With the other two having already given their conferences and laid their cards on the table, all eyes are on Nintendo. Much like last year, they opened with their usual and closed with a big punch to the wallet.
Conference opens with a big orchestral number, with a real orchestra. It is the 25anniversary of Zelda, and that is what they will touch on first.
First announcement, Link’s Awakening is in the E-Shop… right now! Next Zelda “Four Swords” is coming in September for DSi Ware and it will be free. So this is going pretty well so far. Skyward sword is coming for this holiday and it is “completely finished.” Also announced is a Anniversary orchestral concerts around the world this fall. Japan, US and Europe tour dates.
Iwata takes the stage and he want’s to go “deeper and wider” for more gamers. He talks a lot about the new console and what they plan to do with it. However he never goes into detail and says he will “save that for later”. So his appearance was a giant cock tease.
Montage shown for the 3DS. Mario Kart, Star Fox, Kid Icarus, ANOTHER new Mario game complete with Tanooki suit and … Luigi’s Mansion? Most of these are demoed in some fashion and Reggie hits the stage.
(Other third party supported titles: Resident Evil: The Mercenaries, Tetris, Ace Combat, Resident Evil: Revelations, Driver Renegade, Tekken 3D, Snake Eater 3D, and more.)
Reggie then talks about games on the 3DS and the new E-Shop. Things we already know, Excitebike is free today along with the new 3-D Pokedex.
Then Reggie drops the bomb. The new Nintendo system is now and will forever be known as the “Wii U”. *sigh*
Then they show how the controller will look and work. This is the single best reveal of a controller in gaming history. Biggest and the first thing they show is how you can play the Wii U with out a TV even being on. That sold it for me. You can play the game, and if someone wants to watch something else, that can happen. You will simply just play the game ON THE CONTROLLER. It’s basically a proprietary smaller iPad. Single touch, but with pretty much all the other bells and whistles. Looks very slick. (Post show users have said it’s pretty light as well.) 6.2 inch screen. Supports existing Wii controller tech, like the balance board. Wii Remote connectivity in the vid too. Two circle pads, one d-pad. It really does look great, all fanboy-ism aside.
Looks like it [WiiU] will do proper online multi-player. They show off some Ghost Recon that looks great. Other big thing is a new Smash Brothers on the way to 3DS and Wii U that will have some sort of cross over.
Biggest of all there will be BIG third party support for the Wii U. To prove it they show a video of a lot of big names here. Ken Levine, Peter Moore, Yves Guillemot, Warren Spector. Darksiders II at launch, Assassin’s Creed, and Batman Arkham City.
Also show “running” on the Wii U were; Dirt, Aliens: Colonial Marines, Metro Last Light, new Tekken game, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge.
John Riccitiello shows up and says they [EA] will support the Wii U. That’s pretty big. Bigger though is the thought that Battlefield 3 will be on the new Wii U. That’s just crazy.
That’s pretty much it.
After the show, Reggie was on GameTrailers and said that yes it was only single touch. Said that there was a console to connect to the controller though they never once mention it. It will NOT up-rez your current Wii titles. Reggie says that it will be priced for “competitive value” with the current generation. He danced around a price saying that it will be worth what you pay for it.
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