E3 2011 Official Discussion Topic

[Doctor Oak]

This year's E3 takes place from Monday 6th June to Thursday 9th June (ie: next week) and is set to be the launchpad for two new systems - the latest Nintendo home console and Sony's newest portable - as well as a showcase for the latest software to look forward to over the next year or so.

The conferences work out thusly, with links to live stream added when we get them:

Monday 6th June

Microsoft: 9.30am PDT (5.30pm BST)

• Official stream: http://www.xbox.com/en-gb/e3
• Gamespot: http://e3.gamespot.com/press-conference/microsoft-e3/

EA: 12.30pm PDT (8.30pm BST)

• Official stream: ?
• Gamespot: http://e3.gamespot.com/press-conference/ea-e3/

Ubisoft: 2.30pm PDT (10.30pm BST)

• Official stream: ?
• Gamespot: http://e3.gamespot.com/press-conference/ubisoft-e3/

Sony: 5.00pm PDT (1.00am BST)

• Official stream: http://us.playstation.com/e3-2011/
• Gamespot: http://e3.gamespot.com/press-conference/sony-e3/

Tuesday 7th June

Nintendo: 9.00am PDT (5.00pm BST) (Or, as is Nintendo tradition, more likely half an hour late)

• Official stream: http://e3.nintendo.com/
• Gamespot: http://e3.gamespot.com/press-conference/nintendo-e3/

And the rest of the week is the active part of the show, where we will get to see the new Nintendo console in action for the first time.

What to expect?

As mentioned initially, both Sony and Nintendo are coming to E3 with new hardware on show. The Sony NGP - now known as the PS Vita - has been revealed previously, but in a limited manner until now. E3 will be its first major public reveal and will be Sony's biggest chance to sell you this system before its expected release this year.

Nintendo's new system, meanwhile, has been under super secret lock and key. This will be the first time we get to see anything about it. Though we do have a fair idea of what to expect by now from the specs leaked over the past few months. A similar, though slightly newer and more powerful, architecture to the Xbox 360 will see Nintendo's new system - codenamed Project Cafe - leave behind the issues of the underpowered Wii and finally move up to the big boys' table of 'HD' gaming. But, despite Nintendo playing catchup in this regard, reports are that they stand to set up another revolution in how we play games at the same time. The system's new controller reportedly being half standard controller, half a handheld in its own right - incorporating a 6 inch touch screen that, supposedly, also allows you to stream your game to the controller and play on the go.

We'll have to wait until Tuesday to sift the facts from the rubbish, unfortunately - but by the end of the day we will have a complete idea of just what Nintendo's latest machine can do, as the system will be fully playable on the show floor.

Microsoft, meanwhile, are focusing their efforts on their existing hardware. A lot of rumbling from them in the run up to E3 has been focused on the non-gaming applications of the Xbox 360 - such as movies and music - and this year's conference is expected to see Microsoft putting a lot more weight on turning the 360 into the centre of your home entertainment.

However, that doesn't mean they're ignoring the gaming side. Microsoft's conference is set to feature some of the year's most anticipated games, including a HD remake of Halo, the latest Hitman game, Modern Warfare 3 and a fourth Gears of War title - as well as the reveal of Forza 4, which will be one of the first games to be "better with Kinect" - finally taking advantage of the Kinect hardware as an auxiliary addition to real games, with features such as head tracking. Mass Effect 3 is also expected to be revealed at either Microsoft or EA's conference as a 'better with Kinect' title, indicating that Kinect's long winter of fitness and Wii clone games is coming to an end at last.

On the general software side, we've got plenty of unannounced games that will be revealed, but also these announced titles to look forward to seeing more of:

• Darksiders 2
• Soul Calibur V
• Tomb Raider (Reboot)
• Final Fantasy XIII-2
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution
• Dungeon Seige III
• Heroes of Ruin (new 3DS Square-Enix title)
• Call of Duty: Elite
• Assassin's Creed: Revelations
• Call of Juarez
• Driver San Francisco
• Rayman Origins
• Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
• Ghost Recon: Online
• A new Raving Rabbids title
• Saints Row The Third
• Sonic Generations
• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
• Mario 3DS

And many more yet to be confirmed.

