Here’s some commentary from everyone’s favorite game analyst, Wedbush Securities’ Michael Pachter…
“We were once again impressed by this year’s E3, and the show continues to get better and better. The hardware displayed was impressive, and each of the console manufacturers showed many core games for their respective systems. The most impactful ‘reveal’ at the show was the Wii U, which, in our opinion, is arriving two years too late. Depending on pricing, the system will be either a phenomenal success or a phenomenal failure, as competitive bundles for Xbox 360 with Kinect and PS3 with Move are likely to be priced below $300 by the time the Wii U launches.”
“We expect the 3DS to sell well at holiday, due to a phenomenal lineup of content, but think that the PS Vita will capture some share early next year. Solid sales of each device should bode well for GameStop, which will likely receive preferential allocations. Sony also continued to try to integrate its other consumer electronics products into its E3 presentation by announcing a 3DTV PlayStation-branded bundle priced at $499, which we expect to sell exceedingly well.”
“In all, we think that the new hardware introductions have some potential to reinvigorate the video game market, and think that the core games scheduled for release later this year and early next are sufficient to allow the industry to again begin to grow. We expect investors to remain on the sidelines until they see tangible evidence of industry growth, but we are confident that this will occur over the next several months.”
And what does Pachter think of the Wii U name? When discussing the PlayStation Vita name, Pachter said that it’s “the second-dumbest name for a device after Wii U”.
Nintendo has reintroduced 3D gaming in the form of the 3DS. It’s a well-known fact that the company was able to offer such an experience without the need for glasses. One would think that, technically, Nintendo would be able to incorporate similar technology into the Wii U controller.
So why has Nintendo decided not to include 3D screen for the controller? Satoru Iwata told TIME’s Techland:
“We have a separate mission with Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. Of course, there are some TV sets with the capability to show the 3D available today but it’s not dominating yet. Of course, you may want to say now that you have the second screen and you have the 3D technology with Nintendo 3DS, however after all, that kind of experience we can explore over the existing Nintendo 3DS machine. As I said, we are trying to make a new structure of home entertainment and because we are trying to make something unprecedented, we just wanted to focus on something different.”
Another thing worth mentioning is that making the controller 3D-ready would likely increase the cost of the device further. I imagine that it’ll be pretty expensive as it is now – it has a 6.2 inch touch screen, gyroscope, accelerometer, and a camera.
Sony’s Andrew House has provided some thoughts about the Wii U. Although House is aware of the console’s announcement, he doesn’t appear to know much in the way of details. The exchange with GamesIndustry is certainly interesting… I’ll let you read it for yourselves…
Q: What was your reaction to Nintendo’s console announcement at E3 and are you worried that it’s going to encroach on PlayStation 3 growth?
Andrew House: Honestly, the way these conferences work, I’ve had zero exposure to it.
Q: But you know it’s happened, right?
Andrew House: Yes, of course. I’m aware of the announcement but in terms of details I’ve not seen a great deal. It’s intreaging, but I’m interested to hear your reaction as a journalist because I’ve heard varying opinions.
Sometimes you just need to shake things up to keep them interesting. That’s especially true with the recent launch of the Nintendo eShop, a new virtual store that gives Nintendo 3DS™ users access to a wide variety of downloadable games and select content that can be viewed in 3D without the need for special glasses. To mark the debut of the Nintendo eShop – and provide consumers with a valuable one-stop showcase of all the latest downloadable content across Nintendo systems – the weekly Nintendo Download is about to get a makeover.
Starting June 16, the Nintendo Download will include information about the newest additions to the Nintendo eShop, including new 3D games, 3D Classics (select classic video games re-mastered in 3D), Virtual Console™ versions of games from the Game Boy™ and Game Boy Color systems, and hundreds of games originally offered via the Nintendo DSiWare™ service. What’s more, this modified weekly update will be posted Thursdays instead of Mondays, giving fans a heads-up on the latest offerings just in time for the weekend.
REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Families can now expand their Nintendo video game library and their collection of Wii™ accessories at the same time, at a suggested retail price that’ll keep them smiling. Launching today exclusively for the Wii system, the Wii Play™: Motion game invites people to join together for a variety of new motion-controlled activities that will have everyone in the household enjoying themselves throughout the summer and beyond. Building on the immersive, family-friendly action of the original Wii Play™ – one of the top-selling video games of all time – Wii Play: Motion comes packaged with a black Wii Remote™ Plus controller, which features the built-in precise motion control of the Wii MotionPlus™ accessory. Wii Play: Motion is offered at a suggested retail price of $49.99.
The 12 included games in Wii Play: Motion ask players to wield the Wii Remote Plus (or Wii Remote with Wii MotionPlus accessory, sold separately) in a multitude of interesting ways. In Wind Runner, players tilt the controller to change the angle of an umbrella as they ride gusts of wind along a gem-filled race course. In Veggie Guardin’, they swing the controller like a mallet to ward off pests that threaten to steal vegetables from their garden. Spooky Search brings the action off the screen and into the living room by challenging players to track invisible spirits by pointing the controller around the room and listening for clues. In Teeter Targets, players carefully flip a ball into targets by tilting the controller like a seesaw.
This year’s E3 was an event filled with fantastic visual and technical spectacles. From the Wii U’s unveiling to the graphically stunning Uncharted 3 getting a gameplay demo, to a Zelda HD trailer and Resident Evil Revelations blowing all other 3DS titles out of the water (visually, anyway), it almost seemed taboo that the highlight of the show for me would be getting to sit down and play a game that featured neither giant explosions nor high definition graphics. I was on my way back to our hotel on the last day of the convention, prepared to stay up until 4AM yet again and write about everything I had seen before flying home the next day. As far as I was concerned, E3 was over.
As far as the E3 gods were concerned, however, I still had work to do. It is for this reason (I assume; the reasoning of the E3 gods can be tricky to decipher) that they lead me to run into none other than Renegade Kid’s co-founder and director, Jools Watsham who, after a brief conversation, pulled out his 3DS and let me try my hand at the newly transformed Maximillion and the Rise of the Mutant Mudds.
I was about 60% certain he wouldn’t be getting it back from me. Ever.
The Wii always had an uphill battle going for it since gamers and publishers alike considered the console to be more “kiddy” compared to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Fortunately, the situation is much different this time around. Third-parties are preparing high-quality, mature, blockbuster releases in its first year on the market.
One such company providing support is THQ, who is looking to ship Darksiders II for launch. Danny Bilson explained why the company is confident that they can have success with a mature title on the system day one:
“If you look historically, there were a couple of games that were there at launch that did really well on the Wii… Red Steel for instance. But I don’t look at it as a kiddie platform. I look at it as a platform for everybody, and it has the power for everybody. So there’s going to be a lot of core games from other companies as well as us on there, and I think the gamer’s going to go for the best experience, wherever it is. Ultimately, the hardware is a small investment compared to what [gamers] spend on software. If you buy 10 games, that’s $600, and a platform? I don’t know what their price point is, but it’s a smaller investment [than the software]. I have no concern at all that core people are going to say [derisively], “Oh, it’s Nintendo.” Core gamers love Zelda. They love Mario. It’s all part of whatever a great game is.”
