Cao Cao
05-31-2009, 11:14 PM
Nintendo Press Conference - Tuesday, June 2nd, 9AM PDT (6am HST, 8am AKDT, 10am MDT, 11am CDT, 12PM EDT) World Clock (http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?month=6&day=2&year=2009&hour=9&min=0&sec=0&p1=137)
So what was revealed?? (at Nintendo's conference and booth)
Before I start, I suggest checking out Nintendo's Press site (http://press.nintendo.com/E32009/) (Username: golin Password: harris) for trailers, release lists, and artwork.
Alternatively, you could check out post #529 (http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5921688&postcount=529) for Youtube'd versions of the trailers available on the Press site.
The Big Four
- Two of the "Big Four" announcements at the press conference were two very different Mario sequels. The first one shown was New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which, like the original NSMB, is a traditional Mario side-scroller with a few twists. Most notable about it is the new simultaneous two-to-four-player mode, in which players (As Mario, Luigi, and/or two Toads) are free to decide whether they want to work together, or compete for the highest score. Flying returns in the form of the Propeller Suit, the Penguin Suit allows Mario to freeze enemies with snowballs to use as platforms, and Yoshi is back as the players' faithful steed. Also, the Koopa Kids are apparently back. 80 levels in all (10 per world), no online play. Holiday 2009
- Super Mario Galaxy 2, the second of the Mario announcements, is the sequel to the critically-acclaimed original. Mario returns to space, with new galaxies to conquer, new power-ups and tools, and Yoshi, who once again serves as the faithful steed of Mario and Luigi. Miyamoto estimates that it will be "90-95%" new content, with the same amount of content as the original. 2010
- The third major announcement was a new Metroid game developed by Team Ninja, Metroid: Other M. The plotline seems to be a prequel to the rest of the Metroid series Metroid Fusion (Confirmed later to take place between Super Metroid and Fusion), when a young Samus still had Adam Malkovich as her commanding officer. The overall gameplay is a bit hard to peg down, as the video showed some side-scrolling gameplay, some Ninja Gaiden-style 3D arena brawling, and even some First-Person parts. We'll just call it Action for now. 2010
- The final major announcement was a sequel to Camelot's popular GBA RPG series, Golden Sun DS. The trailer is short, but it shows 3D graphics and some large summon attacks. 2010
Other Games at the Booth/conference
Wii
- Nintendo announced the final games list of Wii Sports Resort, making the sport list 12 in all: Frisbee Toss, Jet Skis, Swordplay, Golf, Bowling, Table Tennis, Basketball, Archery, Canoeing, Wakeboarding, Cycling, and Flying . At the beginning of Wii Sports Resort, your Miis will skydive to Wuhu Island, allowing you to get used to the MotionPlus. Miyamoto confirmed that it will have a "Stamp" system, with stamps serving as little trophies that highlight your achievements.
- Wii Fit Plus was officially announced. It will have more Yoga positions, along with a few new minigames, like a platformer and some sort of Birdman/Skydiving minigame. It also adds the ability to weigh your pets.
- Iwata announced the "Wii Vitality Sensor," a Wiimote peripheral that attaches to your finger. It tracks your pulse, "along with other internal signals." Nothing more was said about it.
- They also went over some third-party titles in the presser: Dead Space Extraction, FFCC: The Crystal Bearers, and Resident Evil The DarkSide Chronicles.
- Treasure's long-awaited shooter sequel, Sin and Punishment 2, was playable at Nintendo's booth. It is set for Q1 2010.
