Summary
Noah and Evan dissect the most current Wii U rumors, from hardware to games.

You can send in feedback to showmail at nintendojo dot com, facebook.com/nintendojo or twitter.com/nintendojo! You can also leave a comment below!

Recording Date
May 14, 2012

Hosts
Noah and Evan

Contents
00:00:00 Introduction
00:05:47 Player Input: Listener Style
00:15:08 Wii U Wonder: Wii U Rumor Roundup
01:08:04 Conclusion
01:08:06 Credits
01:09:55 Total Length

Links

Pokémon eShop games coming this Fall

Pokémon Dream Radar and Pokédex 3D Pro, the two new Pokémon eShop games that were announced during last month’s Nintendo Direct, are coming to North America and Europe this Fall just in time for Pokémon Black 2 and White 2. (Was there ever any doubt that they wouldn’t?)

Pokémon Dream Radar (formerly AR Searcher) uses the 3DS camera and augmented reality technology to allow players to find and catch Pokémon. Any Pokémon caught in Dream Radar can be transferred to Black 2 and White 2.

Also coming this Fall is Pokédex 3D Pro, a new edition of the existing Pokédex 3D. It will feature every Pokémon in the National Pokédex, and they will all be accessible from the first use. The Pokédex will feature comprehensive details, comparative stats, and the ability to sort through various types of Pokémon.
The exact release dates of the eShop titles have not been announced, but it would be safe to say they will be very close to the release of Pokémon Black Version 2 and White Version 2. Prices for the Western releases have also not been revealed, but they definitely won’t be free like the first Pokédex 3D.

Source: Press release email

Mario Kart 7 patch drops today

Today, Nintendo is sending out a 3DS update that is patching the often abused glitches in the Maka Wuhu and Bowser Castle 1 tracks in Mario Kart 7. Players online have been using these glitches to jump ahead in races, making many other players upset (some players had even started boycotting Mario Kart 7 online play until Nintendo repaired the glitches!). The new patches are required to be downloaded in order to race online, so everyone will be able to race in a glitch-free environment now. This patch sets a new precedent for Nintendo, a company which has never made an in-game patch of this sort before. The folks at Nintendo Life have step-by-step instructions for downloading the patch, which must be done through the eShop or by QR Code.

Source: Nintendo Life

Watch the first English Kingdom Hearts 3D Trailer

Square Enix released the first trailer of Kingdom Heart 3D: Dream Drop Distance to feature its English voice cast. Behold!

Source: Nintendo World Report

Hello and welcome back to Square Roots, where we… switch things up a little bit. Cubed Roots is the name of the game this time around, as Super Mario Strikers (2005) is indeed not a Virtual Console title, but a GameCube one. Still, you can play this bad boy on your Wii (GameCube controllers compulsory of course). More importantly, I think you really should.

I remember playing this game at my local Best Buy– you know, at one of those grimy stations, buttons ringed with caked grodiness, thumbsticks reduced to skeletal stubs… yes, the Porta Potty of video game experiences. I wanted the game immediately, even though my older brother mocked it as a crappy one, thrown together hastily and about as engaging as something you could play through your browser. What an untrained eye he had. And oh, how perfectly straightforward and responsive the gameplay felt.

In that way, Super Mario Strikers is very much a game I would mention in the same breath as Super Smash Bros. Melee. I won’t talk your head off about the latter, but the lightning speed of Strikers‘ animations and controls makes it a proud peer of the game. And of course, it features a group of first-party Nintendo characters (though much reduced, and including Mushroom Kingdom residents only).

Like many of Mario and company’s athletic ventures, though, Super Mario Strikers was developed by an outside studio: Next Level Games, in this case. You can feel that Nintendo’s authorship just isn’t there as early on as the game’s menus. This isn’t really a negative trait–but the big N’s signature affect goes unused in the face of a more “just business” style.

And where else in Yoshi’s past does he rock a scowl like this one besides playing footie?