My Predictions

Every year I like to set out a list of things I expect to see from the 3 main companies before their conferences, then check back later to see what I got right and what I didn't. So, here's my predictions for this year's E3:

Microsoft

• The social media connections established with Facebook and Twitter last year will be expanded upon.
• New television streaming agreements in the US will be announced - the rest of the world will likely not get much at all.
• If we're very good boys and girls here in the UK, we might get a LoveFilm service to compete with Sony's on the PS3.
• It's a long shot, but with Spotify launching in the States this summer, integration with Xbox Live may be on the cards.
• Windows Mobile and Xbox Live will see more cross-connectivity, as seen in the XBLA title Full House Poker.
• There will not be a Blu-Ray add-on announced.
• Some existing games will be updated to be 'better with Kinect', and some of the show will be dedicated to selling Kinect as an extension to 'hardcore' games.
• Similar to the Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Rising announcements of the past couple of years, Microsoft will cap their show off with a huge exclusive announcement from an unlikely source.
• Being short on hardware to demonstrate, Microsoft will focus heavily on software - taking their position as the first conference of the show to reveal and showcase a lot of new, upcoming titles, both exclusive and multi-platform.

Sony

• While the recent hacking issues will be addressed, Sony will not dwell on them. Nor will they be that apologetic.
• Kevin Butler will make a joke about how the nerds had to go outside for a month.
• Move will get a short mention, possibly with some new titles - but again, Sony will not dwell on it, given its failure to catch any real sales.
• The PSP Remastered program (which, if you're unaware of, will see PSP titles rereleased with slightly improved visuals on the PS3) will likely be the only real attention the PSP gets.
• Last year's emphasis on 3D gaming will be forgotten about this year, as Sony will not want to emphasise the Vita's lack of it against the 3DS.
• Sony's PS3 software lineup will feature mostly titles revealed in the previous Microsoft, EA and Ubisoft conferences - but could well feature a surprise exclusive or two.
• The NGP/PS Vita will occupy the majority of the show - as Sony isn't likely to spend much time going over numbers this year, given the losses and PSN issues they've been suffering.
• The PS Vita will launch in the West this year, and early next year in Japan - at a higher price point than the 3DS. I expect it to be £299.99 at a push.
• Despite being a flop on the Go, the Vita will give Sony a chance to push digital downloads again - first party Sony Vita titles will be released on the PSN day and date with retail.
• Sony will either attempt to create a new app market exclusively for the Vita, or will use their connection with Android on the Xperia Play to include the Android Market.
• There will be a version of Angry Birds available to download on or shortly after release.
• The Xperia Play, and other 'Playstation Certified' Android devices will get a fair going over, but will be overshadowed by attention on the Vita.
• Sony will launch an awful ad campaign for the Vita, keeping in line with pretty much every PSP ad ever.

Nintendo

• The 3DS Store launching the night before the conference is no coincidence, there will be something big announced in the conference for the store and it will likely be available that night.
• The 3DS Store could also allow gamers access to E3, with 3D videos, trailers and demos being available throughout the show - maybe even a live stream of the conference itself.
• The show will start off with a heavy focus on 3DS software
• Concrete dates for most of last year's big 3DS reveals will be set - some will be before the autumn, most will be for Christmas.
• The new Mario game includes the Tanooki suit.
• The fourth and final DS Prof. Layton game will be confirmed for this year in the west. It may be ported to the 3DS.
• The 3D Pokedex app will be Pokemon's only presence at E3 this year. (Though I'll gladly be proved wrong here).
• The Wii gets a good send off in the form of Nintendo explaining just how phenomenal a success it was - but will be mostly ignored for software
• The Wii will live on, though, as a casual stepping stone, and will likely still receive at least one more Wii Fit or Wii Sports game.
• Project Cafe will be revealed after a video of developers saying how awesome it is and will have a stupid, stupid name.
• Zelda: Skyward Sword will be released on the new console as well as the Wii - similar to Twilight Princess.
• A new Zelda game, remake or rerelease will be announced for the 25th Anniversary.
• Sonic Generations will be a Cafe launch title
• A new Smash Bros. may be announced (we know Sakurai will be at the show, at least), but Nintendo won't be foolish enough to claim it will launch with the console
• Grand Theft Auto V will be announced at Nintendo's show for Project Cafe. (Yes, you read that right - no, it's not as outlandish as you may think...)
• Nintendo will announce a massive rethink to their online strategy - including social network integration in Project Cafe and a new and improved online network.
• Shigeru Miyamoto, Satoru Iwata and Reggie will make complete tits of themselves while playing a game at some point in the show.
• Project Cafe will be released before next E3, but not this year - no price and no set dates will be announced.
• The 3DS will connect to Cafe in a way that massively expands on the DS/GBA connectivity of the last consoles

 

[Linkachu]

All seems reasonable to me, but a couple of points I'm curious about.