- Endless Ocean 2 was also at the show. This one seems to be a much more well-rounded playing experience, with a more focused but still largely optional storyline, more environments to swim around in (Artic, Alligator/Crocodile-infested River, Ruins, etc.), aggressive predators (Sharks, Alligators/Crocodiles), and the ability to help out sick fish. Online play is back, with Wii Speak support. Q1 2010
- Also at the press site: Monado: Beginning of the World (RPG from Monolith), Line Attack Heroes, Span Smasher (WM+ supported)
- Wii Third-Party Notables at the show: Little King's Story, Fragile: Farewell to the Moon, Ju-On: The Grudge (XSEED), Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Ignition Entertainment), Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (Konami), Tatsunoko vs. Capcom (Capcom), The Grinder, Gladiator A.D. (High Voltage), Shiren The Wanderer, Trauma Team (Atlus)
DS/DSi
- Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! was announced for DSiWare. Using the Mini-Mario-style gameplay from MvDK2, the level creator, along with the online sharing of the levels, has more of a focus this time around. June 8th, 2009
- Also announced for DSiWare was the US version of the animation creator Moving Memo Pad, now called Flipnote Studio. Summer 2009
- Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is playable at the show floor, so there should be some hands-on impressions and gameplay videos at the usual places. A trailer is at the Press site, showing some of the new tools at Link's disposal. He can control Phantoms to solve puzzles or serve as decoys, use a tornado-producing fan, and he can even use a whip to attack enemies or swing across chasms. Holiday 2009
- The English-language version of Mario & Luigi RPG 3 was shown, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. Fall 2009
- Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (Layton 2) was on the Press site with an English-language trailer. August 24th, 2009
- Nintendo also announced on their Press site that they're bringing over the latest DS iteration of a long-running Greek-themed RPG series, The Glory of Heracles. 2010
- Warioware D.I.Y. (Made in Ore) was announced for the US/EU, though no release date has been given. In this iteration, you can create your own Microgames, upload them online, and download microgames that other folks have created.
- Picross 3D was announced on the Press Site. Already released in Japan, this puzzler gives you a cube, and you have to chip away the unneeded blocks to find the mystery 3D figure. This also has a create-and-share mechanic that allows you to create your own 3D Picross puzzles, share them online, and download puzzles that others have made.
- Other DS titles mentioned on the press site: Style Savvy, Fossil Fighters, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky
- Some third-party mentions: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, C.O.P. The Rookie (From Ubi Soft, we think this is the mystery game that IGN compared to GTA in a tweet)
- DS Third-Party Notables at the show: Scribblenauts (5th Cell; IGN Game of the Show), Nostalgia (Ignition Entertainment), Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor (Atlus)
Miyamoto Roundtable/Interviews - Status of Zelda Wii and Pikmin 3!
- Miyamoto confirmed that Nintendo is working on a new Zelda for the Wii, though he said that he does not plan to announce it until next year. He said that he's interested in using Wii MotionPlus in the game, possibly even making it WM+-exclusive, with the Archery and Swordfighting segments of WSR serving as his inspirations. He showed an illustration for Zelda that was later placed on Nintendo's Press site.
http://files.simgaming.net/Wii_Zelda_e3.jpg
- In an interview with Kotaku (http://kotaku.com/5276531/miyamoto-sorry-he-has-no-new-pikmin-for-us-yet), Miyamoto confirmed that Pikmin 3 is still in the works. However, due to the number of projects that Nintendo has, the development team for it is currently small, so it's moving along a little slowly right now.
Pertinent Information:
- There should be live videos of the press conferences from all of the major sites:
IGN's E3 Site (http://e3.ign.com/)
E3Insider/GameTrailers (http://e3insider.com/)
* Strangely enough, it was the exact opposite for the UbiSoft conference. GameSpot's feed was choppy, and GameTrailer's feed was high-quality and silky smooth. My verdict for GameTrailers: When it works, it works beautifully.
GameSpot's E3 site (http://e3.gamespot.com/)
* Gamespot had poor video quality and so-so sound volume, but it's a reliable live feed at times.
G4tv (Online and TV) (http://g4tv.com/e32009/splash.aspx)
* I watched the TV feed for the Microsoft presser, and as promised, it was commercial-free. May be a good choice if you catch G4. Haven't tried the online feed.
Last year, I went with IGN's live feed for the conferences, since it had a good video quality, but I'm sure that the other big sites will have something similar for this year.
