A speaker in the controller? Always-on Internet connections? Criminy. In
an event that emphasized gameplay, innovation, and "disruption... Nintendo merits
an "A... for its E3 Media Event. Games.net reporter George Jones throws out his
real-time reactions.
When it comes to their E3 press conferences, Nintendo has consistently demonstrated a magical way of capturing gamers' imaginations. Right from the start, this year's event was no different. Shigero Miyamoto came out in a tuxedo and orchestrated a digital symphonic version of the Zelda theme. The theme - fun - was set immediately.
Miyamoto then proceeded to dance his way through a presentation of two guys playing a fighting game using the Wii's new controller. Miyamoto is certainly no dancer, but the sight of him having fun on the stage stood in marked contrast to the buttoned-up slickness of Sony's presentation yesterday.
If you want to check out the video stream of the event, check out Gamespot's video. If you'd rather read about it than watch the video, Joystiq has a great live blog.
Here are my real-time reactions.
1. Playing, not seeing, is believing. "If you're looking for 'next-generation', you're in the wrong place,... Reggie Fils-Aime said. It's about new. It's about everyone. "The next leap is not about what you see, because what you see is not always what you get. The next leap is about playing because playing is believing.... This turned out to be the key differentiating factor between Sony's rather long-winded press conference yesterday and Nintendo's today. Whereas it took Sony almost an hour to get to the good stuff, we saw numerous games in the first 30 minutes of the presentation. Nintendo showed a video depicting numerous instances of people using the Revolution's controllers in various gameplay settings. Swinging a golf club, conducting an orchestra, racing trucks, sprinting in a track/field like setting, dancing, swinging a baseball bat, engaging in a sword fight, and hitting ping pong balls.
2. ...I will give you straight answers.... Well, not really. Rather than hide behind a cloak of numbers and messages, Fils-Aime pretended he would immediately tackle the "tough... questions. I say pretending because he acted like he was going to answer the following three questions: What's with the name? When is the Wii releasing? And how much will it cost? He really only answered the first. The genesis of Wii, he exclaimed, was the moment when Nintendo released Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64, a game that was revolutionary for its graphics and also for its controls. Unfortunately, he declined to give a specific release date or a specific price. It's smart marketing - they'll make headlines in a month or so when they release this data.
3. Generic video montage. After Fils-Aime made his speech, we saw the usual montage of gameplay. Interestingly, I have to say that the graphics we saw were pretty impressive. Not as powerful as the PS3, but much better looking than I expected. That is a very good thing.
4. Zelda = drool: Zelda will be there on the day the Wii launches. Sweet - this definitely got a rise out of the crowd. Nate and Bill from Nintendo America debuted the game. Movement handled by the nunchuk, while aiming and targeting are handled by the connected remote. One of the coolest moments is using the bow by cocking the remote back and firing. Another interesting element is that Link looks a little less cartoon-like than before. There's some really cool stuff in this game; as an example, in one of the dungeons, Link used his iron boots to get pulled up to a gigantic magnet. The game feels way more gritty and less cutesy than previous Zelda games. One other nice touch is that the new Zelda game will also release for the GameCube on the same day.
5. Built-in speaker? One of the most amazing attributes of the controller - which transcends the PS3 controller is that it has a built in speaker, allowing sound to travel from your controller to the screen. That's extremely unique. Actually, it's outright genius. Who would have thought? You could feel the crowd thinking to itself, "These guys are brilliant....
6. Samus and Mario are back. We also saw footage of a new Metroid game that looked impressive, although not too much moreso than Metroid Prime. More tantalizing, however, was Super Mario Galaxy. The video footage was impressive. Here's hoping we can actually play it on the show floor.
7. New franchises. After demoing Zelda and introducing Metroid and Super Mario Galaxy, Fils-Aime appeared to read my mind. Just when I was thinking that what the industry really needs is new franchises, he introduced three brand new games. ExciteTruck is a new take on the O.G. NES game, ExciteBike. Instead of racing dirt bikes, you're racing trucks. The potential of the new controller here is highly appealing. Project Hammer and Disaster - both edgy-looking action games - also looked intriguing. And more mature than the usual youth-oriented launch titles Nintendo puts out.
8. Not just about kids and hardcore gamer fanboys. One of the key messages I picked up from Nintendo's event is that the company thinks gaming is too narrow right now, and is attempting to expand the audience by reaching outside of the "core... gamer. This is a welcome goal; at Gamers.net, we feel the exact same way. Gaming needs to embrace everyone, not just the black tee-shirt wearing fanboy.