*Last year's emphasis on 3D gaming will be forgotten about this year, as Sony will not want to emphasise the Vita's lack of it against the 3DS.

I've noticed recently that Sony is actively researching better 3D technology for its TVs. It wouldn't be farfetched to assume that they'll continue pushing 3D on the PS3 for this reason, possibly with some silly slogan like "When a tiny screen just doesn't cut it".

*The Wii gets a good send off in the form of Nintendo explaining just how phenomenal a success it was - but will be mostly ignored for software

This I can see going both ways. I've heard mention that Nintendo still has a few big-name titles to announce/release for Wii, but I could see them all being ported to the next console unless they're mere months away from release. I guess we'll find out next week.

I'm psyched to see just how much Nintendo will reveal of its next console and what 3DS games will be slated for this year, and I'm also rather intrigued to see how far 360 will take its Kinect support. If a few good games get annouced I may finally shovel out the $150 to buy one.

Doubtful that I'll be joining you guys in the chat during the conferences, but I'll do my best to watch 'em on my work PC.

 

[Shocari]

I agree with pretty much everything you said, Alex. I'm looking forward to some of the new games coming up, as well as some stuff they haven't said anything about yet. I'm guessing we're going to have a giant E3 party in chat?

 

[Prof. Cinders]

We always do

I expect Sony's conference to be incredibly boring, to be honest, even with Vita (which my head keeps callings Vista. Bad head.). Also, I won't be able to watch Ninty's conference live, as I has an exam that morning... Although it will be awesome D= Can't wait for info to be confirmed, new games, oh, pretty much anything from them. I like surprises.

 

[Fumanshu]

Konami blew me away with those HD remake announcements.
Gonna get all 3 of them. They are just remakes, but pretty nice ones. Havent even played Zone of Enders so that'll be nice.

Microsoft will deliver nothing interesting at all,
Nintendo will be pretty cool with 3ds and project Caffee stuff,
Sony will bring a couple of PS3 exclusives, lots of NGP stuff and the PSP->ps3 remakes.

It will be a lot better than the last E3, with only konami being boring. They censored Tak Fuji ;(

 

[Doctor Oak]

With just days before the console's reveal, the rumour mill is at peak capacity with information over Nintendo's new console. Here's a round up of the latest information (a lot of which has been mentioned many times over before - but some, including software info, is brand new).

The System:

Uses a custom IBM triple-core CPU running at 3.6GHz per core
The development kit contains 1gb RAM, but Nintendo have hinted that the console will actually have 1.5gb
Nintendo will be releasing games that will run 1080p natively. Sources say that with Nintendo’s art style and the power the system has, the games look ‘stunning’.
The system does run on AMD R700 card, but the architecture is slightly different and the clock speeds are much higher.
The System resembles JPN/EU SNES machines in color only and not in shape
The development kit is about the size of a 360, not the console
Close sources say it’s as if Nintendo is in “damage control” with 3rd party developers.
Nintendo is trying really hard to get 3rd parties on board to develop games and have offered incentives such as not releasing big-title Nintendo games in holiday seasons to compete against 3rd party titles.
Nintendo went to many 3rd party developers on guidance on what they were after with the new console in terms of system specs, controller and online system.



The Controller:

Nintendo have been keeping this really quiet and have only given developers controller prototypes to start designing games. However, the final controller build with all the features have only been given to Nintendo 1st and 2nd party developers for now.
Nintendo had planned on inserting a screen on the controller back when the Gamecube was in development, but opted out due to technology not being advanced enough to be functional
The controller that’s been given to developers has a large 5.7inch hd (960x640pixel) screen, 2 analogue sticks, 4 face buttons, 3 middle buttons (select/home/start in that order), 2 shoulder buttons and 2 triggers.
The triggers aren’t as deep as the 360’s triggers, but have plenty of push
The big thing about the screen is that it’s a multi-touch screen, contains it’s own battery and is detachable from the controller unit
The screen when detached contains its own memory so developers can store data on it, so gamers can play whatever the developer designs for the screen-only use
When the screen is attached to the controller it works by streaming content directly from the console
Nintendo are giving developers ideas other than just having it function as a quick menu screen for games while attached, or as a simple tamagochi-like mini-game when detached
The controller contains a gyroscope, but motion controls isn’t the focus of the controller like it was for the Wii

Games:

Nintendo will release a Mario platformer as a launch title which hasn’t been done since the N64.
The Mario platformer looks to be the spiritual successor to Mario 64.
Gamefreak and EAD are hard at work developing a Pokemon online RPG.
The Pokemon RPG is not an MMO, but does have a large online emphasis and will be Nintendo’s flagship title when showing off the online capabilities of the console.
There will be at least one new IP Nintendo will reveal at E3.
Nintendo is working on a new Zelda, but didn’t reveal anything to developers.

