LIVE: Nintendo E3 2009 press conference

8:50 am PDT • June 2, 2009

We’re live at Nintendo’s press conference at E3 in Los Angeles…

10:50 AM: Doug Aamoth Conference starts at 9am Pacific, 12pm Eastern. Stay tuned for live updates…
12:03 PM: Doug Aamoth and away we go…
12:04 PM: Doug Aamoth various shots being shown of people playing Wii bowling, DS(i), etc.
12:04 PM: Doug Aamoth “Every generation, the game in everyone, everyone’s game — Nintendo”
12:04 PM: Doug Aamoth Cammie Dunaway takes the stage
12:05 PM: Doug Aamoth everyone here at E3 has one thing in common — a professional connection to video games
12:05 PM: Doug Aamoth how are we trending?
12:05 PM: Doug Aamoth last year video games were just as big as home video, toys, and music + movie box office put together
12:06 PM: Doug Aamoth video games are different now
12:06 PM: Doug Aamoth maybe you’ve noticed a woman on the plane playing the DS, or your uncle asking you for tips
12:06 PM: Doug Aamoth it’s now “everyone’s game”
12:06 PM: Doug Aamoth Nintendo’s goal: create, surprise
12:07 PM: Doug Aamoth today we will bring you innovation in the next leap forward in game control and surprises in games where you may have thought there was no surprise left
12:07 PM: Doug Aamoth video playing showing old NES, Super NES, footage
12:07 PM: Doug Aamoth Mario
12:08 PM: Doug Aamoth Everyone remembers Mario in 3D
12:08 PM: Doug Aamoth we admit we haven’t quite figured out how to move Mario into the fourth dimension
12:08 PM: Doug Aamoth but the number four is the key to Mario’s next adventure
12:08 PM: Doug Aamoth Myamoto is working on new Super Mario Bros for Wii
12:09 PM: Doug Aamoth all new
12:09 PM: Doug Aamoth more players
12:09 PM: Doug Aamoth four people holding Wii-motes take the stage
12:09 PM: Doug Aamoth simple play control
12:09 PM: Doug Aamoth one to four players, item boxes generally produce one item for each player
12:10 PM: Doug Aamoth looks like a sidescroller, like Mario 1 or 3
12:10 PM: Doug Aamoth seriously, looks like Mario 1 with Wii graphics
12:10 PM: Doug Aamoth warp pipes, coins, etc.
12:10 PM: Doug Aamoth players are holding Wii-mote sideways
12:10 PM: Doug Aamoth like old school NES controller
12:11 PM: Doug Aamoth you can play single player or co-op with up to four players
12:11 PM: Doug Aamoth new item: propeller suit
12:11 PM: Doug Aamoth shake Wii-mote to go up in the air
12:11 PM: Doug Aamoth screen zooms out if players spread out
12:12 PM: Doug Aamoth propeller suit makes players look like Teletubbies
12:12 PM: Doug Aamoth flagpole at end of levels
12:13 PM: Doug Aamoth launches holiday 2009
12:13 PM: Doug Aamoth “New Super Mario Bros. Wii”
12:13 PM: Doug Aamoth seriously looks like four-player Super Mario 1 for the NES
12:13 PM: Doug Aamoth now onto the Wii Balance Board, Wii Fit
12:14 PM: Doug Aamoth Wii Fit best selling fitness game in the world
12:14 PM: Doug Aamoth 15 million Balance Boards sold
12:14 PM: Doug Aamoth looking at ways to make Wii fit more attractive to household
12:14 PM: Doug Aamoth Wii Fit Plus
12:15 PM: Doug Aamoth next version moves in added direction from “something for everyone”
12:15 PM: Doug Aamoth main menu, you enter Locker Room
12:15 PM: Doug Aamoth six new strength and yoga activities
12:15 PM: Doug Aamoth key is how you mix and match individual elements
12:15 PM: Doug Aamoth can omit interludes between exercises so your routine can move fluidly
12:15 PM: Doug Aamoth (thank god)
12:16 PM: Doug Aamoth looks more like an extension to Wii Fit, not an entirely new game
12:16 PM: Doug Aamoth 15 new balance games
12:16 PM: Doug Aamoth juggling, skateboarding, one called “perfect ten”
12:16 PM: Doug Aamoth swing hips between numbered balls to equal “10”
12:17 PM: Nicholas Deleon Nicholas/Carlos here, just checking in. I’ll add color commentary where appropriate.
