So E3’s biggest events have come and gone. I am speaking, of course, of the big three’s press conferences, Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony. What can be learned from them, well a lot really.

The first and biggest thing that I came away with from watching the press conferences was that EVERYONE wants to do some sort of motion control and bit off piece of Nintendo’s money pie… even Nintendo themselves! What! Yeah I said it folks. Even Nintendo wants more motion control. Since I brought it up, let’s start with them first.

Nintendo two years ago was the under dog coming into E3. The other companies had released their big new machines or at least the specs and what not, and were ready to put Niddy out of the race, like they had done with SEGA. Nintendo shocked the world with the unveiling of the Wii, and making a firm stand that they weren’t going to do the flashy graphics of the other two and decided to just innovate on almost current technology they had been using in the Game Cube. Sure it had motion control, it was kiddie, and almost gimmicky, but no one could have expected the Nintendo Wii to sell as well as it did.

Back to the Future

Flash forward two years and here we are at E3 09 and Microsoft and Sony are BOTH playing catch-up with the Wii. Quite the turn of events. Not content to sit on their ENORMOUS mound of money and be happy, Nintendo reveals more info on Wii Sports Resort. A game that will surely out sell pretty much any title in existence to date, and here is why. People will buy it for the simple fact that the original Wii sports is STILL probably the game that most people fall back on more than any other. It also comes with a packed in Wii Motion Plus. This little square dongle attaches to the bottom of the current Wiimote, and give the player a 1:1 ratio of movement. Meaning that it will match almost exactly every movement that you make outside the game, with in game movement. That may not sound like much, but to watch it in action it will make a world of a difference in games.

Again Nintendo still not happy with just that will also have another add on peripheral to the Wii. This one will work in conjunction with the Wii balance board and the new Wii Fit Plus. In basic terms it is a camera that will watch you work out and be a sort of “virtual trainer”. The camera sees you (creepy) and can tell if you are doing what the on screen trainer is telling you to do. Not trying hard enough fatty to touch your toes, and you will get scolded for it. In demonstration it seemed pretty intelligent, but the question remains how well will it be able to keep you from just not playing the game AT ALL.

Nintendo also brought the fire with Mario. LOTS of Mario. The first game unveiled was The New Super Mario Brothers for Wii. Pretty much like the game of the same name on the DS with a slight twist. This version can be played with three other players simultaneously. It is sort of a competitive vibe but also has elements of Co-op play as well. You can help your friends get certain items, bring them back to life, or just sit back and watch em die. The next game featuring Mario was Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story. It’s the next in the line of the Super Mario RPG’s and sounds like something you would catch on the Biology channel. After that they revealed the next version of the Mario Vs. Donkey Kong series called “March of the Minis” and will only be available to those with the DSi, since it is a download only title. The final Mario game revealed was, Super Mario Sunshine 2… no wait, sorry. It was Super Mario Galaxies 2. That’s right its the follow up to last years award winning title on the Wii. Not much was said about it, other than you won’t get your hands on it until at LEAST 2010.

So Many Games

Other games were revealed like a Red Steel 2 (with pack in Wii Motion+), FF Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers (an “open world RPG”) a Kingdom Hearts for the DS called 358/2 Days, and A version of Golden Sun for Ds as well. The games kept coming and coming. Like “Women’s Murder Club: Games of Passion, based on the works of James Patterson, yeah I have no idea of his work either. What appears to be an on rails shooter game called Cop: The Recruit, Girls Mode that will apparently make me more “Style Savvy”. There was also a WarioWare game called WarioWare:DIY where as the title would lead you to believe, you get to make the micro games yourself, this will also be a DSiWare game. A few more titles of note… Dead Space: Extraction, and Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, both are apparently on rails shooters for the Wii. Finally The Conduit which looks to be a high end FPS for the Wii, and one that I am looking forward to playing.

Next Satoru Iwata comes out to explain that he wants to know how we feel in games. He wants to know if games can relax us and if they excite us. How will he know that? Through in part, black magic, also through a new dongle that attaches to the Wiimote called the “Wii Vitality Sensor”. Basically you put your finger into it and it measures your heart rate and can tell the game if you are relaxed or freakin the hell out during a game. No mention of WHY that matters, or WHAT they plan to use this information for. Should be interesting if it gets used in more things that just Wii Fit Plus.

The closer for Nintendo needed to be BIG and I am pretty sure that they managed to deliver. No it wasn’t a reveal of the new Zelda game. It was however the a game that is that Team Ninja and Nintendo have been working together. On what… Metroid!! Metroid: Other M, to be exact. From the looks of the sizzle reel, it looks to be a return to the 3rd person Metroid of old, mixed with a generous helping of Ninja Gaiden. So long as it has the fun exploration of Super Metroid with out the frustration of Ninja Gaiden, this will for sure be part of my library.

What a way to close out the show. The one time underdog just came out of its corner and put up one hell of a fight, just like Lil Mac. The next year or so will be what really tells if Nintendo has the staying power of first party games to keep the Wii on top of the sales heap.