After some spectacular announcements from Playstation and Xbox 360, Nintendo’s briefing at E3 was a little disappointing with no real surprises on offer. It seems Nintendo is going to try and ride the wave of momentum and focus almost solely on software title releases.
Cammie Dunaway, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Nintendo, kicked off the proceedings by announcing the company’s strategy of ‘every culture’ and ‘every connection’ where it is maintaining its focus on targeting everyone and not just the traditional gamer.
In terms of hardware announcements, the upcoming release of the Wii Motion Plus was demonstrated and so was the new Wii Vitality Sensor, which apparently measures your pulse and biometric data. But no news was given as to how this new piece of hardware will be used.
Aside from this Nintendo have taken a much more low-key approach to this year’s E3 and decided to focus heavily on upcoming software releases.
The main draw card was the announcement of a new Super Mario Bros game for the Wii, where multi-player functionality is being strongly promoted.
The other highlight was the unveiling of an add-on to the hugely successful Wii Fit, which has sold 15 million units worldwide.
The Wii Fit Plus, is designed to make the workout routine of the original more tailored to the user, with six new strength and yoga activities and the ability to mix and match workouts.
It will also feature 15 new mini-games including a math orientated game and a Mario-style obstacle course.
Some of the other key game releases demonstrated at the event were: a new exclusive in the Final Fantasy franchise, Crystal Chronicles; Kingdom Hearts 358/2; Mario and Luigi RPG; Zelda Spirit Tracks and even a game based on the James Patterson Women’s Murder Club books.
Overall the key message to take out from the E3 briefing is that Nintendo is aiming at strengthening its already strong consumer base and also in revitalising many of its familiar gaming icons.