12:17 PM: Doug Aamoth one game where you leap from platform to platform dodging swinging balls
12:17 PM: Doug Aamoth “so you can feel what it’s like to be Mario”
12:17 PM: Doug Aamoth available as package with Balance Board or standalone for current Wii owners
12:17 PM: Doug Aamoth no price given
12:17 PM: Doug Aamoth Fall 2009
12:18 PM: Nicholas Deleon There really should be a drinking game revolving around the word “innovative”
12:18 PM: Doug Aamoth Reggie Fils-Aime takes the stage
12:18 PM: Doug Aamoth Nintendo is great, etc.
12:18 PM: Doug Aamoth Nintendo has good word of mouth
12:18 PM: Doug Aamoth the interface is key
12:18 PM: Doug Aamoth Wii-mote and nunchuck changed the game
12:19 PM: Doug Aamoth Balance Board has opened up a separate path for millions of players
12:19 PM: Doug Aamoth the next advance in game control is…
12:19 PM: Doug Aamoth Wii MotionPlus
12:19 PM: Doug Aamoth new sense of realism in gameplay
12:19 PM: Doug Aamoth Not one that looks more real, but feels and plays more real
12:20 PM: Doug Aamoth Wii MotionPlus adds precision control
12:20 PM: Doug Aamoth video demo showing spinning Wii mote with MotionPlus adapter
12:20 PM: Doug Aamoth ping pong player hitting slo-mo ball
12:21 PM: Doug Aamoth basketball player taking slo mo shot, ball turns into Wii mote
12:21 PM: Doug Aamoth samurai sword turns into Wii mote
12:21 PM: Doug Aamoth as a Wii owner and an Xbox 360 owner, Microsoft is winning so far
12:22 PM: Doug Aamoth Mario looks like a dumbed down movie remake, Wii MotionPlus has already been announced
12:22 PM: Doug Aamoth more slow mo sports shots for Wii MotionPlus
12:22 PM: Doug Aamoth video over, polite applause
12:23 PM: Nicholas Deleon Very polite applause
12:23 PM: Doug Aamoth golf claps, really
12:23 PM: Doug Aamoth some guy here to demo Wii MotionPlus and Wii Sports Resort
12:23 PM: Doug Aamoth “it knows all there is to know about where and how you’re holding your controller.”
12:24 PM: Doug Aamoth shot of a Mii on an airplane getting ready to skydive
12:24 PM: Doug Aamoth Wii MotionPlus superimposed over Mii
12:24 PM: Doug Aamoth I can position my Mii to grab other skydivers, twist, etc.
12:25 PM: Doug Aamoth guy is using Wii mote as Mii, tilting, tipping, spinning, etc.
12:25 PM: Doug Aamoth “as you can see, it’s a lot of fun”
12:25 PM: Doug Aamoth it does not, in fact, look that fun
12:25 PM: Doug Aamoth I own a Wii and like it, by the way
12:26 PM: Nicholas Deleon Who else got all the gold metals in Pilotwings 64 in 1996?
12:26 PM: Doug Aamoth so if I come off as negative, it’s because I want the Wii to be awesome. If I were a parent right now, I’d be saying to my kid (named Wii), “I’m not mad, I’m disappointed.”
