E3 2011 Highlights

Think you might have missed something important?

E3 2011 was a busy event for Nintendo with the unveiling of the Wii U, a packed booth on the show floor, and the meaning of "Skyward" revealed for Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. With that in mind, you might have missed something during the week but don't worry, our highlights here will ensure that you have the best material at your grasp.

First, don't forget our E3 2011 Event Page, modelled by the eminent Satoru Iwata on the top right hand corner of the website. Here you will find every E3-related item we have posted! Also, each article has a "Related Content" bar to the right hand side where you can easily browse linked articles.

If that's still too much for you, then the following links should get you started. If you make it through all of this, you will no longer be uninformed. We hope you enjoyed our coverage of the show this year and thank you for continuing to visit NWR for dedicated worldwide Nintendo coverage.

Nintendo E3: Wii U

Say what you think of the name, I thought it was stupid. Do not let that decieve you though, here’s why.
The Wii U, yeah I know. But it looks pretty awesome, Nintendo have out done themselves again? “Maybe *sniff* maybe… This machine uses the power of it’s new controller to do all sorts of things. You can fire 200 dollar custom shurikens, at approximately 7 stars a minute.” – The Heavy.
In simpler words you can use your touch screen controller, to launch things on your TV. Or if somebody wants to watch the game, then just play straight from the controller. Crazy stuff? Damn it’s innovative. Unknown Zelda game. HD. Let’s all buy this system now. In all seriousness though, Nintendo announced a load of third party games for example: Arkham City, Battlefield 3, Tekken, Darksiders 2, Metro: The Last Light and much more. Anyway, how about we get the cool technical specs but first here’s a picture for it:

Here are the specs:
Size: Approximately 1.8 inches tall, 6.8 inches wide and 10.5 inches long.
New Controller: The new controller incorporates a 6.2-inch, 16:9 touch screen and traditional button
controls, including two analog Circle Pads. This combination removes the traditional
barriers between games, players and the TV by creating a second window into the
video game world. The rechargeable controller includes a Power button, Home
button, +Control Pad, A/B/X/Y buttons, L/R buttons and ZL/ZR buttons. It includes a
built-in accelerometer and gyroscope, rumble feature, camera, a microphone, stereo
speakers, a sensor strip and a stylus.
Other Controls: Up to four Wii Remote™ (or Wii Remote Plus) controllers can be connected at once.
The new console supports all Wii™ controllers and input devices, including the
Nunchuk™ controller, Classic Controller™, Classic Controller Pro™ and Wii Balance
Board™.
Media: A single self-loading media bay will play 12-centimeter proprietary high-density
optical discs for the new console, as well as 12-centimeter Wii optical discs.
Video Output: Supports 1080p 1080i, 720p, 480p and 480i. Compatible cables include HDMI,
component, S-video and composite.
Audio Output: Uses AV Multi Out connector. Six-channel PCM linear output through HDMI.
Storage: The console will have internal flash memory, as well as the option to expand its
memory using either an SD memory card or an external USB hard disk drive.
CPU: IBM Power®-based multi-core microprocessor.
Other: Four USB 2.0 connector slots are included. The new console is backward compatible
with Wii games and Wii accessories.
Note: Details are subject to change.

E3 2011: Wii U and 3DS Interview

Tags: GameTrailers.com, Wii U - E3 2011: Wii U and 3DS Interview, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Nintendo Wii U Trailer (E3 2011) (VIDEO)

Nintendo unveils their next video game console, the Wii U. Check out what gamers can expect from the finally revealed Wii 2/Project Cafe in this trailer from E3 2011.

E3 2011: Nintendo announces Wii U

E3 2011 wrap-up: Wii U, PS Vita, and a whole lot of motion gaming

This year's Electronics Entertainment Expo was pretty amazing, featuring plenty of fresh new hardware and some... innovative titles for serious consoles. Sony renamed its NGP to PlayStation Vita, while Nintendo unveiled its Wii successor, designated only by an extra vowel: U. Despite the (now even more) goofy name, the Wii U stole the show, its 6.2-inch touchscreen controller opening the door to a world of potentially awesome games -- and to what will surely be a whole new generation of shovelware. The show may be over, but the our coverage still burns -- just like our hearts after one last night at Daikokuya.

E3: Wii U

The Wii U is upon us, at least in prototype form, so it was only natural that we'd want to get our hands on it. The new touchpad controller seems to be the heart of this year's reveal; apart from the HD graphics, Nintendo's conference spent surprisingly little time discussing the actual power of the system. It's no surprise then that all of the tech demos being shown by Nintendo lean heavily on the new controller.

Before we get to the actual experiences, none of the games we're talking about are really games in the commercial sense; they're just proof of concept demos meant to suggest what types of experiences we might see. So when I mention Mario or Zelda, it's just because the tech demos use familiar characters.

Battle Mii
This two-on-one fight puts one player in charge of a flying ship using the new controller and tasks him or her with battling it out with the other two players who are on foot and using the standard Wiimote and nunchuck controls. The left stick of the controller works just like the standard WASD controls of other shooters, but instead of using the right stick to control your view, you simply move the touchpad around to aim at your enemies. It takes a bit of getting used to but once you get the hang of using the right stick to control your altitude and give an added speed boost to your turns, you can really make your way around the complex level quite easily.

