Opening Theatrics:

Nintendo opened its E3 press event with a live orchestral presentation of Zelda's popular theme song conducted by none other than the man himself Miyamoto, who held the Wii controller in his hand as he conducted. He then used the Wii controller to drive in an off-road racing game that was later revealed as Excite Truck (remember Excite Bike right?), and then used it along with the nunchuk to control a sword in a first-person melee combat game from Ubisoft called Red Steel. Miyamoto ended the dramatic presentation by holding up the remote dramatically. We could tell that the focus would be on Nintendo's controller and how it brings all kinds of players together.

Nintendo of America's then took the stage and begin laying out Nintendo's vision for both the DS and Wii. Interestingly the current generation of systems like the GBA and GameCube did not get any lip service at this press event. We wonder why?

Reggie said that their idea of next-generation contrasts with those of other companies. Nintendo isn't interested in just what is "next" but rather what is absolutely new and different. The next leap in gaming is really about playing games and not about how games look. Playing games and how they feel when you play them is what the next generation is all about, he said. The catch phrase being thrown around by Nintendo executives this year is "playing is believing."

Wii Strategy:

This catchphrase was followed by the first of many video montages to be shown during the press conference. It began with some footage of people of all ages and backgrounds playing games by themselves and together. Two controllers were used like drum sticks to play a game involving music, a controller being swung to hit a tennis ball, swinging like a golf club, conducting music, using it like a steering wheel to play Excite Trucks. The video then got a little more excitable as players jumped around in Super Mario Galaxy, a young boy maneuvered a World War I plane, and two women played an interesting table tennis game. Lots of simple games were shown being played by average people (these were part of WarioWare Smooth Moves), followed by more footage of someone playing Ubisoft's Red Steel. The montage ended with a scene of someone playing Twilight Princess on the Wii.

Reggie returned to the stage to talk about the Nintendo's strategy of getting all people, even those who have never played a videogame, to play Nintendo's system. That was the basic concept behind naming the new system Wii - to bring together hardcore and casual gamers and young and old together. Nintendo says that it wants to challenge conventional thinking and to do things better.

Interim Launch Details:

While Nintendo said it planned to keep the exact retail release date of the Wii a secret "for now" the company did reveal that it plans to release it in the fourth quarter of 2006 and that it would be offer "more fun for less money." Analyst have pegged the price at $299, but obviously Nintendo isn't talking about pricing at this point in time.

Next up was yet another video montage showing off first and third-party games that included Metroid Prime 3, a new Dragon Ball Z title from Atari, Disaster: Day of Crisis, a new Fire Emblem game, a new SpongeBob game and a racing title from THQ, an SD Gundam title, a game called Necro-Nesia, Elebits, Super Mario Galaxy, Red Steel and the new Rayman game from Ubisoft, Super Swing Golf, a Wii Sonic title, Project Hammer, One Piece unlimited Adventure, Madden 07, a new Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles title, and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

Zelda: Twilight Princess

Reggie then gave details on The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, which will be released at Wii's launch for the new system as well as GameCube. A live gameplay presentation was then run showing off how the game would work on the Wii. The basic controls remain intact for players familiar with past 3D Zelda titles, but the remote when combined with the nunchuk attachment adds a lot of innovation to the Wii version of the game. The presentation showed a fairy on-screen used as an indicator to target objects and creatures in the world and players can move around using the z-button. Link is moved around the screen and then attacks a monster by tapping the B button on the remote. Next is a presentation of how the bow works with the controller. Players pull back the trigger like a bow string (the controller has two sensors and a speaker in it so you hear the string drawing back) and then letting go - aiming is done by simply moving the remote about.

The presentation used a scaled back dungeon for ease of use, but the full version will be on the floor of E3 of attendees to try. A pretty impressive display of how Nintendo has transformed an already promising title into something special.

Wii First and Third Party Games:

Yet another video montage was then shown featuring more footage from Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Super Mario Galaxy, Project Hammer, Disaster and Excite Truck for Wii. The point of the video was to show that these games and most Wii titles being developed offer freehand gameplay made possible by the controller. A number of third party titles were shown off including Sega's new Sonic game for Wii, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Madden NFL 07, Rayman's new game, and Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam. SpongeBob. Reggie noted that 27 games will be playable on the floor of E3 and that many others will be shown off in various forms. There was also brief talk abou the virtual console but no concrete details - the virtual console will serve as a way to get additional game content and other goodies..

