From IGN Wii
10:17 a.m.: Show is over. Madness begins.
10:16 a.m.: "Minute by minute, we intend to steal more of that [leisure] time," he says, noting that people have many entertainment options at their disposal, from iPods to movies.
10:15 a.m. Miyamoto, Trinen leave the stage. Reggie speaks.
10:15 a.m.: Trinen, Miyamoto and Reggie take part in a soccer-heading competition in Wii Fit. They all stand on the balance boards. Soccer balls fly toward them and they have to basically lean to the left or right sides to avoird the balls. Reggie does quite well.
10:11 a.m.: Wii balance board is the official name of the device. It can measure your weight. It also measures how your balance shifts as you stand on it. "We can also use this as a new interface for games." It's wireless and can be used anywhere in the room.
You can do "body checks" on people with the device. They stand on it. "Please hold still up there," the software says. Asks players to remove heavy clothing. Asks them to relax and release the tension in their shoulders.
Outcome for Reggie, who stood on the device. Center of gravity results. Reggie tends to favor his right foot, it looks like.
The body mass index shows your daily progres and your family's progress. The development team has been tracking their own data over time, and they have gotten into a contest to see who can be the fittest the fastest.
10:10 a.m.: There are more than 40 activities in the game. Big round of applause for the demo.
10:05 a.m.: Miyamoto takes stage for proper Nintendo ownage. "THe one game that I wanted to introduce to you this year is Wii Fit. When we first were thinking up the console for Wii, this is what we thought. We thought that the Wii would be a device that could be placed in the living room, and as such it needed to be relevant for everybody in the household." Also says it needed to make videogames relevant to everybody in the home. Says in order to achieve these, they needed something based on health.
Three fitness trainers are on-screen. Sharon, left stage, does a one-legged stretch. "Your control is outstanding," the game says.
Center stage trainer, John, demos an aerobic exercise. On-screen icons show different feet positions and you have to step onto and off of the peripheral quickly to match them. Looks basic, but fun. A kind of stair-stepping game, without any great incline.
Far right, Josephine, demonstrates a sideways tiwst. Very oga-like. The game says, "First, twist horizontally." It measures your balance as you do ths.
10:00 a.m.: Where is Miyamoto? Show us this crazy new game. (Can't stop thinking about Mario in the bee costume. This will haunt our dreams until we play Galaxy.)
"The last game we're featuring today takes our big league in audience expansion and effectively laps the field."
Wii Fit is introduced.
It's a scale-like device. Have to balance in the different zones. Holy sweet Jebus, yes, this is pretty much exactly what Nintendo needed! People are doing push-ups on the device. Yoga. Dancing. This is so rockin'! This single game will sell 200 billion copies. Soccer demo. You have to lean forward and head-butt balls as they fly toward you. Dancing game.
Body mass index shown for the game. It measures all sorts of data, obviously.
Thsi is going to rule the mainstream. Expect to read a ga-trillion articles about this in the media over the next six months.
9:59 a.m.: Flash Focus is the American name of their vision training game, available in Japan. Ubisoft's My Word Coach games are used as exmaples by Reggie. "This is one game where your mom may end up schooling you, and this is just Stage One..." Also talks about MyLife Coach from Ubisoft. "Of course, all of this stems from the popularity of Wii Sports."
Plays montage about Wii Sports. No more montages. Montage overload.
9:57 a.m.: "Just getting started," on expanding the audience. Picross DS is one example. MySims from EA for both Wii and DS. High School Musical from Disney. Also for both Wii and DS. We played this game several weeks back and it's all right. Now mentions Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, whcih he says is "even nuttier."
9:55 a.m.: Reggie's back. Brain Age 2 will be here on August 2. Now he's talking about Super Mario Galaxy. "In one sense, this is the first worthys successor to Super Mario 64, with varying degrees of gravity and the odd sensation of running upside-down on a planet. We believe this sets the new gold standard. " Mario is dressed like a bumblebee and flying around in gameplay footage. Sweet. Some of the levels shown remind us of the bonus stages from Sunshine, which were cool. Sunshine hits November 12 in the US. Awesome.
9:50 a.m.: Another montage. Now showing Super Mario Galaxy, which looks fantastic. New gameplay footae. A bunch of actors got to play this stuff before we did, which sucks. Mario runs around spheres and the actors, one of whom looks to be 35, but is wearing braces, shake the controllers around like enraged monkeys. Game looks cool. Want to play.