Legend of Zelda
The demo for the high definition capabilities featured our green hat hero Link in "realistic" high definition, you know, like we've always wanted to see him. The scene was our Twilight Princess design of Link in a sprawling castle, proceeded by a battle sequence with Gohma.
Using the Wii U remote, you could make the castle light or dark, sunlight to moonlight changed the environment drastically, dynamically altering the scene. You could also change the angle of the camera to one of several vantage points, giving you different insights as to how the battle plays out. The controller also displays the map and the potential inventory section, and gives you the option to switch the menu from the remote to the TV screen. The scene ended before the end of the battle, and I nearly stomped by foot like a two year old.
Okay, so those were the logistics. Here's the big thing. It looked amazing. The textures were crisp and clean, the reflection from the floor was dynamic and shifted in natural light. There were several little Navi-like fairies flying all around leaving sparking trails of fairy dust, all flickering independently. You could see each hair on Gohma's furry spider body. Nintendo. Please make this game for me.

Measure Up
This demo was essentially showing how the Wii U remote communicated with the system. I played Measure Up head-to-head with the Nintendo representative at the booth. We had to draw various measurements, and geometrical figures in either centimeters or inches. Not wanting to be judged even more harshly than necessary, I went with inches to make it easier for myself.

First, I was asked to draw a one inch line. Easy enough. Next was a triangle with 1 ½ inch sides. Okay, done. A 35 degree angle. Fine. Then, a squiggly line totaling 12 inches. Ummmmm....I got totally schooled by the representative who clearly has better perception than I. Drat. Everything we drew showed up on the screen exactly how I drew it on the remote. I'm going to go ahead and assume that the measurements were accurate, as I was always terrible at measurements. And drawing. And angles.

Super Mario Bros. Mii
Tech demo Super Mario Bros. Mii for the Wii U was simply a version of New Super Mario Bros. Wii with the main character's head replaced by a Mii head. It's a cute effect and gives things a personalized feel. I played the demo with the Wii U controller alone, but Wii Remotes were also attached to the demo to show the Wii U's multiple controller functionality (though it should be noted that only one Wii U controller was available).

There wasn't much new done with Super Mario Bros. Mii in terms of a Wii U product other than the fact that I could either play both as a handheld and on the TV screen. The Wii U certainly doesn't look like your typical controller, but it did feel comfortable using it to play the game on the TV. You can shake the Wii U pad to make your character spin-jump, but it felt a little unwieldy to perform a shake above just pressing a trigger.

The big deal for this demo was probably showing how players can turn off the TV and use the Wii U controller as its own mini-console if mother needs to watch her shows. I have to admit that while playing and looking down at the Wii U pad, I sometimes forgot there was a TV in front of me. It was a weird, but futuristic feeling to have this choice. The TV obviously looked better, as I didn't find the pad's screen to be super sharp at this point in time, but it is comfortable to play on should it be necessary. Considering the popularity of Super Mario Bros., I would expect Super Mario Bros. Mii or something like it to make its way out of tech demo status sometime during the Wii U's lifetime.

E3 2011: New Super Mario Bros. Mii (Wii U) Will Likely Become A Full Release

New Super Mario Bros. Mii is another tech demo being shown off on the Wii U hardware.  At E3, however, every player was forced to use a Wii Remote (held sideways) in order to play this game.  While I was told the Wii U controller could be used, it was only displaying the same image as shown on the big TV screen.

As far as I could tell, New Super Mario Bros. Mii played exactly like New Super Mario Bros. Wii.  The key difference here is that players could now choose to play as Mii characters that had Mario/Luigi style overalls.  I didn’t play as any Mii characters but it looked as though each character played exactly like in the New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

While the title is fun, those at home weren’t really missing out on much by playing this game.  It really was nearly identical to New Super Mario Bros. Wii except the levels were different as far as I could tell.

I think the coolest thing about this game was the fact that four players could take the action away from the TV screen and just use the screen on the Wii U controller to play if they really wanted to.  While this might be a bad option for four players I’m sure it could work out great for two kids to utilize this option if a parental unit commandeers the TV for any reason.

Out of all the Wii U demos that I saw at E3 2011 I think that New Super Mario Bros. Mii has the highest chance of becoming a final product.  I did, after all, successfully predict that a New Super Mario Bros. title would be coming to Wii U.  Hopefully Nintendo makes a formal announcement about this title coming to the Wii U in the near future!-

Want to stay up to date on the latest Nintendo  news, information, editorials, and more?  Follow me on Twitter inmate2010 or http://www.twitter.com/inmate2010.  Be sure to let me know what you think about my New Super Mario Bros. Mii impressions!

E3: Wii U Close to the Finished Design

Unlikely that the form factor of the Wii U will change radically before its launch.

 President of Nintendo America Reggie Fils-Aime has revealed that the Wii U and its controller on display at E3 this year were "quite near final" in terms of their designs.

Aesthetically, the Wii U unit is consistent with the familar, white, minimalist design of its predecessor.

It's a little bigger. But according to Fils-Aime, speaking to VentureBeat, "The size is driven by the componentry and what's inside... when you compare it to any of the competitive systems, it's still dramatically smaller."

Fils-Aime also took the opportunity to stress that the controller was not a portable device, and was very different to a tablet in terms of functionality.

"It is a connected experience to the base console," he said. "It talks with the base console. It interacts with other Wii accessories whether that is a Wii Remote Plus or a Wii Balance Board."

Are you happy with Wii U's design? If anything, what would you tweak?