6th May 2006, 2:08 AM
Quote:E3 2006 Predictions: Nintendo
Topic: Console Games
Whoops! I was planning on posting Nintendo predictions immediately after the Sony ones went up, but then FedEx arrived with my copy of New Super Mario Bros. You guys are lucky I even found the strength to shut it off, by cracky. Anyway that means I can kick off my Nintendo predictions with
* New Super Mario Bros. will be totally awesome. This is not so much a prediction as it is a fact, but most people will be discovering it for the first time at E3 and will realize how cool it is. The only problem is that the E3 demo will only be a couple of brief areas, not enough to show off the extraordinarily deep level of content therein. But it ships on the 15th, so it won't be long.
* As awesome as NSMB will be, it won't be the best DS game on the show floor. And to really throw you for a loop: neither will Zelda.
* Remember the amazing surprise when Twilight Princess was shown off at E3 2004? Nintendo's press conference on Tuesday will be something on the order of two dozen of those "holy shit!" moments, all strung together. Fanboy tears will flow.
* Nintendo will make some surprising announcements about online for both DS and Wii.
* The "nunchuck" attachment for the Wii will also have an accelerometer inside it -- it won't be able to detect the position of the controller relative to the screen, but it will be able to detect tilt.
* Mario, Animal Crossing, and Super Smash Bros. will be shown for Wii, but that won't be the extent of the lineup. There will be plenty of new franchises geared towards the casual market. Expect Nintendo to also show plenty of tech demos that may or may not become full products.
* Wii, like PS3, will be in a closed-off area at E3. No Wii kiosks at third party developers' booths. The line will be significantly longer than any other wait period at E3, including PS3.
* DS will take up the majority of Nintendo's remaining show floor space, but the GameCube and GBA will play host to a few games each. There won't be many of them, but they'll be there. Zelda Twilight Princess will be out in the open, although the Wii functionality may only be demonstrated in the Wii room.
* Wii's graphics will be better than expected, but (of course) significantly less detailed than PS3 and 360.
Game|Life