E3 2011 Impressions - Day 2. The Day Nintendo Stole The Show

The second day of E3 2011 was indeed a special one for gamers who have been chomping at the bit for news on Nintendo's next console, and depending on how you liked their presentation, you are either very excited or extremely disappointed right now. Nothing could be more hyped up than the upcoming release of a new system and Nintendo, currently experiencing a regression with Wii sales falling, has a mountain of expectations to scale with their first foray into the HD realm.

This year also marks the 25th anniversary of one of Nintendo's flagship franchises, the Legend of Zelda, and it was clear from the opening of the press conference that Zelda fans were in for a treat. The announcements of Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Ocarina of Time 3D came as no surprise to anyone since these have long since been confirmed, however the big surprise was the addition of Link's Awakening, previously exclusive to the Gameboy Color, to the eShop and the announcement of Legend of Zelda: Four Swords being available as a free download later this year. The opening of the conference saw fans treated to a Zelda montage with a live orchestra playing a selection of songs from the various games, so it's safe to say that the Zelda series was well served at this years E3.

After the strong opening, we were treated to a selection of 3DS games planned in the near future that will no doubt win over any franchise fans who have yet to purchase the system. The expected titles like Super Mario 3D, Mario Kart 3D and Kid Icarus: Uprising were showcased and they all looked fantastic, as did new entries into Starfox series and a sequel to the long dormant Luigi's Mansion series. Rounding out the news were short videos for a variety of games that 3DS owners can look forward to, including Resident Evil: Revelations, Driver Renegade, Pac-Man and Galaga Dimensions, Tekken 3D; Tetris Online and Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D. It's good to see that Nintendo is properly supporting their new handheld with a
solid roster of quality first-party titles combined with entries from quality third-parties franchises. For those who adopted the 3DS early and those who have yet to take the plunge, the future for the 3DS looks bright.

However, the big news of the day was the grand unveiling of the new console, dubbed "Project Cafe", and the successor to the mammoth-selling Wii. Everything from the name to the specifics of the console have been a source of rabid speculation for weeks and the time has finally arrived. Officially called "Wii U", the new console boasts full 1080p HD support for games and a confirmed library of games that include exclusives and cross-platform titles such as Darksiders 2 and Ninja Gaiden 3. Given that Wii owners have never been well served with cross-platform titles, the HD capabilities of the Wii U definitely level the playing field with the competition. The biggest draw of the Wii U is the unique controller, which was the focus point of the presentation and the source of some initial confusion. They started by showing the controller and this led to initial speculation that the Wii U was going to be a handheld. Bearing a closer resemblance to a tablet PC than a game controller, the Wii U "New Controller" boasts a 6.2 inch touch screen, a rear-mounted camera, gyroscopic functionality, full web-browsing capabilities and the ability to play Wii games remotely from the console.

The console itself is currently seen only in prototype photos, but it bears a strong resemblance to the original Wii and looks to be just as compact, in keeping with Nintendo's minimalist approach to console design. Nintendo also revealed the technical specifications and this also reveals the first weakness. While the Wii U does support 1080p and boasts a powerful processes, there is one basic element that has been once again left out - the hard drive. Like the Wii before it, the Wii U only comes with internal flash memory, unlikely to be enough to keep all of the downloadable games, so purchasers will need to rely on SD cards for extra storage. Given that downloadable games are the perceived future of gaming and high definition titles will no doubt take up a lot of room, omission of the hard drive seems nonsensical when it is a standard in other consoles. However, this may also be a calculated move by Nintendo to keep the price low at launch. Other specs include support for up to four Wii controllers, support for peripheral controllers like the Classic Controller, and backwards compatibility for Wii and WiiWare titles. It is not known if backwards compatibility for Gamecube titles will carry over from the Wii, but it is unlikely given that a special control jack and memory card slot would be required.

So will the new console be the home run that the Wii has proven to be? It's too early to tell. Nintendo's focus on the unique controller leads me to believe that the presentation was rushed for E3 and more substantial details will be known a we get closer to launch. How the console's online functionality will be improved upon is unknown, though I hope they finally drop that horrible friend code system, and what is included with the console also remains to be seen. My biggest question is whether or not the "New Controller" will be included with the console or be a pricey extra. Given that Wii remotes are $40, I can only imagine how expensive the Wii U controller will be and I wouldn't be surprised if were to be sold at an extra cost. In terms of branding, I can't say that I'm a fan of the name Wii U. While it's "we, you" inference that pushes interactivity and portability is clever on one level, the name seems unfitting for a game console. Additionally, a new platform should have a name that differentiates it from the previous generation, rather than a name like Wii U that implies that it's an add-on or an augment of the Wii as opposed to being an entirely new platform. That's what I say now, anyway. The name could still catch on.

