VIDEO E3 2014 (June 9th-12th) Discussion Thread

I wasn't expecting the instant SMB1/NSMBU switch in Mario Maker when it leaked.

Also, was that the Mario Paint fly swatter game?

 

The 3DS is going to get a 90 min developer event tomorrow night on a new game. They're also going to be teasing and announcing various titles throughout the next few days from the Treehouse and Minute stream events.

Thorium Wars looks cool on the 3DS. In fact a lot of sweet looking titles for 3DS and eShop being shown in this montage right now...

So, overall, some great titles shown- and few surprises that have some creative mechanics like Splatoon's squid and ink strategy mechanics or Captain Toad's puzzle navigation platforming approach. Loved the Robot Chicken segments and the Reggie/Iwata live action battle.

Disappointed that a lot of titles were still 2015 and not 2014 since 2014 is really the moment of opportunity for Nintendo during the drought on the other systems.

 

Apparently there are three Miyamoto games:

-Star Fox U
-Project Guard
-Project Giant Robot

Guard uses the GamePad to control the angles and configuration of 12 cameras, trying to protect a central room. The Tv displays those cameras and you fire weaponry to take down invading robots. It's almost like a new take on a tower defense, it seems, but also one that invites spectators despite being single player- people in the room seem to have a habit of calling out cameras for you to pay attention to.

It's also apparently very hard, even on Easy. It's also possibly being linked to Star Fox in some way (the cameras had SF logos and some robots are from SF).

Giant Robot apparently involves giant customizable robots in a sumo-like scenario, with the GamePad being 1st person POV to target enemy weak points with lasers while the Tv shows a helicopter view.

 

It's going to be hard to coral all the Nintendo news the way it's being spread out.

-Bayonetta 2 will come with Bayonetta 1! Plus the Nintendo character outfits/missions.
-Captain Toad will hit this holiday season.
-Yarn Yoshi is now called Yoshi's Wooly World- looks very creative.
-Hyrule Warriors will have Link, Midna, ZELDA! and Impa as playable characters, amongst others.
-The claymation Kirby game is a sequel to Canvas Curse on the DS, but for the Wii U GamePad.
-Mario Party 10 has been announced, where one player plays as Bowser against the other players. THIS. WILL. BE. EPIC.
-Palutena is the new Smash player added (and they've teased Shadow Pit in some form). But how about that epic Smash bros anime sequence? I hope they do a full series in that style. Gorgeous!
-3 varieties of Mii Fighters are also added to the roster, adding 36 possible moves to the roster.
-Splatoon is an 8-player game. That should be an INCREDIBLE multiplayer game.
-Nintendo's NFC figure line is called Amiibo, and Amiibos provide 2 way data transfer that allow your figures to level up in games depending on who they are faced against in Smash Bros or utilized in other games (Mario Kart 8 was mentioned as another compatible title, alongside Mario Party 10 and Captain Toad and Yoshi)
-Ninja Gaiden's director's next game, "Devil's Third" is coming exclusively to the Wii U- "Itagaki's action game marries melee combat, and cover- and first-person shooting. It also features objective-based, attack/defend competitive multiplayer modes, a level editor, and character customization."
-GCN Adaptor out for the holidays for $20.

 

The first Treehouse Live event starts in about 15-20 min. I asusme we'll get to see more Star Fox here.

 

Speaking of Devil's Third, here's the official trailer and IGN gameplay preview. Turns out this was a game that was cancelled after THQ went down but has now been resurrected here by Nintendo.

EDIT- Language and skimpy clothing warning:




EDIT- The Treehouse demos of Captain Toad, Splaton and, now, the two Miyamoto projects have been cool. Splatoon has a lot of play style variety and strategy options.

Project Guard looks really damn fun. Watching people play it will be just as fun as actually playing it. The birdbot that steals your cameras had been cracking up.

 

Treehouse is demo'ing Xenoblade X right now. The setup and intro is pretty epic.

EDIT- Very expansive world, tons of awesome creatures and wildlife whose behavior changes based on shifting weather patterns.




EDIT 2- Hyrule Warriors up on Treehouse.

EDIT 3- HOLY ****!!! You can use a Midna/Great Fiary-enhanced Hookshot to drag Majora's Moon from the sky and use as a weapon to knock enemy Dragons down to your level from the sky!

EDIT 4- More Splatoon matches up on Treehouse feed.

EDIT 5- Mario Maker on now, confirmed to have had origins with Mario Paint and wanting to make the editor software be fun to use.

 

Smash Tournament about to start on the twitch feed.

EDIT- This is kinda cool if you think about it- with professional gamers competing at an unreleased Nintendo game at a big event in front of a huge crowd, this is the closest we'll get to recreating The Wizard in reality.

EDIT 2- It is amusing that Geoff Keighley asks the crowd if they'd been watching Treehouse Live and goes onto mention how Miyamoto was there today showing off Starfox...which he didn't show off on Treehouse today, so the question is, were you watching it, Geoff?

EDIT 3- Another game announced between shows that I hadn't seen before: Mario vs Donkey Kong for Wii U, which also includes a level editor.

EDIT 4- Hmm, seems like the Sakurai round table isn't being broadcast. Darn. They usually at least have it up on youtube. Doesn't start til 10pm EST though so maybe the twitch feed will kick back in? Otherwise, here's a live blog.

EDIT 5- Pac-Man revealed as the next challenger in Smash Bros. Mr. Game & Watch returns as well.

EDIT 6- A final E3 observation for the evening: It's actually rather impressive how many playable female characters are included in the various Nintendo games announced or talked about today compared to Sony & Microsoft combined.

6 (so far) in Smash bros (8 if you count Sheik and Zero Suit Samus; 9 if Pac Man gets a Ms Pac Man gender flip option like the Wii Fit Trainer). At least 3 in Hyrule Warriors, main character option in Xenoblade Chronicles X, possibly the "Link" we saw in the Zelda trailer, Bayonetta, various Splatoon characters, etc.

MS+Sony+Ubi+EA had 4, maybe 5, total from what I can recall.

I mean, it's not exactly an equal gender balance (so maybe the use of the word "impressive" is relative) but it's seemingly an improvement. However it's more the publisher discrepancy that's more curious.

 

I am looking forward to Star Citizen- it just wasn't highlighted at any of the major E3 events so far as console manufacturers tend to be the focus.

Could you clarify that statement? Do you mean home consoles (XB1/PS4/WU), portable systems (3DS/Vita) or mobile platforms (iOS, Android, etc)? Also, Pokemon has never been available on PSP (as it's a Nintendo-only franchise) unless you had some kind of ROM hack- did you mean that or a DS?

Most of the games talked about today are for consoles (though a handful are for portables). And though some of the indie titles might also get a mobile version released, nothing has been announced for mobile platforms specifically yet (so far as the titles we've been discussing here that have been part of the major conference events).

EDIT- Seems the Treehouse feed is demo'ing smaller games today, So far they've done plays of Fantasy Life for 3DS, Swords & Soldiers II and Affordable Space Adventures for Wii U.