current gaming

The week before this year’s E3, Fallout 3 creator Bethesda announced a new original first-person shooter and released a teaser video with the promise of more info to come out of E3. Check out the video below:

Bethesda (of Fallout and Oblivion Fame) reveal new game: Brink on Current Gaming

This short video left me a little cold honestly. Sure, I always want to see what Bethesda’s up to, and I’m excited that developer Splash Damage is making a new game — their last release, 2007’s Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, was a great multiplayer shooter with a lot of unique twists on the genre, but it never really found its audience, a fate that could have easily crushed a lesser studio — but this first look at the game doesn’t really tell us anything. It didn’t make it stand out or raise my interest much at all.

Thankfully, the 20-minute demo I was given at E3 really cleared up that problem of why I should care about Brink…and Quake Wars is a huge part of the reason. Quake Wars took the normal online shooter formula and shook it up by giving players more interesting objectives than simply capturing the flag or achieving a set number of kills. Brink takes this concept to the next level.

You begin with an introduction to the game’s clever setting, The Ark. This artificial floating city was originally built as a home for the elite, but following mass-flooding from environmental disaster, it has become the last refuge for humanity, full of far more people than had ever been intended. Despite the overpopulation, you build one more person to inhabit the city with a deep character creation tool. You also choose one of two alignments for the character: Resistance or Security.

Whichever side you choose, you’ll be facing off against the other side’s forces, and this is where Brink’s brilliant gameplay mode-shifting mechanics come into play. In single-player, you’ll accept various missions pitting you against the opposing faction. Should you choose to change seamlessly to co-op, up to eight of your friends will be able to jump into your game with characters they created that are on your side. Is their assistance against the AI making things too easy? Switch it to 16-player multiplayer and that mission you’re on will become populated with real players using their real characters from the other side.

Regardless of which mode you’re playing in, there will be a variety of Quake Wars-style objectives that you can choose between to help further whatever mission you’re on. Harder objectives will earn you more XP. Want to just blast away at the enemies? Choose a kill objective. Want a bigger XP boost? Take on the objective to capture and interrogate an enemy soldier. And do it on your own, with friends, or against real players from across the world. This easy transitioning between single-player, cooperative play, and multiplayer modes means that a single mission or set piece can be played in several distinct styles, all of which will earn you XP toward improving your character, who remains consistent between all three modes.

The only question, then, is just how many awesome set pieces that work for all three modes can Splash Damage create? At E3, I was only shown one, an area called Container City that was built out of trash and boxes. The battle here raged around a huge crane that could be destroyed, repaired, and turned to your own use depending on which side you were on and what objectives you focused on. It was an intriguing scenario that looked like a blast, but if I’ve still got some concern. Multiplayer/co-op maps are inherently replayable, but does that mean Brink’s single-player experience will be significantly shorter than we expect from single-player shooters because all of the levels will be built for multiplayer and co-op as well?

If they can overcome this worry — or hell, even if they can’t, and we just get a shorter game, but one that successfully blends all three primary shooter play styles — Brink could be a revolutionary step for the genre. At the very least, I hope it’s a worthy successor to Quake Wars that gets a lot more notice from the gaming community.

I was first introduced to Japanese developer Vanillaware with 2007’s cult-classic PlayStation 2 action-RPG Odin Sphere. While no one could deny the beauty of that game’s stunning 2D art style, the game had some problems in its design. The simple-but-fun button-mashing combat was complicated by a radial item menu which challenged players to mix and match various materials in an alchemy system to produce the highest quality items. You could also plant seeds in the level that would grow and bear healing fruit after after sucking up enemy souls. This system definitely added a layer of complexity to Odin Sphere, but in the end it became a little too complicated for its own good, especially since you were more or less required to master these extra systems in order to survive the game’s sometimes brutal difficulty.

So the long and short of it is that I really enjoyed my time with Odin Sphere, but I ended up giving up well before the end, defeated but vowing to watch out for all future Vanillaware releases, hopeful that they may produce something as visually stimulating and fun but with slightly tighter design.

