E3 2012 - Nintendo Press Conference
This was the final of the big three, E3 press
conferences. More games and announcements are likely to follow over the next
few days, so keep checking back for updates, opinions and disappointment.
Nintendo’s E3
2012 Press Conference
The show opened with Shigeru Miyamoto lounging in his
changing room, unaware of a herd of Pikmin trampling all over his shit. E3
really needs to step-up security. Miyamoto brought his CG mini companions to
the stage and before you knew it they were clambering all over the audience.
Despite knowing relatively little about Pikmin, it’s hard
not to get enthused by Miyamoto with his childish grin and unfaltering
enthusiasm. The reveal was of course for Pikmin 3 for Wii U, which drew a roar of
approval from the crowd. It was all very colourful and charming and there was
talk of new features, depth and strategy, most of which was completely lost on
me. Still, it was an excellent opening gambit and as Nintendo as you'd like.
Reggie Fils-Aime's presenting style is rather jarring after the
effortlessly amiable Miyamoto, but his opening was exactly what we wanted to
hear. He assured us that the next hour would be "all about the games”,
promising 23 titles in today's presser (I think we should request a recount),
before complaining that there wouldn't be enough time this week to reveal
everything about the Wii U that he wanted to share.
Completely contradicting his statement about
concentrating on games, Reggie spent the next five to ten minutes detailing the
Wii U's features. He gave us the ins-and-outs of the tablet controller and
confirmed that some titles would support two gamepads. My reaction was "I
should bloody think so" but this seemed to impress the crowd. Welcome to
the next generation, where games can support up to two controllers! MiiVerse
was next on the slate and it was revealed that Nintendo's new social hub will
also be accessible on the 3DS, smartphone and PC.
To no one's surprise, New Super Mario Bros U was the
first new game to be shown. It looked virtually the same as every other Mario
title I've failed to show interest in, but I’ve been reliable informed that new
Mario = good news.
With the plumber out of the way, it was time for Nintendo
to focus on the third party support that they have been stressing since the last
E3, starting with Batman Arkham City: Armoured Edition. There were some interesting
uses of the tablet, but for the most part the demo showed the gamepad being
utilised as little more than a glorified menu. When it was used for gameplay
mechanics, it made me wonder why I would want to perform such actions on a
smaller screen when I'm sat in front of a large, HDTV.
Plenty of ports and sequels followed, including
Scribblenauts Unlimited, Darksiders 2 and Mass Effect 3. Wii Fit U received the
most attention, and at this point not even Reggie was bothering to be original,
as he fell back on "my body is ready" shtick. Freestyle Games, of DJ
Hero fame, presented Sing, a karaoke sim that was aimed squarely at the causal
market (i.e. not the people sat in the audience) in design and presentation.
The press conference was light on 3DS details, as there
is a dedicated mini-show for Nintendo's flourishing portable scheduled for later
today. The presenter followed Reggie's lead by complaining that there wasn't
enough time to show everything he wanted to; perhaps if they’d dwelled less on
tired re-runs and company babble they would’ve had more time. A quick montage
showed New Super Mario 2, Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Luigi's Mansion 2 and a
couple of other less notable titles. Moving back to the Wii U, Lego City
Undercover looked far more entertaining than it had any business being, like an
overly angular, family-friendly Grand Theft Auto.
Next up were the newly crowned E3-goldstandard, Ubisoft. I
struggled to understand what CEO Yves Guillemot was trying to say, but I'd like
to think that, when asked what he liked most about developing for the Wii U, he
had replied "I like the fact that we can just port games we made for other
consoles by adding a U to the title" in his thick, French accent. Just
Dance 4 (U) was demoed by some rhythmically challenged dancers and ZombiU
attempted to prove that adults who didn’t grow up with Miyamoto and aren't
looking for 2011 ports may yet find a reason to consider the Wii U. The demo
was decent enough, but it was Reggie ZombiU that stole the show.
To close, we were introduced to Nintendo Land, a hub of
mini games and social interaction - part theme park, part PS Home. To be completely
honest, I’m not sure what exactly Nintendo Land is as I stopped paying
attention to the long-winded and terribly dull demonstration quite early on. It
will launch with the system and, presuming it’s more than just a collection of
mini-games, has some potential. And that, apparently, was all.
In a Nutshell
There were a lot of re-treads here, either new entries in
familiar series or ports of games that you may have already played, but that
was to be expected. Nintendo thrives on nostalgia and needs to introduce new
technology and upgrades in a way that will feel familiar and comfortable to the
millions of Wii owners who would never dream of calling themselves a gamer.
Nintendo succeeded in highlighting features of the Wii U, even if the games and
their use of the tablet were, for the most part, uninspired.
I’m a heavy gamer, but as someone who doesn't play many
Nintendo games and was absent from their 8-16 bit heyday, this conference held
nothing of interest. However, it succeeded in achieving what it set out to do: going into more detail on the Wii U and
featuring a solid and safe collection of games. At an E3 where the press
conferences have ranged from thoroughly underwhelming to outright disastrous, Nintendo is assured of finishing slightly ahead of a rather lethargic looking pack.
Great coverage so far man! Its all a little dismal though. Scribblenauts will probably be fun as well as Pikmin (but it was never that great a game, simply new Nintendo ip, or it was on the gamecube...sigh). I'm not sure whether its just the end of the current generation of consoles' lives, but these events seem utterly cynical and devoid of anything remotely original. Last of Us is looking more and more like another piece of excessively violent interactive fiction while I could probably do without any more Super Mario Bros games until the end of all technology. Oh good I feel grumpy. Wreck-It Ralph looks amazing though!
ReplyDeleteThanks. Glad you enjoyed it.
DeleteI tried not to be too negative, but it was pretty difficult this year! I'll have to check out Wreck it Ralph - missed that one. Cheers
Wreck-It Ralph is a new Disney film about an characters in a computer game. Check out the trailer for it, looks really fun.
DeleteThe frustrating thing about Nintendo, from my standpoint, is that I supported them so wholeheartedly for decades, and now they don't see us at all. Every other company makes SOME attempt to look at you, the gamer, and think "What would make that gamer happy?"
ReplyDeleteNintendo just thinks "Out of the world's 7 billion people, a certain percentage can be talked into buying Mario Kart. Quick, design a new cover for Mario Kart!"
I still believe it will catch up with them in the end. I remember a line from some Stephen King book, about guys who look and live like teenagers most of their life, and then wake up one random day, very, very, old.
Worst E3 I can remember. I fully supported and embraced last year's Kinect/Move festival. They can hardly call me a poor sport. This year was just lame.
I agree that it will catch up with them eventually. Nintendo are from from invincible. It was only 10-15 years ago that they were struggling to get a foot hold with the N64 and, more so, the GameCube. It wasn't Mario that saved them then, but new hardware with mass appeal (Wii) - a trick that they are unlikely to be able to replicate.
DeletePikmin and Mario looked cool, but I'm still not sold on the Wii U. Of course, only Wind Waker HD will sell me on the Wii U.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sold on the Wii U and honestly, I'm not sure what will sell me on it. If I end up buying it, it'll most likely be due to a (foolish) desire to own the latest hardware.
DeleteMy relationship with Nintendo is strange... I generally don't really care about anything they do, but when I sit down with one of their first party games I always have a good time. I still can't care about anything they do though... It's so weird...
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed some Wii games, but mostly in short bursts. I never rushed home so that I could get stuck into a Wii, first party game. Wii Sports is probably the Nintendo game I've had the most fun with. I shall now hand in my core-gamer membership card :)
Delete