Other:

Some developers have had the Wii 2 dev kit for going on 2 years now. When the Wii 2 is released in late, that’s 3 years to develop games on.
Because of such generous development time, Nintendo have pushed 3rd parties to develop high quality games to be released at or near launch.
Nintendo have sourced an external company to develop their online network, which the developer has commented, surpasses both the PS3 and 360 in terms of speed and functionality.
Nintendo is pushing for the console to be online 24/7 and have seamless online integration with many of their games
Friend codes are confirmed to be gone
Nintendo has been toying with the idea of a game where the main character is your Mii
Nintendo will be pushing their Pokemon RPG to showcase their online network
Rockstar are supposedly hard at work in bringing on of their “most popular” titles to the console.

Take with a big ol' pinch of salt, but don't be too surprised if any of this comes to bear. Personally, the concept of a brand new Pokemon console title is what grabs me the most. I definitely believe that the codename of Cafe comes from an attempt to make the console a very social beast, and Pokemon is pretty much Nintendo's best franchise to exploit that concept with - so it does add up. But I almost don't dare to hope.

The stuff about Nintendo outsourcing their online network this time is something that's been brought up before - especially after Iwata gave a public announcement recently that they'd messed up with the Wii's. I'd say it's very likely - and hopefully a very good thing.

But, really, this close to E3, we can't really take anything as a given. We'll just have to wait for Tuesday.

 

[Toastie]

Take with a big ol' pinch of salt, but don't be too surprised if any of this comes to bear. Personally, the concept of a brand new Pokemon console title is what grabs me the most. I definitely believe that the codename of Cafe comes from an attempt to make the console a very social beast, and Pokemon is pretty much Nintendo's best franchise to exploit that concept with - so it does add up. But I almost don't dare to hope.

The stuff about Nintendo outsourcing their online network this time is something that's been brought up before - especially after Iwata gave a public announcement recently that they'd messed up with the Wii's. I'd say it's very likely - and hopefully a very good thing.

But, really, this close to E3, we can't really take anything as a given. We'll just have to wait for Tuesday.

The reason that there hasn't been a Pokemon RPG on a home console yet is due to a lack of portability. With the ability to stream games to a controller, there's nothing stopping them. If companies have had dev kits for two years, then I'm sure Game Freak have been up to something (Squeeee!)

The thing about a Free Roaming Mario title (Double Squeeee!) is very likely to be true. Multiple reputable sources have reported it and 'Super Mario Wii 2' was on a list of upcoming games sent to a Japanese retailer.

This person called Round Cactus who claims to work for ERSB posted a bunch of stuff on 4Chan. Among other things, there was a Metroid title which isn't always about Samus, a new IP, SSB4 (Triple Squeeee!) and a Zelda Collection.

 

[Doctor Oak]

I wouldn't be so sure about that source. No-one is giving any indication that this system will be out anywhere this year, so it's not very likely at all that they'd be submitting any games for rating at this time.

 

[Linkachu]

I think since E3 is so close, I'll just not believe anything I read re: the next Nintendo console and wait for their conference.

This bit in particular seems rather hard to believe:

Gamefreak and EAD are hard at work developing a Pokemon online RPG.
The Pokemon RPG is not an MMO, but does have a large online emphasis and will be Nintendo’s flagship title when showing off the online capabilities of the console.

Like Alex said, I'd love to be proven wrong on my doubts. We'll see.

 

[Fumanshu]

The reason that there hasn't been a Pokemon RPG on a home console yet is due to a lack of portability. With the ability to stream games to a controller, there's nothing stopping them.

I doubt that. Nintendo basically uses Pokemen to sell their handhelds. Its a big part of their profit.
And the portable aspect still works extremely well with those games.

But with streaming becoming more and more popular, they could easily make a home version of a pokemon game that is a little bit more than pokemang BR that could work with the handheld games. Basically as a supplement.

Sony is doing that in a little hamhanded way. They allow you to play PSP games upscaled on the PS3. This might not be super creative, but its nice. That way you can grind on your handheld, then upload your savegame and do the action on the big screen.

