current gaming

Day 2 of E3 begins! Actually, it’s technically the first day, officially speaking, and Nintendo is celebrating with an early morning press conference. Thanks, Nintendo! Vasilis and I are here and ready to cover whatever big announcements come forth. Keep updating this post for the all the latest announcements and our opinions as they happen!

10:10 — The title is Metroid: Other M. It looks like there’s a lot more plot than previous Metroid games. It’s third-person with very Ninja Gaiden-esque action and will be coming in 2010. Major reveal! Very nice.

10:08 — Nintendo itself is apparently working on a new edgier game as well with a developer who has worked in the mature space as well. Video of a storm, mountains. Oh wow, it’s with Team Ninja. And now we’re in space. Whoa, Metroid!

10:07 — And the third third-party game is Dead Space: Extraction, the Wii exclusive prequel to EA’s popular survival horror game from last year. The limb-severing gameplay seems like it works well as a light gun shooter.

10:06 — Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles trailer playing now. This is the next RE light gun game, picking up where Resident Evil Chronicles left off (gameplay-wise, not with the story).

10:05 — Trailer for Sega’s The Conduity playing. Looks like it could be good or could be a very mediocre first-person shooter. We’ll find out soon, though, since the game is out in a few weeks.

10:04 — Reggie’s out to close things off. Looks like no date or timeframe for Super Mario Galaxy 2 yet. Reggie says, “I read the blogs” and he knows he people want more. He’s going to give examples of third-party titles that have a “harder edge” and will be out exclusively on Wii before the year’s end.

10:02 — Looks like there are a lot of new power-ups and awesome environments. Multiple colors of Yoshis that Mario can ride as well. Essentially it just looks like more Mario Galaxy, which is about the biggest compliment I could give. I can’t wait to get my hands on this. I’m also convinced that Wii Vitality Sensor segment was there just to mess with our heads and make us think Nintendo was going to leave us disappointed.

10:01 — Another Mario game! WHOA. Second 3D Mario title on a single Nintendo console for the first time ever! Super Mario Galaxy sequel confirmed!

10:00 — Cammy says “Relaxation aside, we’ve still got a little stimulation to deliver.” Hot.

9:59 — It’s a little thing that you put your finger in so the console can sense the pressure in your body. Iwata says it will allow developers to push video games toward relaxation. Not all games need to be about excitement right. He said it may make it easier for gamers to fall asleep. I think it’s doing that in the audience already!

9:58 — Iwata’s going to show off the next Brain Age or Wii Fit — a game that will draw in new players and is not part of an existing Nintendo franchise. Apparently it is the Wii Vitality Sensor. What?

9:56 — Basically Iwata is just saying that he doesn’t like the divide between casual and hardcore gamers. He says Mario Kart Wii with the Wii Wheel was an example of their attempt to bridge this divide. New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Wii Fit Plus, and Wii Sports Resort are steps in this direction too.

9:54 — They want to make new original titles that can satisfy every single kind of player, despite the range of skills. Iwata says he is concerned that the games that are considered the best usually require the most amount of skill. He says that decreases the audience, but lowering the bar leaves skilled players dissatisfied.

9:53 — Nintendo has been conducting studies on who’s playing video games, who’s not, and who’s interested but hasn’t yet. “For every two people playing, there’s one more just waiting to jump in.” I guess the point is that there’s still room for gaming to grow, even after the Wii and DS has already made it grow.

9:51 — Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has taken the stage to talk about how they want to bring millions of more people to gaming. I’m pretty sure they’ve had this same speech at E3 for the last three years.

9:50 — New Legend of Zelda for DS will be playable on the E3 show floor, but strangely they didn’t even show any gameplay.

9:49 — Beginning this summer, you’ll be able to automatically upload DSi photos to Facebook. Wow, so how is Sony going to have Facebook integration? Apparently that’s the new hotness.

9:48 — Now Cammy’s talking about WarioWare DIY where you can create your own short WarioWare-style mini-games and then share them with friends.

9:47 — A simple DSi movie-maker titled Flipnotes Studio will be out soon for DSi. Also there will be a new DSi Mario vs. Donkey Kong game. It will have a level creator that will allow you to share your creations online. That’s pretty cool. It’s a DSiWare download that will be released on Monday! Nice!

9:46 — From Shadowkitten701 on Twitter: sooo…COP is like the unusuals, but not as funny?

9:45 — DSi sales have hit 1 million, and DS Lite sales have remained steady at 400,000.

9:43 — And now we’re talking about the DSi and (presumably) some games made specifically for that system’s unique abilities. They’re showing a video of people talking about the DSi. Man, these people are boring. They sure love the DSi though.

9:41 — Style Savvy is a new game targeted toward teen and pre-teen girls where you run your own botique. Heading over to GameStop post-conference to pre-order my copy if anyone else wants to come along.

9:40 — And now a Ubisoft game targeted toward hardcore gamers. The game is titled COP: The Recruit. You play a young cop trying to unravel a conspiracy. Loos like the gameplay mostly involves racing around cars and then doing third-person shooting. Action games on DS are hard to pull off right, so I’m a bit skeptical.

9:38 — Cammy is here to show us three examples of developers taking risks with the DS because of its huge install base. James Patterson Women’s Murder Club game for the DS is the first example. Apparently it plays like an interactive novel. “Why join a book club when you can join the Women’s Murder Club?” Good question, I guess?

9:37 — Here’s an unexpected one! The Gameboy Advance Golden Sun franchise is returning with Golden Sun DS!

9:35 — Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story trailer playing. Apparently Mario and Luigi are shrunk down and ingested by Bowser, so the game involves exploring Bowser’s body from the inside. The potential for disgusting is quite overwhelming. It will be out this fall.