12:26 PM: Doug Aamoth demo of guy shooting bow and arrow
12:26 PM: Doug Aamoth even minor shakes push the arrow off target
12:27 PM: Doug Aamoth showing that the MotionPlus is very accurate
12:27 PM: Doug Aamoth “it’s not about learning the control, it’s about doing what comes naturally”
12:28 PM: Doug Aamoth Fils-Aime and the demo guy are “vamping”
12:29 PM: Doug Aamoth now they’re going to play basketball together
12:29 PM: Nicholas Deleon That’s an incredible amount of awkward laughter right there
12:29 PM: Doug Aamoth three point contest
12:29 PM: Doug Aamoth shooting with Wii mote in hand like a basketball
12:30 PM: Doug Aamoth Reggie wins 19-17
12:30 PM: Doug Aamoth for those of you keeping score
12:30 PM: Nicholas Deleon And yet not as fun as NBA Jam was
12:30 PM: Doug Aamoth I would let my boss win, too, though
12:30 PM: Doug Aamoth Wii Sports Resort launches on July 26th
12:31 PM: Doug Aamoth EA Sports Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 demo coming up
12:31 PM: Doug Aamoth I have high, high, high hopes for this one
12:31 PM: Doug Aamoth Grand Slam Tennis will use MotionPlus, too
12:31 PM: Doug Aamoth Sega’s Virtua Tennis will have MotionPlus, too
12:31 PM: Doug Aamoth “every little mistake you make in the real world will be faithfully reflected in the game”
12:32 PM: Doug Aamoth “you’ll mutter the same bad words in real life”
12:32 PM: Nicholas Deleon And as we all know, Virtua Tennis was a fine, fine game for the Dreamcast
12:32 PM: Doug Aamoth available in the next few weeks
12:32 PM: Doug Aamoth Red Steel 2 will only work with MotionPlus (Ubisoft)
12:33 PM: Doug Aamoth RPGs coming up
12:33 PM: Doug Aamoth Square Enix
12:33 PM: Doug Aamoth Final Fantasy
12:33 PM: Doug Aamoth exclusively for Wii
12:34 PM: Doug Aamoth Final Fantasy: The Crystal Bearers
12:34 PM: Doug Aamoth Kingdom Hearts to DS on September 29th (exclusive to DS)
12:34 PM: Doug Aamoth graphics look pretty good for DS
12:35 PM: Doug Aamoth shot of Bowser
12:35 PM: Doug Aamoth “Bowser really does suck, and I mean that in a good way”
12:35 PM: Doug Aamoth Bowser’s Inside Story: Mario RPG
12:35 PM: Doug Aamoth for DS
12:36 PM: devin Hmm
Signal is blowing it. Pictures incoming.
/sent from my G1
12:36 PM: Doug Aamoth Mario and Luigi go to work exploring Bowser’s pipes
12:37 PM: Doug Aamoth Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story available this fall
12:37 PM: Doug Aamoth in North America and Europe
12:37 PM: Doug Aamoth one more piece of important news for RPGs
12:37 PM: Nicholas Deleon I’d like to see a Mario plumbing simulator. Dealing with homeowners, paying unions dues, etc.
12:37 PM: Doug Aamoth a franchise that’s been gone for quite a while…
12:37 PM: Doug Aamoth Golden Sun DS
12:38 PM: Doug Aamoth graphics look great
12:38 PM: Doug Aamoth demo over, more money talk
12:39 PM: Doug Aamoth DS is a great platform, lots of people have it, good money, etc.
12:39 PM: Doug Aamoth October 13th, James Patterson interactive novel
12:39 PM: Doug Aamoth Why join a book club when you can join the Women’s Murder Club?
12:39 PM: Doug Aamoth Women’s Murder Club: Games of Passion
12:40 PM: Doug Aamoth uncover hidden clues, analyze evidence
12:40 PM: Doug Aamoth you play a lady detective of some sort
12:40 PM: Doug Aamoth for Nintendo DS
12:40 PM: Doug Aamoth new stuff from Ubisoft…
12:40 PM: Doug Aamoth Cop: The Recruit for DS
12:41 PM: Doug Aamoth young NY cop forced undercover to unravel the conspiracy that’s gotten his partner in trouble
12:41 PM: Nicholas Deleon And, really, who doesn’t love grittiness?
