The
Wii-U was the main focus of
Nintendo’s E3 presentation, and Reggie Fils-Aimewas also sure to take a shot at
Microsoft and
Sony by saying that the presentation was “all about the games”. A total of 23 games were shown off over the course of the presentation, but interestingly no price or release date was announced. Instead, words such as “holiday period” were used to describe release dates. “Together. Better” is the mantra behind the Wii-U with multiplayer and social elements integrated into each title and the console itself.
If you are more of a 3DS fan, a handful of games including
New Super Mario Bros. 2,
Paper Mario Sticker Star,
Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moonwere mentioned. Third party games such as
Castlevania Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate,
Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion,
Scribblenauts Unlimited and
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Demon Drop Distance were also outlined. A dedicated hour long show for 3DS titles will take place this evening at 18:00 PDT (02:00 GMT). This can be viewed on
Nintendo’s Access All Areas page.
The first game unveiled by Nintendo was
Pikmin 3. This title will feature the new Rock Pikmin. The game is set to take advantage of the power of the Wii-U with more realistic animations, the ability to target weak spots on enemies, and a more strategic element. Players can touch the map, scroll around the environment and place Pikmin using the touchscreen. Nintendo has said that the new controls will enhance gameplay and was keen to announce that Pikmin 3 will be a deep experience. It was said that it is important to understand the kind of fun that deeper games can offer.
Before launching headfirst into the rest of the games that will be available on the Wii-U, Nintendo announced that
Netflix,
Hulu,
YouTube and
Amazon Video will be available on the console.
The Wii-U will support voice and video chat, and can also take advantage of these base abilities for certain games. In addition, two separate gamepads will be supported in the future for games. As noted earlier in the conference, the Wii-U is designed to be a social system. When players start their console, they will see the Miiverse, which is like Main Street. Here they can gather, talk to other players, look for help with difficult segments, brag about their achievements and communicate with players.
New Super Mario Bros. U follows in the vein of 2D Mario titles that have gone before. Up to five players will be able to play at any one time: four players will race through the Kingdom, while the fifth player will watch from above and insert blocks at the touch of a finger. Going to have to stay on the good side of that fifth player then! New Super Mario Bros. U will also feature the flying squirrel suit, Yoshi’s of various colors with their own abilities and HD graphics.
One of the cards in Nintendo’s deck is
Batman Arkham City Armored Edition. Nintendo and WB Games have promised that this is a unique version of the game. Players will be able to use the gamepad to scan objects, control remote-controlled batarangs, set off explosive gels individually and scroll through menus. The new controller element is certainly highlighted in the trailer.
Scribblenauts has always had an air of mystery about it: who is Maxwell and why is his notebook so special.
Scribblenauts Unlimited is set to explain this through an explorable world, a multiplayer experience and the ability to create anything that you can think of. Who wouldn’t want an Auto mutt? The Wii-U will also enable players to share creations with friends.
For the LEGO fans, the Wii-U will have
LEGO City Undercover. This game will feature an open world, familiar gameplay elements from other titles and nods to other games or pop culture. The immortal line, “I know Kung Fu” was used and that’s always a winner in our books. The gamepad can be used to scan your surroundings for criminals and call dispatch for missions.
Ubisoft already made its big announcements at its own press conference. We were hoping that something might be kept in reserve, but it wasn’t to be. Ubisoft will be bringing
Assassins Creed III,
Zombie-U,
Just Dance 4,
Rabbids Land,
Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2013,
Rayman Legends,
Sports Connectionand
Avengers: Battle for Earth onto the Wii-U.
Nintendo closed out the conference with the announcement of
Nintendo Land. Where Wii Sports Tennis essentially explained the Wii to players and showed off its capabilities, Nintendo Land will do the same for the Wii-U. It is a theme park with attractions based on popular titles. Games such as The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong Crash Course, Animal Crossing and Luigi’s Mansion will be featured as attractions in this world.
Luigi’s Mansion was the game used to explain the concept. The four players with traditional controls were ghost hunters, but could not see the ghost on their screen (the TV). The player on the gamepad was able to see all the players and his goal was to make them faint by pouncing on them when they least expect it. The four players are able to shine their flashlights on the ghost to damage it, but can’t keep their lights on at all times or their batteries will wear out. Communication between the four players is important: when the ghost is near, even if they have fainted, their controller shakes. We will have to wait and see if Nintendo Land does what Nintendo hopes it does.
Games such as
Mass Effect 3,
Darksiders II,
Tank! Tank! Tank!,
Tekken Tag Tournament 2,
Trine 2: Director’s Cut,
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razors Edge and
Aliens Colonial Marines were briefly mentioned, but Nintendo has released trailers for a few of them.