Nintendo’s E3 Conference
Nintendo’s conference just ended, and it was predictably infuriating. The general fear would be that Nintendo would not have much to show traditional gamers and focus on the casuals - Mission Accomplished. Nintendo’s strategy to court non-traditional gamers with “non-games” has proved to be immensely popular in Japan, but I have some skepticism about how well it will do in the US. Observation Training and Common Sense Training were both confirmed for stateside release, albeit with names that make their ridiculousness somewhat less obvious. I know Brain Training sold alright, but I don’t know if they can get the same sort of success with these games…
Mario Galaxy still looks gorgeous, and will be on shelves in November.
Two new IPs were revealed: A new Mario Kart and WiiFit. First, Mario Kart looked awesome, at least with the crappy streaming video feed I was watching it on. Nintendo touted the online play component, which I could really care less about. Then they teased a new Miyamoto IP. Sadly, it was the much rumored WiiFit, a fitness training game. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it will sell well, but c’mon. Miyamoto has created some of the best game franchises of all time, and now he’s spending his time on a workout game with a pressure sensitive mat. Ugh. I would much rather play Dance Dance Revolution if I want to exergame.
I don’t know if I recall a single third-party game even being mentioned.
Most Impressive: Mario Galaxy
Most Disappointing: WiiFit
Don’t know if I’ll be able to watch the Sony conference.
I’m actually pretty excited about Mario Kart and the prospect of playing that online. Now I won’t be confined to battling my online friends on the lil DS. I’m not interested in WiiFit either, but I am interested to see if other games decide to make use of that balance board (skateboarding game or something).