LOS ANGELES — "Technology is a tool… what matters is the experience," was what Reggie Fils-Aime promised from Nintendo this morning and he truly delivered. He promised that there would be "something for everyone" and being a girl and new to the gaming world I feel like there was something for me. I am very excited for these new products to be on the market so I can play with them and experience them for myself.
There was much more that was announced at this press conference, but there were some of the new products that truly stood out to us.
One of the first new games Nintendo is planning on releasing is a new Zelda game titled Skyward Sward. This game has become more new gamer friendly because of the Wii Motion Plus. The Wii remote becomes your sward while the shield is controlled by your nunchuck and the whole thing is controlled more by your actions than by pressing buttons. There are a bunch of new features that were explained during the presentation such as where your items are stored. You can find your items by pressing down the B button which displays your pocket. The game is filled with great graphics and beautiful scenery. They are still in the development process and it will take through the rest of this year, and the game is expected sometime next year.
Fils-Aime then introduced and gave a glimpse at a few new games that Nintendo will be coming out with. The first of which was Mario Sports Mix. This game involves all the old Mario characters and includes sports games like volleyball, hockey, and basketball. This game is expected to come out in 2011.
Next was the game that Fils-Aime called a Bridge game, the games that get people into gaming, he described these as the games like Mario Kart, Wii Play, Wii Fit etc… and now Wii Party. This is going to be a fun multiplayer game with two modes, party game mode and house party mode. It’s filled with over 70 mini games and a handful of party games. One of the games in the presentation looked to be a spin-off on the game spoons.
Just Dance was released last year, and Just Dance 2 is coming in the fall. In this version there will be more dance moves, dancing duets a just sweat mode, and a dance crew face off. The best thing about this version is that the amount of players able to play has doubled and the game can now accommodate up to eight players.
Disney is planning on releasing a new Wii game this holiday season called Epic Mickey. This game is filled with many of the forgotten and or retired characters and locations, such as Smee (Capitan Hook’s "right hand man" from Peter Pan) and places like the Swiss Family Robinson tree house and the Tiki Room. In this game you have to make the choices and what you chose will affect the characters and the locations. You are given paint thinner to erase things and paint to create. As the presenter explained there will be consequences and rewards for the choices you make.
Other announcements introduced a new Kirby game called Kirby’s Epic Yarn, where all the characters are made of yarn and the scenery is all stitched together. It’s a very cute and different art style and is planned to be released this fall. In partnership with Retro Studios, Nintendo is planning on releasing a new Donkey Kong game called Donkey Kong Country Returns. This game is due out this holiday season as well.
As Fils-Aime remarked about the future of gaming he said its "not raising the bar but making the bar extend far into the distance" This was when they announced their latest technological advance the Nintendo 3DS. This is a huge technological advance and is the first to not require the use of 3D glasses. This new device has two screens similar to the DS with a 3.5 inch display on top. There is a 3D depth slider to adjust the graphics and has a slide pad, motion sensor and gyro sensor. This new device has two camera lenses on the outside and will be able to shoot 3D photos! The device will also be compatible with 3D movies.
These 3D affects added to games will allow for a much better experience in height, width and depth, and you will be able to judge distance better. Connections with other DS systems will happen automatically and no matter what game is being played. Nintendo is working with many third party groups and will be releasing things like DJ Hero, Kingdom Hearts, and games from EA Sports. Looking through the demo it looks promising, but may be straining on the eyes at full level. Also from the quick glance you need to look at the game straight on and not otherwise the 3D affects seem to disappear.
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