Nick: This E3 is crucial for Nintendo. In my opinion if they want to stay in the race, to keep competing with MS and Sony, they have to come out swinging.
I think their big announcement will obviously be the Revolution, or whatever the new console system is going to be called. We've heard all the speculation about unconventional abilities and touch screen controllers, but Nintendo has kept a tight lid on all information so there's really no way to be sure of specifics until the official announcement is made. I would like to think Nintendo has learned from the GameCube release and will have some of its top franchises ready to go with system launch games plus maybe an original game or two, something entirely new. I think they will also show a good variety of 3rd party launch releases, ready to go with the system, to take care of some of the criticism they've taken regarding 3rd party software.
Looks to be an exciting E3.
Marc: Zelda! This E3 will be all about Zelda. Well, of course it won't be all about this game, but I'm not sure if the Revolution will be the spotlight. Nintendo's Reggie has constantly said that this wasn't Revolution's coming out party so I guess that means they're going to show us a few things and they will reveal the full thing at E3 next year or earlier.
Sure, this E3 will probably be all about next-generation with the Big 3 showing their latest hardware, but since only Microsoft will be releasing its X-Box 2 this year, I think that Nintendo and Sony will be pushing their current consoles a lot more to get the most out of this generation, and then push their next-generation consoles next year. Sony and Nintendo are fighting it out for the top spot in the handheld market right now, and since the PS2 is also selling at an incredible rate, there is no reason for Sony to show too much so that people decide to wait for the PS3.
So what I think will happen is that we'll learn a little about Revolution, at least enough to get everyone excited, and then Nintendo will focus on it's GCN lineup of games with Zelda leading the pack. For handheld consoles they will push the DS to the max by revealing everything about their online plans and hopefully about that big SquareEnix online game they've been talking about for so long. Since a lot of 3rd party DS games will be coming later this year, we will probably see a lot of those on display. I'm hoping that some of them will have online features of some sort. GBA support should also be very strong as it is still selling well, and since DS also supports GBA games, there is no reason for Nintendo to stop supporting it.
Saul: Here's what I expect from this E3:
• Mario 128 unveiled for Revolution.
• Nintendo DS software being the main spotlight, including full details on the online component of Animal Crossing and Mario Kart.
• Tech specs for Revolution are revealed and prove that it is more of a traditional console than Nintendo has been hinting at. Most of the "revolutionary" aspects will come from the input, which will also retain many traditional elements to help in playing ports. There will be added functionality to the controller, perhaps gyroscopic control, but it will remain functional for ports of mainstream games.
• A tech demo of Revolution. Either Mario 128 or Smash Brothers.
• At least two surprise titles: perhaps Punch Out or Pilotwings.
• Playable GCN Pokemon and playable Legend of Zelda. A dungeon, small town, and mini-game will be playable.
I think Nintendo is caught in no man's land as far as what to show. They probably don't want to fully unveil Revolution, and at the same time they don't have enough GCN titles or surprises to keep attendees busy. I believe the DS will be the focus of their show, so I expect a lot of surprise DS announcements. I expect playable Mario Kart, Metroid, Animal Crossing, and Castlevania, as well as previously unannounced DS titles.
Kaleb: For starters, I'm willing to bet that we won't see the Revolution playable. The most we will see is a video, probably very brief, during Nintendo's pre-E3 press conference.
Zelda's going to be the main draw at E3 for Nintendo this year. It's going to blow people away. I guarantee it. The press is going to go nuts. Everyone will be in awe. This will be the GameCube's final killer-app, going out with a bang.
But those expecting to see anything of Revolution games or Mario 128 are setting themselves up for disappointment. That is not going to happen. We'll see a tech demonstration at best, a vague explanation of what the hell they're doing with it at the worst. Either way, the Revolution will barely be noticed at E3. That will happen in 2006, when I expect there will be playable Revolution games at E3.
Marc: I know that Nintendo execs have said that they don't plan to show everything about the Revolution this year, but I hope they'll show us at least as much as Sony is planning to show, since they seem to be interested in going head to head with them and releasing the Revolution at about the same time as the PS3.
They said that the Revolution will bring a new way to play games and I hope that this feature(s) will be revealed. The only way for people to really understand what the DS was all about was to let them feel it, and even though only tech demos were shown last year it was enough to get people excited and I think Nintendo should do the same thing with Revolution, even if only to a few chosen press members.
