My expectations for E3 ’09 are necessarily colored by my disappointment over E3 ’08. That was the year, after all, that Nintendo neglected its fanbase, and embraced the casual market. Going into this year’s show, my expectations will remain low, if for no other reason than as a safety measure. If I walk in to Nintendo’s press conference expecting crap, and they pull a were-rabbit out of their hat, my mind will be blown. I imagine that Nintendo will continue to tout their impressive sales numbers and the runaway success of their non-games. But there will also be an underlying theme of apology, and I do suspect that a few Bob-Ombs will be dropped to appease the hardcore masses. Will ’09 be the year that Pit makes his triumphant console return? Probably not, but a girl can dream.

I don’t actually know if Punch-Out!! will be a big component of the show, since it was released this month. The Wii Motion Plus will probably be at center stage, and Nintendo will want to show off a bunch of games that make use of this newest peripheral, including Wii Sports Resort and Red Steel 2. Otherwise, I think it’ll be business as usual with games on the show floor that we’re already aware of, like Dead Space: Extraction and Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. Granted, these are both games I’m really excited about, but I don’t think there will be too many big surprises this year.

I am hoping for the announcement of a new Wii Zelda game, though, and maybe a new Metroid game, though not necessarily by Retro Studios. Metroid Dread might be dead, but I still hold out hope for a Zero Mission-like remake of Metroid 2. Most surprises will be related to WiiWare/DSiWare. Big third party companies will probably jump on board, promising exclusive downloadable versions of existing franchises. Konami might hop in with a new Castlevania, or launch the remaining “old-school” entries on the Virtual Console (Bloodlines?). The power and potential of the DSi will be much-discussed. Spirit Tracks will be a big deal, but I suspect Nintendo will also announce future DS games with DSi enhanced features, like the old GBC games.

What do I really want to see at E3 ’09? No specific game or fix. I just want Reggie (and/or Iwata) to get up on stage and apologize to their fanbase. Guys (and girls) like me helped Nintendo become a household name, and the last few years have been a series of face-slaps. It’s about time Nintendo acknowledged that, and started working to sell games to people who actually care about games, and the brand they’re attached to.