Other press conferences that may be of interest:
- EA - 2:00pm PDT, Monday, June 1 FIN
* Nothing substantially new was announced, EA Active is getting an expansion pack, and Dead Space Extraction & Spore were no-shows,
- Ubi Soft - 5:00pm PDT, June 1 FIN
* Ubi Soft had playable demos of Red Steel 2 (IGN has preview (http://wii.ign.com/articles/988/988473p1.html) and full videoes (http://media.wii.ign.com/media/867/867131/vids_1.html)) and Rabbids Go Home at the show. Red Steel 2 will be bundled with WM+. They announced Your Shape, a fitness game that uses a motion-sensing/scanning camera, and Academy of Champions, a Soccer-meets-Hogwarts game featuring soccer player Pele. Loooong speech from James Cameron about his upcoming movie Avatar. Q? Entertainment is working on the mysterious "Project Eden." Ubi Soft confirmed that they will be publishing No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle.
- Square-Enix - 11:00am PDT, Wednesday, June 3
- Konami - 3:00pm PDT, June 3
-----------------------------------
Well, it's that time of the year again. Nintendo's conference is set to be the first Tuesday conference, a day after Microsoft's conference, and two hours before Sony's 11AM conference. So, I went through some past events, rumors, and articles to get an idea of potential game appearances, collected in the spoiler tree below.
From the Isle of Past Shows:
- Wii Sports Resort & Wii MotionPlus - For the former, we only know about 5 out of the 8 sports, and expect the rest to be revealed at the show. For the latter, there should be some playable games at the show, seeing as how some of them are releasing within the next few weeks.
- Pikmin 3 was announced by Miyamoto at last year's E3, though no information about it was given out.
- Miyamoto also mentioned that the team behind New Super Mario Bros. was working on something.
- Sin & Punishment 2, revealed at the Fall conference. There were also a bunch of other games that were in trailer "slideshows" at the Fall conference. NDS (http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n10/conference2008fall/mov/ds.html?n10), Wii (http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n10/conference2008fall/mov/wii.html?n10)
- Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks should make an appearance, seeing as how it was only a short teaser trailer at GDC.
- DSi stuff: If they wanted to announce some of those Hybrid and DSi-exclusive cartridges, this would be the place.
From the "It came from Japan" File:
- Mario & Luigi RPG 3, released only a few weeks ago in Japan. Considering how popular Mario's RPGs tend to be, a US release seems inevitable.
- On that note, Professor Layton 2 was announced at GDC, seems like it would be likely candidate for an appearance, given the resurgence of sales for the first one.
- Capcom will be bringing Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars and Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth to the show, along with their upcoming titles Resident Evil: DarkSide Chronicles and the beat-em-up Spyborgs.
- XSEED has quite a strong localization line-up heading into E3 (http://kotaku.com/5272918/xseeds-e3-lineup-greatly-exceeds-our-expectations) (Little King's Story is a title to watch out for):
* Lunar: Silver Star Harmony (PSP)
* Half-Minute Hero (PSP)
* Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon (Wii)
* Arc Rise Fantasia (Wii)
* Flower, Sun and Rain (DS)
* JU-ON: The Grudge (Wii)
* Little King's Story (Wii)
* Ragnarok Online (DS)
* Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga (Wii)
- Ignition Entertainment will show off Vanillaware's side-scroller Muramasa: The Demon Blade, and the Skies of Arcadia-esque DS RPG Nostalgia.
- Atlus has confirmed that they will be have Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor and Trauma Team at the show. However, they recently hinted that there will be some surprises at the show.
- Square-Enix will be showing off the recently released Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days for the DS. Their main Nintendo attraction looks to be the new Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers. It's unknown whether Dragon Quest VI/IX/Wars will be making an appearance.
- Still no official word about the Sega-published RPGs The 7th Dragon and Infinite Space, though Sega is confirmed to be bringing Sands of Destruction. Platinum Games lists IS on their English web site, so it seems like it will inevitably leave Japan, we just don't know who will be publishing it in the other regions.
- Also, there's been no official US word on Cing's Another Code R/Trace Memory 2, which is set for release in Europe.
- Two more Nintendo games, both already in Japan, that seem likely: Warioware Myself (Made in Ore; Create and upload your own microgames), Rittai Picross (3D Picross)
From the Rumor Aisle (Off-hand comments, teasers):
- "Another Side Story... From the Space Pirates' perspective" - A few months back, a teaser image (http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=213744) appeared at the Japanese NPC Metroid Prime site. Now, three months later, the image is still there with a "coming soon" tag. It's one of those "could be something, could be nothing" situations.
