[E3'12] Nintendo @ E3 2012 Preview - The Wii U, next generation innovation?

LemonManX
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Reputation: 319 [E3'12] Nintendo @ E3 2012 Preview - The Wii U, next generation innovation?

You’ve heard our thoughts on both Microsoft and Sony but in all honesty this year’s E3 is all about Nintendo. Say what you want about the Japanese giant, this is their E3 to win or lose and from here they currently stand either could happen. Nintendo will need to surprise a lot of gamers out there to win back most of the support they lost during the Wii’s lifespan. I’m not saying the Wii is a bad console, I own a Wii and play it from time to time, it just wasn’t geared to gain the same attention that the Wii U seems to be seeking. So, this presents a very big challenge to Nintendo.

Nintendo 3DS

Nintendo only just released this model, a redesign is unlikely.Nintendo is likely to start off with the 3DS, they’ll be more than happy to boast about their sales and their current upperhand over Sony’s flailing Vita. Whilst I wrote about how Sony will be out to prove that the Vita is worth your time I can also guarantee you that Nintendo will be throwing around the same sort of talk. The key difference is that Nintendo will be able to use software and their strong sales to help this idea come across to consumers around the world. What will they give their fans to look forward to though? You can bet they’ll be showing off some gameplay for New Super Mario Bros. 2 and hopefully showing some reasons why it’ll be worth gamers looking into, even if they still own their original New Super Mario Bros. game. This game also represents Nintendo’s first major jump into the digital market as it will be available for retail or digital purchase at launch. I expect Nintendo will talk about this feature briefly but potentially go into it in greater detail when they present the Wii U in the latter half of the presentation. I am incredibly hopeful that they’ll give us a release date and new trailers for both Paper Mario 3DS and Luigi’s Mansion 2, both have solid potential to sell systems. There’s also a chance we might catch a glance of Animal Crossing or the new Professor Layton as well. Finally, make my dreams come true Nintendo and give me a nice juicy look at a localised and confirmed release for Fire Emblem: Awakening, you know you want to. That’s probably my most wanted 3DS game and I don’t even know for sure if I’ll get a chance to play it. Honestly, smart money says they’ll announce it for release in America and Europe they’d be silly not to. Additionally, Nintendo could use it as a platform to launch into their discussion on introducing DLC to their online market.

I expect that they’ll also talk about some new additions to the 3DS Virtual Console and eShop, maybe they’ll even confirm 3D Classic versions of some SNES games. Nintendo will be happy to tout their third-party support that has helped the 3DS and probably confirm further support as well. Capcom will hopefully have something to say about the localisation of Monster Hunter 4 and potentially a new Resident Evil title if Capcom is to live up to the rumours. Honestly, I’d love to see Capcom give us ANY sort of word on an English localisation of Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright as well. Konami’s teaser trailer for Castlevania: Mirror of Fate claimed that more would be revealed on June 5, which is the date of Nintendo’s presentation so you can expect that to debut some gameplay here. We may also get a new trailer for Etrian Odyssey IV from Atlus if we are lucky. Square Enix will probably throw in a new trailer for both Heroes of Ruin, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance since both titles are due in July.

Will Majora’s Mask get a 3DS remake?Naturally we should also expect some new announcements for the 3DS from various companies, there’s a good chance we’ll hear something about an actual and original Zelda experience for Nintendo’s handheld. However, there’s also a chance Nintendo could stall such a move with a 3D remake of Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask to follow-up the success that Ocarina of Time’s similar remake provided them with. We might also catch a glimpse of Super Smash Bros. for the handheld too, however I seriously doubt it’ll be playable at this early stage considering Sakurai only recently wrapped up Kid Icarus: Uprising. Square Enix could surprise us and announce a remake of Dragon Quest VII for the 3DS, following in the footsteps of the older Dragon Quest re-releases for the Nintendo DS. I don’t think we’ll see a 3DS redesign this year, it feels as though it is a bit too early in the device’s lifespan to throw one out, especially considering the rocky start it experienced. I also don’t think we’ll get a price drop either but I expect Nintendo to announce a new bundle to grab consumer attention, possibly with New Super Mario Bros. 2.

Wii U

Let’s not kid ourselves, there is a lot of definite potential in what the Wii U is doing. Nintendo made a large sum of cash from the Wii and built a strong following and managed to get their brand back into the minds of more than just gamers after the Gamecube. Now they stand poised to launch their full power against the market, Nintendo’s ultimate goal has always been to unite the casual and hardcore audiences and this represents their best chance to do so. The only question is how will they do it? Especially considering that they tripped up one of their best chances to reveal the hardware last year by confusing almost everyone by showcasing mostly the controller, leaving us wondering if it was an add-on or a new console.

