E3 2009 Preview: A Look at Nintendo, Speculation On the Wii and DS

Posted by Jereme Puik

Nintendo has had a rather bleak few years since the Wii’s release at least by hardcore gamer standards. The Wii has been selling like hot cakes and printing money ever since it released back in 2006. It’s been a good 3 years since it’s launch and it continues to break sales records every month when we see those NPD numbers both for the Wii and DS. Nintendo continues to stick to what it does best and with franchises like Mario and Zelda, you can never go wrong. Nintendo’s mission for the Wii was to expand gaming to an audience no one ever thought was reachable. You have everyone from parents to grandparents and everyone in between grabbing a Wii remote and joining in on the fun. Recently, Nintendo seemed more focused on bringing the casual crowd into the mix and they have done more then that then ever before. Here we’ll take a look at what Nintendo has done and what they can do to gain the confidence of their hardcore following back and still provide for the casual crowd.

Nintendo Wii Speculation

There aren’t many things Nintendo can do at this point that will really make an impact on the hardware side of things. Their formula of “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” can certainly take shape here. The Wii has had its potential reached more times then one can count. With the Wii Balance Board among other accessories making the Wii experience more fulfilled. However, we can certainly try to make our bets, so here we go.

Speculation: Will the Wii finally receive fully realized HD support? At the moment, the Nintendo Wii only has the capability of going up to 720p in HD. That’s definitely not enough to keep up with the standards of technology today. One big guess would be that at today’s press conference, Nintendo will hopefully deliver an update to the Wii’s dashboard and internal memory, making the Wii capable of delivering a 1080p HD signal. This would require a new Wii console as well as an HDMI output. One would hope this would turn into reality.

Speculation: More Wii colors would deliver more choices for hardcore gamers as well as casual gamers who like to keep color coordinated. There have been rumors about this happening since 2007 and nothing has come to life. We saw the appearance of these colors at the announcement of the Wii a few years back and it is a guess as to what happened to the idea. There were colors like red, green, black and even light blue that would’ve made for an interesting addition to the home. Nintendo fanatics are looking for some kind of variety to add to their Wii instead of the default white.

Speculation: More VC titles Announced ~ This would probably be a more realistic guess. The Virtual Console has exploded with the Nintendo Download and has provided gamers with all bits nostalgia and has opened a whole new world for gamers of the current generation. Allowing for more VC announcements would bring games like Super Mario Kart (which releases in Japan next month) a chance to live on, as according to Joystiq Nintendo. The Nintendo 64 list will continue to grow as there are tons of classics to choose from, Goldeneye anyone?

Speculation: Wii Ware or Virtual Console Greatest Hits ~ This would be an interesting addition to the online service. Much like Xbox Live Arcade, this is pure speculation on my part that Nintendo would reveal a Greatest Hits section for some of their dearest titles. They could easily reduce the price by about a 100 or 200 points on their games and make them available as a Greatest Hit. You could take the games that have sold the most units online and give them a discount, basically. This would make for more usage on the Wii Shop and give gamers a chance to purchase online instead of trying to find the original cartridge at their local pawn shop or PlayNTrade.

Speculation: Shigeru Miyamoto reveals new IP ~ If there’s anything that would help Nintendo bring itself on top of originality once again, it would be to reveal a new IP. Coming from Miyamoto himself would be a great kick in the air against Microsoft and Sony. While it certainly wouldn’t be game breaking for them, revealing a new IP would open a lot of new opportunities for Nintendo. They would obviously be opening a whole new franchise especially considering Miyamoto has a knack for creating things out of the simplest of ideas.

A few speculation reports giving you a look at how Nintendo could possibly improve from last year’s debacle to the hardcore fans. Many would never forget the craziness of Wii Music or Shaun White’s Snowboarding being the only highlights of the show. While it was nice to see Miyamoto in action again, it also seemed a bit awkward. So, let’s move on to the software, what will Nintendo show off at their E3 press conference? Apparently they already have a blue tarp surrounding their section on the show floor blocked off by tight security. This is where the speculation will fly like madness. What can we expect from the software side of things?

Nintendo Wii ~ The Games

New Mario Title: It’s been a long time coming since the release of Super Mario Galaxy a game that had Mario reaching the far reaches of the stars. What could be next for Mario’s adventure? Could it be a return to form and a classic adventure much in the vein of Super Mario World? No new information has even revealed itself regarding what mess Mario could possibly get into next. It would certainly make some Nintendo fans happy that’s for sure. It is rumored that according to IGN, a New Super Mario Bros title may be in development for Wii. Having first debuted on the DS, it was the best selling Mario game in recent years and was fun. Would a New Super Mario Bros title for Wii do the same? It’s only a matter of time before the conference reveals its true self.

New Zelda Title: With the announcement of Zelda: Spirit Tracks for the DS at the GDC, everyone pretty much expected Nintendo would one day announce a new Wii Zelda game. It would make the conference that much more exciting. It was stated last year by Reggie Fils Aime that both the Zelda and Mario teams were hard at work on their respective games. It’s been a year since that saying and one would tend to guess that Nintendo would at least give us a teaser trailer to show off during the show

Mario Party Returns: You can’t have a new console without a new Mario Party. It’s inevitable that the series will continue. With the lifespan of the Wii lasting longer and longer, you have to continue the series one way or another. Mario Party 8 has already graced the console and received an unfortunate low grade on reviews. If Nintendo can make Mario Party fun again, you can bet the series will be back on top as well as on the Nintendo DS yet again.

