Creating this early, so all three threads are ready to go for tomorrow evening (GMT+1).
Summary:
IT BEGINS!
- Reggie on the stage, looking angry as usual, talks about the excitement of E3 and E3 being great time for gamers, lots of new technology, but then mellows a little, and reminds us that Technology is only a tool. He's setting us up for something big, and yep, it's Zelda: Skyward Sword, and yes it looks very Wii Motion Plus. Now a non-live presentation from the looks of it, from the big guy. He's showing sword and shield. Sword and shield then makes place for WiiMotionPlus and Nunchuck. He explains the controls, but that looks a bit abstract he thinks, so now he's going to show the game, that's going to be done by someone on stage who is young and nervous, but good at English.
He seems to suck but then, yes, it's all intentional ... big man gives him tips, and then steps out of the stage.
- They're showing quite a bit of Zelda together, mostly everything one-to-one controlled. Nothing extremely noteworthy in the gameplay except a fun puzzle element where you have to open a door by making an eye that guards it dizzy by making circles with the sword that it tracks. Fighting looks to have some depth / require some skill. (The Japanese/English talking gives me a headache).
- Shows sling-shot with aim-to-point shooting, tracking doesn't seem to be that great at the moment, but the game may be early. Gesture recognition for throwing a bomb-flower or rolling it, even with spin, also seems a bit uncertain yet, but they are fun interfaces anyway. Bow up next. They have some trouble and are suggesting that wireless devices are interfering. They're showing one more item, shooting a beetle that can then be tilt controlled for quite a bit of distance. Next showing a whip, looks fun, you can grab items with it, cut grass, attack anemies. Can't damage larger enemies, but you can pull them, attack bats with the whip too. They promise that you'll see on the show floor where you can try the game, that it normally works really smoothly. Development for the game is going to continue through to December, so it's going to be a next-year title. Trailer now, where you also see cutting grass, slinging ropes, climbing, grabbing items with the controllable beetle, etc. Looks great, if now that the other consoles have motion controls, more dated than ever (simple graphics that nevertheless struggle with framerate).
- Reggie back: talks that Wii again has games for everyone. Talks serious sports games, but now also a Mario sports title, with Beach volley, Ice Hockey, Dodge Ball?, Basket Ball. Title called Mario Sports Mix, also a 2011 title.
- Makes fun of 'conventional wisdom'. Wii was supposed to slow down last year, then 2 million record in the US in December. Wii sold more games since launch than any other system in history. NPD shows that Wii is used more than other systems at home. NPD shows that more people intend to buy Wii in the next 6 months than the other consoles combined. Best Wii titles sold 22 million and 14 million titles worldwide - yes, those are impressive figures. I'm expecting this means no Wii HD or similar initiative to be released or even announced this year.
- Wii Party shown, 13 different modes, board game Island, Balance Boat, Quizzes, 70 different mini-games, loads of Miis, and from the looks of it Motion Plus support.
- Just Dance Wii exclusive "Just Dance 2". You can question how exclusive this is after Microsoft got its own version that will be hard to beat. Up to 8 players is a nice feature though, also Fall 2010 like the Wii Party game.
- Golden Sun: Dark Dawn DS announced last time, shown extensively.
- Goldeneye Wii shown: Four Player split-screen, online multi-player. 8 classic bond characters, 16 special game modes. Crowd likes.
- GoldenEye Wii also this holiday.
- Disney Epic Mickey up next, also exclusive. Warren Spector is coming to show it (together with Adam ... ). Also this holiday. It seems to be a mix between a Mario/Zelda-ish platformer and that other famous Disney game. Key however is paint - you can make things disappear and reappear with magic paint, and change the world as well. How you tackle problems is up to you, with different awards and costs associated to the different choices - 'Playstyle Matter'. Says it combines the best of platform, adventure and rpg, and that's pretty much what it looks like. Showing one more location - a travel Zone, which is a side-scrolling platformer basically that is themed by original art. Level shown looks like one of the first Mickey cartoons, in Black & White, which looks really great (at least visually) which is impressive. Check it out on the show floor.
- very nice lookin Kirby (may have missed something had to grab dinner), like a 2D (flat) LBP almost, but perhaps even more stylish. Kirby's Epic Yarn.
- Dragon Quest up next, succes in Japan described (4 million), arrives on DS here in 26 days.
- Metroid Other M. Looks like a Metroid game. I'm not going to say anything else. Sense of isolation sounds right. In stores August 31, slow clap.
- Donkey Kong platformer remake. Looks classic 2.5 platformer stuff, but looks appealing enough. "Country Returns" also this Holiday.