As of E3 2009, I can happily report that my hope was not misplaced in the least. Vanillaware’s latest is Muramasa: The Demon Blade, a Wii release being published by Ignition Entertainment (Odin Sphere was published by Atlus, but for some reason they didn’t pick up this one). And it looks freakin’ awesome, both literally in terms of its graphical style and in how it plays. For an example of the former, just take a look at this background image plucked from the game’s Japanese website:

Muramasa: The Demon Blade

Beautiful, right? That may look like concept art — and, for all I know, it very well may actually be concept art; I can’t really read Japanese — but the in-game environments look astonishingly similar. Vanillaware has done the smartest thing they could with the Wii hardware: developing a stylized game that looks beautiful within the limitations of Nintendo’s console. Because of that, this game is going to stand up as eye candy to the best offerings on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Sure, it may not be as realistic or visceral as Killzone 2 or Alan Wake, and it may be locked into 2D, but given a choice, there’s a good chance I’d rather be resting my eyes on Muramasa.

Then there’s the much-simplified gameplay. I’m sure some people loved the intricacies that Odin Sphere offered, but if you’re like me and found yourself intimidated and eventually annoyed, Muramasa is going to be a treat. While the trappings of an RPG remain — you can still level up, gain new weapons and armor, etc. — the focus is much more heavy on the action side. The two lead characters — one male and one female — have a variety of unique weapons, each with their own feel and special moves.

Button-mashing is possible, but if you really want to progress, you’ll need to learn how to pull off powerful combos and match the right moves and weapons to the right enemies. You can switch between three weapons on the fly. If you use the same weapon for too long or are too vigorous with the special attacks, the weapon will break, forcing you to switch it out while it recovers or deal next to no damage.

During one particularly harrowing boss encounter, I relied on the special attacks a bit too much, causing my weapons to continue breaking. By the end of the epic battle, I found myself switching weapons every 10 or 20 seconds, draining what little juice the weapon had left until it broke, and then switching to the next one while the others recovered. I barely eked out a victory, but it was clear that this kind of clumsy play will not lead to success in later levels.

I just can’t wait to traverse those later levels in all their lengthy glory. The two playable characters mostly journey through the same areas, but their levels get some tweaks and variations, and they get to fight unique bosses and pass through their own storylines, so hopefully there will be enough incentive for replay. Add on to that the promise of Metroid-style backtracking to open up areas you couldn’t access before, and Muramasa could be one of the longest 2D actions games since…well, Odin Sphere.

Just, you know, better this time.

-Phil

Let me preface this post with an important caveat: I have not seen or heard anything more about the surprise Nintendo announcement of Metroid: Other M than was shown at the Nintendo press conference on Tuesday. On top of that, I thought the trailer looked awesome. It was stylish, fast, and brutal — everything you’d expect from a Team Ninja game. Of course…that’s not really what I expect from Metroid at all.

I love the Metroid series. In high school I probably rented and fully completed Super Metroid at least six or seven times, far more than any of the other games in the local video store’s paltry collection. I don’t think it’s remotely revolutionary to point out the elements that set Metroid apart from other third-person action games: tight controls, amazing atmosphere, and intricately designed environments created expressly with exploration in mind. In Metroid, I wanted to backtrack. I was driven to constantly return to areas I’d already traversed to test out my latest weapons and abilities and uncover new secrets. The worlds of Metroid were dark and mostly devoid of friendly life, but they were still alive in a way that made me push to map out every inch.

Now to be fair, Other M could totally pull this off as well. All I can say is that the trailer Nintendo showed didn’t fill me with confidence. The brief action-packed clip collection focused on the stuff that, Samus aside, looked much more Ninja Gaiden than Metroid. And looking back on Team Ninja’s flagship action series, they’ve never really been into creating worlds that are alive. Even the recent Ninja Gaiden 2 was plagued by last-gen-feeling setbacks like invisible walls and a sometimes-uncontrollable camera. Those problems aren’t going to fly in a real Metroid game, and hopefully with Nintendo’s help, they won’t have to, but I’m still worried.