9:34 — Now they’re playing a trailer for the new Kingdom Hearts DS game that’s out later this year. Really impressive graphically. It doesn’t look much worse than the PS2 games. That’s got to be one of the best-looking DS titles ever.

9:33 — Square Enix is creating an exclusive, open-world adventure built just for Wii. It’s going to be under the Final Fantasy brand. Looks very actiony, with platforming, gunplay, and (of course) crystals.

9:32 — Red Steel 2 also playable only with Wii Motion Plus. Now Reggie’s bragging that more third-party games were sold for Wii last year than any other platform. Nintendo DS came second.

9:31 — Tiger Woods PGA Tour and Grand Slam Tennis incorporating Wii Motion Plus. Sega’s Virtua Tennis 2009 coming to Wii for the first time with Wii Motion Plus. “Every little mistake you make in the real world will be faithfully reflected in the game.” Uh…you’re not selling me on this…

9:28 — Reggie missed a ton. Also, I cannot emphasize enough how hilarious it is to see Reggie’s giant frame standing up on tip-toes to simulate the motion of shooting a basket. Other Nintendo guy screams, “Aw, I misssed the money ball! That was two points!” And then the money ball saved Reggie apparently.

9:27 — Oh man, he totally missed that target! And then moved on quickly to the next game. He’s going to be playing a basketball mini-game with Reggie. The two spend a while joking around on stage, but it feels very scripted and awkward. They could take some notes from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.

9:25 — Now they’re showing off the archery mini-game, which we’re told takes a lot of skill just like in real life. Also, apparently holding down the A button “feels great.” Dude only got five points and claims he can do better. You need to compensate for distance, wind, and whether your target is moving.

9:24 — Wii Sports Resort has a skydiving activity. Your Wii Remote movement changes how your character moves. It looks very 1:1 of course, but apparently this is just a quick, simple introduction to the game.

9:23 — They’re going to do a live demo of Wii Motion Plus to show off what it can do. It looks like they’ll be playing Wii Sports Resort to demonstrate the “precision and depth” from the new controller option.

9:22 — This video compilation of AMAZING THINGS YOU CAN DO ON THE WII WITH WII MOTION PLUS looks strangely familiar… Oh right! It’s the exact same type of stuff they were showig us when the Wii first launched!

9:21 — Video with loud bass showing us how “precision control” will CHANGE EVERYTHING OMG.

9:20 — Reggie is talking about the new Wii Motion Plus controls as the next huge step in gaming. It probably sounds more ridiculous now after Microsoft’s Project Natal revelation than when his lines were written, but there was definitely audible laughter here.

9:19 — From auritech on Twitter: wii fit plus. as in you are plus size. fatty. (i don’t think nintendo thought that title through)

9:18 — Reggie is on stage now. This guy always terrifies me. He has such large, powerful hands!

9:17 — Wii Fit Plus coming this fall as a bundle with the balance board. Software will be available as a stand-alone purchase if you’ve already got a board.

9:15 — Wii Fit Plus will give more freedom to find an exercise routine that works best for you. You can target specific body areas or focus on certain exercise types. It will also have 15 new mini-games.

9:13 — Cammy is now bragging about how well Wii Fit has sold. She says some analysts are thinking about it as “a separate gaming platform.” It has an install base comparable to other platforms. They want to make it easier for people to use, so they’re making Wii Fit Plus.

9:12 — Vasilis wisely points out that this looks like the Zelda: Four Swords game from GameCube but with Mario. New Super Mario Bros. Wii will be out holiday 2009. Excellent.

9:11 — You can switch back and forth between single player and co-op at any point. There’s a new propeller suit that shoots you high into the sky if you shake the Wii remote.

9:10 — Whaaa? Apparently New Super Mario Bros. Wii is going to have four players. And it’s 2D! Mario and Luigi for first two players, colored Toads for the others. Players can be picked up and carried to help save from enemies, reach new areas, etc.

9:09 — The number four is the key to Mario’s next game? A new way to play the game? New Super Mario Brothers for Wii announced!

9:08 — Mario video playing showing all of his old games. A new one is going to be announced?! This is all I wanted from E3, so that would be pretty fantastic!

9:07 — Cammy is promising “innovation in the form of the next leap forward in game control”and surprises.

9:05 — Cammy’s hitting us with some business talk. “How are we trending?” I dunno, can I take a nap? (No, seriously, though, I just hope they show some games soon!)

9:03 — Video of people playing Wii and DS games and looking terribly pleased in that way that people only look while playing video games in commercials. Doesn’t it just make you want to play video games right now? And now Cammy Dunaway from Nintendo is taking the stage.

9:02 — I promise you that if they do not begin soon, I will fall asleep. Oops, here we go!

8:59 — In case you missed it on my personal Twitter, the pre-conference entertainment has been a bunch of Nintendo trivia questions up on the screen. Very curious to see if they are hinting at anything. Ones that stood out to me: a bunch of Metroid questions, a few Kingdom Hearts questions, and a whole lot on how amazingly Wii and DS are doing compared to the competition. Do you think Nintendo might talk about that?!

8:58 — Dude next to me just finished a loud, ten-minute conversation on his cell phone entirely in French. I was sort of hoping he’d be doing that through the whole conference. I suppose there’s still time!

8:56 — From tole_cover on Twitter: Nintendo is so hip cuz my head is banging with the fantastic music.

8:55 — Press conference should be starting in five minutes. LOUD MUSIC LOUD MUSIC LOUD MUSIC.

Tags: ds, E3 2009, nintendo, wii