- 3DS up next no doubt. Makes fun of 3D in the living room (thousands of dollars, nothing to see, glasses! those glasses!). Nintendo has a better idea (you get where this is going). Coming soon, coming cheap, no glasses. Satoro Iwata is coming to show it. Looks exactly like a DS, with some neon, but top screen is 3.5" widescreen 3D. 3D screen and touch screen don't mix well (dirt) so they decided to keep the bottom screen 2D touch, and 3D screen is just 3D. Also has analog nub eh slidepad, gyroscope and tilt. Has two camera lenses on the outside, to take 3D pictures. Functions can be tried out at booth. One more aspect: can also show 3D movies, which you will also be able to see in the booth (Tangled, How to train your Dragon, and another one).
- Project Sora: target for this project was to design a game specifically for 3D. Kid Icarus: Uprising. Graphics maybe inbetween N64 and Wii? Interesting.
- talks about what 3D brings to gaming: better judging the dimensions in 3D gameworld, etc.
- 3DS can also communicate with other 3DS's in sleep mode, without you knowing it (sounds interestingly virussy). However, unlike the DS which had something like this for Nintendogs, you can do this when you're playing games, downloading stuff in the background that unlocks itself as surprise bonusses later, also when you're not online.
- discusses third party support as well as first party support. Promises biggest third party support at launch of any new Nintendo system. Shows screen with all the big names, DJ Hero 3D, Kingdom Hearths 3D, Saints Row, Madden, Resident Evil, Batman, Assassin's Creed, another Riiiidge Racer, Metal Gear Solid (I missed one or two).
- now we're getting a view in closing of the show with impressions from developers of the 3DS, including Kojima, twice. (There's one other quote that is translated: "more than a game player, also a tool". That's going to be popular on GAF)
- we're getting a summary from Reggie (he can't help himself). Apparently some additional exclusive news on nintendo's own stream on its own website.
- Since they can't demonstrate the 3D, they've made some CG fun using important Nintendo people being sucked into the 3DS, and props falling out. Reggie laughs as he sees his colleagues running, then panicks.
- Now brings out a whole team of girls hooked up to 3DS systems. Hundreds! These will show it to the audience, and on the show floor later. Live gameplay available at the booth all week long. Also brings up consoles right here now, including Wii's with the new Zelda, which looks much nicer on the smaller screens I might add. No need to hurry, they'll have busses going to E3 until eleven.
And that's pretty much it. Pretty good showing alltogether.
Summary:
IT BEGINS!
- Reggie on the stage, looking angry as usual, talks about the excitement of E3 and E3 being great time for gamers, lots of new technology, but then mellows a little, and reminds us that Technology is only a tool. He's setting us up for something big, and yep, it's Zelda: Skyward Sword, and yes it looks very Wii Motion Plus. Now a non-live presentation from the looks of it, from the big guy. He's showing sword and shield. Sword and shield then makes place for WiiMotionPlus and Nunchuck. He explains the controls, but that looks a bit abstract he thinks, so now he's going to show the game, that's going to be done by someone on stage who is young and nervous, but good at English.
He seems to suck but then, yes, it's all intentional ... big man gives him tips, and then steps out of the stage. - They're showing quite a bit of Zelda together, mostly everything one-to-one controlled. Nothing extremely noteworthy in the gameplay except a fun puzzle element where you have to open a door by making an eye that guards it dizzy by making circles with the sword that it tracks. Fighting looks to have some depth / require some skill. (The Japanese/English talking gives me a headache).
- Shows sling-shot with aim-to-point shooting, tracking doesn't seem to be that great at the moment, but the game may be early. Gesture recognition for throwing a bomb-flower or rolling it, even with spin, also seems a bit uncertain yet, but they are fun interfaces anyway. Bow up next. They have some trouble and are suggesting that wireless devices are interfering. They're showing one more item, shooting a beetle that can then be tilt controlled for quite a bit of distance. Next showing a whip, looks fun, you can grab items with it, cut grass, attack anemies. Can't damage larger enemies, but you can pull them, attack bats with the whip too. They promise that you'll see on the show floor where you can try the game, that it normally works really smoothly. Development for the game is going to continue through to December, so it's going to be a next-year title. Trailer now, where you also see cutting grass, slinging ropes, climbing, grabbing items with the controllable beetle, etc. Looks great, if now that the other consoles have motion controls, more dated than ever (simple graphics that nevertheless struggle with framerate).
- Reggie back: talks that Wii again has games for everyone. Talks serious sports games, but now also a Mario sports title, with Beach volley, Ice Hockey, Dodge Ball?, Basket Ball. Title called Mario Sports Mix, also a 2011 title.