Shadow Complex for Xbox 360

Then again, maybe I don’t need to worry so much. As the title of this post explains, the best new Metroid game of E3 was actually announced at Microsoft’s press conference, and it’s coming from Gears of War developer Epic, of all places. Shadow Complex is a new 2D Xbox Live Arcade title being worked on by the Epic-acquired Chair Entertainment, who previously made another 2D downloadable game, Undertow. That excellent multiplayer-focused game was largely ignored, but with Epic’s backing and a much tighter vision, Shadow Complex could be the game that really puts Chair on the map.

Spinning off from Orson Scott Card’s novel Empire, Shadow Complex begins in a bombed out city being sieged by shadowy paramilitary forces. You take control of a male character armed to the teeth and proceed to rush forward, gunning soldiers down like it’s nothing. Then you get attacked by a helicopter and get to enjoy blowing it up with little trouble. A powerful gun, rockets, grenades — your power seems unlimited. Then the game really begins, and you’re left with…a flashlight.

Donald Mustard, the founder of Chair Entertainment and the mastermind behind Shadow Complex, loves Super Metroid as well, and it shows. So many elements of the game seem to be an homage to Nintendo’s classic series, from the loss of weapons and powers at the beginning to the huge map, with a layout ripped straight from Samus’s visor. Different colored doors on the map represent different types of locked doors that will require a variety of weapons to get past. Want to open all the red doors? You’ll need to load up on missiles.

Add in giant bosses with specific weaknesses to exploit and a strange, desolate atmosphere, and you’ve got the closest thing to Super Metroid since the Metroid: Zero Mission on the GBA. The only down side is the seemingly Epic-influenced aesthetic. The game’s environments are varied — caverns, mines, a high-text security facility — but they’re all awash in a clean military sheen.

That said, Shadow Complex may actually pull ahead of Metroid in the realm of plot. After losing your girlfriend while hiking through the woods, you must explore the strange facility you’ve found underground to find out who has kidnapped her and why. And if that all sounds a bit too personal for an action game, keep in mind that Empire is based around a second American Civil War. Since the game serves as a set-up for the upcoming sequel book, there’s sure to be some intriguing plot twists.

So with all of that said, I must reiterate that I hope Nintendo and Team Ninja prove me wrong. I very much want Other M to be a fantastic experience befitting the Metroid name. But from what I’ve seen,  I’m fully confident that Shadow Complex will deliver everything I need on that front, and it will be doing it in just a few months as part of Microsoft’s Days of Arcade lineup this summer.

And we’re back! I’ve rushed over from the Nintendo press conference to Sony’s…and despite some awful seating, I’m going to be bringing you a liveblog of all the big announcements as they hit. Keep refreshing this blog post for all the latest!

1:06 — God of War 3 coming March 2010. A full demo will be playable on the E3 show floor. And with that, I do believe we are done. Keep watching the Current Gaming blog for more E3 updates throughout the week, and thank you for tuning in for these live blogs!

1:04 — The number of different large creatures and random bad guys attacking in just this short demo is really impressive. Almost as impressive as the awfully bloody methods by which Kratos gets rid of them.

1:02 — Kratos also has a power that grants him wings briefly so he can glide down to a location. As he continues through the temple level in the demo, a giant lava monster titan thing appears in the distance, and he gets to fight a giant centaur. To kill the centaur, he actually slices open his belly, which is very graphic and brutal.

1:00 — The gameplay here is classic God of War with few surprises. Slashing bad guy, ripping them in half, etc. There harpy creatures that Kratos can latch onto and kill as he uses them to reach higher locations. It looks like they’ll be a minor puzzle element.

12:58 — Hooray! Now we get to see the first few minutes of God of War 3!