What Pokemon home console games should do is enhancing the experience. The Wii game did the opposite. Battles took long and they were even more clunky than on the DS.
More to do with more modi would be nice too.

A way to catch or level your pokmen would be nice. And Box management. The first Pokemon Stadium game already had box management. Its annoying that they took that out.

 

[Doctor Oak]

So, Microsoft put a pretty heavy focus on Kinect - as I expected. Honestly, some of the non-shitty-disneyland/sesame-street games were kinda interesting. I'm a bit disappointed at how 'on rails' most of the title are shaping up, but Mass Effect 3's voice recognition system should make combat a lot smoother. And stuff like that, I'm fully behind.

Kinect Fun Labs also looks like a great way for Microsoft to show what the hardware is really capable of, even if they can't find a good way to get that into games just yet.

The Live TV stuff is interesting, since they're making an effort to make it available globally, but I hope they lean on Sky to provide a better service if that's all we're sticking with. Sky's 360 player is an over-expensive waste, really. There are barely any channels available on it (though the cartoon channels and GOLD are enough to sway me), and you can't even watch half the stuff on Sky One on it for some weird reason. It really needs work. Microsoft also needs to make sure that those content deals for the video marketplace trickle down to here as well, 'cos it also needs a lot of work.

No shock exclusives this year, but a new Halo trilogy was a pretty solid way to end, I'd say. Though, maybe a bit more surprising if they hadn't outed it on their website this morning.

Might as well go through my predictions, then:

The social media connections established with Facebook and Twitter last year will be expanded upon.

No luck here, unless you count the introduction of Bing and Youtube as being along those lines.

New television streaming agreements in the US will be announced - the rest of the world will likely not get much at all.

Seemingly proved wrong on the rest of the world part, but otherwise spot on.

If we're very good boys and girls here in the UK, we might get a LoveFilm service to compete with Sony's on the PS3.

Seems to be a pipe dream now.

It's a long shot, but with Spotify launching in the States this summer, integration with Xbox Live may be on the cards.

This could still happen down the line, but I'm not surprised at it not happening this year. Like I said, it was a long shot.

Windows Mobile and Xbox Live will see more cross-connectivity, as seen in the XBLA title Full House Poker.

This may actually still come to pass, it just hasn't been covered here. Certainly, the next big dashboard update definitely lifts its set up and style from Windows Mobile and the upcoming Windows 8 - which is to be expected, really. Whether that will see further connectivity as a result will have to be seen at another time.

There will not be a Blu-Ray add-on announced.

And there never will be. Give it up, already.

Some existing games will be updated to be 'better with Kinect', and some of the show will be dedicated to selling Kinect as an extension to 'hardcore' games.

Disappointingly, the first part did not come to bear - and may not at all. Almost all the games shown were either 100% or Kinect enhanced, though - so it's definitely been a heavy software showing for Kinect. And about time too.

Similar to the Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Rising announcements of the past couple of years, Microsoft will cap their show off with a huge exclusive announcement from an unlikely source

Unless you consider the awful, awful Disneyland and Sesame Street games, no.

Being short on hardware to demonstrate, Microsoft will focus heavily on software - taking their position as the first conference of the show to reveal and showcase a lot of new, upcoming titles, both exclusive and multi-platform.

There was a lot more emphasis on exclusive titles than I actually expected - but the show was about 20% new dash features and 80% software. A huge software turnout, even without the multiplatform titles thrown in for most of the show.

Overall, I think Microsoft gave us a good start to E3. Their show was very much about affirming their dedication to both casual and core gamers, and didn't really let either side down I'd say. After years of watching Nintendo fail to juggle those two balls, it's actually quite refreshing to see Microsoft handle it so well.

Ultimately, with no hardware reveals, Microsoft is probably going to be pretty overshadowed by Sony and Nintendo. My money's been on Nintendo 'winning' this year's E3 from the day they announced their new console would be there, and Microsoft - while not putting on a bad show - haven't done anything to change that opinion.

EA and Ubisoft have shows at 8.30 and 10.30 our time, respectively, and Sony takes to the stage at 1am. EA and Ubisoft will have a lot of great software to show off, so they'll definitely be worth considering, but Sony's is the one to watch. If they can sell the Vita well enough tonight, it may be enough to start rebuilding some of the bridges they've burned recently. Gonna need some stand out exclusives to match up to Microsoft's, though.

 

[Fumanshu]

I was grinning for the whole conference.
I'm very glad that I sold my xbox360 back then.