The Vancouver-based developer is also leading the creative charge on the upcoming Luigi’s Mansion 2 for 3DS. If they’ve earned further projects with Nintendo, it’s because they didn’t screw up with Strikers! It’s apparently a pretty fun studio to work for, too.

It can’t be shrugged that the studio missed out on a few opportunities to make a more complete package out of the game. Stadiums only differ from one another on an aesthetic basis. Surely it could have taken a page from the previous year’s Mario Power Tennis to throw diverse hazards in the mix, invoking much more of the Mario universe’s creature catalog in the process. Where was the Super Mario Sunshine based level, complete with cheering Piantas and occasional goop spills? How did Bowser Stadium fail to include the menacing gravity of the Thwomps?

Super Mario Strikers, then, is a game for those who can look past the shortcomings of a game’s packaging, focusing instead on the winning formula of its gameplay mechanics. It’s as much pinball as it is soccer, and in that prized pass-pass-shoot responsiveness it makes for a Mario game outside of the norm… right? Here I’m reminded of the beauty of the GameCube controller, and of the fact that Nintendo needs to bring it back (they won’t). Is the Strikers‘ variety of seamless speed possible without it? I’ll have to give the Wii’s own sequel to the game a shot to find out. (And I would love your input on the matter. How does Super Mario Strikers Charged handle? Let us know in the comments below.)

Oh, and I can’t believe I missed this piece of Waluigi mythos back when I wrote about the character. Along with the steely determination etched in other characters’ faces, this little celebration surely makes for the least innocent (if not slightly seedy) representation of Nintendo’s mascots. Really though, how many man-hours went into designing this post-goal celebration? Can it be that during none of them the team of Next Level Games hit the “wait just a minute” button? Oh well, what’s done is done (and redone in Super Mario Strikers Charged, shown in the video below).

I don’t really want to leave you on that note. It’s an exciting time of year for fans of soccer worldwide. And, with the game hopefully costing less at your local used game shop than it does on Amazon, it’s a smart time to pick it up if you haven’t already. It really does make for some of the better couch co-op Nintendo has ever had to offer.

Have a forgotten GameCube classic near your heart that you’d like us to cover in the next edition of Cubed Roots? Let us know why we should discuss your favourite in the comments’ below.

You know it. I know it. Sonic the Hedgehog is dying. He’s been dying for a long time, and despite Mario’s additional Olympic life support, his condition has been getting progressively worse and worse every time he releases a new game. We cringed at 2006′s Sonic the Hedgehog, we despaired over Sonic Unleashed and Sonic and the Black Knight, and Sonic and the Secret Rings was just a complete travesty. He may have shown brief signs of recovery with Sonic Advance and Sonic Rush, but I think we all know why the recent Sonic Generations wanted to make a firm distinction between the ailing “modern” Sonic and his comparatively sprightly “classic” ancestor…

Where did it all go wrong? What happened to the glory days? Well, if you were going to name one game where it all started to go downhill, it would probably be Sonic Adventure. Despite being the best-selling game on Dreamcast when it was first released, it was also one of the first games to place our blue hedgehog in a full 3D environment. And boy was it bad. From the awful voice-acting to the ridiculous camera, we all began wishing that Sonic could remain trapped in his 2D world forever.

The DX Director’s Cut port for GameCube was even less well received than the original, but as much flack as Sonic has received over the years, I still can’t bring myself to really hate this game (or its sequel, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, for that matter). Perhaps it’s got something to do with those pesky nostalgia goggles– I first played this game with a friend on their Dreamcast back in the late ’90s and was blown away by its FMV cutscenes and absurdly labelled “adventure fields”– but trust me, I’ve tried getting into other Sonic games and every time I’ve failed miserably. None of them, not even the Sonic Mega Collection, have ever captured my attention like Sonic Adventure, and despite its many flaws, it remains one of my favourite Sonic games to date.