I'm pretty sure we will see something about it though. When Sony first unveiled the PS3 they only showed tech demos and so did Nintendo. I still remember the Spaceworld 2000 demo reel that was shown where there was Pokémon, Metroid, Waverace and Luigi's Mansion. It was only a sneak peek at what the GameCube could do, but it was enough to get everyone excited and I must have watched that clip for hours! I think that's the least Nintendo could do. This year is the X-Box 360's year so the next-gen spotlight will probably be on that console, but Nintendo and Sony still have to show something so that people go: "maybe I should wait one more year and get a Revolution or PS3 instead". Sony was able to do it to Sega when they were about to release the Dreamcast and they are probably going to try to do it to the X-Box 360 so I hope Nintendo is going to join in.
Saul: I think what will make this year's show different from previous years is that Nintendo's focus will not be on home consoles. Other than Zelda and a handful of other titles, there's not much to show. If Nintendo chooses to show some clips of Revolution and release some tech specs, then that leaves a gaping hole as far as software is concerned. That's why I believe this year's show will be about Zelda and the DS. I expect the DS to be the headliner from Nintendo, even though they might show a tweaked version of the SP.
But is the DS, a sneak peek at the Revolution, and playable Zelda enough to carry the show and please Nintendo fans?
Nick: For the DS it would be nice to see some games like Yoshi Touch and Go. By that I mean creative games that take advantage of the systems capabilities and separate itself from the PSP. 3rp party developers have had enough time with the system so we should see a bunch of game releases from them.
I expect some of Nintendo's biggest announcements to regard the interaction between systems. How will the DS work together with the Revolution, Gameboy Advance, and so on. This is an area where Nintendo could shine and great things could happen. They've only touched on this stuff before. I'm sure there's going to be some online stuff mentioned as well.
Marc: You talked about interaction between the systems but I'm not sure if that'll be Nintendo's direction. If it's anything like the GBA-GCN type of interactivity then I hope that it's something truly amazing as only 2 or 3 games really put that feature to good use.
I think it "might" be enough for the hardcore Nintendo followers because they are used to Nintendo not showing too much, but for the rest of the world, those who are getting ready for next-gen and want to know what each competitor has in store for us, they might be extremely disappointed if Nintendo doesn't show anything about Revolution.
And when you think about it, if both Microsoft AND Sony are going to show something, wouldn't it be weird if Nintendo didn't show anything? I mean, most people would think that the next-gen race will be between Sony and Microsoft and that would leave Nintendo out of it. It is now time to hype their future systems and I hope Nintendo does that in full force, even though I might be disappointed when watching the press conference. I guess I should prepare myself for the worse and then if they show more it'll be more exciting.
I think their big announcement will obviously be the Revolution, or whatever the new console system is going to be called. We've heard all the speculation about unconventional abilities and touch screen controllers, but Nintendo has kept a tight lid on all information so there's really no way to be sure of specifics until the official announcement is made. I would like to think Nintendo has learned from the GameCube release and will have some of its top franchises ready to go with system launch games plus maybe an original game or two, something entirely new. I think they will also show a good variety of 3rd party launch releases, ready to go with the system, to take care of some of the criticism they've taken regarding 3rd party software.
Looks to be an exciting E3.
Marc: Zelda! This E3 will be all about Zelda. Well, of course it won't be all about this game, but I'm not sure if the Revolution will be the spotlight. Nintendo's Reggie has constantly said that this wasn't Revolution's coming out party so I guess that means they're going to show us a few things and they will reveal the full thing at E3 next year or earlier.
Sure, this E3 will probably be all about next-generation with the Big 3 showing their latest hardware, but since only Microsoft will be releasing its X-Box 2 this year, I think that Nintendo and Sony will be pushing their current consoles a lot more to get the most out of this generation, and then push their next-generation consoles next year. Sony and Nintendo are fighting it out for the top spot in the handheld market right now, and since the PS2 is also selling at an incredible rate, there is no reason for Sony to show too much so that people decide to wait for the PS3.
So what I think will happen is that we'll learn a little about Revolution, at least enough to get everyone excited, and then Nintendo will focus on it's GCN lineup of games with Zelda leading the pack. For handheld consoles they will push the DS to the max by revealing everything about their online plans and hopefully about that big SquareEnix online game they've been talking about for so long. Since a lot of 3rd party DS games will be coming later this year, we will probably see a lot of those on display. I'm hoping that some of them will have online features of some sort. GBA support should also be very strong as it is still selling well, and since DS also supports GBA games, there is no reason for Nintendo to stop supporting it.
Saul: Here's what I expect from this E3:
• Mario 128 unveiled for Revolution.
• Nintendo DS software being the main spotlight, including full details on the online component of Animal Crossing and Mario Kart.
• Tech specs for Revolution are revealed and prove that it is more of a traditional console than Nintendo has been hinting at. Most of the "revolutionary" aspects will come from the input, which will also retain many traditional elements to help in playing ports. There will be added functionality to the controller, perhaps gyroscopic control, but it will remain functional for ports of mainstream games.
