E3 2011: Nintendo

All of the hype this E3 has been surrounding Nintendo's announcement that they will be unveiling a new console, and that it will be playable on the show floor. Is it a new Wii? With HD? Is it more in line with the Gamecube/a hardcoreish console? Is it something completely new and different that sounds cool but no one will ever really know what to do with like the Wii? Stay tuned for the answer.

I personally came into it having been thoroughly wowed last year by Nintendo at E3, only to find that most of their greatly hyped releases only stirred a kind of "meh" response. And worst of all, the 3DS' no glasses 3D turned out to not really work. I tried it out with Pilotwings Resort at Best Buy and could tell just how much that thing was straining my eyes, and how finicky the effect was if you didn't hold your head and the controller in exactly the same position the entire time. Sure it's still a nice vamped up DS, but it disappointed. So with the announcement of a new console, I'm back to being wary. But on to the actual show...

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Zelda, an entire orchestra played the new theme song to Skyward Sword alongside a compilation video of all the past Zelda titles. Then Miyamoto, who created Zelda, came out and had some fun asking the orchestra to play some classic tunes, like those going along with opening a treasure chest and solving a puzzle. Miyamoto is adorable in how enthused he is about the entire thing. But then we get to the important part: the games. In celebration of the 25th year, there will be a new Zelda game for each platform. Link's Awakening is relaunching on the e-store on the DS, Ocarina of Time 3D for the 3DS (which has a bunch of new features like hint movies for first time players, or the mirror Master Quest mode for the hardcore), the 4 player co-op Four Swords game as a free download for DS, and of course, Skyward Sword for the Wii. And the orchestra is there as a taste of the 25th anniversary orchestral concert which will be touring around the world, and yes, there will be a CD.

So after that big self-pat on the back, and some more orchestral music, they mention what we're all here for...the new console. They acknowledge that the Wii essentially expanded their player base, but wasn't for everyone. Well, with this new console they have two words for you: "deeper" and "wider"..............by which they mean deeper gameplay experiences for the hardcore and even wider appeal than the Wii of course, what were you thinking? But of course, this is just a teaser for showing it off later in the conference..........the console, that is. Until then...

All your favorite franchises are coming to 3DS. Mario Kart, Starfox, Super Mario, Kid Icarus, and Luigi's Mansion. Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo America, then comes out and says some very interesting things. And I think it perfectly explains Nintendo's philosophy, and why they keep releasing the same games over and over again. He goes into a speech about how "We hear you. You want what you've always wanted. But you also want something new." How we like the comfortable, but want the buzz of the new. And how those may be contradictions, but they can do it. Then we get trailers for all of the above games, explaining how yes, each is familiar, but each has some new 3D tricks that make it new, essentially. Mario Kart just adds 3D, Starfox will have tilt control (bad idea, since the 3D effect is so centered around holding the controller in this "sweet spot") along with real-time video of you and the other 3 players you play against in multiplayer, Super Mario focuses on 3D platforming, Kid Icarus will have playing cards you can fight with using the 3DS camera and AR (augmented reality), and Luigi's Mansion 2 will have some kind of 3D integration (hard to tell from the trailer). It's essentially everything we've seen before, just with 3D. So essentially, expect what you've always expected from Nintendo...more of the same.

But thank goodness there's third parties interested in the 3DS, as they show trailers for Resident Evil: Mercenaries, Mario and Sonic at the 2012 Olympic Games, Ace Combat, Tetris, Cave Story 3D, Resident Evil: Revelations, Driver: Renegade, Pac-Man and Galaga: Dimensions, Tekken 3D, and Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D......wait, let me look at that list again.....Really? Really? These are titles you want to showcase? I understand the other blockbuster titles you were listing off last year may not be ready yet, but...looking at that list and the trailers that went along with them...let's just say I'm not jumping out of my seat to grab a 3DS. I'm barely even lifting a finger.

They even bring out added 3D and AR functionality for Pokemon Black and White with an advanced pokedex, but apparently the pokedex can only be filled with special codes and trading with friends, etc., not through the actual game. WTF Nintendo.