12:56 — And now we get a teaser for Gran Turismo 5! Just showing the portable version wasn’t enough.

12:53 — Yep, same trailer. Giant flying creature and a boy riding him in a giant world filled with ruins. Last Guardian may be the title of this new game, it’s a bit unclear. Even though I’ve already seen this trailer, I’m psyched to know that it’s real. It looks fantastic.

12:52 — Ueda’s trilogy of videogames (including Ico and Shadow of the Colossus) is called the Last Guardian Trilogy. Also, the video they’re showing appaears to be the same one that was leaked a few weeks ago. We’ll see if it’s anything new.

12:51 — !!! Trico trailer about to be shown!

12:50 — One of the guys on stage is telling the other guy on stage that his demo was incredible. That seems unnecessary.

12:48 — Moving from a very barebones track to something that’s slightly more interesting. Tree, house, weapon, and sheep placement all possible.

12:46 — The track was super-easy to make, but it’s also pretty boring. I wonder how much work it will take to make really interesting levels and if the tools will be as open and lend themselves to the creativity that we’ve seen from the LittleBigPlanet community.

12:44 — The sample race they’re showing looks…pretty much like a kart racer. Goofy weapons, lots of drifting, huge jumps, and tricks, and some cool tracks. Now they’re showing off the track creation tool. Going to create one within five minutes.

12:42 — Looks like a cartoony kart-racing game where you create your character and vehicle. Showing off a racer named “Monkey Butler.” The aesthetic is pretty similar to LittleBigPlanet. It’s cute and you have tons of costume pieces to choose from.

12:41 — A new PS3 exclusive franchise in Sony’s “Play, create, share” line with LittleBigPlanet. It’s called Mod Nation Racers.

12:40 — Sony motion control device will be launching some time in spring 2010. Hopefully enough time for them to come up with some awesome games that utilize it somehow.

12:38 — And we’re back to archery. It’s like we never left Nintendo’s conference!

12:37 — Now he’s playing as a knight with a sword and shield. Precision allows for any kind of sword move you could think of…but again, looks kind of twitchy and strange when he’s supposed to be standing still.

12:34 — Showing a writing demo to show off precision, and now he’s using a paintbrush tool. Clearly this is much more accurate than the Project Natal stuff Microsoft showed up, which suggests that it has a lot more worthwhile gameplay opportunities to me. But I’ll still need to see a game using it before I really have faith.

12:32 — They don’t want it to be just a casual experience. Showing off first-person shooter mode. It’s really twitchy, though. I guess unless you have a very steady hand, it’s going to look like that.

12:31 — True 1:1 motion, etc. Dude is having a lot of trouble hitting a tennis ball and then a baseball. Yeesh. And now he has a giant cartoony sword. It looks pretty bad. “Imagine if you could be Ratchet and hold Ratchet’s weapons in your hands.” Okay, that COULD be cool. In the right game.

12:29 — Showing off an “engineering prototype” of a new controller. Apparently it has a colored orb that the PlayStation Eye can track. The example they give is choosing to cast fireball in an RPG and then waving with the controller to lob it. Not the most exciting example they could have provided.

12:28 — Oh, hey, Sony has a motion controller too! How about that?

12:26 — Contrasted with the sci-fi heavy FFXIII, FFXIV is much more on the fantasy side of things, with huge dragons, ships, etc. Looks like a very traditional…and online? Looks like the sequel to Final Fantasy XI. Huh.

12:25 — Whoa. We’re now getting the announcement and first footage anywhere of Final Fantasy XIV, which is apparently launching exclusively on PS3 in 2010. WHAT?

12:23 — As a Final Fantasy fan, I’ve got to say, the dialogue isn’t doing the series any favors. It seems very stilted, and the voice acting isn’t any better than it was in Final Fantasy X — that is, very unnatural. The battle system looks really bad-ass though and seems to have a lot more potential than the version I played around with in the Japanese demo.