• A tech demo of Revolution. Either Mario 128 or Smash Brothers.
• At least two surprise titles: perhaps Punch Out or Pilotwings.
• Playable GCN Pokemon and playable Legend of Zelda. A dungeon, small town, and mini-game will be playable.
I think Nintendo is caught in no man's land as far as what to show. They probably don't want to fully unveil Revolution, and at the same time they don't have enough GCN titles or surprises to keep attendees busy. I believe the DS will be the focus of their show, so I expect a lot of surprise DS announcements. I expect playable Mario Kart, Metroid, Animal Crossing, and Castlevania, as well as previously unannounced DS titles.
Kaleb: For starters, I'm willing to bet that we won't see the Revolution playable. The most we will see is a video, probably very brief, during Nintendo's pre-E3 press conference.
Zelda's going to be the main draw at E3 for Nintendo this year. It's going to blow people away. I guarantee it. The press is going to go nuts. Everyone will be in awe. This will be the GameCube's final killer-app, going out with a bang.
But those expecting to see anything of Revolution games or Mario 128 are setting themselves up for disappointment. That is not going to happen. We'll see a tech demonstration at best, a vague explanation of what the hell they're doing with it at the worst. Either way, the Revolution will barely be noticed at E3. That will happen in 2006, when I expect there will be playable Revolution games at E3.
Marc: I know that Nintendo execs have said that they don't plan to show everything about the Revolution this year, but I hope they'll show us at least as much as Sony is planning to show, since they seem to be interested in going head to head with them and releasing the Revolution at about the same time as the PS3.
They said that the Revolution will bring a new way to play games and I hope that this feature(s) will be revealed. The only way for people to really understand what the DS was all about was to let them feel it, and even though only tech demos were shown last year it was enough to get people excited and I think Nintendo should do the same thing with Revolution, even if only to a few chosen press members.
I'm pretty sure we will see something about it though. When Sony first unveiled the PS3 they only showed tech demos and so did Nintendo. I still remember the Spaceworld 2000 demo reel that was shown where there was Pokémon, Metroid, Waverace and Luigi's Mansion. It was only a sneak peek at what the GameCube could do, but it was enough to get everyone excited and I must have watched that clip for hours! I think that's the least Nintendo could do. This year is the X-Box 360's year so the next-gen spotlight will probably be on that console, but Nintendo and Sony still have to show something so that people go: "maybe I should wait one more year and get a Revolution or PS3 instead". Sony was able to do it to Sega when they were about to release the Dreamcast and they are probably going to try to do it to the X-Box 360 so I hope Nintendo is going to join in.
Saul: I think what will make this year's show different from previous years is that Nintendo's focus will not be on home consoles. Other than Zelda and a handful of other titles, there's not much to show. If Nintendo chooses to show some clips of Revolution and release some tech specs, then that leaves a gaping hole as far as software is concerned. That's why I believe this year's show will be about Zelda and the DS. I expect the DS to be the headliner from Nintendo, even though they might show a tweaked version of the SP.
But is the DS, a sneak peek at the Revolution, and playable Zelda enough to carry the show and please Nintendo fans?
Nick: For the DS it would be nice to see some games like Yoshi Touch and Go. By that I mean creative games that take advantage of the systems capabilities and separate itself from the PSP. 3rp party developers have had enough time with the system so we should see a bunch of game releases from them.
I expect some of Nintendo's biggest announcements to regard the interaction between systems. How will the DS work together with the Revolution, Gameboy Advance, and so on. This is an area where Nintendo could shine and great things could happen. They've only touched on this stuff before. I'm sure there's going to be some online stuff mentioned as well.
Marc: You talked about interaction between the systems but I'm not sure if that'll be Nintendo's direction. If it's anything like the GBA-GCN type of interactivity then I hope that it's something truly amazing as only 2 or 3 games really put that feature to good use.
I think it "might" be enough for the hardcore Nintendo followers because they are used to Nintendo not showing too much, but for the rest of the world, those who are getting ready for next-gen and want to know what each competitor has in store for us, they might be extremely disappointed if Nintendo doesn't show anything about Revolution.
And when you think about it, if both Microsoft AND Sony are going to show something, wouldn't it be weird if Nintendo didn't show anything? I mean, most people would think that the next-gen race will be between Sony and Microsoft and that would leave Nintendo out of it. It is now time to hype their future systems and I hope Nintendo does that in full force, even though I might be disappointed when watching the press conference. I guess I should prepare myself for the worse and then if they show more it'll be more exciting.
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