Its like they tried to design a console that doesnt appeal to my interests at all!

When I saw Tim Schäfer I was expecting something big. Oh how the mighty have fallen.

This conference was embarassing.

From a financial perspective its great. This stuff will sell great. Gears of Halo and more Kinect. Its just nothing that I would want to have in my living room.


I didnt expect it to be that bad. Really.

Sony is in a couple of hours, that will be interesting I guess. I still put my money in Nintendo though.


Also:

Microsoft will deliver nothing interesting at all

I should work as a fortune teller or something.

 

[SineCosineTangent]

I actually sat through the bore that was Microsoft's conference just for the 1 minute trailer at the end. Yes, I'm an obvious Halo franchise fan, so I was excited to see H4. However, I'm also quite afraid that they're already insisting it's going to be a trilogy. We will have up to Halo 6, which I always threw around as a bad joke. I'm cautiously optimistic for H4, but I do fear my hopes will be dashed quite expertly with another bullshit plot.

...And I swear to deities above if they include the Cryptum Forerunners as canon, I will personally have to fly to 343 Industries, slam down their door, and ask them what the hell they were thinking.

Also, sitting through the Disney thing was enough to make me want to tear my eyes out.

 

[Doctor Oak]

Because Halo is so well known for it's well written, completely not a massive pastiche of awful cliché, plots.

I think the idea of Microsoft not pushing for another full Halo trilogy is pretty ludicrous. It's their #1 software earner. It'd be like Nintendo deciding to never make another Pokemon or Mario game.

 

[Fumanshu]

Basically what Alex said. I wouldnt expect an E3 without Halo or Gears of Wars.
I actually dont expect anything more from them. This is really like last E3 all over again only with a bigger focus on kinect.

Grim times for people who dont like gears of halo or kinect stuff.
Already read about people trying to sell off their xbox now. Many are extremely disappointed.


I will skip EA, but watch ubisoft. They werent that great last E3, but meh. Who knows. Kind of fed up with the milking of assassins creed.

 

[SineCosineTangent]

Halo is one of those things where of -course- the plot is a bunch of badly pasted together cliches. But I personally enjoyed Halo 2's plotline, even if it -was- so unoriginal that it hurt. And rather than try and make it into something more with the third game, they pandered to the lowest common denominator- the multiplayer frat boys. The multiplayer isn't even SPECIAL or exceptionally GOOD, so I don't know why they did that.

And yeah, if you're not a Halo/GoW/Kinect-I-Like-To-Flail-My-Arms-Like-They're-Two-Retarded-Magikarp person, Microsoft pretty much flipped you off.

 

[Rayn_Shyu]

...I saw very beginning of the Sony vid and saw the Vita part. I'd rather get a 3DS and play Pokemon and Paper Mario >.>; I should watch more but meh... I'm more about the games as far as portables go, and the only two games I wanted on PSP was Kingdom Hearts and FF Dissida (sp).

Lol so glad I didn't get a 360. The PS3 plays the Blu-Rays we have and we got our Guitar Hero games on it. Now if I can only figure out how to make it go HD with our HD TV... *mefail*
The Disneyland Adventures... ugh, that's a parental cop-out. "We're going to Disneyland?" "No, but here's a game! It's exactly the same!" D:

IGN's Youtube Channel has a lot of the game trailers and junk on it. Rock Smith looks like it could teach me how to play guitar. They'll probably port it to all of the systems too.

Can't wait for Nintendo.

 

[Fumanshu]

haha nintendo won. Hands down, no competition.

 

[Linkachu]

Gimme that effing console. Couldn't be more sold on it. I'll have that thing launch day regardless of cost. =|

 

[Doctor Oak]

A terrible, terrible name - but the console looks like everything you could possibly want.

 

[Linkachu]

I had to walk away from the PC a lot - work n' all ;D - but did they make any mention of Animal Crossing or Paper Mario 3DS? I was waiting for something on either of 'em and didn't notice anything but their logos right at the end.

A terrible, terrible name

Just like you predicted! :3

 

[Doctor Oak]

Nope, don't be expecting them any time soon.

 

[Linkachu]

Nope, don't be expecting them any time soon.

Sad.
But oh well. Guess there will be enough from Nintendo on 3DS to pass the time. Hopefully they'll have plenty of third party 3DS support, too. I didn't notice much about that either, just the WiiU support...