12:22 — From caladein on Twitter: WTB No One Lives Forever 3 (or NOLF 1/2 on GOG.com or similar).

12:21 — And now we’re talking Square Enix. Sony’s running a Final Fantasy XIII video. Looks like a new English-language trailer.

12:20 — Assassin’s Creed 2 and Assassin’s Creed PSP will both be released this holiday.

12:18 — As would be expected from a sequel, AC2 will include more assassination techniques, including a totally badass-looking double takedown. Some AI will sometimes seek you out now as well, meaning just jumping into a hiding spot doesn’t always keep you safe. You can disarm enemies and use their weapons now, with 30 total weapons plus six bonus ones if you play Assassin’s Creed PSP and connect it to the PS3.

12:16 — You play a new ancestor in Assassin’s Creed 2, and it now takes place in the Italian Renaissance. The setting is definitely beautiful. Fireworks hitting the sky as you look out over the city from a high spot is crazy. Also, you get machines, including a flying machines. Definitely looks like Ubisoft is working on making more diverse gameplay.

12:15 — Ubisoft people taking the stage to show Assassin’s Creed 2. Looking forward to seeing some more of this one.

12:14 — New Rockstar property exclusive to PS3! The game is called Agent and is a spy/espionage story taking place in the 1970s.

12:12 — Man, this video is still running. There’s a lot of stuff in here, but it’s not only 2009 or anything. Still, kind of impressive to look at the breadth of stuff coming out.

12:08 — Video of PS3 titles playing. More Uncharted 2, Infamous, Final Fantasy XIII, Mag, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Brutal Legend, White Knight Chronicles, and more.

12:07 — Long video showing off the additions to Home since it launched last year. Still sleepy. Hey, now we’re moving on to PlayStation 3 stuff, awesome!

12:06 — I think I actually slipped into unconsciousness for a second while Jack was talking about Home. Sorry, Sony. On the plus side, they’re working with a bunch of new publishers to bring new game-specific content to Home.

12:03 — Now we’re talking about the PlayStation Network, which has 24 million registered users now. 50 PS1 classics are coming to the PlayStation Store starting today with Final Fantasy VII!

12:02 — Cheers for something! I think it had a dog in it? Also, I see Rock Band. I recognized that one with only half the screen!

11:59 — The video showing the new PSP games coming this year isn’t visible for me. But…it sounds cool?

11:58 — And another big PSP announcement! Resident Evil Portable will be a new RE title designed from the ground-up for the PSP.

11:56 — Weird. There are four different Snakes. I guess Big Boss and his clones? I wonder if there will be co-op play? Looks like Peace Walker will be out in 2010.

11:54 — The narrative here is definitely very much like Metal Gear Solid 3’s. Seems to be a prequel showing how Outer Heaven (the Big Boss-run nation from the original NES Metal Gear) comes to be.

11:53 — From WiFi_Pirate on Twitter: “Real Driving Simulator” huh… is there damage rendering in there yet?

11:52 — Kojima is adamant that it’s not a spin-off or a sidestory. He’ll be writing the script and producing and the MGS team will be working on it. They’re going to play the first trailer.

11:51 — Kojima says that with the Go announcement, the PSP is getting hotter. The new Metal Gear is titled Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, and it’s a PSP game taking place 10 years after Metal Gear Solid 3. It’s a “true sequel of the Metal Gear Solid franchise.”

11:50 — Whoa, new Metal Gear Solid announcement! Kojima taking the stage. This guy has got to be on stage for two of the big press conferences in one year!

11:47 — Video for Gran Turismo PSP playing now. It looks pretty, I guess? Geoff Keighley is claiming via his Twitter that there are some surprise games coming at this press conference. I hope so!

11:45 — Of course Gran Turismo PSP will also have ad hoc multiplayer for racing with up to four other players. You can also trade and share cars with other players. It’s like Pokemon for car nuts!

11:44 — 800 cars, 35 tracks, 60 layout variations on those tracks. Basically, a whole lot of content packed into a portable game. I’ve always found the ideas of portable racing a little rough, though, even when it’s done really well.