Well at least they're moving right on to the new console. And here it is...the WiiU. U, for uuuuuuuuuh, what? When it first came out, the name "Wii" was meant to symbolize "we", all of us playing together. Apparently now the U is in there to symbolize how yes, it's still about us all playing together, but now it's also about a better experience for "you" as well. Apparently it's also "unique", "unifying" and even "utopian". How does it accomplish this? Well, I'm going to put aside the next 30 minutes of confusing, ambiguous, and hype-filled presentation to just present what I've learned from not only this conference, but added details that were released later that cleared up some unanswered questions.

The WiiU, despite appearances, is in fact an entirely new console, but with a very special controller. It will output full 1080p hi-def video, uses some kind of disc (as yet unspecified), and will use a Wii sensor bar to be fully backwards compatible with all Wii games. But while details on the console itself remain vague, the controller was up front and center to define what the new WiiU experience is going to be. This thing is the size of an iPad or tablet, with a 6" touchscreen on the front, a front-facing camera, two analog sticks, shoulder buttons, your standard 4 button a/b/x/y, a microphone, gyroscope, accelerometer, and speakers. In essence, think of it as a tablet mashed with a standard controller.

The application of said controller to gaming comes in many forms, with Nintendo I think hoping as they did with the Wii that third party developers will look at this new tech and think of really cool things to do with it. Currently, though, they had several tech-like demonstrations to show off. There were essentially three different configurations of how it could be used: as a simple controller for the game on the TV, in combination with the TV, or alone. The most impressive thing it can do is take any Wii U game playing on your TV, and transfer it straight to the controller so you can keep playing if someone else wants to use the TV. It can also be used in conjunction with the TV, allowing things like your inventory to just be on the controller screen instead of taking up space on the big screen, or even allowing interactivity where you can do something like shoot throwing stars by sliding your hand across the touchscreen towards the TV screen. Another possible interesting application is to use it as a window into the game, allowing you to look all around you with the controller, exploring your living room as if it were the game world. Apparently in one demo on the floor you had to use the controller to look around the room to stop incoming arrows from hitting you that you otherwise wouldn't be able to see.

But as I always say, impressive/innovative tech means nothing without the games to support it, and Nintendo delivered quite a shocker on this one. While their own first-party titles were typical/uninteresting, the very first third party title they announced was Darksiders 2, showing that they've finally expanded into the mature market. But the real surprise came when after that they started flashing up other titles like Batman: Arkham City and they have EA's CEO talking about bringing Battlefield 3 over. So finally, Nintendo is getting the same games that the hardcore consoles are getting. To what degree those titles will use the Wii U tech is uncertain, especially as the console isn't coming until late next year, after most of these titles will launch for the other platforms. Still, it's nice to see that Nintendo is finally stepping up to the plate with some hardcore titles and getting the support they so desperately need.

But here's the real question, and I think it's pretty clear from Sony's response what the answer is: is this a next gen console, or is it simply gen 1.5...or even just stepping into this gen? Sony was quite clear in their response that they were not worried about the Wii U, and that it won't be hampering or hastening their plans to release their next console sometime around 2014. Especially because...they're already getting that tech covered with the Vita. With the Transfarring system coming to Metal Gear games, and the cross functionality shown off with Ruin, it's already clear that the greatest feature of Wii U, namely being able to continue playing on the controller when the TV is occupied, is already being taken care of by the Vita. And it's not a big stretch to see it doing the other stuff as well. It might take a version 2.0 to get the right wireless tech in it, but frankly it's not that big a leap, and with a 5" screen, you're not getting that much less screen for a much more wieldy thing to hold in your hands. For once, Nintendo's brand new innovation...doesn't appear to be all that brand new. Time will tell, especially in what Sony decides to do with the Vita, and as we get more details about everything the Wii U will do closer to its release next year, but Nintendo might find themselves once again woefully behind the times in a much shorter period of time than they expected.