Well this year’s E3 was once again dominated by the rumors of a new console from Nintendo and with everyone expecting Nintey to steal the show!
But now that the dust has settled and the fact are out, we at the Gadget Helpline will sit down and discuss what our overall verdict and opinions on Nintendo’s 2011 offerings?
Jonathan:
Well I was always going into the Nintendo presentation a little sceptical as I had pretty much washed my hands with the brand when the Nintendo Wii stopped making games and became a party toy, but I did go into the keynote with a small hope that Nintendo could pull me back into their warm embrace.
Nintendo started off well by bringing out the mastermind that is Miyamoto Shigeru for the start of the presentation, but what followed was something that annoyed me more than the thought of Rob Schneider winning best Actor at the Oscars… two men talking over each other in a bumbling mess regarding Zelda.
Following this Shigeru’s announcement of Zelda Four Swords for the DSi and Zelda: Skyward Sword for the Wii coming later in the year I was immediately put back in Nintendo Waiting Line…
A waiting line that only got bigger with Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime then coming onstage and showcasing so many great games that we are all looking forward too for the Nintendo 3DS, games including Mario Kart, Super Mario World, Starfox, Kid Icarus: Uprising and finally Luigi’s Mansion 2… I was excited, but after each and every reveal Ninty would say, “Coming this holiday season”, and my head would drop.
Then came the big reveal, the Nintendo Wii U, and quite frankly it couldn’t have been more “Meh” if it was beige and came with built in elbow pads.
The
E3 2011 Nintendo reveals the Wii U
was announced wrong, it was made to look like just a controller accessory but it is not, it showcased High Def gaming with no reference to what was powering the high def, is showcased old Wii games that people will not play on a new console and most importantly it showcased to me how much Nintendo are unwilling to step away from its mass penetration console the Nintendo Wii and take a step forward into a new Console.
I for one will not be looking forward to the Wii U console and am slowly beginning to be turned off by Nintendo’s lack of release schedule for its games and lack of innovation.
This year Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft have beaten you.
Jay
As a big Legend of Zelda fan, I’m excited for the 25th Anniversary surge coming our way this year. I also enjoyed the big orchestral opener of the presentation which really captured the spirit of the iconic gaming franchise, and to top it all The “Ocarina of Time” remake could actually sell me a Nintendo 3DS if it lives up to expectations!
A treat for DSi owners comes in the form of classic four-person Zelda title “Four Swords” as a free download allowing multiplayer gaming between portables. And for Wii owners? New title in the Zelda saga “Skyward Sword” – with the bonus of a limited edition golden Wii-mote up for grabs!
Sadly, translations in the presentation made things awkward. With creator Miyamoto Shigeru and the fellow translating crossing over it became very difficult to pick up on some of the key moments of the speech – very disappointing to an otherwise impressive opening.
We then got a blast of much-anticipated Mario Kart 3DS, Kid Icarus and Star Fox for Nintendo 3DS with the latter taking advantage of the 3DS camera allowing us to blast our mates out of space in a customized battle mode! And of course the ultimate tease for 3DS came in the form of Super Mario – which in fairness didn’t look too stunning on a grainy internet feed, but the potential as always there – it’s a Super Mario title after all!
With pulse pounding – it was “Wii 2” time – or Wii U – as we came to know it..
I spent the next five to six minutes with a look on my face which would probably resemble most kid’s worst Christmas.
“What the F is that?” – I thought. Where are the new games?? We saw how the controller had the expected HD display, and could stream from TV to handset and back again. Also, that you can make video calls and send a photo of a parrot from controller display to big screen or play (wait for it…) backgammon!
We pretty much got a run through of everything the “games console” could do except for the gaming. And when we did get a little looky at the titles they looked like existing Wii titles with added tweaks. Playing as your Mii in Super Mario Bros? Seriously..? As a gamer who buys a console for gaming and a Nintendo lifer I felt jilted.
The Nintendo presentation started with a fantastic opening setting an epic pace. Holding onto excitement through the middle and crashing at the end with a disappointing reveal.
Gary
I Personally have not been a Nintendo Fan since the game cube came out, it was at the point of the original PlayStation that I jumped ship, however before that there was no other console for me I remember being a youngster and playing Mario and Duck Hunt on my NES and just as much loved to play Mario Kart an my SNES and Golden eye on my 64.
As I watched Playstation and Xbox gain more ground on Nintendo with Sony releasing the PS2, I secretly hoped that Nintendo would bring out a console that would put them back in the fore front of gaming, and they did but not in the way I had hoped, they brought us the Wii a high selling ‘family’ console with below par graphics, a poor third party game collection, and a controller that broke many a TV screen.
So as E3 was coming close the rumours started that Nintendo were getting back into the hardcore gaming screen with project cafe. So I was excited for the Nintendo conference at E3. It started with a drawn out Zelda intro never being a big Zelda fan but knowing how much Zelda has influenced allot of Nintendo gamers, it seemed a good way to stat the show especially with Miyamoto Shigeru talking with his translator in tow, then the problems started! You couldn’t hear what they were saying. It was a mash of both voices together talking at the same time there was no pause for the translator, as soon as he started talking Shigeru talked over the top of him.
Nintendo seemed to redeem themselves after the Zelda intro by announcing a host of Nintendo 3DS games for example Mario Kart 3D, Super Mario 3D and Luigis mansion 2, but they shot themselves in the foot once again with the ever present phrase” coming later this year”
After their 3DS announcements Nintendo decided to bring out the big guns and it was time for the console announcement. The first major console in 5 years and they give us a controller! Well that wasted an hour of my life! There I was getting all excited like when I was 10 and had got a new game just to find out no matter how many times I blew the underneath on my NES cartridge game it wasn’t going to work, that’s how I felt with this how many times can I blow on it to get something useful! Don’t get me wrong some of the features may be good but it doesn’t cater for the hardcore gamer and it no longer caters for the family scene that the Wii was so good at.
And game demos for PS3 and 360 games trying to pass it off as Nintendo footage until questioned in a later interview that’s just sneaky.
If the graphics live up to what they are supposed to be, the console packs some serious hardware and Nintendo throws in a proper controller then I might think about it, but until then Nintendo you have FAILED! This is just a glorified HD Wii with a new shiny accessory.
Ben
Well now, Nintendo had a real opportunity to make its mark in the next gen console race… did they really get off to a good start @ E3? In my opinion, no…
From the off, the interpreter got on my nerves, the orchestra was OTT, the games (apart from a couple) were nothing that haven’t been seen before in different iterations and to top it all off the controller itself. Note that there was no real mention of the actual console.
As a current Wii user (more like watcher of it being used) I looked on with baited breath to see what they had developed and from the looks of it, it’ll take a lot for me to buy what looks like a glorified Etch A Sketch!
I know that Nintendo aim for a different area of the market, namely families and children and I don’t think anyone can deny that they’ve hit the nail on the head with the Wii, but what made the Wii accessible and entertaining, the motion controllers, appear to be no more.
Sorry Ninty, even with all their current woes, Sony have pulled it off with the PSVita!
Summary
Well Nintendo, the ball is now in your court, but it is going to be a big uphill struggle to try and change our minds on your new Console, Release Schedule and your tie in games.
Please prove us wrong.
With Love – Gadget Helpline.