My final E3 reaction post is for Nintendo. This is a company that I have loved for years, but hasn’t done much for me lately. There were about five Wii games that I REALLY enjoyed. I still don’t own a 3DS game, even though I bought the system at launch. So, I was pretty excited to see what Nintendo has on tap and see if they could live up to expectations (Spoiler alert: Hell yeah they did)

First off was the 3DS line up. Between Super Mario 3D, StarFox 3D, Luigi’s Mansion 2, Mario Kart 3DS, and Kid Icarus, I’m all kinds of excited. I’ll be buying all five of those, at launch. Super Mario 3D is basically Nintendo taking every good part of every Mario game to date and rolling them into one. Then take that ball of awesome and add all sorts of new shit to it to make it even more awesome. That is what this game will be. Same for Mario Kart. I can’t wait!

After the 3DS stuff, they began talking about the new console, now officially named the WiiU. A LOT of people hate the name, AND the game, and I don’t understand it. What is there to hate? The controller for the WiiU is more of a tablet, with a 6″ touchscreen, dual analog controls, shoulder and face buttons, a d-pad, accelerometer, gyroscope, multiple cameras, and a microphone. Basically, Nintendo could have announced it as a new handheld. But no, this device is instead a controller for the new console, which will not only show things on your TV, but also on your screen. The applications of this are infinite. Oh, also they’re making it backwards compatible with all your Wii games, AND accessories. You can even use the new controller in conjunction with a Wiimote, Balance Board, and other stuff. So not only are they rolling out a brand new kickass console, they’re also giving the Wii itself a new lease on life.

So why are so many people upset about it? From what I’ve gathered, people think they’re just using gimmicks again. I don’t understand that argument. The new controller gives developers the freedom to include traditional dual-analog gameplay and totally ignore motion control if they want. But they can also leverage all this new technology and create totally new and unique gaming experiences. Best of both worlds, right?

People are obviously worried about the cost, and that I can live with. This thing won’t be cheap. But people have to realize that this is the first of the next-gen offerings. Remember where the 360 and PS3 were priced when they first launched? I don’t expect the WiiU to reach into the high-end PS3 launch range, but $350 or so wouldn’t be too outlandish.

The one thing I hope they do is plan for the future. Don’t just shoot to match the PS3 and the 360. Remember that their next offerings are coming too. Don’t get left in this awkward gap of playing catch-up. Please Nintendo, don’t fuck this up.

And thats pretty much all I have to say about Nintendo.

Except the fact that they also announced that Smash Brothers would be coming to both WiiU and 3DS. Sort of a no-brainer, but exciting nonetheless!