Nintendo E3 Press Conference: My Thoughts

So today as opposed to writing up my thoughts after watching the press conference, I'm going to just go flow of consciousness style as I watch, and then throw in thoughts at the end. That's right kids, BULLET POINT MADNESS. I expect it will read much more the way my Twitter feed did during the EA and Ubisoft pressers yesterday. Forgive me if I run on at parts, but hey, that's just how it goes sometimes.

Thoughts before it happens: I'm mainly hoping for a new Zelda, a mystery Mega Man appearance, mostly some new Kirby, and essentially more "hardcore" type games that aren't just a waggle fest. Also, if I trail off during the handheld stuff, I apologize, but I just don't care about the DS, DSI, 3DS, Game Boy Color, whatever we are on right now. In the interest of full disclosure, I was a Nintendo kid all through my youth. I never had Genesis, from NES through N64, I was pretty loyal. I've had a Wii since '07, so I've had a decent amount of time with the console.

Here we goooooooo

• The big man, Reggie Fils-Aime is out to start, not too surprising. But with a Powerpoint style leadoff? Boooooooooooo. Come on Nintendo, start with something awesome.
• Alright, off to video. Now THAT is what I'm talking about. Big N is coming out guns blazing with a brand new Zelda. Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.
• Miyamoto is on screen to take us through some of the game. Miyamoto wants us to use the Wiimote as a sword and Nunchuck as a shield. We get some gameplay, with the controls on the screen...I wonder if that will happen in the real game or just for this demo. The guy doing this doesn't get it. Cue myssssssstery Miyamoto showing up for real to show us what's really up. Miyamoto gives us a little run through, claiming 1:1 sword to Wii motion, but he has some issues...this doesn't bode particularly well. I'm gonna chalk that more to it being an older guy and some likely delay with how they have the presentation set up. The game does look very pretty as far as Wii games go. A decent amount of gameplay, but it starts to come crashing down. Miyamoto claims they are picking up a lot of interference they hadn't before. With all the people w/ phones, computers, etc, it's possible. Hopefully that was what led to the control delays. This could make for a rough rest of the conference though if this keeps up. Even with the hangups, this game is a must have for me, and I'm not even in the "Ocarina of Time=bestest evarrrrrrrr" camp. No solid release date given, only sometime in 2011. Fine with me, I want them to take as much time as they need to make this game epic.
• Reggie back on, says they want new experiences for "Everyone." I'm a little worried we will be going into the reallllll casual right now. Going into sports, name checks Madden, PES, and MLB2k10. NBA Jam mention!!!! Damn, we will see it on the show floor, apparently not here. You damn cocktease Reggie, give me what I want. New Mario sports game, these are usually very fun, love Strikers Charged and Baseball.
• Video shows us Volleyball, then Hockey (first ice, then on a beach), then Dodgeball, now Basketball. Game is called Mario Sports Mix, coming in 2011. If these have some depth, this could be great.
• Oh snap, some Reggie flavored smack talk aimed at the doubters. Wear it people that thought the Wii wouldn't keep selling consoles, games, or play them. Lame self promotion, even in the face of declining sales. Can't blame them for taking on those who say people just play Wii Sports and Fit. Claim Mario Kart and New Super Mario Bros are "bridge titles" that take the new casual type players deeper down the rabbit hole. Time for a new bridge game: Wii Party
• 13 different party game modes including Board game Island (think Mario party), etc, with 70 different mini games. Good call, this will likely sell quite well. Released in times for the holidays...duh.
• New Just Dance game....this sums up my thoughts pretty well.
• Now getting a new Golden Sun game for Nintendo DS. Apparently lots of people got very excited for it back in the day, I've never heard of it though, so don't know what to tell you. Looks like an RPG for the DS if you are into that sort of thing. Fast forwarding.
• FUCK YEAH GOLDENEYE!!!!!! The same video I posted the other day from Kotaku is shown here. Daniel Craig is in as opposed to the far superior as Bond, Pierce Brosnan. I don't know if you can call it a true "remake" as it looks like we will get some different levels. It will be here this holiday. Get your friend codes ready, I'm going to prox mine the hell out of all of you.
• Next we get a game called Epic Mickey. This will definitely sell well for those with young kids that don't necessarily know a ton about games but trust the brand. It looks like a toned down, Disney only, amateur hour version of Kingdom Hearts. As opposed to swords you use paint and paint thinner to add/take out the game world. Meh.
• Kirby mention with the creator of Kirby and Smash Bros. YES Reggie says it's time for Kirby to return. Called it son! But Reggie says we will be getting a new type of game, Kirby's Epic Yarn. Strange animation style, everything looks, well, knitted. Kirby is shown transforming into things like an Umbrella, spaceship, etc, as well as using a whip to grab opponents and markers to adjust the environment. Not exactly what I wanted, but it could be very cool. Kirby whips as opposed to sucking things(teehee). Will be released this fall.
• Next up, a Dragon Quest RPG for DS. Don't care, FF.
• Now we get Metroid:Other M from the Team Ninja guys. This looks pretty freaking awesome. Fast paced action as well as what you expect after the Prime games. It will be here very soon too, August 31.
• Whoa!!! A new Donkey Kong Country type game! Nintendo is really crushing things right now. Gameplay is the same type of 2d side-scroller as the N64 games. Similar type of action too, barrel shooting, mine cart level, ability to switch between Donkey and Diddy. Donkey Kong Country Returns will be out this holiday. Man, there are a ton of great looking Wii games coming out this holiday season.
• We close with a new game changing type thing: Nintendo 3DS. What can I say, I don't really care about handhelds or 3D. Let's see what we get though. Hey, at least we wont need 3D glasses for it to work. 2 screens, the top one bigger than the lower, allegedly showing us 3D w/o glasses. Lots of talk from a designer that I can barely understand. Highlights: Better graphics, 3d pictures/video, nice a Kid Icarus game. Too bad we won't get one on Wii. Looks like you will be able to communicate between 3DS' as well. We end with a rundown of 3rd party support, and they have some big names. Metal Gear, Resident Evil, Saint's Row, Madden and Kingdom Hearts are among the games announced. Pretty impressive lineup for the handheld.
• Time for the recap of all the big announcements. Reggie boasts that they said they had something for everyone, and with the wide range of games, it certainly seems like it.
• To close, an army of hot girls comes out with 3DS attached to them by a bizarre harness. Each person in the audience is having someone walk to them to try the thing out...I'm sure that's not going to be awkward at all. They are also bringing some Wii's out on the floor for people to test out Zelda

I'm stunned quite honestly. The Wii had several surprise announced games today, including a new Kirby, Donkey Kong, and a revamped Goldeneye. It looks like I will be buying several more Wii games than I expected in the near future. After last year's pretty universally panned press confrence, Nintendo came out and just stole the show. Well freaking done, Nintendo. Some great games were announced today.