11:42 — The PSP news isn’t done. Yamauchi, who created Gran Turismo, is taking the stage to announce Gran Turismo PSP!

11:41 — Sony’s video service will now be available directly from the PSP, which should make it easier to grab movies for the go. A bunch of new TV and movie partners announced, including E, Starz, and a lot more.

11:40 — PSP Go launching at $249.99 on October 1st in North America and Europe. Yikes, same price the original PSP launched at years ago, but that seems awfully spendy.

11:38 – Introducing a program called “Sense Me” that auto-creates music playlists based on your mood. Could be interesting for people who use their PSPs to play music. I have this other thing, a whaddyacallit, iPod.

11:37 — Hirai says 2009 will have more big franchise titles on PSP than any previous year. New application being launched called “Media Go” that will make managing content between the PC and PSP easier. It’s what we’ll be using to connect  to the PlayStation Store on the PC now.

11:36 — PSP Go will not replace the PSP 3000 and will not mark the death of UMDs. PSP games will still be released on UMD for old PSP owners, which is probably good for the 50 million PSP owners brought up earlier in the presentation.

11:35 — Hirai says they asked developers and publishers how to make the PSP better…which leads to the latest version of the PSP. “We actually have a couple names for this little device. First we call it the Worst Kept Secret of  E3.” And the PSP Go is confirmed!

11:34 — Kaz Hirai is taking the stage to discuss the PSP now. DO YOU THINK HE’LL ANNOUNCE THE PSP GO?

11:33 — Focusing on PSP bundles like last year. Like a Hannah Montana bundle for teen and tween girls. I’m glad there’s stuff for tween girls in every press conference this year.

11:32 — We’re moving to PSP stuff. DO YOU THINK THEY’LL ANNOUNCE THE PSP GO?

11:31 — Mag will be running live on the show floor. It’s worth pointing out that graphically it’s not even in the same league as Uncharted 2 or other popular PS3 releases, but I think the huge number of players is supposed to help make up for that.

11:29 — The counter-play between the strategies on the two teams is really interesting here. It looks like there are a lot of options for what to do and you need to really change your tactics based off of what the opposite team is doing. But again, my worry would be how easy it is to understand what you should be doing when there are so many people and such a large area.

11:27 — The game’s lead level designer is leading the charge. I wonder if people who weren’t intimately involved in the game world’s creation will be able to get through these massive areas as easily?

11:25 — And now we’re onto Mag, which was first introduced during the press conference last year. Eight members of Zipper Interactive are up on stage to show off a live 256-player demo.

11:22 — Awesome set piece! Main character is attacked by a helicopter and has to run across the rooftops avoiding fire from the chopper while taking out baddies. I loved the original Uncharted, but this seems more memorable than any single set pieces from that. I hope there’s much more like it in the full game.

11:21 — Beta for Uncharted 2 multiplayer begins tonight. Now we’re getting a live gameplay demo that has the main character leaping across and climbing some extremely detailed rooftops. The view of the city is amazing and has a lot of people chearing and clapping.

11:20 — Evan Wells from Naughty Dog is hitting the stage to show off Uncharted 2. Easily one of my most anticipated PS3 games this year.

11:19 — Much bragging about the positive reviews for Infamous.

11:17 — Jack Tretton is talking about the PS2 right now and how Sony is still committed to it, even past the 10-year cycle that had set out to achieve. 100 new titles coming out for PS2 this year still.

11:14 — “Only the PlayStation 3 can show you the resolution we’re gonna see on this huge screen.” Or not see. Because my seat sucks. Ha! Okay, seriously, I’ll stop complaining now. But if some of the demos look funny because I only have a little over half of a screen, I’m going to bring it up, dammit.

11:13 — OMG SUCH A RUSH. Jack Tretton is on stage joking about all the press leaks and how we thought we might not show up. LOL, etc.

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.