Nintendo press conference, E3 2010


Hey, all. I’m here at Nintendo’s E3 event to give live impressions on what we expect to be the announcement of the 3DS, among other things. You don’t have to rely on me for the blow-by-blow, though; we’ve embedded UStream and 1UP’s live video of the event for your pleasure. Watch it here, watch it there, watch it anywhere, but watch CrunchGear, too: we’ll have pictures and hands-on as soon as such things are available.

http://www.ustream.tv/flash/live/1/4539550

Opening statement by Reggie Fils-Aime: Technology is only a tool. Technology is great but game design is where the real magic happens. Nintendo is raising the bar in terms of “game experience.” And here’s an experience we’ve been waiting for: new Zelda!

Zelda: Skyward Sword. Lots of motion control. Miyamoto is demoing it now.





It’s “1:1” control over the sword and shield. The game’s art style is a lot like Ocarina. Could be fun, but Link seems to spend an inordinate amount of time with his sword held at a random angle. The demo is… a little janky. Miyamoto just took literally like 20 slingshot shots to hit a single spider. They’re blaming a little interference or something.

Man, the demo is going extremely poorly due to janky controls. Whether it’s interference or the years-old technology is anybody’s guess. 2011 release.

Up next: Mario Volleyball? Hockey, shuffleboard, dodgeball, basketball… it’s…

Mario Sports Mix! Kind of an odd title. Coming 2011.

Now, Wii Party. 13 party game modes for you to play while you’re alone…. with other people who are alone all over the world.

And a dancing game: Just Dance 2. Just for Wii. Can it possibly work against the Kinect’s superior dance stuff though?

Ooh, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn for DS! This was a crowd pleaser; I haven’t played the original myself, but it’s supposed to be great. Cel-shaded SD graphics, stylus-based puzzles, some epic summonz.



And… new GoldenEye confirmed. GoldenEye 007, coming in the holidays. Looks pretty awesome, lots of the old locations and slightly improved graphics.

We’ve also got Epic Mickey going on here. I’m actually looking forward to this. I read a long piece like a year ago about it, they’ve got a lot of things going on here. Basically you’ve got paint and paint thinner, and you have to choose whether to “remove” or “add” objects to the game world…. or something. Mickey controls quite a lot like Mario, and even makes the little “hup! hoo!” noises.

Talking about innovation inside the company as well. Sounds like a new franchise… wait, no. It’s Kirby. I like Kirby and all, but… well, let’s just see how this looks. “Spin a yarn in a way that yarn has never been spun before.” Kirby’s Epic Yarn. What the..



Holy crap, this looks cool. The art style is amazing. Very creative Kirbyish gameplay.

Now we’re on to a Metroid: Other M game. Looks really, really polished and cinematic. The usual control methods, but some crazy-looking environments. Screenshots don’t really do justice, watch the trailer when it gets posted. Arriving August 31.

Oh man, and a new Donkey Kong! Looks great.


And! It’s the 3DS! pics shortly. 3.5″ upper screen. Only bottom is touchable. Graphics improvements. Control 3D effect with dial. Analog and d-pad. Wait, slide pad. 3D pictures. Automatic communication with online and other devices no matter what game is being played, even if the device is asleep. Kind of creepy.

Lots of games launching with 3DS, third and first party. Nintendogs + Cats! Yeah, lots of third parties here. Atlus, EA, Konami, Harmonix, Sega, Activision, capcom, bandai….. argh, they disappeared.

Here are some of the titles definitely coming to 3DS (not all titles are complete), we’ll have to get the rest from the video.

DJ Hero 3D
Kingdom Hearts 3D
Saints Row 3D
Madden and FIFA 3D
Resident Evil
Batman
Assassin’s Creed: Lost legacy
Metal Gear Solid

“Project Sora” was a project started a while back, specifically for making a game for 3DS…hmm…

OMGGGGG KID ICARUS FOR 3DS


Looks NOTHING like the original, probably not even close to the NES game I love so much.

And they’re winding down. I think that’s it. We’ll get hands-ons with all this stuff soon.