12:41 PM: Doug Aamoth looks like GTA
12:42 PM: Nicholas Deleon That woman’s pants are straight out of Saturday Night Fever
12:42 PM: Doug Aamoth run your own boutique, customize your shop
12:42 PM: Doug Aamoth works with DS Wi-Fi
12:43 PM: Nicholas Deleon I can’t imagine too many of you guys are interested in a clothes/modeling simulator
12:43 PM: Doug Aamoth “Style Savvy”
12:43 PM: Doug Aamoth should have called it Teen Girl Squad
12:43 PM: Doug Aamoth no onto the DSi
12:44 PM: Doug Aamoth interviewing tweens, etc.
12:44 PM: Doug Aamoth “it’s a very on-the-go system”
12:44 PM: Doug Aamoth “the internet’s gonna be awesaaahme”
12:44 PM: Doug Aamoth lots of middle schoolers drawing out their vowels
12:44 PM: Doug Aamoth the camera is greeeaaate
12:44 PM: Doug Aamoth etc.
12:45 PM: Doug Aamoth DSi sales have surpassed one million units since launch
12:45 PM: Doug Aamoth plus 400,000 DS lites
12:45 PM: Doug Aamoth the lady speaking has a handsome pantsuit
12:45 PM: Doug Aamoth it’s all white
12:46 PM: Doug Aamoth nice two-button blazer, white bell-bottom pants
12:46 PM: Doug Aamoth okay, back to business
12:46 PM: Doug Aamoth animation game for DSi
12:46 PM: Doug Aamoth simple movie maker
12:46 PM: Doug Aamoth FlipNote Studio
12:46 PM: Doug Aamoth like a flip animation video maker
12:46 PM: Nicholas Deleon Oh God, enough with user-generated content
12:46 PM: Doug Aamoth Mario Donkey Kong level creator
12:47 PM: Doug Aamoth yeah, DSi = personalization basically
12:47 PM: Doug Aamoth Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again
12:47 PM: Doug Aamoth available only as a download on DSi on June 8th
12:47 PM: Doug Aamoth “that’s right, this coming Monday”
12:47 PM: Doug Aamoth WarioWare DIY
12:48 PM: Doug Aamoth “as in, do it yourself”
12:48 PM: Doug Aamoth every element is user controlled
12:48 PM: Doug Aamoth characters, storyline, meaning, etc.
12:48 PM: Doug Aamoth when your micro game is completed, you can share it with other WarioWare owners
12:49 PM: Doug Aamoth DSi camera
12:49 PM: Doug Aamoth automatic photo uploads to Facebook coming this summer
12:49 PM: Doug Aamoth because if you have an electronic product, it MUST connect with Facebook
12:50 PM: Doug Aamoth new game
12:50 PM: Doug Aamoth The Legend of Zelda, Spirit Tracks
12:50 PM: Doug Aamoth playable on the show floor this week
12:50 PM: Doug Aamoth but little information beyond that
12:50 PM: Doug Aamoth the crowd is eerily subdued, your thoughts Nicholas?
12:51 PM: Nicholas Deleon Everyone’s game indeed
12:51 PM: Nicholas Deleon I’m trying to think if this woman has improved over last year
12:51 PM: Doug Aamoth Satoru Iwata, Nintendo president takes the stage
12:51 PM: Nicholas Deleon Because she was dire last year
12:52 PM: Nicholas Deleon Now this guy I like, Iwata
12:52 PM: Doug Aamoth the global gaming population has greatly expanded
12:52 PM: Doug Aamoth Nintendo has been doing a lot of research
12:52 PM: Doug Aamoth three population groups
12:52 PM: Doug Aamoth active game players, people who say they’ll never play, and people who say they might play
12:52 PM: Doug Aamoth future growth has to come from the “maybes”
12:53 PM: Doug Aamoth 295 million active players
12:53 PM: peterha
12:53 PM: Doug Aamoth in Japan, US, and six European countries
12:53 PM: Doug Aamoth 149 million “maybes”
12:53 PM: Nicholas Deleon That may be, but you’re annoying your Active fans with all this casual hogwash
12:53 PM: Doug Aamoth you don’t like Cooking Mama?
