Nintendo Press Conference Wrap Up

Nintendo's press conference, one would imagine, had to already be pretty much set in stone. While we didn't know exactly what would have been shown (and quite honestly when it comes to Nintendo who ever does?) we knew that there would be a heavy focus on explaining the upcoming WiiU, presenting information about the console, and showcasing which titles we can expect to play. With Sony and Microsoft having no new consoles to showcase, there was reason to drum up excitement for this presser. Lip service would likely be paid to the 3DS, but this conference was all about firing the first shots in the next generation battle.

Assault on E3 2011: Nintendo Announces the WiiU

At this year's E3 Nintendo just kind of, sort of announced their new console: the WiiU. Supposedly this machine is a successor to the Nintendo Wii (missed nostalgia opportunity to call it the Super Nintendo Wii), but the focus of the conference was placed primarily on the new controller. This new device is a pad with two joy sticks, looking like a beefed up Playstation Vita that Sony showed off just a night prior. In what seems to be an attempt to fire back at Apple's dominance over the non-gaming electronic market, the new controller will also be a touch pad. What is really mind blowing, according to Nintendo representatives, is that the actual console can be playing some other form of media while the controller itself runs an actual WiiU game. Nintendo did not explain how this works, though I would have to guess that the two devices still need to be within some range of one another otherwise the 3DS seems to have become a bit more irrelevant (despite the announcements of a great slate of games earlier in the press conference).

I Have Two Big Hands And A Heart Pumping Blood

As I compile my Quarterly Review over at Processed Grass, I have come to the sad realization that in a world of digital downloads, bite-sized games, and tent pole January releases I have played one game released in 2011. Sure I have poked around at my backlog, finally getting a bit of time to dive in to Darksiders and Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time, but all I have ended up playing consistently has been Pokemon: Black Version, and before that a few Nintendo DS games that I had been meaning to spend a bit more time with before bigger releases overshadowed them. With the 3DS hitting the North American wilds just a day earlier I got to thinking about why it is, with so many options, I have spent so much time with my handheld lately.