GBAtemp E3 presentation writeups 2012- Nintendo
The last of the big shows of E3 2012 finished not so long ago and so the final writeup in the GBAtemp coverage of E3 2012 is that of the presentation for Nintendo. It is a new hardware year for Nintendo so the focus was mainly on the Wii U. Choice quote “new disruption called asymmetric gameplay” which could have been buzzword bingo entry.
Still games and hardware got well demonstrated although there was a considerable amount of waffle about second screens but given they pushed it that is probably OK.[/p]
The hardware
As mentioned this is the final E3 before the launch of the Wii U so the main focus was on that.
It broke down into two main categories
Showing the tablet working well with games and showing the “asymmetric gameplay” off to the fullest.
The new version of the Wii fit board which seemed to be much like the old one but now comes with a pedometer which probably puts it slightly ahead of the other fitness titles.
Streaming video wise it seems they might have to do a bit of catching up but Netflix, Hulu,Youtube and Amazon video are all in. Miiverse was demonstrated which brought to mind some of the ideas seen on Windows tablet/phone but appears to be a combined social network but for the Wii U (playstation home - good version did get ventured but not really carried). The Miiverse stuff does appear to be tied into the 3ds, PC, wii u, anything on the web and phones though which is nice.
Some screen grab functionality was also mentioned and although people are shifting to video these days assuming it holds for all games (and given the tablet link that is not much of an ask technically speaking) it would be a nice addition.
2 tablets seem to be supported at once and the feature a gyroscope, rumble, accelerometer, camera, microphone and the post presentation made reference to a geomagnetic sensor.[/p]
The games
The presentation started with a cut to the dressing room of one Mr Miyamoto and started the “pikmin” themed intro. Not ideal but given what we have been subject to these last few days it was something of a relief.
Pikmin 3
It was the first game showcased and made quite good use of the gamepad and tablet controls. The word “strategic” was bandied about a great deal but it looked like the controls afforded such options.
“23 wii u titles on stage” were promised which conjured up visions of short clips and although there were several other games did get a reasonable billing. There is a further conference on actual game launches later though.
New Super Mario Brothers – U
The New Super Mario Brothers franchise appears to be getting another entry with what looked like a baby yoshi featuring among the abilities. 5 player with the 5th player in the co-op similar to the Rayman game from yesterday (they act as a magic fairy of sorts doing things to help out) was mentioned. Also mentioned was a “real time social window” which reminded us a lot of the similar functions from dark souls and related entries or maybe some of the better browser based massively multiplayer games.
Warner Brothers got a section next and showcased a couple of games
Batman arkham city “armoured edition”
It was more or less Batman arkham city but with augmented mode and a few nice extra features (granted nice probably means some of the best seen yet) as far as controls and some more “rich media” style stuff.
Scribblenauts unlimited
Scribblenauts appears to be coming to the Wii U and what was seen had some quite large levels and lots of things going on in them. The big step up for this one is you can combine items together and share them with others (who can then remix them). A multiplayer option was also mentioned.
Montage time for more Wii U games.
Darksiders II
Mass Effect 3
Tank Tank Tank (a wii sports looking multiplayer tank game)
Tekken tag tournament 2
Trine 2: directors cut
Ninja Gaiden 3- razors edge
Aliens colonial marines
Wii fit U
Tied pretty well to the tablet but otherwise appeared much like the other entries. A pedometer that links to it was seen though.
“Sing” (working title)
Freestyle games who previously made DJ Hero demoed a singing game with the tablet being used to display lyrics.
The 3ds got a short section in the middle with the promise of more games in a later show this week.
New Super Mario Brothers 2
“all about the gold” would be the order of the day here and there was a new powerup for fireballs that turned bricks into coins.
19th August this year apparently.
Paper Mario - sticker star
Paper mario appears to have gone isometric/3d similar to some of the downloadable titles on the home consoles. Holiday season was the release timeframe but it looked to be a decent entry in the Paper Mario franchise.
Lugi's mansion is back with another game sporting multiple mansions and a mission oriented bent.
3ds montage time
Castlevania lords of shadow - mirror fate. Could be interesting to see how it plays out given the GBA and DS were where the traditional Castlevania games have hung out for a while now.
Epic mickey power of illusion
Scribblenauts unlimited is coming to the 3ds as well.
Kingdom hearts 3d was also spotted.
Back on the Wii u
Lego city – undercover
Some more augmented reality ish stuff but with a nice free running/climbing engine and what looked like a good bit of humour going into it. No release date but also a version to appear on the 3ds.
Ubisoft
Just dance 4
And we thought we would go a presentation without a silly music performance. It was tied to the pad but perhaps not as much as the others.
ZombiU
Actually got some gameplay today and a bit more afterwards. It seems the tablet is very closely tied with it taking care of inventory, radar, sniping and more. For most it would be between the batman title and this for the most interesting use of the tablet.
You didn't think they would get to 23 titles without a montage or two did you? Granted most were showcased already.
Assassin's creed 3
Rabbids land
Your shape
Rayman legends
Sports connection
Avengers
After this they seemed to take a leaf from Sony's book and showcase an odd title (especially to end the show with) which would have been good had Ubisoft and Warner Brothers effectively upstaged them. The Wii U launch title Nintendo land took up the remainder of the show (and a good bit of the post show).
IRC consensus seemed to be low rent mario party as it was a bunch of Nintendo themed minigames. They did make good use of the pad and the one showed was a kind of reverse pac man where the tablet controller of the 5 would see and control the ghost and the players had torches with which to defeat the ghost which they could not see all the time.
Zelda battle quest and a Luigis ghost mansion were two of the showcased titles with Donkey Kong and others making minor appearances. Naturally it had a miiverse tie in and the word asymmetric appeared several more times. For our money it could be the first time screen looking is actually a real thing so perhaps it has come full circle and the jokes about handlebar syndrome can now be about screen looking.[/p]
Debate raged over how good or not the show was but was there anything that stood out for you?
