on.. they care about a cheap way to port their stuff to every platform there is. how are 3rd parties supposed to offer their games to the wii u when every user has to buy an external hdd to being able to install the 3rd party games????
again, my interest is raised for the wii u, but i am far from saying that it will be a purchase. i bought the wii and 3ds blindly.. i guess a third time i will not gibe them the opportunity to take my money and then miss out to deliver.
This is the reality……
nintendo has an entire nother showcase of 3ds games. Thats what I care about…..
I guess its standard to doom and gloom before a system launch so I wont fight that anymore
But anyone denying the wii u wont sell out at launch is fooling themselves. scribblenauts, mario, rayman, nitnendoland, pikmin, will appeal to everyone
“I guess its standard to doom and gloom before a system launch so I wont fight that anymore”
There was nothing the 3DS and PSV did wrong to gain the doom and gloom articles but the Wii U did something wrong….it didn’t show us anything it could do, for the second time
We give them a second chance and they failed again…thats why were seeing the doom and gloom articles.
(edited: abuse or foul language violates TOU)
the wii u will be sold out during the holiday……..
have you played mario U? I tried it out and guess what, its the best game so far
I believe Nintendo has a strong line up of 1st party games and a few really good 3rd party. But as with all previous generations, what has hurt them is the lack of appeal to publishers to keep making games for their system.
The show did nothing to reassure that it will do more than the Wii did. The Wii was hugely successful and innovative, and sold massively, but again suffered from lack of quality core games other than Mario and co.
I actually really liked the pre-E3 video where they talk about “alone together” but this show did little to convince me they solved that.
The 3DS will do very well this year though imo.
nintendo won e3
and they still have another event
I really don’t see how they won when their show was about showing us what the Wii U can do and they failed.
The other event is just a 3DS one…..no Wii U talk
Ubisoft or Sony won this year
They failed?
Did you watch mario, pikmin, nintendoworld, scribblenauts, and more?
Did you see paper mario, luigis mansion, the teaser?
please your trolling is blinding you