New Super Smash Bros: This one is a huge question mark. Super Smash Bros. Brawl released last year and rose greatly in sales. It received rave reviews and renewed everyone’s interest in the series that cared. Yes, you’ll see a trend here of Nintendo continuing to rely on old franchises to keep itself afloat, but this is what their good at. They have 3^rd parties to give the Wii a better outlook on its future to hardcore gamers and its relevance to the market. Super Smash Bros would be a great new addition to the Wii’s library even though with the sequel improving upon its predecessors mishaps.

The Nintendo DS and DSi

With the Nintendo DSi, Nintendo continues its tradition of releasing handheld after handheld iteration constantly making small adjustments and never being satisfied with just one release. The Nintendo DSi marked the first time a Nintendo handheld had gone digital. By removing the Gameboy Advanced slot the system moved into the next-generation. Here’s what we think will happen for the DSi this year.

Speculation ~ Virtual Console DSi: By removing the Gameboy advanced slot this opened a whole look at combining the DSi with the Wii. Using the DSi you’ll be able to download original Gameboy classics all the way to the Gameboy Color and Gameboy Advanced. The titles could cost anywhere from 300-500 points I would imagine. With the DS Shop as it is now, it is certainly limited in its software capabilities and adding a DS Virtual Console would only make sense for Nintendo to continue printing money.

Speculation ~ Merging Wii Points With DS Points: Making a universal point system would help consumers keep everything on one card. By merging together Wii Points and DS Points, all cards are compatible with both systems. While it is possible to buy points on the system itself, some people just don’t feel safe about putting their credit card numbers in a small handheld that could easily be hacked. An all in one point card would help make purchases easier. Connecting both the Wii and DS shop simultaneously this would allow for easy purchase of your games and you won’t have to buy double cards to have extra points in the long run.

Speculation ~ More DSi Colors: This is an easy one; it would make sense for Nintendo to release more DSi colors. Just like the Wii, everyone loves variety and releasing more colors outside of Light Blue and Black would allow everyone to feel original. Combination colors seemed to have worked for original DS so trying that again would also possibly allow for a drop in price in the near future. Releasing at $169.99 does make it hard for one to make the jump from their original DS even with the ability to trade in your old one.

The Nintendo DS & DSi: The Games

The games are a huge part of what makes the DS such a consumer friendly handheld. Yes, most of the content selling on the DS is what some would consider “Shovelware”, that same software is what helps the DS reach out to gamers outside of the generic demographic. More games are continuing to release on the platform and with the release of Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars, one in the crowd would hope that developers would continue to reach for the high front and release games for the core audience that the company might’ve have forgotten about last year.

New Super Mario Bros: The first Super Mario Bros on the DS was an instant classic and really brought you back to the days of Super Mario World. It would only make sense for Nintendo to release a sequel and possibly expand on its multiplayer capabilities. While it would be nice for them to get rid of friend codes, it probably won’t be going away anytime soon. A new adventure for the two bros would help keep things fresh and revitalize the franchise.

A New IP: It would be nice if Nintendo was really working on a new face for their company, while it has been Mario for over 20 years, a new character on the scene would make things interesting for fans and developers alike. The internal team at Nintendo know how to work their magic and if they played their cards right they can easily find success in their character. They’re already printing money and with brilliant minds like Shigeru Miyamoto at the helm you really can’t go wrong. With Mario’s adventures continuing to dwindle down in possibility, it sounds just about the right time to introduce something new.

Zelda Spirit Tracks Showcase: Just like the demo showcases in Microsoft and eventually Sony, it would be a good idea to show off a new demo detailing what Spirit Tracks is all about. Instead of keeping it to the show floor it would be a great way to get people excited and give the press a first look at an exclusive level only shown on stage with a separate level on the show floor. I believe we’ll definitely be hearing more info on the game with a possible release date secured and demo for the DS Shop?

Super Smash Bros DS: This one is a stretch, but wouldn’t it be nice to have a portable fighter of the Smash Bros caliber on the DS? We’ve already seen fighters like Bleach making an appearance from Japan and somehow not having a Nintendo fighting franchise on the DS just screams a possibility. You could discover a whole new cast of characters specifically for the DS version from other franchises that Nintendo has even glanced at before. The online multiplayer is there, and the stylus is there, all it needs is a green light.

There you have it; our speculation for the Nintendo press conference and all 3 E3 press conferences is complete. Nintendo’s Press Conference is about to bring in Approx 1 hour and 26 minutes at the time of this publishing. Hopefully Nintendo will have some surprises in store for its fan base on the casual side as well as the core that have kept them alive for years and years to come. The Nintendo Wii and DS will continue to print money no matter what happens at the conference today and there’s just one question that needs to be answered, what can Nintendo do to improve its online service? It’s certainly lacking on many levels, and that is just one question I shall leave you with today. Enjoy E3 everyone and don’t forget to stay tuned to Game Plasma for post-conference coverage and analysis right here.