9:49 a.m.: Says Nintendo seeks to create titles that are easily played by everyone. However, these same games should provide enough challenge for all types of players. In a few minutes, Mr. Miyamoto will be out there with a new title that meets that role. [Why does this give us goosebumps? Are we really that pathetic? Yes, we are.]
9:47 a.m. Cites the Wii Zapper as something that "erases a barrier" for first-person games.
9:46 a.m. Iwata's speech continues. Still chatting about videogame players. "Today, we are seeing that it is not impossible to expand the gaming population. So our next challenge at Nintendo is this: to destroy the psychological barrier that separates hardcore gamers from novice gamers."
Want to make new products that cannot be classified as a hardcore game or a casual game.
9:45 a.m. "Let's widen the focus and look at what comes next for the mass market." Welcomes Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's worldwide president, who takes the stage.
"Good morning. Thank you for spending time with us today. I played my first videogame 30 years ago. In those days, there were not many gamers. So, from the start I thought it would be wonderful if someday everyone could find the same enjoyment I was having. But to do this we would have to respond with new products. So far, we are seeing some positive results." Examples: Nintendogs, Brain Age.
"With Wii, when people start to sweat while playing Tennis while in their own living rooms, well,, this kind of thing attracts many who never played before. In fact, I must admit that some sort of paradigm shift is taking place in my own home. Right now, I am so enthused with the DS cookbook software in Japan, that I am making it a point to prepare dinner for my family in my days off. And I have learned that I better focus 100 percent... while chopping onions.
Says Nintendo has not lost track of the hardcore gamer, though. Asks hardcore gamers to remember their very first day as gamers. "If you are like me, this was an exciting time in life."
9:43 a.m. Another video montage, this time focused on the expanded audience of Wii and DS. More YouTube clips and media ****ing. Dirty, filthy media ****ing. It's making Bozon all hot. We can tell and it's disgusting.
9:40 a.m.: Square's DQM: Joker will go online with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.
Guitar Hero 3 Legends of Wii means that "you can now walk into the Wii hours," says Reggie.
"All of this should at least suggest that we're serious about letting you show your stuff online."
Mario Kart for Wii goes online in the first quarter of next year! "This is not your father's Mario Kart." Online multiplayer battle mode, too. "We also think more racers means more fun. How many more? Well, stay tuned."
Shows off custom Wii wheel that will debut with Mario Kart for Wii. Pretty awesome? Yes.
9:38 a.m.: WiiWare. Says it'll begin next year. "And today, I can announce a new channel. One devotes specifically to the phenomenon known as Miis. Called Check Mii Out, it's all about creating and showing off Miis. There will be contests based on this functionality, etc."
"Will Nintendo ever get serious about real online gaming? The complete Wii gamers is already suing Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to battle Pokemon online." Etc. Then uses Mario Strikers Charged.
"But I know you want more. No matter which formm of football you prefer, EA Sports will have you going online this fall." FIFA and Madden are online-enabled, as we know. 9:38 a.m: 5.6 million game downloads on Virtual Console. 112 titles available.
9:35 a.m.: Reggue back on stage. He's talking about Nintendo online now. Another montage of media ****ing, this time centered on DS' online capabilities. Mario Kart mentioned -- but, of course, it's the old game. They actually called out the horrible Opera Browser for DS. That thing is bad.
"Today, five and a half million DS owners have fired up their Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection," says Reggie. Notes that Nintendo's service is free.
9:32 a.m. Looks fabulous. Very smooth. Running 60 frames. Very detailed textures for a Wii game. Particles look nice. You can gesture to trigger different visor views. You simply hold down the minus button and then motion in differnt directions. You can also now lock-on to enemies but retain the ability to manually aim, too. Very, very cool.
Talking about Hyper Mode. You inject an energy tank. Samus becomes devestating, but it comes at a price. If you stay in Hyper Mode too long, you will become corrupted. We want this game now.
9:31 a.m. Metroid Prime 3 demo! We are in love.
9:30 a.m. Trinen continues to demo Phantom Hourglass. "It's one of the fastest-selling Zelda games they've ever had," he says of the title's recent Japanese release. The title looks good. We already have impressions of the Japanese build so check them out.
9:28 a.m.: Well, maybe not so much in regard to new video footage. Reggie is back on stage. He invites "Mike" and Bill Trinen to the stage to demonstrate The Legend of Zelda: Phantam Hourglass. Now we can stop whining.