- Wii Fit Plus is practically confirmed, what with all the registrations Nintendo has made. A Nikkei report also mentioned that a new Mario game would be coming in the second half of the year, though no details were given.
- An English-language trademark for the long-running Greek-themed RPG series The Glory of Heracles was registered. If something was to be announced, it would probably be the fairly recent DS version.
- An entry for Project Aces' (Developers of the Ace Combat series) Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces appeared on some Australian stores, with Atari listed as publisher. May turn out to just be an error.
- In a recent interview, Sean Brennan of Bethesda Europe (http://kotaku.com/5258959/bethesda-announcing-wii-game-this-year) said that Bethesda will be announcing a "really big Wii game" this year. He didn't say when the announcement would come, so it may be announced later on, probably during the Fall.
- Just a wild baseless guess on my part, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Level-5's Ninokuni: Another World eventually make an appearance in the US. With Studio Ghibli doing the FMVs, this title, like Professor Layton, seems too big to stay in Japan.
From the Pearce Collection (Misc. stuff: Games that were recently announced/updated, announced for some time, etc.):
- Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver, though they may hold off on talking about these until later, if March turns out to be the US/EU release date.
- Majesco has two platformers in the pipeline. The first is Wayforward's (Shantae, Contra 4) 2D remake of A Boy and His Blob, and the second is the recently revealed Flip's Twisted Adventure, a 3D platformer that involves a world twisting mechanic, sort of like Crush.
- Ubisoft will have the WM+ title Red Steel 2 at the show, it's set for a Holiday release, so it may be playable. Apparently, they plan to announce that they will be publishing No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. They also have the action title Rabbids Go Home planned, along with the brawler TMNT: Smash-Up!
- High Voltage will also be at the show with their soon-to-be-released FPS The Conduit. They also recently announced two more Wii titles, the WM+ fighter Gladiator A.D. and the online co-op FPS The Grinder.
- Konami will likely have a demo of the remake Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, which has generated some positive recent previews.
- Renegade Kid/SouthPeak Interactive revealed the sequel to their DS horror title, Dementium II. The original Dementium: The Ward was praised for its scary atmosphere, and looking at the reaction to the sequel's trailer (http://ds.ign.com/objects/143/14353930.html), they say it's just as creepy as ever.
So what was revealed?? (at Nintendo's conference and booth)
Before I start, I suggest checking out Nintendo's Press site (http://press.nintendo.com/E32009/) (Username: golin Password: harris) for trailers, release lists, and artwork.
Alternatively, you could check out post #529 (http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5921688&postcount=529) for Youtube'd versions of the trailers available on the Press site.
The Big Four
- Two of the "Big Four" announcements at the press conference were two very different Mario sequels. The first one shown was New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which, like the original NSMB, is a traditional Mario side-scroller with a few twists. Most notable about it is the new simultaneous two-to-four-player mode, in which players (As Mario, Luigi, and/or two Toads) are free to decide whether they want to work together, or compete for the highest score. Flying returns in the form of the Propeller Suit, the Penguin Suit allows Mario to freeze enemies with snowballs to use as platforms, and Yoshi is back as the players' faithful steed. Also, the Koopa Kids are apparently back. 80 levels in all (10 per world), no online play. Holiday 2009
- Super Mario Galaxy 2, the second of the Mario announcements, is the sequel to the critically-acclaimed original. Mario returns to space, with new galaxies to conquer, new power-ups and tools, and Yoshi, who once again serves as the faithful steed of Mario and Luigi. Miyamoto estimates that it will be "90-95%" new content, with the same amount of content as the original. 2010
- The third major announcement was a new Metroid game developed by Team Ninja, Metroid: Other M. The plotline seems to be a prequel to the rest of the Metroid series Metroid Fusion (Confirmed later to take place between Super Metroid and Fusion), when a young Samus still had Adam Malkovich as her commanding officer. The overall gameplay is a bit hard to peg down, as the video showed some side-scrolling gameplay, some Ninja Gaiden-style 3D arena brawling, and even some First-Person parts. We'll just call it Action for now. 2010
- The final major announcement was a sequel to Camelot's popular GBA RPG series, Golden Sun DS. The trailer is short, but it shows 3D graphics and some large summon attacks. 2010
Other Games at the Booth/conference
Wii
- Nintendo announced the final games list of Wii Sports Resort, making the sport list 12 in all: Frisbee Toss, Jet Skis, Swordplay, Golf, Bowling, Table Tennis, Basketball, Archery, Canoeing, Wakeboarding, Cycling, and Flying . At the beginning of Wii Sports Resort, your Miis will skydive to Wuhu Island, allowing you to get used to the MotionPlus. Miyamoto confirmed that it will have a "Stamp" system, with stamps serving as little trophies that highlight your achievements.