If Sonic had remained a silent protagonist, I have a feeling his future might have been a lot brighter…

To be honest, I’ve never really understood the Sonic universe. It didn’t really need to make much sense back in the ’80s when it was all about racing to the finish line and rescuing cute animals, but ever since Sonic and his friends started invading the human living space and romancing their inhabitants hanging out in our towns and cities, there’s always been something that doesn’t quite compute. How is it normal for these apparently unique and therefore incredibly endangered anthropomorphic creatures to just walk around town with nobody batting an eye-lid? Who makes Amy Rose’s clothes and everyone’s giant shoes? And why, when every other human looks like Mr. Bland from Genericville, Plaintown, does Dr. Robotnik (sorry, Eggman) look like he’s from a completely different planet?

These conundrums still baffle me to this day, but one of the things I liked best about Sonic Adventure was its attempt at a multi-layered (and relatively logical) narrative. Despite having twice, and sometimes three times as many stages as everyone else, it wasn’t all about Sonic this time. You could also play as Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Big the Cat, or one of Eggman’s robots, and each character had their own individual story arc. Like a dated episode of Game of Thrones, each perspective gradually overlapped with each other as the game went on, gradually filling in the bigger picture the further you progressed, and it was only by playing through everyone’s story that you could find out where Chaos had come from and why he was reaping such havoc.

The story took you from the urban sprawl of Station Square to the tropical vistas of the Mystic Ruins, and every now and again you’d even get a glimpse of the ancient Echidna city on Angel Island 3000 years in the past. I’m not sure why Sega felt the need to give everything such uninspiring labels, but these weirdly named “adventure fields” gave the world a much more tangible back-story for me to latch onto. From the mechanical oddities of Eggman’s Egg Carrier to the strange temple in the maze-like jungle, it gave me just that little bit more reason to care. They may seem paltry by comparison now, but they felt as giant as Xenoblade‘s Gaur Plain back in the day, and they were genuinely interesting environments that I wanted to explore. Even though Sonic may have snagged his feet on nearly every single polygon pebble in existence, things like discovering Big’s little jungle hut or stumbling across a Chao egg in a shop window really made me start to appreciate the finer details of the Sonic universe rather than simply rushing past them in a blur of colour. Seeking out all their little nooks and crannies also offered a pleasant change of pace from the slightly more manic “action stages”.

Forget Dr. Robotnik– I think the people of Station Square should be more concerned about that giant Orca destroying their beaches!

Moreover, despite some character’s stories overlapping more than others– Tails, for instance, spends a lot of his time following Sonic around, meaning his stages often took place in exactly the same locales– there was always something different about them to avoid repetition, whether it was an alternative route you had to take or different objectives you had to complete. Even the cut-scenes and plot devices linking each stage together were different so you didn’t have to sit through the same lines of bad dialogue over and over again (though how that makes sense within the context of the overall story, I have no idea– it rather makes me think the entire game’s been dreamt up in each character’s own fantasy land where they’re the main hero, but that’s a topic for another day).

And even though Sonic games are, and always have been, about racing round at impossible speeds, it was nice to kick back every so often with Knuckles’s treasure hunt stages or Big’s fishing odyssey. In fact, scrap Big the Cat– he was never really that fun and he’s the only character whose story I never bothered completing– but despite some characters being definitely less enjoyable than others, it comes back to the fact that Sonic Adventure was really six games in one (albeit six very short games), and this was something which made it stand out for me against more traditional Sonic games like Sonic Rush. While Rush was arguably better designed and truer to the essence of a real Sonic game, I tired of it very quickly and ended up selling it on pretty soon after I bought it. There was just nothing extra there to tempt me back in once I’d got stuck on a particular level, and the multiple acts to each themed stage only drove home the game’s repetitious monotony that much further.

I also got slightly addicted to raising Chao. While it didn’t exactly set my world on fire in Sonic Adventure, my desire to be the number one Chao champion took on a life of its own in its sequel, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle. With the introduction of angel and devil chao to spice things up too, I spent countless hours in the Chao Gardens raising my strange little monsters into the fastest runners/swimmers/climbers they could possibly be. Looking back at my old save file, my favourite one had skills that averaged out at about Lv.60, and even then there were races he struggled with. They may not have been everyone’s cup of tea, but those Chao races definitely hit my Pokémon sweet-spot and added yet another alternative gameplay experience to four different varieties on offer in the game’s main story mode.

