You can read my summary of Nintendo's E3 press event here. What you will not find in that article is anything that gets me excited.
In the past Nintendo stated they would please “core gamers” at E3. Well, unless they announce something really big tomorrow during a Q&A session, like they did with Smash Bros. they certainly have not pleased me. What will I be playing on my DS or Wii in four months? Seriously, What is Retro doing? NST? Monolith? What about Square Enix or your other Japanese third parties? Seriously, I know there are some big titles in the works at least for DS. I'm hoping there's a crap-load of games I'm interested in that Nintendo simply chose not to mention in favor of the pushing casual market appeal. I guess I'll find out as I explore the “showroom floor.”
Yes, the microphone announcement is fantastic, if a bit late, and I hope other first and third party games will leverage that peripheral. I'm fine with a community microphone—that's more comfortable, and certainly more practical with multiple per Wii playing online. (Xbox360 owners probably know how odd it can be to have two people and only one headset microphone.) It's nice to see Vicarious Visions prominently featured and a GTA for DS.
Wii Sports 2 looks promising, but will not be released anytime soon. The MotionPlus looks interesting, although I'm unclear on all of its benefits. I'm wary of it becoming “the new Wii Remote,” as it could segment the market, and I don't like the idea of buying another peripheral just to have a working controller. Packaging the peripheral with Wii Sports 2 is a very good idea: Nintendo cannot easily convey to the casual gamer what the Wii MotionPlus does, but they'll buy Wii Sports 2 on brand name alone. If Nintendo is serious about making that the standard, other early first and third party titles should also have a pack-in MotionPlus.
However, the improvements are still subtle, and developers will (at least initially) have a tough decision as to whether and how they will to support the peripheral. I could see dual-tier support like we saw in the N64 with the expansion pak, but that could be confusing for both developers and the players. The balance board's use in other games is promising, though, so my concerns may be unwarranted.
I'm sure you'll get more of my and other staffers' thoughts throughout the week.
How good is this mike going to be? It's sitting on top the TV so I assume it's going to filter out the game noise and any ambient sounds and zero in on your voice?
How good is this mike going to be? It's sitting on top the TV so I assume it's going to filter out the game noise and any ambient sounds and zero in on your voice?It'll be fine. The Mic on my laptop is located under the left speaker and it's fine. Ambient noise is easily filtered.
He replied, "We've got Animal Crossing and GTA DS, what more can a Core gamer ask for!?".
QuoteHe replied, "We've got Animal Crossing and GTA DS, what more can a Core gamer ask for!?".
My guess is that Iwata/NCL has Reggie on a short leash, and thus can't kick ass like he'd like to. I didn't see the interview, did he say that with a straight face?