Part of the fun of this years E3 is following the reactions of the gamers I know on Twitter and Facebook, and it became clear that Nintendo's presentation went over very well. There is some discontent over the name of the console, some skepticism on whether or not the Wii U will improve on the weakness of the Wii, and the occasional fanboy/hater debate. Either way, it's too early to get overly hyped or overly cynical about the Wii U and what it has to offer. Nintendo is five years late to the party in terms of HD gaming, but Nintendo is more about pushing innovation rather than following the crowd, hence the feverish consumer loyalty they have cultivated over the past 25 years. I am excited to see where this technology will go, but I am reserving judgement until the console is launched and we see what it is capable of.

E3 2011 Impressions: Day One

Video game enthusiasts around the world look forward to E3 with the same level of anticipation that movie buffs look forward to the Academy Awards - it's a who's who of the gaming world and it gives game companies and software developers a chance to preview what we can look forward to in the coming year. This years E3 promises to be the most interesting yet, since it is coming at a time when Sony is recovering from a disastrous data breach, Nintendo is set to unveil their successor to the massively popular Wii console and speculation mounds on what Microsoft is going to bring out. I followed three main events today: the Microsoft conference, the Ubisoft conference and the Sony conference, easily the most anticipated of the day. Here are my impressions.

From Microsoft, we received a fairly by-the-books showing of games we already knew were on the way, such as Gears of War 3, as well as the announcement of Halo 4 and a re-release of the first Halo in a special anniversary collection. For fans of the series, this is fantastic news though how a developer independent of Bungie services the flagship series remains to be seen. The most welcome surprise of the show was the announcement of a new Fable game, however I am somewhat leery of the Unreal 3 game engine being used. For an RPG series that's becoming less RPG-like with each installment, I am unsure of how this will turn out. The rest of the games, which represents the bulk of the conference, was Kinect-centered titles that were of little interest to me. From the get-go, it seems like Microsot was going to heavily push the Kinect and this was proven to be correct. I am okay with this, however it seems like Microsoft is intent of shoehorning it into every game they plan to release, which makes me think they're overplaying their hand a bit. Overall, some bright sports were to be found but the conference was weak overall.

Ubisoft is the classic example of great material being poorly presented. The main games that stood out to me are Rayman Origins, which looks like a fantastically fun co-operative gaming experience, Far Cry 3 and Assassin's Creed: Revelations. All of these games looked great, but the presenter, dubber "Mr. Caffeine", was as annoying and obnoxious as they come. Many attempts were made at humor and all of them fell flat, and my fellow watchers on Twitter also affirmed this by saying he was painfully unfunny. However, it's all about the games and Ubisoft had a strong showing. Being a big Assassin's Creed fan myself, I look forward to the new game with feverish anticipation, even if it has been less than a year since the last installment.

The main event of the day was the Sony press conference, and this proved to be the make-it-or-break-it point for them after a month of data breaches, system outages, bad press and bruised consumer loyalty. They needed to bring their A-game to the proceedings and they did so admirably. Hosted by Jack Tretton, wearing a peach shirt and blue tie combo that seemed more fitting for a Florida bingo parlor, he opened with addressing the PSN system outage and apologizing for it to everyone, which I give credit for being a classy move. The games he went through included Uncharted 3, Resistance 3, Sly Cooper 4 and a few Move-supported titles. Re-releases included the God of War games on the PSP being given the HD treatment and finally a release time for the Ico & Shadow of the Collosus collection has been firmed. However, Sony really shined when it came to the hardware announcements, which included a cost-effective 3D television that retails for $500 and their newest handheld, the Playstation Vita (PSV). The PSV looked absolutely fantastic and it's clear that the graphics engine is miles ahead of any other handheld to date, and the price of $249.99 makes this a formidable platform that may jeopardize Nintendo's dominance of the handheld market. Adding social media and cross-platform functionality with the PS3, the Vita looks incredibly promising. Overall, Sony delivered a solid roster of games and the reactions of other gamers I saw online was one of almost universal approval. In the eyes of gamers, it seems, Sony has been redeemed. 

The last game I'll mention is Batman: Arkham City, which is shaping up to be the blockbuster that Arkham Asylum proved to be. Added to which, you can play as Cat Woman, so this is shaping up to be another must-have title.

Tomorrow is another big day for E3 as this is where Nintendo will unveil their new console that is set to replace the Wii. In order to top Sony, Nintendo will really need to bring out the big guns and focus on the strength of their new hardware and back it up with some excellent game releases. Given Nintendo's track record at E3, they will no doubt be a show-stopper and I can't wait to see what they have in store for us.