Home Gaming E3 2011 : Press Conference Round-Up and Videos – Nintendo

E3 2011 : Press Conference Round-Up and Videos – Nintendo

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I must say, that out of all the press conferences I have been to (even with Sony’s superior catering) Nintendo really stole the show and took the crown for me at this year’s E3.

You are probably thinking to yourself that I am crazy in coming to this conclusion when both Sony and Microsoft had more content and what seemed to be a much bigger budget at this year’s show. But what it truly came down to was the passion and heart that Nintendo gave for each and every one of the products they presented. They made us feel like welcomed friends, shared an amazing experience with us and entertained till the end. Hit the jump for one of the best conferences this year.

We arrived at the Nokia theatre just before 12, picked up our media badges and quickly took our seats on surprisingly comfortable chairs. The hall didn’t stay empty for long, and soon it was packed to the rafters with fans biting at the nib for a taste of the highly anticipated announcement of the Wii’s successor.

Sitting in the hall, kicking off the live blog, I was still very sceptic on what Nintendo was going to be showing us. If all the rumours were to be believed, taking a step into HD was going to be huge, and what about this so-called handheld, portable project-cafe? Thing were definitely heating up!

Eventually the lights dimmed and what we heard next, no one was expecting. A full orchestra burst into the Zelda theme and in complete synchronisation, a montage of Zelda’s history hit the big screen and as a result set the crowed crazy. This was the best introduction to any press conference so far and as Miyamoto took the stage, everyone simultaneously agreed.

He began talking about Zelda’s 25th anniversary and explained that the music was a huge part of the game, and wanted to provide the music live for our enjoyment. We then found out that Links Awakening was coming to the 3DS shop that day and next week will see Ocarina of Time 3DS launched. He also went on to talking about the new, four player co-op title, Four Swords. This sounded more like a porno than a game, but it sounds rad regardless. Also available soon will be The Legend of Zelda soundtrack.

Miyamoto exited stage right and in his place walked on Satori Iwata, who proceeded to talk about the Wii’s successor and then quickly change the subject before giving anything away. This was going to be left for the end of the show, but he did a brilliant job building a huge amount of suspense throughout the hall. Next to be announced was a new Mario Kart for the 3DS, a new Skyfox and Luigis Mansion all for the 3DS and Skyward Sword for Wii this being released this holiday season. This was all followed up by the reveal of the new Mario 3DS and a few third party titles including Tetris, Cave Story, Driver and Tekken 3D.

Another nice surprise was the announcement of the latest update to the 3DS. We will now be able to download games and for a limited time, get a free copy of 3D Excite Bike! As a Pokémon fan, I was so excited to hear that Pokémon 3DS is on the way, and in addition to the release we can also turn our 3DS’ into a walking, fully operational Pokedex that uses AR markers to catch them all!

We were all very excited already, the show has been great and everyone was just waiting for the big reveal! Then the hall went dark and everyone knew what time it was. It was time to find out exactly what will succeed the Wii, and put to rest or confirm all the rumours that had been flying around the internet and between the journalists at the show. Well I don’t need to tell you what happened when the curtain went up and revealed the WiiU!

So for a full round-up on the WiiU and the first South African hands-on exclusive, hit the jump: Hands on with the Wii U

The next big surprised that came from the creation of the WiiU is a partnership that has not been relived since the days of the GameCube. That’s right, Nintendo and EA has signed a partnership that will push all of EA titles including Mass Effect, FIFA, Battlefield and more onto the Nintendo WiiU!

As I said, the big focus for Nintendo this year wasn’t on pushing out the most content but rather making the audience feel like we had really been thought of and not just passed off with free shwag (hey I am not complaining) alcohol (I am REALLY not complaining) and booth-babes… or lack thereof.

The focus was on the WiiU, to present a project and a concept that has been made a reality with keen innovation and hard work. They have given developers a whole new platform to work with, and as you can imagine endless possibilities for new and exciting games. Thank you Nintendo, you have done it again!

Last Updated: June 10, 2011

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