Nintendo held its press event for the E3 video gaming conference on Tuesday where they announced a cavalcade of new titles for their latest console, the Wii U.
The update to Nintendo's popular motion controlled Wii console has been underperforming in sales. Many feared that with Xbox One and PlayStation 4 being announced, Nintendo wouldn't really have a place at this year's conference. The Japan-based company responded to these claims by making their event all about the games, bringing back some old favorites and some fan-favorite characters.
One of the most exciting titles showcased at this year's E3 was the trailer for the new "Super Smash Bros.," which will be released for Wii U and 3DS. The "Smash Bros." franchise has been a success for Nintendo in the past as it combines characters from every major game from the company including Mario, Link, Donkey Kong and Samus, and pits them in high-stakes, arcade-style combat against each other.
This year's big news from the game, other than the announcement of a new title, is the addition of two new characters. The Villager from "Animal Crossing" and fan favorite Megaman, who's announcement was so special that he got his own trailer, have been added to the roster of playable fighters.
Along with "Smash Bros." Nintendo announced an addition to the "Mario" series titled "Super Mario 3D World." The new game is a wink to the 1988 "Super Mario Bros. 2" in that in reunites the brothers with Toad and Peach and gives them their physical attributes from the older game back. Peach can float once again, Luigi can jump high, Toad can move fast and Mario can do a little bit of everything. The game is expected to be out this December.
In the vein of popular fan favorites, Nintendo announced the release date for its Gamecube remake of "The Legend of Zelda: the Wind Waker" in HD. The game will hit stores in October and have a few updates to the game play of the original, most notable of which is that it will be rendered in 1080p. Unfortunately for those who were hoping for a new installment in the franchise, the company didn't have anything else to say on the subject of "Zelda."
It would seem that all of the new announcements went to "Mario" as the company announced "Mario Kart 8" lanching to Wii U in the spring of 2014. The latest installment of the racing game isn't necessarily revolutionary, simply updates to the game and mechanics that fans have grown to love. What this does introduce is 3D aspects to the courses, which allow racers to go up on the ceiling and defy gravity in all kinds of fun ways.
Nintendo finally announced their plans for a forthcoming Wii Fit U, the company's exercise gaming hybrid. Its scheduled release date of early 2013 is not happening. According to the company, it is being delayed until December to "create new features" and bring "as high quality a gaming experience as possible."
