Nintendo
Nintendo’s conference takes place at 9am Pacific Time (5pm BST) on the 5th June and will be streamed live through their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Nintendo/app_385608378148291) for the first time, as well as on their website - with a new mobile friendly HTML5 stream. (http://e3.nintendo.com/)
What we won’t see:
A
Nintendo 3DS redesign. Probably. Not because one isn’t coming (because it, really, really is), but because Nintendo can’t really shoulder two hardware launches at once. The 3DS revision couldn’t possibly launch until after the financial year ending April 2013, so next E3 is more likely, if it even makes its debut at an E3 at all.
A new
main series Pokemon game on the 3DS. Black and White 2 will be taking up that slot for the rest of the year, so - again - it’ll be a year out before we see anything like that. Even then, Pokemon games rarely get any attention at all at E3, let alone announced, so don’t expect it next year either.
Super Smash Bros. Just not happening. Not yet. I’d really doubt we’ll even get a teaser trailer for it.
What we might see:
Well, let’s start off with the obvious:
Wii U and its launch titles (in North America). Amongst those titles looks set to be another
New Super Mario Bros. title, based upon the tech demo from last year (although conflicting reports indicate that the upcoming 3DS title is that title, while the upcoming Wii U game will be different);
Pikmin 3, which has reportedly been ‘finished’ for a while;
Rayman Legends, which we’ve already seen a glimpse of; a new
Rabbids party game; a new
Just Dance (just to demonstrate the ‘Wii’ side of things is here to stay...) and possibly a port of
Batman Arkham City, and maybe even
Assassin’s Creed III - though that’s a hell of a stretch for launch.
Lego City Stories will almost certainly make another debut at this year’s E3, but it’s not shaping up to be out this year it seems.
There's a lot of clout behind the rumour that
Grand Theft Auto V will launch on the Wii U, and if Nintendo's going to do turn heads at this year's E3, this will be the most likely title to do so.
One massively rumoured title that Nintendo is expected to announce is the latest title from
Retro Studios - this time, so the rumours go, they’re expected to take the
Star Fox and
Metroid franchises and smush them together into one game. It’s a dubious concept, but given Retro’s pedigree, it’s worth giving them the benefit of the doubt for now.
Another rumour also sees them making the first
Console Pokemon game since Battle Revolution in 2005. This one is actually lent a little more credence by a Retro studios spokesperson stating that the next franchise they were working on is one they haven’t done before. While a crossover with Star Fox may (cheekily) fit that bill, a Pokemon title would fit it a little better. This would also be the first Pokemon game ever to be developed by a Western studio, if true. The Star Fox/Metroid thing seems to have more legs, though.
A new 3DS
Zelda game is also likely to be imminent, which could - at this point - equally be an all new game, or a remake of
Majora’s Mask.
Luigi’s Mansion is still lacking a release date, but will almost certainly receive one in the show (for North America). The same will likely go for the new
Animal Crossing and
Paper Mario titles. Neither of which will be this year outside of Japan.
Pokemon Black and White 2 will probably receive solid dates at the show. E3’s not normally in a position to do this, but with the games out in Japan that month, and in the West a few months later, it’s extremely likely. We may even get to find out a thing or two about the games, but likely little more than some anglicised names.
Sonic And Sega All Stars Racing: Transformed seems pretty certain to be announced within Nintendo’s show as a Wii U launch title, too. Chances are it won’t be the only Sonic title on show, either - but an exclusive follow up to
Colours may be out of the question, and a port of
Generations more likely. A
new multiplatform Sonic game may be announced too, but chances are that Microsoft or Sony will get there before Nintendo.
In terms of what the Wii U itself will bring to the table, I’m predicting (maybe hoping) that Nintendo will do a 180 on some mistakes they’ve made in the past. Their
Online system will be more akin to Xbox Live, and will be properly account based. The
online market place will be a bit less restrictive and hopefully better supported by Nintendo. We already know that first party 3DS and Wii U games will
launch with a digital version on release day, ideally Nintendo will allow you to
activate digital copies with the physical copies you bought. (A recently rumoured update to the Nintendo Club system would also remove said digital copies if you traded in your physical copy - but don’t expect Nintendo to say that in the show).
Another rumour is that Nintendo is prepping
physical Gamercards, fitted with a small, monochrome LCD screen. These would basically be your Nintendo account and could connect to other Wii U systems via the NFC tech in the controller. Effectively, they seem to be a way to integrate Streetpass into the Wii U, while also raising another VMU-like ghost from the Dreamcast’s grave. This would probably be under the ‘Crazy Odds’ header if it didn’t evoke comparisons with the
PokeWalker. A simple device like this would be relatively cheap - but add a lot more value to the Wii U in terms of a device that works just as well when it’s not taking over a television.
Actual Crazy Odds:
Nintendo announce that their online system was done by a
third party. This may actually end up being the case (in fact, it was strongly suggested last year that EA would be contributing to it), but Nintendo’s probably not going to outright say so.
Nintendo actually
announces a price for the system. This isn’t really likely at all. Which is disappointing, really - as they did this with the 3DS and waited until the preorders had started flooding in before revealing the eventual price (one they had to climb down from pretty quickly, too). The price will likely be at or under £250 (certainly, it really can’t afford to go for any more than £300), but it’ll be another while before we find out in all likelihood.
Nintendo announces a
Pokemon MMO (but in Nintendo’s definition of MMO, so more or less a single player game with a persistent online connection). It’s a bubbling rumour that won’t go away - and it more often than not gets tied to Retro Studios too. Let’s face it, Nintendo’s heard the requests for such a thing countless times and never once given in - so they’re probably not going to begin now. But hey, if they want to cause the entire Internet to explode on the 5th June, this is as good a way as any.
Someone finally succeeds in getting Nintendo to change the name from Wii U to something sensible.
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Who Will Win?
Us, probably. The Wii U has great potential to finally be the console we all wish Nintendo had delivered with the Wii. It certainly stands to reason that the best, and most surprising, software reveals are likely to be in Nintendo’s conference.
The other two companies will also have to step up their game to get noticed in the year that Nintendo launches their follow up to one of the most successful video game consoles ever released. E3 is increasingly an outlet for the industry to talk to the mainstream consumer and press - something that doesn’t happen regularly. To this audience, Nintendo’s Wii is the king to be toppled, so Sony and Microsoft have to run some serious disruption here if they want to take the throne themselves.
Hopefully, that will mean they’ll focus on what they have that Nintendo do not - AAA software and franchises from both internal studios and close third party ties that have defined the medium for most players in the past half decade. A very strong software showing to combat a strong hardware showing, if you will.
Ultimately, I think Nintendo’s got the writing on the wall for this one if they live up to the potential of the Wii U. A weak and confusing demonstration like last year’s, however, and that writing may not be such a good thing...
, Windows Phone (presumably