9:27 a.m.: Video montage. This time, we think it could include gameplay footage. Shows some people playing Wii Sports, anyway. That's something. Now they're playing Metroid Pinball on DS. And looking at Super Paper Mario. Sweet. These old games rock!
9:25 a.m.: Talks about Soulcalibur Legends for Wii, WWE for Wii and Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword for DS. Talks about Square Enix's Dragon Quest Swords. "You'll be playing this new Dragon Quest early next year," he says.
Now mentions Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. Shows footage of Mario and Sonic sprinting. Looks good.
Leads into Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Mentions the different controller options. "The Smash comunnity is stoked, but when? Not next year. Not next spring. I can announce today that Smash Bros. Brawl will launch in the Americas on December 3."
9:22 a.m. "What's even more fun than whack-a-mole? How about zap-a-zombie?" Not so sure about that one, Reggie. Also says Ghost Squad from SEGA and EA's Meda of Honor for Wii will take advantage of the Wii Zapper. Pretty good stuff.
Medal of Honor for Wii. "Up to 32 soldiers can combine in multiplayer mode," says Reggie.
Will package Wii Zapper this year along with a new Nintendo game made for the device. Retail price: $19.99. People applaud, as they damned well should.
9:20 a.m. Introduces the Wii zapper. Sweet new gun mode. Nunchuk rests on back. Wii remote up front. Quasi-shotgun design. Works with Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles. Thank you, Jesus?
9:18 a.m.: The montage is not of gameplay footage, we should clarify. Rather, it's more media ****ing and hardcore gamer reaction. The clips look to be ripped directly from YouTube, as they are more compressed than the videos in third-party Wii games.
9:15 a.m. Says developers are taking notice. Between now and the holidays, NA players can expect another 140 titles for the DS and another 100 games for Wii. "The development community realizes the opportunity." To date, 14 of the top 20 Wii games in America have come from third parties. "We are now facing a wonderful new reality. Everyoene's a gamer. People who never played games before are playing now. And the very core of the traditional gaming market are saying, 'You know what? Wii is for me too.'"
Now showing another montage.
9:14 a.m.: Competitors are calling Wii and DS a fad. "You know what? If I were in there shoes I'd be saying the same thing." Reggie convincingly points to Wii and DS sales, which continue to speak for themselves.
"Wii is poised to become the number-one worldwide in this generation very soon." Indeed.
9:12 a.m.: More data. Wii owners play more than other console owners do, in a nutshell. We're pretty sure Nintendo went over most of this data during a previous show, although the numbers have seen some changes. Yep -- now he's showing the core influencers/mass market diagram, and we're positive we've seen that thing before. Where's the blue ocean?
9:07 a.m.: 18-24 audience has more than doubled. Reggie calls this type of growth "unprecedented."
Talking female gamers. For everybody except Nintendo, it's an 80/20 split, 80% being men, of course. For Nintendo, though, it's 67% men and 33% women. "This, too, is driving Nintendo's business. In fact, the Nintendo DS may be the beacon that's lighting the way to the future of the entire gaming industry."
9:06 a.m.: DS marketshare is up to 25% of all hardware sales in the US, says Fils-Aime.
Ages 18+ now account for 53% of revenue. Bozon is only 17, and he looks sad.
9:04 a.m.: Reggie continues onward, chatting about how the videogame industry is continuing to grow. We don't see any gameplay footage, and hence we're bored. More talk about expanding audience.
"69% of all game industry growth this year comes directly from the sales of all Nintendo products," says Reggie.
Says home console and handheld sales are evening out. In 2002, it was 70% console and 30% handheld. In 2006, it's mroe or less 50/50.
9:02 a.m.: Lights dim. Show is about to begin. Bozon is crying like a little girl and clutching his hands.
"These videogamers are all alike..." says an opening. Didn't catch it all, but we think the point is to show how different Wii is. Montage of stuff. Fan-made Mario video. Someone talking about N65. News person chats about DS. DS scrolls on two screens to the left and right of the center. Montage continues. Newspaper articles. Basically, the whole thing is showcasing how all the media ****ing DS and Wii have received. The piece is well-edited, we'll give them that. Nintendo fans in the auditorium applaud.
"My name is Reggie, and I am happy," says Reggie. "To us, today is more than a press conference and a business meeting. We see today as a celebration. And by that, I don't mean just a celebration for Nintendo, but for all of us. Because we think this E3 marks a turning point..." Mor
