Nintendo at E3 2011
 

So we are just about 5 weeks shy from the start of e3, which means we are about to hit prime time for rumors and reveals and leaks.

So for the month or so before the big show, thought it would be nice to have threads detailing the big 3 going into the conference. What we know, what is rumored, what we can expect and more.

Finally, we come to Nintendo who probably has the most balls to juggle at this year's e3. They've already announced plans for their next gen console, but that's not until next year. They need to prove to their audience that the Wii is still viable for another year. And if that wasn't enough, they just launched a handheld that has been off to a rocky start.


[b]Time: 9am PSt/12PM EST
Date: Tues June 7th, 2011[b]


What We Know
Zelda: Skyward Sword, right now remains as probably the only Wii game that matters this year. Sure they announced Wii Play Motion and some mystery title, but neither will be a blimp on the radar. And the question a lot of people are asking is does Zelda remain on the Wii?

Mario, Zelda, Mario Kart, Kid Icarus and so much more are primed and ready to roll out on the 3DS at some point. While Zelda most likely won't be a focus (it comes out a week after the show), we will get the first real look at Super MArio 3DS and Mario Kart 3ds. There are still projects from last e3 that have never surfaced so look out for Metal Gear Solid 3DS.

Project Cafe/Stream/Feel, whatever. We know Nintendo is working on a next-gen console. We know it is set to debut at e3. We know it will be playable. And there are a ton of rumored specs, but we know the console will have a big impact on their show.

What Is Rumored
Its hard to discern fact from fiction when it comes to Nintendo and with the hype of a new console around the corner, there are all manner of rumors. I won't waste my breath stating them all especially since we have a Project Cafe rumor thread already on the forum.

Nothing really is said for the 3DS or the Wii (though that is to be expected)

What We Can Expect
Nintendo to roll out a line-up of Wii games headlined by Skyward Sword. Most likely than not, these titles will be localizations of some of their Japanese titles including Xenoblade, The Last Story and Pandora's Tower. There will be a scatter of 3rd party titles probably headlined by a new Rabbids and Just Dance game from Ubi Soft.

Nintendo will have to assure their audience that the 3DS means business so expect solid information on all the games above and release dates. I would expect a major 3rd party announcement or two.

Project Cafe will most likely play home to a ton of current gen ports, which will probably make up the console's first year. So expect Nintendo to roll out at least one major franchise that has never been on their console before or is returning. Then you can expect to see the usual assortment of first party titles. Though curious who will kick it off if Zelda remains on Wii and we just had a Metroid/Mario game in the last year.

Developers

1st party
EAD Comprehensive - making Star Fox 3DS
EAD 1 - recently made Nintendogs and now making Mario Kart 3DS
EAD 2 - making Wii Play Motion
EAD 3 - making Zelda Skyward Sword
EAD 4 - making Pikmin 3
EAD 5 - recently released Steel Driver
Tokyo - making Super Mario 3DS
NST - recently released Mario vs DK miniland mayhem
Monolith - recently released Xenoblade
NSD - last game released was Brain Age Express for DSiware
Retro - rumored to be making WiiHD game
Browny Brown - last game released was A Kappas Tail for DSiWare
Intelligent Studios - making Paper Mario 3DS
Project Sora - making Kid Icarus
Hal - making Kirby Wii and Kirby DS

3rd party
AlphaDream - last game was Mario and Luigi Inside Story
Creatures - usually make Pokemon Rangers games
Ganbarion - making Pandora's Tower
Camelot - recently released Golden Sun Dark Dawn
Genius Sonority - rumored to be making Pokemon XD port for 3DS
Good-feel - recently released Kirby Epic Yarn
Monster Games - recently made PilotWings Resort
Noise - make Custom Robo games
Skip Ltd - usually make Chibi Robo and Art Style games
Treasure - making radiant Silvergun for XBLA
GameFreak - making next Pokemon games

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

For the first time in a long time I'll be looking forward to this E3 presentation. On a couple of the last E3's I've just heard the news after they're out but I had not really bothered to check it out while it's happening.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

Question of the week.

How much time should Nintendo spend on the Wii? Do they need to assure fans that the system is worth investing in over the next year + until the release of Project Cafe? What do they need to announce for it?

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

Nintendo will do what Nintendo does best - plug the shit out of Mario-something and a new Zelda game, while telling people how revolutionary their next 'big thing' is, and to 'just wait'.


