E3 2008: Nintendo Media Briefing Report
Animal Crossing: City Folk and WiiMusic highlight new Wii game announcements.
Date: Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Author: Tracy Erickson

As with Microsoft the day before, Nintendo had already made news well in advance of their Tuesday morning media briefing held in Los Angeles. The new MotionPlus controller extension for the Wii Remote highlighted the unveiling of several new products for Wii and DS. The company's annual E3 media briefing made clear the announcement of these new games, many exclusive, were part of a movement signifying Nintendo's dominance of the gaming market.

Katsuya Eguchi, creator of the Animal Crossing series, kicked off a series of new game announcements by officially revealing a Wii iteration of his franchise. Entitled Animal Crossing: City Folk, the game is slated for a release before year's end. New features include an auction house, new assortment of stores to visit, full Mii integration, and support for a new peripheral called WiiSpeak. The microphone sits atop the Wii sensor bar and enables open communication with anyone else in your vicinity within the game.

Second among Nintendo's new games for Wii, WiiSports Resort, builds upon the first game with a slate of new mini-games. Disc Dog, for example, has you chucking a frisbee for a puppy to catch. Another one has you jet skiing with movements of both the Wii Remote and nunchuk attachment. The third mini-game demonstrated has you carving up a wooden pillars and pencils with a sharp sword. Naturally, two player duels are offered. Lastly, the game will support Wii MotionPlus. Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime outlined a spring release.

Rounding out the news games was Shigeru Miyamoto's WiiMusic. Different instruments can be played by holding the Wii Remote and moving your fingers to mimic the action of actually playing the instrument. Miyamoto demonstrated playing a saxophone simply by mimicking the action with movements of his fingers. Playing guitar has you strumming virtual strings by waving the Wii Remote like a pick and holding the nunchuk like a neck. Modes for directing a choir and orchestra will also be included. You'll even be able to create music videos to be shared with other players.

Clearly, Nintendo's line up errs on the side of casual gameplay. No word of a dedicate core gamer title, specifically confirmation of a new Kid Icarus title. Instead, Fils-Aime claims that the company's new titles are enough to fend off fears that Wii is just a fad.

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