Catch up on all the latest E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) announcements with:
E3 2013 DAY 1: The MICROSOFT Press Conference Round-Up
E3 2013 DAY 1: The SONY Press Conference Round-Up
In normal NINTENDO custom, they decided to do things a bit different this year for the big 2013 E3 conference. Instead of having a proper E3 showing, they decided to live-stream their “Nintendo Direct” broadcast this morning displaying all they had to offer along with all the new and exciting announcements. So instead of giving you clips and trailers like I did for MICROSOFT and SONY, I am happy to provide you (courtesy of NINTENDO) the entire presentation witch runs just under 40 minutes. It’s well worth your time.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSV5uu0E1w4[/youtube]
Something I have to get off my chest first is that this “Live” broadcast sucked in the sense that it was laggy, slow, and unresponsive for the most part. The outrage online proved to me that it was not just me. I actually have a great connection and all the quality live-streaming over at IGN works beautifully. I’m just saying to NINTENDO that if this is the route you want to go, you owe it to your dedicated fans to fix your streaming issues. You just frustrate us when you pull this crap. There, rant over.
All that said, the actual footage and presentation (once watched recorded afterwards) was pretty spectacular! Things kicked off with the newest iterations of the POKEMON franchise for the NINTENDO 3DS titled POKEMON X and POKEMON Y. While I’m not a fan of this series, I know a lot of people out there that are beyond excited for these installments.
Then it was on to the real meat and potatoes of the presentation with the official announcement of a brand new 3D (sort of) MARIO title called SUPER MARIO Bros. 3D WORLD coming exclusively (duh!) to the NINTENDO WiiU. This game looks colorful, fun, and accessible. Three things NINTENDO does best! I suppose my only real complain (nitpick) on this one is that it looks more like a NINTENDO 3DS game on the big screen rather than a proper new 3D MARIO title that revolutionizes and reinvents itself each generation like SUPER MARIO 64, MARIO SUNSHINE, and the MARIO GALAXY series did before. That aside, it looks wonderfully fun and has been announced to launch in December 2013! I just got that much closer to finally buying a WiiU.
The next big (and possible best) game announcement was for MARIO KART 8 for the NINTENDO WiiU due out in the Spring of 2014. This game looks awesome! It’s flashy, exciting, and full of insane tracks that are all over the place! You can drive, hover, glide, and swim through races all in glorious HD! I give MARIO KART 8 my pick for best NINTENDO showing during the presentation with SUPER MARIO BROS. 3D WORLD coming in at a close second. Either way, these are 2 must-own titles.
Up next was a quick look at Wii PARTY U and Wii FIT U which have been delayed a bit from a summer release to an October and December 2013 release respectively. These will be cool if you were into the Wii versions. I wasn’t.
And surprisingly after that we were given a very quick 3rd party segment that you could have missed if you blinked. Sure I’m not buying a NINTENDO console for its 3rd party support, but it was a shame to not spent a little bit more time with the NINTENDO WiiU exclusive SONIC: LOST WORLD.
Then the biggest dissapointment came in the form of no mention of a new 3D WiiU LEGEND OF ZELDA adventure. Instead we got an updated look at the HD remake of THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: THE WIND WAKER. Sure this looks cool and all, but do we really need this? Ya ya I’ll likely get it being the huge ZELDA fan that I am, but I at least wanted to see a glimpse at the direction the new 3D ZELDA was going in. A screenshot, a title, or anything related would have done to put me at ease. Maybe next year…
THE WONDERFUL 101 was also on display and continues to look like a stellar new franchise. It got an official release date for September 15th 2013. We also got a look at the WiiU exclusive BAYONETTA 2 and a promising new title by Monolith Soft simply titled X. All three titles looked great, polished, and exciting.
Another NINTENDO favorite is back! Donkey Kong returns to home consoles with his pal DIDDY in DONKEY KONG COUNTRY: TROPICAL FREEZE. This is a new side scrolling 2D KONG game that features creative new camera angles giving it a true 3D feel while maintaining the classic gameplay fans love. This is due out in November of 2013, much sooner than anyone expected.
And finally, the big news of the day was the first footage of a new SMASH BROS. game for the NINTENDO WiiU and NINTENDO 3DS. Neither have an official title just yet, and both seem extremely similar in gameplay and feel. It is unclear whether it’s the same game or what (if any) special features one version will have over the other. Still, it’s nice to see this game in motion even if it looks like nothing new. Well, nothing new except the huge announcement that the Blue Bomber himself MEGAMAN is joining the fight this time around along with his puppy pal RUSH. Yes you hear that right, MEGAMAN will be in the new SMASH BROS. game as a playable fighter. It is unclear whether or not SONIC THE HEDGEHOG will be returning, but seeing how there is a new exclusive SONIC game (SONIC: LOST WORLD) coming to the WiiU chances are good. If that is true, it means that sometime in 2014 you will be able to pit MARIO against SONIC and MEGAMAN in the ultimate mascot showdown. Very cool stuff!
All said and done (even without a proper ZELDA announcement), NINTENDO put on a spectacular broadcast (minus the streaming issues).I have never been this excited for the NINTENDO WiiU and am ready to purchase this system in the near future. I was hoping for a price cut seeing how the NINTENDO WiiU has been out for a year and the fact that the PLAYSTATION 4 (a much more powerful system) will be launching for the very affordable price of $399.99. That’s just $50 more than the WiiU. If NINTENDO wants to be a serious contender and maintain it’s hold on the consumers, a price drop to at least $299.99 or $249.99 is in order. DO that NINTENDO, and you will see people flock.
A great showing for NINTENDO so far and I hope to get more NINTENDO news and announcements as E3 continues over the next few days.
Stay tuned for a “Round-Up” of the EA and UBISOFT presentations as well as all the big announcements from 3rd parties as they come in.