I see absolutely 0 point in owning a Wii anymore. Not for people who aren't mothers playing Wii Sports resort while they wait for their Farmville stuff to grow, or toddlers playing some really dumb, horrible game while their mother plays Farmville. But now, even with Kinect and Sony Move - there is less reason for new parents to get their toddlers a Wii. Considering with a PS3 you also get a blu-ray player, and with a 360 you get all the FPS games it offers.

If the PS3 and 360 are really cool clothing ensembles, the Wii would be a pair of corduroy slacks that are too short.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

I have to admit that even I feel like the Wii is pretty dead. I want to play Zelda and there are some games that I never picked up because I felt they didn't deserve full price. So I hope to be playing DKC, Kirby, Paper Mario etc. some day. Possibly on the next Nintendo. My Wii disc drive broke down and I don't know if it's worth the money to replace it.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

I just want to see what nintendo can do with the higher specs. It would be really awesome to see some of their flagship games running in High Definition with true Next-gen graphics.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

HD Ocarina of Time remake?

The awesome thing is you know it will happen.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

Ugh, please NO MORE OOT REMAKES! I've already played that game too many times.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

I agree and for the same reason. I love the game but I don't want another re-release.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

Nobody's making you buy it, don't ruin it for the rest of us. :mad:

I'd be quite happy to play an HD OoT.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

Would you rather have another OoT remake than a completely new Zelda?

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

I don't think it's an either or decision. I'm pretty sure the team that remakes OoT in HD isn't the team that will be working on a completely new Zelda. It requires totally different skill sets.

And even if it were an either or...an HD OoT that I can play on my 37" LCD sounds so amazing to me. One of my main gripes with Wii games are how jaggy and just plain bad they look on my TV - it's distracting.

Being able to play a crisp and clean looking version of my favorite game would be great.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

I wish Nintendo could really do 3 Zelda games at the same time, at full speed. But I'm prettu sure it doesn't work like that. Teams help each other. And I doubt they have enough times to do a console, a handheld and a remake version.

So you want HD Zelda... It's probably on the way. And for most people it will be much better than OoT in HD.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

until you do a soft something to your wii and it plays everything from ogg to .rmvb

:) who knew that one of the best media players is on the wii. I hadnt played my wii for about a year...then my buddy helped me through the ècustomizationè of it. I was suprised how many home dev apps are available.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

SO AWESOME!!!

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

Eh, I thought it was a pretty piddly presentation compared to what the rumors suggested.

Hardly any actual games shown off, no mention of specs, no release date, no controller price. Really a whole lot of nothing.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

I didn't expect the last 3 things.

I can't think of a single console that has been revealed and given a price/release date on the same day.

The games did surprise me, not even any on stage demos of games, and a lack of focus on 3rd parties really.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

I was frankly a little insulted they teased us with realtime Zelda footage again. The last time they showed us realtime footage of Zelda and said 'this is what it could look like' was at Space World in 2000 and they never delivered.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

That wasn't "real time" footage in 2000. It was pre-rendered. Its a different situation, anyway.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

You're right, I misspoke. But I disagree, situation is very much the same?

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

What's the same about it? They showed Zelda footage without actually announcing a specific game? Okay, sure. But the surrounding environment is different. We're not coming off the widely considered "greatest game of all time" and its follow-up. We do have a console Zelda game still waiting to be released. We've seen more than just the "realistic" style of Zelda graphics.

Besides, you're judging Nintendo now based on something that happened over 10 years ago.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

Ok, so I haven't watched the press conference yet. I'm at work, and I have it recording at home. However, I did find this thread on Reddit:

http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comme..._u_fact_sheet/

Just from looking at this, I can't see how this a disappointment of any kind. The console is small and at least decently powerful. It has HD, which is the big thing.

The controller actually looks really awesome, to me. I'm just overjoyed they're moving away from motion - I can see them doing some really fun and interesting things with this set up. Screen may be large and clunky, but I find that superior to small and hard to see and use.

And, sweet crap, look at that third party support list. Batman, Battlefield, Darksiders, Ninja Gaiden, Assassin's Creed?!

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

How will you be able to play a FPS with that controller?

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

Very carefully?

Seriously, how wouldn't you? It has triggers and everything. There's just a giant screen in the middle.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

The same way you play with any controller?

Has the same button layout.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

Hey, its my new desktop.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

I just didn't want to see a 'current gen' console 6 years after the fact. But it was the same with the Wii so I don't know why I should be surprised.

The controller/console gameplay concept isn't even original, though. It's been around on the Gamecube since Four Swords and Pac Man Versus.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

Motion controls weren't new either. Difference is that a console hasn't been built around the concept.