12:54 PM: Doug Aamoth “we still have a long way to go to expand the gaming population”
12:55 PM: Doug Aamoth previously the best games were considered those that required the most advanced skills
12:55 PM: Doug Aamoth makes it harder for newcomers to join, though
12:55 PM: Doug Aamoth if we lower the bar, we won’t satisfy highly-skilled players, though
12:55 PM: Doug Aamoth hard to determine experienced player vs. novice
12:55 PM: Doug Aamoth we were all new gamers once, though
12:56 PM: Doug Aamoth need to be intuitive enough to be enjoyed by everyone
12:56 PM: Doug Aamoth make both skill levels happy simultaneously
12:57 PM: Doug Aamoth MarioKart with Wii Wheel is a good example of a game that’s easy to pick up yet appeals to experienced gamers as well
12:57 PM: Doug Aamoth Wii Sports Resort will be a similar game
12:57 PM: Doug Aamoth “Everyone’s game”
12:58 PM: Doug Aamoth Brain Age and Wii Fit have attracted the most new players
12:58 PM: Doug Aamoth what’s next? sneak peek…
12:58 PM: Nicholas Deleon mind, body and soul?
12:58 PM: Doug Aamoth Wii Vitality Sensor
12:58 PM: Doug Aamoth you put your finger in it like a pulse monitor
12:58 PM: Doug Aamoth is it April Fool’s Day?
12:59 PM: Nicholas Deleon I dare him to test the audience’s vitality!
12:59 PM: Doug Aamoth measures nervousness
12:59 PM: Doug Aamoth the sensor, on any audience member, would register outrage
12:59 PM: Doug Aamoth use the Vitality Sensor to achieve greater relaxation
1:00 PM: Doug Aamoth so fire up the Wii, stick the sensor on your finger, and try to get your stress level to fall
1:00 PM: Doug Aamoth I’m assuming there’d be some sort of breathing exercises
1:00 PM: Nicholas Deleon Unless Nintendo has a game where Link and Abraham Lincoln team up to race the Indy 500
1:00 PM: Doug Aamoth that’s all we get to see, though, just the Vitality Sensor
1:01 PM: Doug Aamoth lady back on stage
1:01 PM: Doug Aamoth “We still have some stimulation to show you.”
1:01 PM: Doug Aamoth there’s more Mario news…
1:01 PM: Doug Aamoth for the first time ever…
1:01 PM: Doug Aamoth a SECOND FULL 3D MARIO TITLE
1:01 PM: Doug Aamoth on a single Nintendo console
1:01 PM: Doug Aamoth this one looks much better than the first one they showed
1:02 PM: Doug Aamoth more like Mario Galaxy
1:02 PM: Doug Aamoth may be Mario Galaxy 2, there’s a fair amount of space stuff
1:02 PM: Nicholas Deleon Well this is more like it
1:02 PM: Doug Aamoth running sideways across globes, etc.
1:02 PM: Doug Aamoth similar to Mario Galaxy
1:03 PM: Doug Aamoth wait for it… wait for itttttt.
1:03 PM: Doug Aamoth Super Mario Galaxy 2
1:03 PM: Doug Aamoth Reggie Fils-Aime back on stage
1:04 PM: Doug Aamoth SMG 2 looks a lot like the first one
1:04 PM: Doug Aamoth but the first one was a good game, so that’s okay
1:04 PM: Doug Aamoth “I read the blogs, too” — Reggie
1:04 PM: Doug Aamoth people are saying “I want more”
1:04 PM: Doug Aamoth and more is generally publishers not named Nintendo
1:05 PM: Doug Aamoth exclusive titles from third-party publishers
1:05 PM: Doug Aamoth three weeks: The Conduit – Sega
1:05 PM: Doug Aamoth first person shooter
1:05 PM: Doug Aamoth was that Will Smith’s voice?
