Nintendo hit most of its major franchises and offered up a few surprises at this year's E3 press event:
Wii news:
Wii news:
- The New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a 2D sidescroller due for holiday 2009 with up to four-person (local only?) co-op/competitive multiplayer. From the demo, it sounds like it's up you whether you play nice or dirty to get the most coins.
- Super Mario Galaxy 2 is coming in 2010 with new bosses, levels and twists such as a ridable Yoshi. Giddy-up!
- Wii Vitality Sensor is an undated peripheral that attaches to fingertip like a blood pressure monitor and measures stress levels. Can it check your blood sugar and alcohol levels, too? That would be something.
- Wii Fit Plus with new interface to build your own custom workout routine, plus some new movement games
- Metroid Other M is coming in 2010 from Team Ninja (or what's left of it).
- Wii Sports Resort, due July 26, still looks fun with parachuting, basketball, golf and archery.
- Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers is expected later this year.
- Kingdom Hearts 385/2 Days, an exclusive version based on the PS2 original, is due for Wii on Sept. 29.
- Red Steel 2 will require the Wii Motion Plus accessory launching with Wii Sports Resort.
- Nintendo DSi photos will be directly uploadable to Facebook starting this summer.
- Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! will be released as DSiWare next week.
- Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, due this fall, is an RPG-style game set inside Bowser's entrails. Fun!
- The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks got mentioned. They plugged the demo for showgoers; too bad they didn't release it for the rest of us to sample via Wii.
- Golden Sun DS, the first new game in the popular RPG series in six years, is due in 2010.
- Cop: The Recruit is a GTA-style racer/shooter where you play as a terrorist-hunting cop.
- Women's Murder Club: Games of Passion is a James Patterson interactive mystery targeted at older females.
- Style Savvy is a fashion boutique game aimed at tween and teen girls. The idea is you build a shop and then you can wirelessly connect to visit your friends' boutiques.
Here's what I thought of the Nintendo press conference: mixed bag.
I'm interested in:
Wii Sports Resort - this looks like fun! More fun than the original Wii Sports, and that was good.
Wii Fit Plus - maybe, if it's not as judgmental as the original.
Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! - they may finally get me to use my $10 DSiWare credit!
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - worth a look.
Super Mario Galaxy 2 - probably get this if I ever finish the first one.
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks - seems better than the recent puzzle-heavy Zelda game.