(Edit: Looks like it's being dubbed "WiiU" in text form. Better than "Wiiu" at least )

 

[Carmen Lopez]

I couldn't watch Nintendo's E3 but I was thrilled with the stuff they announced when I looked it up. New console? New Smash Brothers? Yes, yes please! I agree with Fuman: Nintendo has won by far

 

[Teapot]

I had to walk away from the PC a lot - work n' all ;D - but did they make any mention of Animal Crossing or Paper Mario 3DS?

There was an Animal Crossing logo at the end, and something that may have been Paper Mario - my stream-o-vision obscured most of the logos.

 

[Prof. Cinders]

I like that they're concentrating hard on selling it to hardcore gamers - stuff like Batman and Darksiders coming to it means a lot. The graphics demo was also v. pretty ^^

 

[Doctor Oak]

The Smash Bros announcement was a hell of a cheeky one. They basically just said they'll make one eventually. You could say that for any franchise, though. SSB 4 was just about securing a fanboy reaction.

Not that I'm not looking forward to any new Smash Bros, but simply saying that they'll get around to making one at some point in a console's lifetime doesn't mean much.

 

[Fumanshu]

http://e3.gamespot.com/press-conference/nintendo-e3/

for anyone who missed it.

 

[Linkachu]

The Smash Bros announcement was a hell of a cheeky one. They basically just said they'll make one eventually. You could say that for any franchise, though. SSB 4 was just about securing a fanboy reaction.

Not that I'm not looking forward to any new Smash Bros, but simply saying that they'll get around to making one at some point in a console's lifetime doesn't mean much.

I assume they probably figured they'd quell any doubts, and they wanted to point out that it'd be coming to a handheld platform for the first time. The connectivity between 3DS and WiiU sounds nice.

But I'm sure they always enjoy hearing the fanboy squees, too. ;p

 

[Sem]

Well, as has already been stated, that name blows, but I'm pretty sold on the system itself. I liked seeing that it would have more 3rd party support, allowing for games like Assassin's Creed and such. New Zelda also looked nifty - the new WiiU Zelda - not the one out the end of this year, which I'm not so sure on.

As for the 3DS, I'm looking forward to MarioKart as well as that new Luigi's Mansion =D

No new Pokemon console game though =(

 

[Brendan Savem]

Wii U... Do want...

There is still a lot I don´t clearly understand about the new Nintendo console though, even with the demos. Is the new controller a 2nd controller to be used in combination with the original Wiimote? Are the old games for the Wii modified to accomidate for the WiiU and its new features on import? Why are fake toads chasing a fake mario? They can´t be very bright... (pictures fakes chasing each other while Toads and Mario are watching the action from the sidelines)

So yeah, I am excited alright. Kid Icarus teasers are eating me, I need to get a 3DS... like RIGHT NOW!! Starfox is also something to look forward to in September or October.

And Cripes, it´s scary how much Dr Oak got right. The new super mario DOES have the tandoori suit. I´m still watching the recording of Reggie´s appearance, so I have much to- HOLD ON IS THAT AN OLD LEON!?

Maybe not, but now I can see what Kid Icarus Uprising has to offer. It seems to be a sequel to the SNES version, since it says that Medusa was defeated before. And it´s hard to tell whether it´s the same Pit from then or if it´s a younger generation angel hero. The combat though... MY GOD THE COMBAT! It looks as epic as the best that Square Enix has thrown at us. I swear Nintendo is stealing secrets. The game also seems to use the same Augmented Reality system that the new Pokemon Pokedex has, to put the characters in the real world. I wonder if you could cross several different francendices to put Pit with Pikachu. That would be worth a shot.

 

[Fumanshu]

tandoori suit.

Oh god that made me laugh.

tanooki mario was "confirmed" for a while.
This Mario game looks like it could become the best 3d Mario game so far, blurring the lines between games like mario 3 and mario 64.

The system itself works like this:
You got a new console. You plug it into the TV and it has the ability to stream the data to your controller as an option.

It looks like Wiimotes will work with it, thus eliminating the need to buy 4 of those controllers. Those controllers look extremely expensive anyways.

The Wii games will look the same as they did on the Wii. No enhancement included. Reggie just said that in a press conference.

Its basically regular backwards compability like the Wii had with the gamecube.


Everything can get boiled down to this picture:

 

[Toastie]

I had to walk away from the PC a lot - work n' all ;D - but did they make any mention of Animal Crossing or Paper Mario 3DS? I was waiting for something on either of 'em and didn't notice anything but their logos right at the end.

