Nintendo begins in grand style, with Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto directing an animated band playing the Zelda theme with a Wii controller. A video montage follows behind him of many new and never before seen titles for the Wii. The mood is undeniably fun and light-hearted.
Reggie Fils-Aime begins a quotable conference with, "If all you want is next generation, you're in the wrong place. What this is absolutely new." He says that "Playing is believing," which is the signal to start another video montage. This is like last years teaser video of people of all types playing with the controller, only this year video clips are inserted. Games include later-to-be announced simple sports games like tennis and golf, along with an unnamed racing game. The big announcements begin to fly with the short clip of a new Super Mario, Metroid, a collection of mini-games, an unnamed flying game, table tennis, baseball, and FPS Red Steel.
The lights come back to Reggie who tells the audience that he won't answer all the questions we have. The Wii signals and change, and that change begins here, as it has already with the DS. This would be the common theme throughout. He said those that fail to change end up in "the industry graveyard." He claims the Wii will change things like Mario 64 did back in 1996.
The crowd moans as he says that no pricing or date will be announced today. The only information is that the Wii will be giving you more fun in the 4th quarter of '06. He then proceeds to explain the name, while mentioning the two people who told them they liked it. "Change is good, and the Wii is what it sounds like: We."
He steps aside for another montage featuring many of the same games as the earlier clip show, though this time with names:
Metroid Prime 3 Corruption
Dragon Quest Swords
Disaster, Day of Crisis
Fire Emblem
Dragon Ball Z
Spongebob
Mario Galaxy
SD Gundam Breaker
Tony Hawk Downhill Jam
Sengoku
Necro-Neisa
Excite Truck
Elebits
Red Steel
Rayman
Super Swing Gold
Sonic Wild Fire
Project Hammer
A Horse Racing Sim
One Piece
Madden Wii
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
Zelda Twilight Princess becomes the featured game now. The announcement is made that it will be available alongside the Wii at launch. The game is now played on the Wii right on the stage. Movement is controlled by the analog extension, the control pad is used to change weapons, and the Z button targets. An on-screen fairy is exclusive to Wii to show where controller is pointing.
The B button on the bottom swings the sword, while you'll aim with the remote for arrows. The announcement is made that there is a speaker in remote, which allow players to hear the arrow moving from the remote to their screen. They're calling this "depth of sound." Sword fighting moves can also be controlled by the remote, and its rumble feature will be used. Throw items will happen with the nunchuck extension, which also has a motion sensor. The demo seemed accurate and responsive. A fishing demo will be available on the show floor.
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