Last year Nintendo fumbled, they cannot repeat that mistake.Expect Nintendo to start off with a Reggie-speech or a Iwata-presentation, this is their way and they seem pretty set in it. Although having said that, they must know deep down that gamers and press alike want to see the games. We were starved of Wii U footage last year and that’s where the demand is right now. Nintendo would be wise to start their reveals fresh this year. They’ll be sure to have gameplay trailers on hand for their first-party titles such as New Super Mario Bros. Mii, Pikmin 3, Wii Sports U, and Wii Fit U. All eyes are on new announcements by Nintendo though, so many rumours are flying around its almost ludicrous. The most prominent one is that a new Star Fox is on the way, this would be a nice way to show Nintendo’s hardcore fans that they are gunning for their money again. But who would be on developer duties? The rumours attached Retro Studios, which is highly possible. They haven’t announced anything since Donkey Kong Country Returns and I do highly believe they are working on either Star Fox, Metroid Prime 4 or a sequel to Donkey Kong Country Returns. Either way, we’ll should almost definitely see what Retro have been working on at this year’s E3, I’d be happy with any of the above but I’d kill for a new Metroid title. What better way to win over gamers than showing off the Wii U controller being used to tool around with Samus’ maps, visors, log book, etc, whilst also showcasing a damn fine looking game in full 1080p? I’m also hopeful that Sakurai will be able to show off a teaser trailer for Super Smash Bros. 4, but as I mentioned earlier considering that he only recently finished off Kid Icarus: Uprising it is unlikely he’ll be able to show much on it. There’s also an outside chance that they could announce a new F-Zero for the console as well, I’d like for this to happen but I feel this has more of an outside chance. If it does I believe it’ll appear in a Coming Soon game reel much like the 3DS has, it could appear alongside possible Fire Emblem, Mario Kart and Zelda teases with the chance of some new IPs as well. They are very much outside chances though. If Nintendo can showcase the console with their colourful franchise palette in glorious high definition then they could really hit a home run here.
Gearbox have been loudly praising the Wii U, will they appear on-stage?Boasting about the third party offerings is what Nintendo will look forward to doing. We may get some stage demos for a few titles; however it’s hard to pick which ones. Gearbox has been talking up the Wii U a lot, so there’s a chance they may come aboard to show off the Wii U features being included in the highly anticipated Aliens: Colonial Marines. You can expect some promo trailers for Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed III, Rayman Legends, Just Dance 4, and Killer Freaks from Outer Space. I’m crossing my fingers that Capcom steps out and confirmed Resident Evil 6, after all they enjoyed a lot of critical acclaim for the GCN version of Resident Evil 4. Square Enix are a wild card during this presentation, rumours surfaced recently that they may be planning a Kingdom Hearts HD Collection and could debut it for the Wii U. The other project they could reveal is a long-awaited sequel to 2008’s brilliant Nintendo DS title, The World Ends With You, and considering it operates on two screens it could be a beautiful ambassador to showcase how the tablet controller and television input but that could just be a dream on my behalf. A show-stealing surprise would be Nintendo announcing Grand Theft Auto V for the Wii U, Rockstar said they won’t be attending the show but does that rule out this possibility? One of the biggest question marks is the mysterious IP known as Medium, some journalists are reporting calls regarding the topic and it could be leading to a big on-stage reveal for Nintendo (Medium has been confirmed for a range of consoles). Other games that were confirmed at last year’s E3 may pop up again, they may not. Darksiders 2, Batman: Arkham City, an untitled Tekken project, LEGO City Stories, and Ghost Recon Online might make a return.

Nintendo Network

The key to Nintendo’s victory lies here.Here is one of Nintendo’s larger hurdles. Their online service was under heavy fire throughout the Nintendo DS and Wii generation, now they need to show everyone that they have changed. The Nintendo Network is coming and has already semi-launched for the 3DS. It has shown some promising changes but they’ll need to take it to the next level to really win people over. Essential changes include a full online store that can rival that provided by Xbox Live and Sony Entertainment Network, I believe that Nintendo will have done this. Going further in, usernames and friend lists that carry universally through all games would be a great idea as well, once again the 3DS showed that Nintendo can do this but it still relied on a friend code. From there the user chooses their name and then it pretty much functions as a regular friends list. You can see what your friends are playing, join their games. The grey area could be their inclusion of an achievement system, whilst they represent something that not all gamers enjoy you cannot deny they are an attractive feature. Everyone loves showing off what they’ve done, Nintendo’s fans are no different. I’d see them doing it as a badge system if anything if they were to implement such features.

Wii & DS

The Wii and DS aren’t quite dead yet and the Big N will want to ensure they continue selling up until the Wii U’s launch. Nintendo will be happy to show off The Last Story for the Nintendo Wii ahead of its long-awaited July 10 release date. A lot of people are wondering if they’ll confirm Pandora’s Tower for the US but I couldn’t begin to guess. They may do it purely to make a last ditch effort to keep the Wii breathing until the Wii U hits towards the end of the year. Meanwhile for the Nintendo DS they’ll probably have new trailers for both Pokémon Black and White 2, maybe even giving us a hint towards what special features the 3DS will bring out in these games, and the bizarre Pokémon Conquest.

Love or hate them, Nintendo always know how to put on a show. It may not always be a good one, but it is always a show. Last year they faltered somewhat but this year they cannot afford the same mistakes. They need to show how far they’ve come from the Wii, and why gamers should take notice of their new platform. 3DS and Wii U connectively will almost certainly be shown but there is an outside chance the Wii U could be delayed. I always have trouble writing these previews for Nintendo because you practically need a crystal ball to have any sort of realistic idea as to how they’ll conduct themselves when they take to the stage.

Written by: Kyran Morrison

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