I would have liked to see a more powerful system as well, but I guess that's the price you pay in order to pay a lower price.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

When did Nintendo ever use completely new technology?
Glasses-free 3D, touch screen, motion control... it had all been done before.
Now they combine a powerful machine with a controller, a touch tablet, motion control... and they create new experiences with it.
Just like they've always done. I like it, much more than I anticipated.

I guess you just had too high expectations...

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

Best look at the controller/tech

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

Nice video.

Also some more info:
- 3rd party footage was actually PS360 footage
- single touch screen

At the moment the question is whether multiple controllers will work on 1 Wii U.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

That controller is fucking huge. That is my only concern. Otherwise cool cool I look forward to its potential. And I already wrote this thing off for FPS, so I won't even ask.

I should clarify my strange, new found optimism. I look forward to its potential relative to the Wii and the Kinect and the Sony Anal Wand. See, Nintendo already jumped the shark in my book for any FPS games or games with serious graphical prowl. So now we have 1st party rehash titles with fancy new gimmicks. I also like the idea that I can take my controller with me when I go take a shit. This way I can keep waggling while I drop a deuce. Or I can continue to waggle while I waggle...and there is even a webcam so I can expose little kids while I masturbate.


What is really exciting is that this shit is like the NES of touchscreens and the future. 20 years from now when our houses come integrated with 40-touch screens, and there are holograms, and things like that, we are going to look back at the Wii and laugh because it is like Pong. But at the current point in time, I maintain that the PS2, Xbox 360, and Cube controller usurp any of the current controllers. I also still take preference to my Mouse and Keyboard.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

For the life of me don't understand the FPS comments, is it just a size thing?

Has dual analogs (though think a step back), 4 face buttons, 2 shoulders, 2 triggers, so all that's needed to handle any modern console shooter.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

I'd rather use the Wiimote to play first person games. I don't see myself ever playing one of those with dual analog again.

I just hope that it offers enough new stuff for core gamers. If all they like is graphics, then they might never move beyond their PS360 until the PS4π comes out. Maaaybe enough exclusives will make them jump in.

Edit: Aliens: Colonial Marines is going to be epic with the motion sensor on the touch screen!!
But even with that, I'd rather keep that thing lying on my lap and control the game with the Wiimote+chuck.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

The biggest thing I want to know is whether or not Gamecube and Wii games will be upconverted or if they're going to make us pay for HD remakes.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

Oh, I just read that the motion control of the Utroller is very precise... sounds like a good alternative to Wii's IR aiming!!

Also, they say the controller is really light and comfortable.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

I wouldn't put it past the Nintendo engineers to run long tests...but I don't trust anyone who uses the controller for less than 30 minutes. I want to hear some testimony after gaming for 3+ hours or something, or a fairly normal serious gaming session.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

The size is my main concern. But mostly what I mean when I say "I already wrote this thing off for FPS" is that most FPS games are designed with two things in mind:

1) the ability to be ported across platforms
2) having an awesome engine

I'm concerned (just as I was with the Wii and Cube, and those concerns were indeed met) that this new console will fail to meet requirement 1. Requirement 2 is also a big deal, and you can sit here and tell me that graphics aren't the end-all, be-all anymore. And I would agree. But graphic-moderate engines, like the Source engine, still capitalize on processing power to turn out realistic physics and things like that. You could argue that the history of FPS engines is just as rich in terms of the way processing power is utilized and the way increased interaction with the environment is increased vs. just looks. Even going back to Doom, and ID Software's innovative use of creating 3D maps and adding depth to the game with things like height.

I'm not a programmer, so I would summon Gekko to comment on why Nintendo isn't really FPS-friendly.

I like where Nintendo is going with the social aspect though, I think it is really really cool. And sarcasm aside, I hope Nintendo is really ready to embrace online gaming. Because online gaming on the Wii was about as pleasant as getting a coat hangar abortion.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

1) Won't be an immediate problem, for the first year or two will be sharing games with the Ps3 and 360 which it is close to on power levels.

2) We already have confirmation that the Unreal engine 3 will come over to the console since both Batman Arkham City and Aliens Colonial Marines run on the engine, and Epic Games confirmed it for Aliens.

Then there's EA already hinting at bringing the Frostbite engine over with Battlefield 3, and I don't think they will have as much problem getting ports/same day releases of major FPSes.

I think their new problem going forward is having an online service worth a damn, and convincing people to buy their version of the game over the PS3 and 360.

Re: Nintendo at E3 2011
 

I haven't heard anything official that states the Wii U will be compatible with GCN games at all. Also, in an interview with GameTrailers, Reggie said Wii games would not be upconverted. He didn't state anything regarding any HD remakes/re-releases.