- Wii Fit Plus was officially announced. It will have more Yoga positions, along with a few new minigames, like a platformer and some sort of Birdman/Skydiving minigame. It also adds the ability to weigh your pets.
- Iwata announced the "Wii Vitality Sensor," a Wiimote peripheral that attaches to your finger. It tracks your pulse, "along with other internal signals." Nothing more was said about it.
- They also went over some third-party titles in the presser: Dead Space Extraction, FFCC: The Crystal Bearers, and Resident Evil The DarkSide Chronicles.
- Treasure's long-awaited shooter sequel, Sin and Punishment 2, was playable at Nintendo's booth. It is set for Q1 2010.
- Endless Ocean 2 was also at the show. This one seems to be a much more well-rounded playing experience, with a more focused but still largely optional storyline, more environments to swim around in (Artic, Alligator/Crocodile-infested River, Ruins, etc.), aggressive predators (Sharks, Alligators/Crocodiles), and the ability to help out sick fish. Online play is back, with Wii Speak support. Q1 2010
- Also at the press site: Monado: Beginning of the World (RPG from Monolith), Line Attack Heroes, Span Smasher (WM+ supported)
- Wii Third-Party Notables at the show: Little King's Story, Fragile: Farewell to the Moon, Ju-On: The Grudge (XSEED), Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Ignition Entertainment), Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (Konami), Tatsunoko vs. Capcom (Capcom), The Grinder, Gladiator A.D. (High Voltage), Shiren The Wanderer, Trauma Team (Atlus)
DS/DSi
- Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! was announced for DSiWare. Using the Mini-Mario-style gameplay from MvDK2, the level creator, along with the online sharing of the levels, has more of a focus this time around. June 8th, 2009
- Also announced for DSiWare was the US version of the animation creator Moving Memo Pad, now called Flipnote Studio. Summer 2009
- Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is playable at the show floor, so there should be some hands-on impressions and gameplay videos at the usual places. A trailer is at the Press site, showing some of the new tools at Link's disposal. He can control Phantoms to solve puzzles or serve as decoys, use a tornado-producing fan, and he can even use a whip to attack enemies or swing across chasms. Holiday 2009
- The English-language version of Mario & Luigi RPG 3 was shown, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. Fall 2009
- Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (Layton 2) was on the Press site with an English-language trailer. August 24th, 2009
- Nintendo also announced on their Press site that they're bringing over the latest DS iteration of a long-running Greek-themed RPG series, The Glory of Heracles. 2010
- Warioware D.I.Y. (Made in Ore) was announced for the US/EU, though no release date has been given. In this iteration, you can create your own Microgames, upload them online, and download microgames that other folks have created.
- Picross 3D was announced on the Press Site. Already released in Japan, this puzzler gives you a cube, and you have to chip away the unneeded blocks to find the mystery 3D figure. This also has a create-and-share mechanic that allows you to create your own 3D Picross puzzles, share them online, and download puzzles that others have made.
- Other DS titles mentioned on the press site: Style Savvy, Fossil Fighters, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky
- Some third-party mentions: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, C.O.P. The Rookie (From Ubi Soft, we think this is the mystery game that IGN compared to GTA in a tweet)
- DS Third-Party Notables at the show: Scribblenauts (5th Cell; IGN Game of the Show), Nostalgia (Ignition Entertainment), Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor (Atlus)
Miyamoto Roundtable/Interviews - Status of Zelda Wii and Pikmin 3!
