E3 2011: Nintendo Press Conference
With the introduction of their mysterious new console, Nintendo's E3 press briefing was arguably the most anticipated of the convention conferences. Named Wii U, the console features a unique controller that Nintendo hopes will revolutionize the way we play games. But can the Wii U deliver and along with the 3DS, and can Nintendo successfully reach out to core gamers who turned away from the Wii in favor of the Xbox 360 and PS3?
The Classics
The Legend of Zelda had a huge presence at the event as Nintendo opened the conference with an orchestra playing themes from the company's much loved franchise. Series creator Shigeru Miyamoto took the stage and made several announcements regarding classic and future Zelda games as Nintendo celebrates The Legend of Zelda's 25th anniversary.
Remastered in 3D and available now, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D for the 3DS offers something for Zelda veterans and novices alike with features such as hint movies, a master quest mode and a boss challenge mode. A new Zelda game is on the way for the Wii as well. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword will be compatible with Wii Motion Plus. The game along with a special edition gold Wii remote will be available this holiday season.
The company is also offering free downloads of two Zelda games via the Nintendo eShop. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening can be downloaded for free and will give gamers who are not familiar with the series an introduction to Zelda gameplay and characters and will also give fans a chance to replay the game. The second free game, the four-player co-op The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures will be available in September.
Other favorite Nintendo franchises will also be making their returns in 3D as the company announced their upcoming titles for the 3DS. President of Nintendo of America, Reggie Fils-Aime presented the 3DS lineup, which according to Nintendo will offer something for everyone. Fives titles will be offered in full 3D this year: Mario Kart, Luigi's Mansion 2, Super Mario, Kid Icarus: Uprising -- which will feature 3-on-3 multiplayer gameplay -- and Star Fox 64 3D in which the player can use the 3DS itself to steer plane by turning the handheld gaming device. Also upcoming for the 3DS are Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 3D and several other third-party titles.
Nintendo also wants to enhance the online experience of 3DS and Wii users with their enhanced browser and new Nintendo eStore and will also feature the ability to play game demos later this year. The 3DS will get access to a library of classic Gameboy and Gameboy Color titles via the Virtual Console. And for a limited time Nintendo is offering a free 3D version of the classic NES game Excitebike and Pokedex 3D -- a game that lets players discover and collect more than 150 Pokémon by scanning AR markers, and trading with friends. Pokedex 3D will also let players superimpose their Pokémon onto a background or photo. Both Excitebike and Pokedex 3D are now available as complimentary downloads but only until July 7.
The Future
Once the Legend of Zelda and 3DS announcements were out of the way, then came the reveal that everyone was waiting for: the unveiling of Nintendo's new console, the Wii U. "As an industry what we haven't achieved yet is a game platform that is equally satisfying for all players... yet. This is exactly what we intend to create with our new home platform," said Nintendo's global president Satoru Iwata earlier during the briefing regarding Nintendo's new console the Wii U.
As the logo and controller of the new console were displayed on a giant screen on-stage, Fils-Aime stated of the Wii U, "It's infinitely complex and yet perfectly simple all at the same time. It can change the way you game personally and it can change the way you interact with your family and friends."
Able to run games in HD and featuring an innovative controller, the Wii U is still in development and is expected to launch sometime in 2012. However in a video shown during the conference introducing the system, we were able to see the various uses and features the motion and touch sensitive controller will have.
Players will be able to switch from playing on their TV screen to playing on the controller's 6.2-inch touch screen, draw on the controller using a stylus, play board games on the controller, browse the web, and video chat with friends. When used with the TV screen while playing a game, the controller screen will show information or views that are not shown on the TV (i.e. maps, inventory, etc.) The controller will also display unique in-game viewpoints as it's moved around by the player.
The Wii U will be backwards compatible with Wii games as well as Wii remotes and accessories like the balance board. Fils-Aime went on to describe some demos that would be available at Nintendo's E3 booth. Though the demos were only prototypes, they show what the Wii U can do with its technology and design. Though there were no playable demos of actual games for the Wii U at E3, it was announced during the conference that several third-party titles were currently under development: Darksiders II, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge, Batman: Arkham City, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Online, Metro: Last Light, Assassin's Creed: Revelations and several others.
After the press briefing however limitations of the Wii U began to come to light. The Wii U will only allow one touch-pad controller to be connected to it. For co-op and multiplayer games where multiple people are playing on the same Wii U console, only one player will be able to use the touch-pad controller while the other players will have to use the Wii remotes. It is also worth nothing that the touch-pad controller, in spite of all its announced features and abilities, is just that-- a controller. Nintendo has made it clear that it is not a portable gaming device since it is tethered wirelessly to the Wii U console. You could continue to play a disc-based Wii U game on the controller, viewing on the 6.2-inch screen instead of on the television, but you would need to be with in a certain distance of the Wii U console.
... And Beyond
Overall, aside from the Wii U announcements, the press conference was what we'd expected from Nintendo. There was an abundance of Mario and Zelda games and a growing list of games for the 3DS. Giving away free downloadable games for the Wii and 3DS was a great move on Nintendo's part and will drive more players to their online stores. Of course, the unveiling of the Wii U stole the show and was certainly one of the biggest highlights of this year's E3 as a whole.
Unfortunately, the conference focused almost entirely on the controller and not enough on the console unit itself leaving many confused about the new system and questioning whether the controller itself was the console. This point was clarified later by Nintendo and also apparent once we got to the Nintendo E3 booth where the console prototype was visible.
The press conference presenters stated that the Wii U would have games that would also appear on the Xbox 360 and the PS3, like Darksiders II and Assassin's Creed: Revelations. The video simulation of the games gave the impression that the Wii U would be able to produce graphics that were somewhat comparable to what the games look like on the competitor's consoles-- or at the very least be a step-up in graphics compared to its predecessor, the Wii. Whether or not this will truly be the case has yet to be seen as what was on the E3 floor in the Nintendo booth were to be considered only tech demos and not actual game demos.
As more details about the Wii U are released and Nintendo clarifies major points of the new system, a bigger picture emerges as to the creative potential of the Wii U and also the limitations of the new console. Nintendo is considered to be an innovator of gaming technology, coming up with new ways to engage players in the gaming experience.
The Wii U could be a defining moment for the company and move it in a new direction. With the Wii, the games released overall have been perceived as casual and party games or just games that feature the same major franchises that Nintendo is synonymous with (i.e. Zelda, Mario, etc.) If Nintendo can make their push successfully to grab the attention of core gamers, it could help revive their image.
According to Nintendo, the Wii U will provide deeper game experiences and provide a wider appeal for all gamers. More third-party multi-platform games targeted to core gamers would help them accomplish that goal and from what we saw at the conference and with the CEO of EA-- one of the world's biggest game publishers-- John Riccitiello making an appearance at the briefing to announce that EA has many games in development for the Wii U, Nintendo seem to be on the right track. The Wii U will hopefully give the company access to multi-platform action games that were previously unable to match the experiences provided by Xbox 360 and the PS3.
As more Wii U announcements are made over the next few months and the new console's third-party action titles reveal more details and gameplay footage, we'll find out if the company can deliver the gaming experiences that core gamers are looking for with that healthy dose of Nintendo innovation.
For more on the Wii U, check out our hands-on preview.