Nintendo at E3 – a look back – E3 2011 and E3 2012

What better way is there to start a Nintendo conference than with a live Zelda performance? That’s exactly what attendees were treated to in 2011. A full-blown orchestra performed a medley of tunes from the Zelda series, capped off with new footage from Skyward Sword.

A series of Zelda announcements followed: Link’s Awakening 3DS VC release that very day, Four Swords for DSiWare, Skyward Sword’s gold Wiimote, symphony concerts, and music CDs.

The 3DS received the spotlight next. Nintendo unveiled new trailers for Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land, Kid Icarus: Uprising, and Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon. Time was also taken to highlight Star Fox 64 3D.

What followed was all Wii U – the system’s name, GamePad reveal, overview trailer, and games. The very mention of Smash Bros. earned a huge reaction.

And who can forget how Nintendo closed its conference? With now-former EA CEO John Riccitiello coming on stage to announce the publisher’s “unprecedented partnership” with Nintendo. Oh how quickly things can change…

E3 2012 was Nintendo’s chance to give consumers an idea about the kinds of projects in development for Wii U.

The conference began with an entertaining opening sequence featuring Shigeru Miyamoto, who led the proceedings with a demo of Pikmin 3.

New Super Mario Bros. U was officially announced and shown in final form as it made the change from New Super Mario Bros. Mii.

Nintendo then shifted its attention to third-parties. Warner Bros. showed its Wii U support with Scribblenauts Unlimited and Batman: Arkham City – Armored Edition. Meanwhile, Ubisoft highlighted titles such as ZombiU. A hilarious moment ensued in this section as Reggie “zombified” his face.

That wasn’t the only comedic moment. While speaking about Wii Fit U at one point during the conference, Reggie finally acknowledged the famous “my body is ready” meme.

Things ended on a somewhat sour note. Nintendo’s closed the briefing out with Nintendo Land – not a bad game by any means, but certainly not a blockbuster. And the very last moment of the conference was made up of a bunch of virtual fireworks… not exactly exciting!

Will Nintendo’s E3 2012 conference be its last?