Animal Crossing 3DS trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JHXJo6WaIs

This conference was quite disappointing in terms of game reveals (only one new 1st party game) but the 3DS games look great and the WiiU (blurgh) also looks awesome. Look at this image:

Squeeeee!

 

[Fumanshu]

This conference was quite disappointing in terms of game reveals (only one new 1st party game) but the 3DS games look great and the WiiU (blurgh) also looks awesome. Look at this image:
Squeeeee!

This might be the same thing we saw with the old gamecube Zelda demo.

More of a tech demo than a real game.

 

[Rayn_Shyu]

Well, I need to get a job. I needs me a 3DS naow.

WiiU is kind of confusing. They showed the controller but not even one shot of what the console looks like. So this weird thought comes in the back of my head that it goes on the Wii system, but their some kind of patch that makes it work with WiiU games because you have the controller. IDK

But I think it looks a lot like a DS but home console-y. And kind of IPhone-ish, cuz of the chat feature.

If Apple and Nintendo merged I would totally buy what ever it sold.

 

[Doctor Oak]

This conference was quite disappointing in terms of game reveals (only one new 1st party game) but the 3DS games look great and the WiiU (blurgh) also looks awesome. Look at this image:
Squeeeee!

This might be the same thing we saw with the old gamecube Zelda demo.

More of a tech demo than a real game.

That's more than likely - but it's also hard to complain when the demo looks so great. Whatever direction they choose to take for the next Zelda title, it's definitely going to look superb. I'd expect them to go with the 'realistic' side here, though. Mostly because this is the first time they'd actually be able to achieve it. They tried their best with Twilight Princess, but the Wii being the lazy slouch it is was just not capable of it - not matter how much they tried to fudge it.

The lack of up-scaling for Wii titles is just plain disappointing. We know Wii games can run brilliantly in native 720p, because people are already fucking doing it. It's ridiculous that Nintendo can't get their act together and do it themselves. But, to be honest, once there's a new Smash Bros on WiiU, I can't see myself finding any actual reason to want to dig out a normal Wii title ever again. It's not as if it's the most classic library of games ever >>.

This fresh start is just what we needed from Nintendo, and although it may be an age away, I'm looking forward to the day when I can consider my Nintendo console to by my main gaming machine, rather than a frustrating annoyance I must put up with to play what decent first party offerings Nintendo deigns to bother with.

 

[Doctor Oak]

Well, I need to get a job. I needs me a 3DS naow.

WiiU is kind of confusing. They showed the controller but not even one shot of what the console looks like. So this weird thought comes in the back of my head that it goes on the Wii system, but their some kind of patch that makes it work with WiiU games because you have the controller. IDK

But I think it looks a lot like a DS but home console-y. And kind of IPhone-ish, cuz of the chat feature.

If Apple and Nintendo merged I would totally buy what ever it sold.

There are images of the console itself being passed around, but I think Nintendo avoided pushing it into focus because, with a year left to go, there's no way it's going to be a final design. Especially since, as it stands, it's basically just a Wii with rounded corners.

This may have been a mistake, as it does seem to be a pervading item of confusion - that and the idea that the controller is the console itself - but I don't think it will harm them much. Next E3 will solidify everything and make everything much clearer - for everyone - and it's that show that will sell the console, not this one.

 

[Fumanshu]

To clear out confusion:

Nintendo not focusing on showing the console itself is pretty odd. I guess they thought that people would directly understand what the wii u is about. I mean, I understood it. They were pretty clear in their presentation saying stuff like "plugging it into the TV".
Weird that the rumor with the controller being the console came up.

The Controller itself could change too. Right now we are at the same stage the "banana controller" for ps3 was like back then when it was announced.

If Apple and Nintendo merged I would totally buy what ever it sold.

Jesus christ how horrifying.

 

[KoL]

The Smash Bros announcement was a hell of a cheeky one. They basically just said they'll make one eventually. You could say that for any franchise, though. SSB 4 was just about securing a fanboy reaction.

Not that I'm not looking forward to any new Smash Bros, but simply saying that they'll get around to making one at some point in a console's lifetime doesn't mean much.

There have been rumours that Brawl was going to be the last SSB game floating around. I guess it was mentioned simply to quell such rumours.

If Apple and Nintendo merged I would totally buy what ever it sold.

Jesus christ how horrifying.

After the horrifying monstrosity that was the Apple Pippin, I don't want Apple going anywhere near any of my games consoles thank you very much.

 

[Carmen Lopez]

Imo, the Wii U looks like the love child of a 360 and a Wii... not a bad thing at all if you ask me.