Thursday 2 June 2011

What I Want to See from Nintendo at E3 2011

It's that time of year again, folks; time for E3 2011. Believe it or not, last year was the first year I'd actually watched the conference and, despite a slow internet connection resulting in infrequent pauses, what a year to hop aboard the bandwagon. 

Yes, I'd heard stories of the mediocre 2009 conference, and its simply atrocious 2008 predecessor, but I couldn't help but feel a little excited - after all Nintendo were about to announce a brand-new, glasses-free 3D enabled handheld to succeed the DS! 

Did Nintendo meet expectations? No. I'm sure I speak for most Nintendo fans when I say that they blew their competitors right out of the water, along with a couple of Augmented Reality fish which happened to be swimming nearby. Not only was the 3DS unveiled for the first time, a number of former Nintendo heroes all made a comeback: Donkey Kong Country, GoldenEye, Kid Icarus; Golden Sun, Mickey Mouse and Star Fox - each with their own game, be it in the form of a remake, a sequel, or a brand-new game in the franchise.

Bearing the above points in mind, it's now time to find out...

My E3 2011 Predictions!

1. Information about upcoming Nintendo 3DS titles.
Thinking back to last year, Nintendo announced a number of upcoming 3DS titles, both first and third-party. Amongst them was Mario Kart, Kid Icarus and Paper Mario, which were joined by the likes of Metal Gear Solid, Professor Layton and Assassin's Creed. Since then, however, we've heard little-to-nothing of the games which could potentially be occupying our handhelds in the near future. Miyamoto says that he can't wait to show off Super Mario which was unveiled at the Games Developers Conference earlier this year, but what about the lesser-known titles from smaller companies?

2. New Wii games.
Yes, we have The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Xenoblade Chronicles slashing our Wiis later this year, but other than an unannounced Kirby game and... well, nothing; the schedule for upcoming Wii games is looking a little empty. Understandably, Nintendo will be hard at work on both their upcoming 3DS games and their 'new project' (shall we call it?), but what about exclusive Wii owners whose last dose of quality gaming came from Donkey Kong Country Returns and GoldenEye 007 at the end of last year? Surely Nintendo need to announce The Last Story for Europe if only to keep the fans happy; and while we're at it, how about a new F-Zero from SEGA?

3. Project Café.
Finally, the part you've all been waiting for. The successor to Nintendo's current home console is just a week away from being announced, but what do we want to see from the Wii's successor? A touch-screen controller? PlayStation 3 graphics? Maybe a HD remake of the already stunning Kirby's Epic Yarn in HD as a launch title? For me, the answer to each of these questions is a swift "NO". Yes, a touch-screen controller is as likely an innovation as any considering Nintendo's recent history, but with the undoubted inclusion of some Wii Remote features such as the speaker and the accelerometer; imagine the price! £50 for the Wii Remote and Nunchuk was pushing it. With the possible inclusion of an inwards facing camera, Nintendo are drawing the line very fine. You may also be asking "why no PS3 graphics?". If so, here's a brief overview: PlayStation 3 will be previous-gen. It may be nice to see Twilight Princess remastered in PS3-quality graphics, but as soon as the PlayStation 4 is released, Nintendo visuals will be behind the rest, as was the case with the Wii. Finally, you may also be questioning my lack of interest in HD remakes. If When the PS4 and the Xbox 3 arrives with immensely greater horsepower, where will all the great third-party titles be? You guessed it: not on the Wii 2.

So that's it from me. What're you expecting from Nintendo at E3 this year? Do you have something you'd love to see announced? Let me know in the comments below!

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