Get a quick, thorough recap of the press conference, all in one article here! http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=18642 NintendoÂ’s annual E3 press conference took place in Club Nokia (with overflow simulcast in the nearby Nokia Theater), right next to the Los Angeles Convention Center. This poor venue had no wireless internet access and poor phone service, but we took notes and are happy to now summarize the event for you.
Cammie Dunaway was the first speaker, introducing today’s theme: “Everyone’s Game”. She spoke of business trends, expanding the audience, and providing surprises for fans. The first surprise was shown immediately – a Mario game taken to the “fourth dimension”. Not time, but multiplayer. Bill Trinen came out to demo New Super Mario Bros. Wii, a 2D multiplayer game for up to four players. It looks and plays much like the DS game, but now with drop-in multiplayer support for the entire game. (You can play it by yourself as well.) The multiplayer is cooperative/competitive in the same style as Zelda: Four Swords. Players work together to defeat enemies and finish each level, but they are also competing for coins and are ranked at the end of each stage. To accommodate all players, the view zooms in and out based on how far apart you are, although there seems to be a limit. When a player dies, he respawns inside a bubble that other players must pop before the screen leaves the bubble behind. The game is played with the Wii Remote held NES-style, and there is some motion control in the vein of Wario Land: Shake It. Players seemed to be shaking the controller to fly up into the air with the new Propeller Suit, which also lets you drift back down slowly or quickly slam into the ground for an attack. Developed by Miyamoto’s EAD team in Kyoto, the game will be out for “Holiday 2009”.
Cammie then revealed Wii Fit Plus, coming in fall 2009 as both a bundle with the Wii Balance Board and as a standalone game for players who already own the special controller. Wii Fit Plus includes six new strength and yoga activities, as well as fifteen new balance games. The latter include juggling, skateboarding, “Perfect 10” addition (slam your waist into numbers to add up to ten), and a Mario-style obstacle course with your Mii viewed from behind. The game allows you to mix and match activities, creating a custom workout routine that can be played seamlessly (without any menus or tutorials between exercises) for 20-30 minute workouts. Like EA Sports Active, your burned calories are also tracked while playing the game.
Reggie came back to discuss Wii Motion Plus. He introduced a video of people using the new device for various activities, which slowly morphed into gameplay footage of Wii Sports Resort. In addition to recently revealed games like table tennis and golf, the video showed new activities like archery, kayaking, and basketball. Bill Trinen returned once again to demo the game, starting with another surprise mini-game: skydiving. (Note: while not shown at the press conference, new assets for Resort also show that you can fly a plane over the island, similar to the demo originally shown at E3 2006.) After landing on the island, Bill went into archery to show how the Remote, now held in his left hand (or vice-versa for southpaws) controls the viewing reticule, while the Nunchuk is pulled back to determine power. Then Reggie came out to challenge Bill in a game of basketball. The gameplay shown was only shooting baskets, moving from side to side in what some people may know as “Around the World”. The teleprompter, visible from our seats in the lower balcony, cued Bill and Reggie for “MORE WITTY BANTER” during their basketball game.
Reggie stayed on stage to discuss third-party games for Wii. Last year, more third-party software was sold for Wii than any other platform, and DS came second. He then went into the RPG genre, showing trailers for several upcoming games like Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers (for Wii), Kingdom Hearts 368/2 Days (for DS), Mario & Luigi: BowserÂ’s Inside Story (for DS), and one surprise gameÂ…
Golden Sun DS, the first game in the series since 2004, brings CamelotÂ’s RPG into full 3D. It seems to be played from an isometric perspective with some camera movement, while cut-scenes and other cinematic moments are played out in close-ups that may span both screens. Very little real gameplay was shown, but the action/platforming elements of the two GBA titles seems to be intact.
Cammie launched into a DS segment, starting with three innovative third-party titles. James PattersonÂ’s WomenÂ’s Murder Club: Games of Passion is an interactive mystery adventure by the famous author. Cop: The Recruit is an open world from Ubisoft with third-person driving and shooting gameplay, similar to a console Grand Theft Auto title. Style Savvy (a.k.a. Girls Mode in Japan) is a fashion designer simulation for young female players.
According to Cammie, the DSi has sold over one million systems in the U.S. in the two months since its launch, while 400,000 DS Lites were sold. Shigeru MiyamotoÂ’s concept for DSiWare, originally shown as Moving Memo, will be released this summer under the new name of Flip Note Studio. Another Nintendo-published DSiWare game was then revealed: Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again. It features the same gameplay from previous games in the series but adds a level editor. Your created levels can be shared locally or over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. This new Mario vs. DK will be launched on DSiWare next Monday, June 8. CammieÂ’s final DS announcements were quite interesting: Made in Ore will be released in English as WarioWare DIY (do it yourself), though no release date was mentioned, and the video shown was still in Japanese. Also, later this summer, DSi owners will gain the ability to automatically upload photos from the device to Facebook; this feature does support the special effects and photo doodling features. Finally, she mentioned that The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks will be playable at E3, but no footage was shown of the game.
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata was finally introduced for a business discussion. He noted that Nintendo’s own research has found 295 million game players in Japan, U.S., and six European countries, but there are an additional 149 million “maybes” – people who are interested in playing games but have not yet done so. This is the audience Nintendo must reach to expand gaming. Iwata spoke of a growing “imaginary wall” between novices and veteran gamers, a wall that Nintendo wants to break down with bridge games like Mario Kart Wii that appeal to everyone. So what’s next for Nintendo in this area? A possible answer, according to Iwata, is the Wii Vitality Sensor. It’s a pulse monitor, worn on your index finger and connected to the Wii Remote through the bottom port. Iwata says this is a new way to let players “see the invisible” – in other words, you can become aware of what’s happening inside your body. Oddly, no software was shown to support this new accessory. Iwata praised it as a way for games to provide new experiences, like helping players to relax instead of become stimulated, or even to help you fall asleep. Cammie returned to say that Nintendo still has ways to stimulate players. With Mario games already shown for both Wii and DS, we might think he is played out for a while… but there’s even more. For the first time, a second 3D Mario game will arrive on the same system. Cut to the trailer for Super Mario Galaxy 2, featuring Yoshi. Mario’s friendly mount can swallow enemies, grapple to special flowers with his tongue, and be inflated to float up to higher ledges. Mario’s bee suit is returning, and he has a new toy: a huge drill that lets him warp to the other side of a planet. Reggie closed out the event, beginning with a focus on 3rd party opportunities on Wii. He introduced trailers for The Conduit, Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles, and Dead Space: Extraction. But what about Nintendo’s own, “edgier” offerings? Cue a mysterious trailer with sci-fi settings, the revelation of Metroid: Other M. This 2010 game is a collaboration between Team Ninja and Nintendo, featuring fast, agile 3rd person gameplay mixed with first-person shooting (though the balance appears to be tilted toward the former). The story elements are unclear but may involve a younger bounty hunter who looks quite similar Samus, with shorter blonde hair. There are clearly some computer-generated cut-scenes mixed with the running, jumping, and fighting from a third-person view.
That was the end of the press conference. There were many surprises, but some notable omissions. Miyamoto himself was nowhere to be seen, nor did we get any mention of a new Zelda, Pikmin, or any project from Retro Studios. Maybe some of these questions will be answered at an exclusive Miyamoto roundtable event taking place later today. Nintendo World Report will be there to cover any new announcements, so stay glued to this site!
Topic: Nintendo Press Conference Summary (Read 8672 times)
