E3 In a Nutshell

This year’s annual E3 convention is on its final day, however some big things have already been announced. Since there are a ton of sources and news feeds on the Internet, I figured it would be a good idea to consolidate some of the biggest news bits into a few, concise blurbs. Over the course of the next week, we'll consolidate the information based on platform.

Today’s focus is on Nintendo’s new system: Wii.

You may or may not know that the new Nintendo system (you know, the "Console Formerly Known as Revolution") has been renamed to the Nintendo “Wii”. One of its main features is the new controller that allows you to use it as a sword, pointing instrument, a remote, a tennis racket, and in many other interesting ways. The system is very small (take a thick slice out of the GameCube and you have the Wii). It supports the new optical CDs for Wii games and is backwards compatible with GameCube CDs. It will support all the basic hookups (4 controllers, 2 memory slots), and all current video outputs (except high definition). It will have flash memory internally and built in WiFi. Probably one of the best features is that the Wii will support downloadable content! Nintendo also claims that you will be able to access old school NES, Super NES, and N64 games! This is cool, however I think I would have preferred a possible expansion port to allow actually playing your older games, since the GameCube did not allow this. Hopefully the service will be cheap enough to warrant finally tossing the old N64 console we have and the terribly annoying stack of cartridges.

So, the Wii is cool, but we knew it would be. It may not be the “hi def” monster that the “other two” systems are, but it will likely be a reasonably priced system for younger folks and families. We’ve jumped on each Nintendo generation console and have been largely satisfied with the system and games. Most of our family oriented games are on the GameCube.

Games? So what about the games for the Wii? There are some excellent and big announcements in this category.

Metroid Prime 3
Zelda: Twilight Princess
Super Mario Galaxy
WarioWare Smooth Moves

Just about all of the games announced (there are more, of course) will utilize the Wii’s unique controller. There are pictures of people making sweeping movements with their arms (Zelda), twisting the controller for Mario flying through space (Galaxy) and some very interesting body movement for WarioWare. You can also bet on revised editions of all Mario branded games (Party, Tennis, Golf, etc..). Games Galore has compiled a list of confirmed games for the Wii. Many of them look to be remakes of GameCube versions. Hopefully we will see some new and fresh content announced as the system gets closer to release.

If the Wii is priced lower than the PS3 and Xbox360, they might be able to gain a following from folks who don’t wish to dish out near $500 for their new systems. The Washinton Post is predicting the price to be around $250, and games to also be resonably priced. XBox360 games currently go for $60 new. The projected release date is late 2006.