E3 2006: Nintendo Plays with Wii, Announces Super Mario, Zelda for Wii - Page 2

Part of: E3 2006

Fils-Aime continues to announce that a GameCube version will be out on the same day. These will be two separate versions, one for each console. Fils-Aime begins to briefly go over the first party games shown in the previous montages. Mario Galaxy will allow for free hand control to move Mario in various directions on the screen. Excite Truck uses the remote like a steering wheel, and Madden '07 will be controlled by the remote for hiking, passing, and running. Twenty-seven playable games will be on the show floor.

UbiSoft developers are brought out to show off Red Steel, and they begin pushing how everything is controlled. Destruction is incredible, the AI reactive, and the demo ran smooth with a perfect frame rate. Free shot is a feature to freeze time to allow the player to target weak points. Enemies can submit when they feel like they're in danger, and the player has the choice whether or not to kill them. A brief boss fight shows off sword fighting, which involves blocking with the left hand and slashing with the right.

Fils-Aime brings out marketing director George Harrison to discuss the DS. He runs down basic numbers, and how it's always about games. He discusses sales figures for the DS that include 16 million units sold in 18 months, and that it was millions less for the PSP. He runs down Nintendogs numbers and their Wi-Fi connection with 1.3 million users.

Brain Age is discussed with 120,000 copies sold in the US. This is a bigger number than in the same time frame in Japan. They display Touch Generations, which are simple games to draw in new audience like Sudoku. The DS Lite is launching soon as is a new Mario in a weeks time.

Pokemon Blue Mystery Dungeon will debut on the DS and its counterpart, Red Mystery Dungeon will be on the GBA Sept. 18th.

More games are brought up on screen, including Yoshi's Island 2, Star Fox, Diddy Kong Racing, and a remade Final Fantasy III DS. Tony Hawk Downhill Jam for the DS will be Wi-Fi enabled with full voice over IP chat. Zelda: Phantom Hourglass will use the stylus to direct ships, Link's sword, and his boomerang. A montage of DS games follows:

Mario Hoops
Star Fox DS
New Super Mario
Elite Beat Agents
Yoshi's Island 2
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Diddy Kong Racing
Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Big Brain Academy
Mario vs. DK: March of the Minis

Satoru Iwata, President of the company, takes the stage when the video is finished. He says they're targeting everyone, including those who stopped gaming, and those who never started. "More complexity is not a solution," he says. This is the time to reinvent the player and game controller interface. The DS was their first implementation of this idea, and the trend of non-gamers spreading West with things like Brain Age prove it.

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Article Author: Matt Paprocki

Matt Paprocki is a 12-year movie and game critic. He currently freelances for Blu-ray review site DoBlu.com and video game site MultiPlayerGames.com.

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