Nintendo has a lot to announce this morning, including an app for its Miiverse platform, as well as some fan-favorite game titles that will be available on the Wii U platform in the coming months. By the time E3 rolls around, in mid-June, the Wii U will support two new Zelda games, as well as new Super Mario and Mario Kart titles.
Nintendo announced the Wii U back in June, offering a new level of gameplay with multiple screens (one on the TV and one on the controller) and a brand new GamePad controller complete with NFC and a gyrometer/accelerometer.
The new console elevates Wii gameplay past silly family fun and takes it to a new level, one that gaming enthusiasts can appreciate. The console launched with titles like Mass Effect 3 and Batman Arkham City, and left classic games like Super Mario Bros. U to simmer and bubble in the minds of anticipating customers.
But today the company is ensuring that its die-hard Wii fans, the ones who grew up racing on Mario Kart or capturing coins in Super Mario Bros., have a reason to upgrade to the Wii U without losing all their favorite games.
It’s unclear what exactly these games will look like, but Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma has opened up a bit about the forthcoming Zelda titles.
“Our mission in developing this new Zelda game for Wii U is quite plainly to rethink the conventions of Zelda. I’m referring to things like the expectation that the player is supposed to complete dungeons in a certain order, or that you’re supposed to play by yourself. The things that we’ve come to take for granted recently.”
“We want to set aside these ‘conventions’, get back to basics and create a newborn Zelda game so that the players today can best enjoy the real essence of the franchise.”
Along with a new 3D Mario title and Mario Kart, Nintendo will also be introducing the following titles to the platform:
- Yarn Yoshi
- Wii Fit U Communities (with new features like the creation of Miiverse communities)
- Pikmin 3 Photos (which lets you use the GamePad as a camera)
- Wii Party
- RPG Mashup: a collaboration project that features Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei franchises
- A new game from Monolith Soft, the creators of Xenoblade