Red Steel Presentation:

The next presentation came from Ubisoft, who took the stage to show off the real power of their first-person action game, Red Steel. This game is definitely something that will appeal to hardcore gamers. The game is set in the United States and Japan and lets players take on a myriad of thugs in in-door and outdoor environments. Players will get to use a variety of armaments including shotguns, swords, and guns to take down enemies using the environment or straight out assault with weaponry. Ubisoft showed off some of the action, complete with destructible environments, exploding vehicles and lots of other damaged terrain.

Players move with the Nunchuk attachment and use the remote to fire, turn and interact with objects like doors. The presentation featured shotguns, hand guns and extensive use of a katana. Players use freehand movement to swing the sword and block by timing their movement just right. Players will also be able to target certain parts of enemies' bodies to kill or capture them. The presentation ended with the announcement hat the game would be playable at Nintendo booth during E3.

Nintendo DS Plans:

There was a brief discussion about the Nintendo DS, it's success and the innovation of games released by Nintendo both in Japan and stateside. Nintendo's George Harrison took the stage to talk more about the DS, saying that no matter who your are Nintendo will make things better and that true gamers have bought into the system. Harrison compared sales of the DS to that of Sony's PSP (the only time during the press conference that anyone at Nintendo acknowledged a competing product), saying that the PSP sell-through rate was "millions less" than DS.. He then briefly mentioned Touch Generations games like Clubhouse games, Sudoku titles, etc.

New games planned by the end of this year include Pokemon Blue/Red Mystery Dungeon on Sept 18th (you play as the Pokemon in this title), Starfox DS, Yoshi's Island 2, Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam, Final Fantasy 3, and the Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. Harrison said that nearly 100 new games will be released by year's end. More titles were shown in a video montage including Mario Hoops 3 on 3, Star Fox DS, New Super Mario Bros., Elite Beat Agents, Yoshi's Island 2, Diddy Kong Racing, Zelda PH, Big Brain Academy and Mario vs. DK.

Back to Wii:

Satoru Iwata took the stage next to switch gears back to the Wii. He spoke of how Nintendo decided on new goal to expand the player base and target new consumers of all ages. Iwata said that pretty graphics alone are not enough to bring new gamers into the fold. The logical solution was to reinvent the relationship between people that the controller, making it easier for all types of players to interact with games. The first implementation of this strategy was the Nintendo Ds with games like Nintendogs and the Brain games, which have attracted the attention of non-gamers of all ages in Japan and the United States. Iwata said that it is not impossible to reach these consumers with innovation if you break down the barrier of difficulty and make games easier to interact with.

Iwata went on to talk about the virtual console and how it could be used to deliver nostalgic game content as well as simple games that everyone can enjoy. There was also brief talk about load times on the Wii, which apparently loads up pretty quickly. He also noted that the Wii can be a constantly broadband device that never sleeps even when it is off. This was called Wii Connect 24 (which offers a standby mode, and operating functions that continue to do things while you aren't playing a game). This concept was learned from the DS which you can continue playing after you've closed it to turn it off..

The press conference ended with four people including Iwata and several contest winners play Wii Sports' tennis game via split-screen between two teams. The presentation wasn't pretty but it proved Nintendo's point: the new controller makes it easy for anyone to play their games quickly and easily.

Final Thoughts:

While Nintendo's game line-up is interesting and looks fun what really stood out was how innovative their controller really is. Watching the controller in action proves that it works great and adds new depth to gameplay. It will be very interesting to see what third-party developers can do with this grand technology. On the downside, Nintendo isn't giving any concrete launch details for its console, and while analysts believe the price point will be around $299, nothing is set in stone. Nintendo has a real chance of taking a leading role in United States and Japan if it offers the kind of content it is promising today. Stay tune to GameShark for more coverage on this system and the games coming out later this year! - James Fudge, GameShark.com.