In the end, I think it’s easy to rib on Sonic for what he’s become lately, whether it’s the loudmouth know-it-all or the desperate sell-out, but Sonic Adventure will always hold a special place in my heart. I know it’s not the best Sonic game in the world, and there’s no forgiving its nauseating dialogue or its bad voice-acting, but it’s a damn sight better than Sonic and the Secret Rings, that’s for sure! Call me a heretic, but I always like something a bit more than running and jumping in my platformers, and Sonic Adventure didn’t diasppoint.

Pikmin 2 and Mario Power Tennis coming to the Wii this summer

So the good news, for all you Olimar fans out there, is that today it was announced Pikmin 2 will be hitting store shelves for the Wii on June 10 for the low price of $19.99! But wait, that’s not all; in conjunction with Pikmin’s release comes another Nintendo Selects installment, this time in the form of Mario Power Tennis! Gamecube fans around the world can begin rejoicing in 3…2…1…

Source: Nintendo Life

Smash Bros. Brawl and DK Country Returns Become Bargains

For all three of you out there who never originally picked up Super Smash Bros. Brawl or Donkey Kong Country Returns, rest easy knowing that you’ll be able snatch them up on the cheap very soon as Nintendo put word out today that both games will be seeing a price cut in the near future, dropping them down to $29.99. With that kind of price point, I’d venture to say everyone should at the very least own Smash Bros.; if for nothing else than to get in some practice time before showing up to your unsuspecting friend’s house and laying the smackdown on him for all those times he trolled you with Meta Knight.

Source: Nintendo Life

Aqua Blue 3DS still a go for North America and Europe

Fret not, future owners of the Aqua Blue 3DS, for Nintendo let loose information today that its reported discontinuation of one of the 3DSs original colors will only be affecting Japanese consumers… for now anyway. It was recently announced that Japan will have to wave sayonara to the beautiful Aqua Blue 3DS to make way for a new Cobalt Blue iteration. Worried consumers in both North America and Europe sat biting their nails in anticipation for Nintendo to provide a statement about the colors’ future for regions outside of Japan. Fortunately, if you’re one of those folks, you can let your anxiety subside as Nintendo Europe has reported, “this announcement is only for the Japanese market.”

Now, enough chat about all this blue nonsense; I’m just trying to talk about that sleek midnight purple 3DS, which conveniently drops next week in North America. You can bet your bottom dollar this guy will be at his local game store on its release day.

Source: GoNintendo

E3 2012 is finally upon us and the staff has gathered their predictions for the show of shows. On Tuesday, June 5th at 9am PST (12pm EST and 5pm GMT) Nintendo fans’ eyes will be glued to their screens as Nintendo reveals their plans for the future of gaming greatness. While we don’t know for certain what will be revealed, we all have our own suspicions and if there’s one thing we love at Nintendojo it’s to gather around the proverbial watercooler and have a gossip about all things E3. Feel free to post your own predictions in the comments’ section below.

Kyle England

I think this year’s E3 is going to be one of the most important events in video gaming this decade. For the first time in a long time, I have absolutely no idea what’s going to happen. Recently, Nintendo decided to unveil New Super Mario Bros. 2 and details about digital distribution on 3DS and Wii U. These were both pretty substantial announcements, so why didn’t they wait to unveil them at E3? I think it’s because they have something even bigger up their sleeve, something we will never see coming. Mark my words: Nintendo is going to reveal stuff about Wii U that is going to knock our socks off. They just have to. The Big N is going on about how they want to win back the hardcore audience and create a unified online platform, yet we haven’t seen very many details so far. There have been tons of Wii U rumors, about it running apps similar to smartphones, running the Android OS, or even teaming up with Valve to distribute using Steam. Wii U has the potential to be a game-changer, no pun intended. I think that the tablet screen is just going to be the beginning, and we are going to be very surprised by what Nintendo has planned for the new console.