- Miyamoto confirmed that Nintendo is working on a new Zelda for the Wii, though he said that he does not plan to announce it until next year. He said that he's interested in using Wii MotionPlus in the game, possibly even making it WM+-exclusive, with the Archery and Swordfighting segments of WSR serving as his inspirations. He showed an illustration for Zelda that was later placed on Nintendo's Press site.
http://files.simgaming.net/Wii_Zelda_e3.jpg
- In an interview with Kotaku (http://kotaku.com/5276531/miyamoto-sorry-he-has-no-new-pikmin-for-us-yet), Miyamoto confirmed that Pikmin 3 is still in the works. However, due to the number of projects that Nintendo has, the development team for it is currently small, so it's moving along a little slowly right now.
Pertinent Information:
- There should be live videos of the press conferences from all of the major sites:
IGN's E3 Site (http://e3.ign.com/)
E3Insider/GameTrailers (http://e3insider.com/)
* Strangely enough, it was the exact opposite for the UbiSoft conference. GameSpot's feed was choppy, and GameTrailer's feed was high-quality and silky smooth. My verdict for GameTrailers: When it works, it works beautifully.
GameSpot's E3 site (http://e3.gamespot.com/)
* Gamespot had poor video quality and so-so sound volume, but it's a reliable live feed at times.
G4tv (Online and TV) (http://g4tv.com/e32009/splash.aspx)
* I watched the TV feed for the Microsoft presser, and as promised, it was commercial-free. May be a good choice if you catch G4. Haven't tried the online feed.
Last year, I went with IGN's live feed for the conferences, since it had a good video quality, but I'm sure that the other big sites will have something similar for this year.
Other press conferences that may be of interest:
- EA - 2:00pm PDT, Monday, June 1 FIN
* Nothing substantially new was announced, EA Active is getting an expansion pack, and Dead Space Extraction & Spore were no-shows,
- Ubi Soft - 5:00pm PDT, June 1 FIN
* Ubi Soft had playable demos of Red Steel 2 (IGN has preview (http://wii.ign.com/articles/988/988473p1.html) and full videoes (http://media.wii.ign.com/media/867/867131/vids_1.html)) and Rabbids Go Home at the show. Red Steel 2 will be bundled with WM+. They announced Your Shape, a fitness game that uses a motion-sensing/scanning camera, and Academy of Champions, a Soccer-meets-Hogwarts game featuring soccer player Pele. Loooong speech from James Cameron about his upcoming movie Avatar. Q? Entertainment is working on the mysterious "Project Eden." Ubi Soft confirmed that they will be publishing No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle.
- Square-Enix - 11:00am PDT, Wednesday, June 3
- Konami - 3:00pm PDT, June 3
-----------------------------------
Well, it's that time of the year again. Nintendo's conference is set to be the first Tuesday conference, a day after Microsoft's conference, and two hours before Sony's 11AM conference. So, I went through some past events, rumors, and articles to get an idea of potential game appearances, collected in the spoiler tree below.
From the Isle of Past Shows:
- Wii Sports Resort & Wii MotionPlus - For the former, we only know about 5 out of the 8 sports, and expect the rest to be revealed at the show. For the latter, there should be some playable games at the show, seeing as how some of them are releasing within the next few weeks.
- Pikmin 3 was announced by Miyamoto at last year's E3, though no information about it was given out.
- Miyamoto also mentioned that the team behind New Super Mario Bros. was working on something.
- Sin & Punishment 2, revealed at the Fall conference. There were also a bunch of other games that were in trailer "slideshows" at the Fall conference. NDS (http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n10/conference2008fall/mov/ds.html?n10), Wii (http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n10/conference2008fall/mov/wii.html?n10)
- Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks should make an appearance, seeing as how it was only a short teaser trailer at GDC.
- DSi stuff: If they wanted to announce some of those Hybrid and DSi-exclusive cartridges, this would be the place.
From the "It came from Japan" File:
- Mario & Luigi RPG 3, released only a few weeks ago in Japan. Considering how popular Mario's RPGs tend to be, a US release seems inevitable.
- On that note, Professor Layton 2 was announced at GDC, seems like it would be likely candidate for an appearance, given the resurgence of sales for the first one.
- Capcom will be bringing Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars and Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth to the show, along with their upcoming titles Resident Evil: DarkSide Chronicles and the beat-em-up Spyborgs.