- Makes fun of 'conventional wisdom'. Wii was supposed to slow down last year, then 2 million record in the US in December. Wii sold more games since launch than any other system in history. NPD shows that Wii is used more than other systems at home. NPD shows that more people intend to buy Wii in the next 6 months than the other consoles combined. Best Wii titles sold 22 million and 14 million titles worldwide - yes, those are impressive figures. I'm expecting this means no Wii HD or similar initiative to be released or even announced this year.
- Wii Party shown, 13 different modes, board game Island, Balance Boat, Quizzes, 70 different mini-games, loads of Miis, and from the looks of it Motion Plus support.
- Just Dance Wii exclusive "Just Dance 2". You can question how exclusive this is after Microsoft got its own version that will be hard to beat. Up to 8 players is a nice feature though, also Fall 2010 like the Wii Party game.
- Golden Sun: Dark Dawn DS announced last time, shown extensively.
- Goldeneye Wii shown: Four Player split-screen, online multi-player. 8 classic bond characters, 16 special game modes. Crowd likes.
- GoldenEye Wii also this holiday.
- Disney Epic Mickey up next, also exclusive. Warren Spector is coming to show it (together with Adam ... ). Also this holiday. It seems to be a mix between a Mario/Zelda-ish platformer and that other famous Disney game. Key however is paint - you can make things disappear and reappear with magic paint, and change the world as well. How you tackle problems is up to you, with different awards and costs associated to the different choices - 'Playstyle Matter'. Says it combines the best of platform, adventure and rpg, and that's pretty much what it looks like. Showing one more location - a travel Zone, which is a side-scrolling platformer basically that is themed by original art. Level shown looks like one of the first Mickey cartoons, in Black & White, which looks really great (at least visually) which is impressive. Check it out on the show floor.
- very nice lookin Kirby (may have missed something had to grab dinner), like a 2D (flat) LBP almost, but perhaps even more stylish. Kirby's Epic Yarn.
- Dragon Quest up next, succes in Japan described (4 million), arrives on DS here in 26 days.
- Metroid Other M. Looks like a Metroid game. I'm not going to say anything else. Sense of isolation sounds right. In stores August 31, slow clap.
- Donkey Kong platformer remake. Looks classic 2.5 platformer stuff, but looks appealing enough. "Country Returns" also this Holiday.
- 3DS up next no doubt. Makes fun of 3D in the living room (thousands of dollars, nothing to see, glasses! those glasses!). Nintendo has a better idea (you get where this is going). Coming soon, coming cheap, no glasses. Satoro Iwata is coming to show it. Looks exactly like a DS, with some neon, but top screen is 3.5" widescreen 3D. 3D screen and touch screen don't mix well (dirt) so they decided to keep the bottom screen 2D touch, and 3D screen is just 3D. Also has analog nub eh slidepad, gyroscope and tilt. Has two camera lenses on the outside, to take 3D pictures. Functions can be tried out at booth. One more aspect: can also show 3D movies, which you will also be able to see in the booth (Tangled, How to train your Dragon, and another one).
- Project Sora: target for this project was to design a game specifically for 3D. Kid Icarus: Uprising. Graphics maybe inbetween N64 and Wii? Interesting.
- talks about what 3D brings to gaming: better judging the dimensions in 3D gameworld, etc.
- 3DS can also communicate with other 3DS's in sleep mode, without you knowing it (sounds interestingly virussy). However, unlike the DS which had something like this for Nintendogs, you can do this when you're playing games, downloading stuff in the background that unlocks itself as surprise bonusses later, also when you're not online.
- discusses third party support as well as first party support. Promises biggest third party support at launch of any new Nintendo system. Shows screen with all the big names, DJ Hero 3D, Kingdom Hearths 3D, Saints Row, Madden, Resident Evil, Batman, Assassin's Creed, another Riiiidge Racer, Metal Gear Solid (I missed one or two).
- now we're getting a view in closing of the show with impressions from developers of the 3DS, including Kojima, twice. (There's one other quote that is translated: "more than a game player, also a tool". That's going to be popular on GAF)
- we're getting a summary from Reggie (he can't help himself). Apparently some additional exclusive news on nintendo's own stream on its own website.
- Since they can't demonstrate the 3D, they've made some CG fun using important Nintendo people being sucked into the 3DS, and props falling out. Reggie laughs as he sees his colleagues running, then panicks.
- Now brings out a whole team of girls hooked up to 3DS systems. Hundreds! These will show it to the audience, and on the show floor later. Live gameplay available at the booth all week long. Also brings up consoles right here now, including Wii's with the new Zelda, which looks much nicer on the smaller screens I might add. No need to hurry, they'll have busses going to E3 until eleven.
And that's pretty much it. Pretty good showing alltogether.
