It's been a busy day at E3, but here's a recap of the Nintendo conference!
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Pikmin is back! Pikmin 3 is introduced and announced for the WiiU by Miyamoto. Players will be busy managing Pikmin with up to four leaders and a new Pikmin unit (Rock Pikmin). Units can now collect materials and build objects, and likewise break objects.
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According to Reggie the WiiU will 'revolutionize your living room.'
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The WiiU will have the following streaming services available: Youtube, Hulu Netflix, and Amazon Video.
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The WiiU will support asymmetric gameplay, meaning players with the WiiU gamepad will have a different experience or contribute to game differently than standard Wii Remote players.
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The WiiU will support up to two WiiU gamepads.
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The Miiverse will be the first thing players see on the WiiU when it starts. The Miiverse will act as a social hub, in that you'll see players you've met and players around you gravitating towards billboards, showing what has been recently played and what is popular.
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Players in the Miiverse can send simple text messages, emoticons, or stylus drawn images (ala Swapnote).
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Miiverse will eventually come to mobile devices and PC.
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New Super Mario Bros. U will launch with the WiiU, looks like New Super Mario Bros meets Super Mario World (flying squirrel suits!). The game will feature a 'Boost Mode' where players using the WiiU gamepad can assist other players by creating blocks.
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Arkham City: Armored Edition coming to WiiU, feature a new B.A.T. mode that powers up Batman, motion controlled tools, and WiiU gamepad functionality (tapping the screen to set off explosive gel was shown in the demo).
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Scribblenauts Unlimited announced for WiiU, allows players to create their own objects and share them with friends.
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A video montage showed the following games for WiiU: Darksiders 2, Mass Effect 3, Tank! Tank! Tank! (Megaton announcement right here folks!), Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Trine 2 Director's Cut, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge, and Aliens: Colonial Marines.
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Wii Fit U will expand upon the Wii Fit games out there with new exercises and features use of the WiiU gamepad to play while the TV is in use.
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SiNG (working title) by Freestyle Games, think Just Dance meets Karaoke Revolution. Lyrics are displayed on the WiiU gamepad and dance moves are shown on the television screen.
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New Super Mario Bros. 2 shown for the 3DS, will launch on August 19th, 2012. Big emphasis on the bling and coins, Mario is seen wearing a brick block on his head that spews coins.
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Seriously, coins everywhere.
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Paper Mario Sticker Star is shown with a proper title, the game is all about using stickers that become Mario's attacks. Will be on 3DS this Holiday season.
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Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon is shown as well, has more mansions, more ghosts, more Luigi.
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3rd Party video montage shows the following games for 3DS: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate (I miss the old "Musical term of feeling" subtitles), Disney Epic Mikey: Power of Illusion, Scribblenauts Unlimited, and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream, Drop, Distance.
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Lego City Undercover is announced for WiiU, (John craps his pants at the prospect of having to buy a WiiU so his son can play this), an open world crime fighter in the Lego world. Also being released for the 3DS (much to the relief of John).
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Ubisoft took the stage late in the show to display a couple of games. Just Dance 4, which allows up to five players. The player using the WiiU gamepad can call out dance moves that the other players will have to perform. Reggie seemed to enjoy the role of 'puppet master.' ZombiU is shown off, with the WiiU gamepad being used for a number of functions including, inventory management, sonar, scanner, sniper scope, and door hacking tool.
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Ubisoft montage shows off Assassin's Creed 3, Rabbids Land, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved, Rayman Legends, Sports Connection, and Avengers: Battle for Earth.
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Nintendo Land is announced by Katsuya Eguchi (the man responsible for Wii Sports). It is a Mii-centric theme-park type game that encourages the 'asymmetric gameplay' touted by Reggie earlier in the show. Consisting of twelve different attractions, a demo for Luigi's Ghost Mansion: Haunting Hijinks showed Mii players using Wii remotes, hunting for a ghost player who used the WiiU gamepad. The ghost could not be seen by other players unless they shined their flashlights on it. The ghost meanwhile had to scare the other players by sneaking up on them. Nintendo Land will launch this holiday season with the WiiU.
All in all, a decent showing from Nintendo. The Wii itself was curiously left in the cold, and with a game like
The Last Story on the horizon you'd think they'd want to talk about it a little bit. No price point or solid date yet for the WiiU, but Reggie said it would be revealed soon, along with other features that the WiiU will have. Check back with us soon for some hands-on impressions of titles from the show floor.