- XSEED has quite a strong localization line-up heading into E3 (http://kotaku.com/5272918/xseeds-e3-lineup-greatly-exceeds-our-expectations) (Little King's Story is a title to watch out for):
* Lunar: Silver Star Harmony (PSP)
* Half-Minute Hero (PSP)
* Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon (Wii)
* Arc Rise Fantasia (Wii)
* Flower, Sun and Rain (DS)
* JU-ON: The Grudge (Wii)
* Little King's Story (Wii)
* Ragnarok Online (DS)
* Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga (Wii)
- Ignition Entertainment will show off Vanillaware's side-scroller Muramasa: The Demon Blade, and the Skies of Arcadia-esque DS RPG Nostalgia.
- Atlus has confirmed that they will be have Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor and Trauma Team at the show. However, they recently hinted that there will be some surprises at the show.
- Square-Enix will be showing off the recently released Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days for the DS. Their main Nintendo attraction looks to be the new Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers. It's unknown whether Dragon Quest VI/IX/Wars will be making an appearance.
- Still no official word about the Sega-published RPGs The 7th Dragon and Infinite Space, though Sega is confirmed to be bringing Sands of Destruction. Platinum Games lists IS on their English web site, so it seems like it will inevitably leave Japan, we just don't know who will be publishing it in the other regions.
- Also, there's been no official US word on Cing's Another Code R/Trace Memory 2, which is set for release in Europe.
- Two more Nintendo games, both already in Japan, that seem likely: Warioware Myself (Made in Ore; Create and upload your own microgames), Rittai Picross (3D Picross)
From the Rumor Aisle (Off-hand comments, teasers):
- "Another Side Story... From the Space Pirates' perspective" - A few months back, a teaser image (http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=213744) appeared at the Japanese NPC Metroid Prime site. Now, three months later, the image is still there with a "coming soon" tag. It's one of those "could be something, could be nothing" situations.
- Wii Fit Plus is practically confirmed, what with all the registrations Nintendo has made. A Nikkei report also mentioned that a new Mario game would be coming in the second half of the year, though no details were given.
- An English-language trademark for the long-running Greek-themed RPG series The Glory of Heracles was registered. If something was to be announced, it would probably be the fairly recent DS version.
- An entry for Project Aces' (Developers of the Ace Combat series) Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces appeared on some Australian stores, with Atari listed as publisher. May turn out to just be an error.
- In a recent interview, Sean Brennan of Bethesda Europe (http://kotaku.com/5258959/bethesda-announcing-wii-game-this-year) said that Bethesda will be announcing a "really big Wii game" this year. He didn't say when the announcement would come, so it may be announced later on, probably during the Fall.
- Just a wild baseless guess on my part, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Level-5's Ninokuni: Another World eventually make an appearance in the US. With Studio Ghibli doing the FMVs, this title, like Professor Layton, seems too big to stay in Japan.
From the Pearce Collection (Misc. stuff: Games that were recently announced/updated, announced for some time, etc.):
- Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver, though they may hold off on talking about these until later, if March turns out to be the US/EU release date.
- Majesco has two platformers in the pipeline. The first is Wayforward's (Shantae, Contra 4) 2D remake of A Boy and His Blob, and the second is the recently revealed Flip's Twisted Adventure, a 3D platformer that involves a world twisting mechanic, sort of like Crush.
- Ubisoft will have the WM+ title Red Steel 2 at the show, it's set for a Holiday release, so it may be playable. Apparently, they plan to announce that they will be publishing No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. They also have the action title Rabbids Go Home planned, along with the brawler TMNT: Smash-Up!
- High Voltage will also be at the show with their soon-to-be-released FPS The Conduit. They also recently announced two more Wii titles, the WM+ fighter Gladiator A.D. and the online co-op FPS The Grinder.
- Konami will likely have a demo of the remake Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, which has generated some positive recent previews.
- Renegade Kid/SouthPeak Interactive revealed the sequel to their DS horror title, Dementium II. The original Dementium: The Ward was praised for its scary atmosphere, and looking at the reaction to the sequel's trailer (http://ds.ign.com/objects/143/14353930.html), they say it's just as creepy as ever.