9. Third party games. Sonic, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, Madden 2007 using freehand controls, which is interesting, Activision's Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam. Rayman, Spongebob Squarepants game. All seem interesting. However, all are established franchises. I'm particularly intrigued by the notion of passing and running the football with the Wii version of Madden. Must investigate at show floor.
10. Red Steel. The demonstration of Ubisoft's Red Steel really got the crowd going big-time. This game looks like a winner, and it's not the type of cute-sy launch title Nintendo demonstrates. This game feels like a free-roaming Virtua Cop but way more visceral. At one point, the demonstrator shot up an aquarium and water came pouring out. And the controller appears to make the gameplay much more intense; the swordfight at the end of the demo was an exciting example of the new controller's functionality. Time will tell - I can't wait to play it on the show floor. Interestingly, this demonstration impressed me with the Wii's graphics processing power. It's clearly not on par with the PS2 or Xbox 360, but it's more advanced than the GameCube than I had originally thought. I'm placing a big bet on Ubisoft to make a big leap forward in market share during this generation of game development. Between Red Steel and Assassin's Creed, the company appears to have some very interesting titles on their hands.
11. Onto DS. Nintendo's got the right idea. After the exciting news about the Wii, George Harrison came on stage and talked Nintendo DS. Interesting that he referred to the DS as a "disruptive... force, both in terms of hardware and software. I like that term a lot. Harrison went to say the DS has sold 16 million units, and that the PSP had sold "millions... less. Not hard to believe. However, I still think the PSP has a stronger position for the future, because it is more advanced technologically. That said, the DS games - at least right now -- are definitely quirky and more fun. He used the example of Brain Age to describe a new generation of games, dubbed "TouchGeneration....
13. DS Lite next-gen games look good. Mario, Pokemon, Final Fantasy III, and more are coming. Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam is coming to the DS as well. Dance games, lots of people having fun.
14. Always on Internet connection? Towards the end of the presentation, Iwata introduced another revolutionary concept, the Wii Connect 24 technology. This allows the Wii to have an always-on Internet connection even when the system is in standby mode. This will allow the system to send and receive content (such as new weapons or vehicles or levels) even while the system is in standby. That's genius, although, we'll have to wait to see how developers (and possibly other gamers) will take advantage of it. Iwata also made it clear that this system will boot up very fast.
15. Wii sports for the masses. Iwata also introduced a mainstream sports package that will allow more mainstream gamers to enjoy the controller. We saw baseball, tennis, and golf. The graphics were more cartoon-like, but the immersive impact of the controller is very interesting. Last Christmas, my family wound up rocking out to Guitar Hero in the living room - the high point was my mom playing "I love Rock and Roll... - I wonder if we'll be playing Wii sports this year? I hope so.
16. Finally, a touch of drama. Given how much emphasis was placed on innovation and gameplay, it's appropriate that Nintendo closed out the festivities by inviting a contest winner (of the "Be the first to play Wii... contest) on stage to play tennis with Reggie, Miyamoto and Iwata. It was a fun way to end a fun event.
Conclusion
First off, the pacing of Nintendo's event put Sony to shame. From the fun factor to the emphasis on games and innovation, it is clear that Nintendo understands the concept of fun. However - and this is a big however - from previous generations of gaming consoles, it's clear that Nintendo has less of a grasp on what the sweaty masses of gamers like. Otherwise, Nintendo would be number one, not Sony.
But with each generation of console systems comes new potential. The Wii may change Nintendo's role in the hierarchy. The controller is incredibly unique - the inclusion of a speaker is just too cool -- and should dominate gamers' minds for months to come. The genius part about the controller is that if it proves unpopular, Nintendo can always release a conventional controller.
The wild card, of course, is what gamers themselves prefer. It's easy to imagine 12 year-olds wanting the cool and different controller. But it's also easy to imagine 17 year-olds wanting nothing to do with Nintendo because it's child's play. While this demonstration took a few steps towards emphasizing that Nintendo is no longer for the 12 year-old or the 20 year-old fan boy, the company has this reputation and it will take more than a 90-minute event to change that.
The greatest concern, however, is the system's power. In four years, will the Wii feel old and dated? Time will tell.
For now, however, Nintendo is the belle of the ball. I can't wait to play their games on the show floor.
Next up: Microsoft.
