Nintendo Announces Raft of New Games, 3DS Details

Nintendo gave a keynote presentation at E3 today, showing off a wealth of upcoming titles for the Wii, the DS, and the 3DS. Shigeru Miyamoto started things off by demonstrating Legend of Zelda: The Skyward Sword for the Wii, due out next year. While playing it, you hold the Wii Remote and Nunchuck like a sword and shield, and swing naturally at enemies. There's also a bow and arrow, a whip, and a flying bug you can control to go drop bombs on enemies. Nintendo also briefly showed an NBA Jam game, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, and a new set of party games that uses the Wii Remote in unusual ways — for example, multiple players balancing it to disarm a bomb, or seeing which player can be the first to pick up the right controller from the table. Continuing on, they revealed GoldenEye 007, a long-awaited successor to the popular N64 game, due out this holiday season. It will feature split screen play, online multiplayer, and several different game modes. Next, Disney came out with a presentation on their upcoming Epic Mickey game. In it, Mickey can interact with the world using paint and paint-thinner, effectively adding onto or removing objects and characters. In addition to the 3D environment, there is also a part of the game that exists as a sidescrolling platformer, with levels based on classic cartoons. Read on for more about Metroid, Kid Icarus, Metal Gear Solid, and the 3DS.

A major theme for Nintendo's presentation was the arrival of classic franchises on new systems. This includes a new Kirby game for the Wii, entitled Kirby's Epic Yarn. It's a sidescrolling platformer with a new art style based on a yarn theme, and it's due out this fall. In sharp contrast to Kirby's cartoony graphics was Nintendo's next presentation on Metroid: Other M, which had visuals in the same vein as other popular shooters, showing Samus fighting her way through intricate 3D stages to fight some nasty-looking alien monsters. Other M was given a release date of August 31. Just in case that wasn't enough nostalgia for you, they next showed a new project from Retro Studios: Donkey Kong Country Returns. It's (another) platformer, but with its own unique style and feel, and it's planned for the holiday season.

From there, Nintendo shifted its focus to the upcoming revision to their portable console, the 3DS. Since it's impossible to show the 3D effect on stage, they contented themselves with showing off software and features, but they also brought a massive amount of test consoles, so you can expect to see hands-on reports coming out in a day or two. The 3DS has a slightly larger screen on top — 3.5" instead of 3" — and the bottom screen is a touchscreen. There's an analog nub, an internal gyro-sensor, and a 3D slider, which will control the level of depth you see on screen. You can turn it to maximum, turn it off, or anywhere moderate level of depth in between. There are two camera lenses on the back, which will allow you to take photos in 3D. In addition to the 3D effect, they've also made more standard improvements to the graphics hardware, which has apparently impressed some of the developers working on games for the 3DS. They also briefly touched on the 3DS's communications capabilities. Apparently it will silently look for updates, new maps, ghost data, rankings, and more regardless of what game you're playing, communicating over Wi-Fi or through connections with other nearby consoles.

Headlining the software side of the 3DS was the announcement of Kid Icarus: Uprising, another return to a very popular franchise of old. Granted, it's tough to judge a game by its trailer, but the graphics looked extremely good for a portable system. Nintendo said that in addition to games, the 3DS would play 3D movies as well, though details are sparse as to what will be available and how. But their real concern was the perception that the system would have too few games to interest customers, so they went out of their way to list a bunch of developers and game projects that are targeting the new system. The list is really, really impressive: Kingdom Hearts, Resident Evil, Assassin's Creed, Metal Gear Solid, DJ Hero, Saint's Row, Madden, FIFA Soccer, Nintendogs + Cats, Ridge Racer, Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon, Mario Kart, Star Fox, and more.

Comments

What 3d tech?

[modemboy]

So every article I've read so far has stated that Nintendo is mum about the technicals of the 3d system, there is no indication of what 3d system it is using.
But this is Slashdot, surely someone must know?
I would guess it uses a lenticular lens, but would love to see some more details...

New consoles

[pak9rabid]

Isn't it a little strange that none of the big console makers (Sony, MS, Nintendo) havn't announced plans for a next generation console? I mean christ..how long have the current-generation consoles been out for now..4 or 5 years?

Re:New consoles

[Pojut]

Normally yes, but with these 7th gen systems, not really. The hardware has obviously not been maxed out yet, as console games have been getting more complicated and looking better each year since the big three were released. I think we will see announcements for new consoles next year, or at the very least some "leaks" regarding them.

Re:I'll give it to Nintendo

[seebs]

When I was ten, I read fairy stories in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.

-C. S. Lewis

Re:I'll give it to Nintendo

[spinkham]

There's exactly one "adult" game I've enjoyed more then Mario and Zelda: Bioshock. It did have a great adult story, the creepy wasn't overdone for it's own sake, all in all one of the best games of any type.

If you check on Metacritic, Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 have higher scores then *any game ever released on PC*. The only game that outscores them on any platform is Grand Theft Auto IV(which I've never played).

If you're too insecure in your own gender identity to enjoy Mario, that's up to you. Plenty of grown men think it's a good time though. Just out of curiosity: Have you actually played Super Mario Galaxy?

Re:I'll give it to Nintendo

[guyminuslife]

I think you're confusing "adult" with "adult-only." Plenty of the things that we enjoy as children are still enjoyable as adults. (Granted, not everything.)

A lot of people, in their preteen and teenage years, distance themselves from from the stuff we liked as kids. Probably because there's a lot of social pressure not to be seen as childish, and so to stay away from things that are marketed to children or as being "family-friendly." I know I had a phase when I thought that if a movie wasn't rated R, it probably wasn't worth watching. I still like most of the movies I liked back then, but since then I've rediscovered, say, Disney movies.

This idea that you must make a Sin City style game to appeal to adults is patently ridiculous. The 40-year-olds, if they're buying a console, are all buying Wiis, and not just for their kids. The people who won't touch a good game because it's "kid stuff" are mostly insecure adolescents.