1:06 PM: Doug Aamoth The Conduit
1:06 PM: Doug Aamoth looks like a futuristic, apocalyptic FPS
1:06 PM: Doug Aamoth Resident Evil Darkside Chronicles
1:06 PM: Doug Aamoth graphics look superb
1:06 PM: Nicholas Deleon Does Leon punch boulders? I think not
1:07 PM: Nicholas Deleon Yeah, this looks pretty good
1:07 PM: Doug Aamoth guns + Wii MotionPlus = good
1:07 PM: Doug Aamoth Deadspace…
1:07 PM: Doug Aamoth Dead Space Extraction
1:07 PM: Doug Aamoth exclusive to Wii
1:08 PM: Doug Aamoth kind of a prequel to Dead Space
1:08 PM: Doug Aamoth graphics look great
1:08 PM: Doug Aamoth people finally clap
1:08 PM: Doug Aamoth politely, again
1:09 PM: Doug Aamoth end of third-party publisher announcements
1:09 PM: Doug Aamoth an edgy game coming from Nintendo? absolutely says Fils-Aime
1:09 PM: Doug Aamoth preview of…
1:09 PM: Doug Aamoth Team Ninja + Nintendo
1:10 PM: Doug Aamoth yama hama, this looks nice
1:10 PM: Doug Aamoth Metroid: Other M
1:10 PM: Doug Aamoth a grittier, darker Metroid
1:10 PM: Nicholas Deleon Satisfied, hardcore gamers?
1:11 PM: Doug Aamoth I still didn’t see any blood
1:11 PM: Doug Aamoth maybe in the future, people don’t bleed
1:11 PM: Doug Aamoth coming 2010
1:11 PM: Doug Aamoth people finally clapping normally
1:11 PM: Doug Aamoth sort of
1:11 PM: Doug Aamoth “Passionate Metroid fans may have found surprise in that trailer” — Reggie
1:12 PM: Nicholas Deleon Speculate: what does M stand for?
1:12 PM: Doug Aamoth deeper into Samus’ story
1:12 PM: Doug Aamoth MURDER, muwahahahaaaa
1:12 PM: Doug Aamoth no idea
1:12 PM: Doug Aamoth Mintendo
1:12 PM: Doug Aamoth MotionPlus?
1:12 PM: Doug Aamoth Myamoto?
1:12 PM: devin /sent from my G1
1:12 PM: devin
1:12 PM: peterha
1:13 PM: Doug Aamoth “We remain committed to making Nintendo everyone’s game.”
1:13 PM: Doug Aamoth thank you and good bye
1:13 PM: Doug Aamoth wow, that was… um… not all that great
1:13 PM: Doug Aamoth where’s the Wii Zelda?
1:13 PM: Nicholas Deleon They should have just showed the last 10 mins
1:14 PM: Nicholas Deleon Instead of all that other nonsense that I’ve already forgotten about
1:14 PM: Doug Aamoth they should have had James Cameron come out and talk about his new movie for an hour and a half
1:14 PM: Nicholas Deleon Oh that was really great
1:14 PM: peterha
1:14 PM: Doug Aamoth okay time to wrap it up, thanks for stopping by everyone
1:14 PM: Nicholas Deleon With his Meryl Streep haircut
1:15 PM: Doug Aamoth we’ll let all of Devin and Peter’s late-ass photos trickle in
1:17 PM: peterha
1:18 PM: peterha
1:18 PM: peterha
1:20 PM: peterha
1:20 PM: peterha
1:21 PM: peterha
1:22 PM: peterha
1:24 PM: devin
1:26 PM: Doug Aamoth Quick Update: Super Mario Galaxy 2 won’t be available until 2010