Could Retro Studios be priming a 2D sequel to Metroid Fusion?

On the software front, I think we might see some rumored projects finally revealed. I really want to see what Retro Studios has been working on since Donkey Kong Country Returns (Please oh please let it be a 2D sequel to Metroid Fusion!!!). I also wonder if we will get any information about the new 3DS Legend of Zelda game, even if it’s just a teaser. Of course, we know that Pikmin 3 will be shown, so I am eager to see what it will be like. What I am most excited about are the game projects that we don’t know about yet. I am confident that Nintendo is going to have a few special games for the Wii U that we haven’t seen or heard about yet. I like the fact that they are letting information trickle out about new games on purpose so we don’t get any big surprises spoiled like we did in 2010 when the 3DS was prematurely revealed.

All in all, next month’s E3 is going to huge. It’s been a while since we were at the beginning of a new console generation, and I am very excited.

Katharine Byrne

One thing’s for sure. Nintendo’s going to spill (almost all) the beans about Wii U. We may not be getting a price, but details, people, details. We know announcements about New Super Mario Bros. 2 and Pikmin 3 are coming, but what else will Nintendo have up their sleeve? Well, I think a lot is going to revolve around the Nintendo Network, their new online infrastructure. In fact, I wouldn’t be completely surprised if their entire presentation was based around showing off how Wii U and 3DS will communicate in the future. As Sakurai has already hinted at with the next Smash Bros., I think we’ll be seeing lots of new titles that can be played simultaneously on both platforms, especially with the advent of digital downloading coming to 3DS. You’ll be able to pick up on 3DS where you left off on Wii U, or maybe they’ll share some common features to allow you to keep tabs on your progress.

If I were to pin down specific games, I think we might see Dragon Quest X, DarkSiders II, Rayman Legends, Epic Mickey 2, and maybe Assassin’s Creed III, but the floor’s open for the rest of them. As much as I’d love to see F-Zero or Metroid, or even that supposedly new 3DS Zelda title, I don’t think it will happen, at least not this year.

Networking is key.

On the handheld side of things, I think we’ll see more Fire Emblem: Awakening, Luigi’s Mansion 2, Animal Crossing, Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, and Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion. In fact, the two Epic Mickey titles might just be the games to unveil some of that Wii U/3DS wizardry I mentioned a moment ago, though I’m sure Nintendo will have their own first party title to show off its true capabilities first– maybe New Super Mario Bros. 2 or Paper Mario? We won’t see a 3DS redesign though. That will be next year at the earliest.

Will Pandora’s Tower get announced for the US? I have a sneaking suspicion it might, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up too high as it didn’t make a huge impact here in the UK. As for surprise, wacky, totally unlikely predictions? GameCube games on Wii U’s Virtual Console. Make it happen, Nintendo. And I’ll also eat my metaphorical hat if Wii U gets a name change.

Lewis Hampson

Nintendo should have no problem “winning” this year’s battle of the press conferences. The emphasis of course, will be on Wii U and 3DS, and I expect we will see a mixture of old and new experiences coming to both systems. By old I mean established IP’s making their debut on Nintendo’s next generation Wii. Mario and Pikmin for starters, are two titles which you can pretty much guarantee to see, but what about the long dormant titles that we haven’t experienced in a long, long time?

Well, personally I believe Nintendo will show off a brand new F-Zero game in June. The launch of a new console is the perfect time to show off a racing experience and what the hardware is capable of, when processing 30+ objects moving at 3000kph (especially if it’s developed by Retro). I believe Nintendo will try to entice fanboys of old, who think the Big N have lost their way in looking out for their needs as a gamer. Make no mistake F-Zero is most definitely a “core” game, and the fact we haven’t seen anything of the series for so long, bodes well for an appearance, as they will definitely attempt to appease the fears and apprehension core gamers will no doubt have with Wii U.

Imagine this in HD…

Speaking of core games, I believe Nintendo could shoot themselves in the foot if they overplay the significance of multi-platform releases. Games like Darksiders II, a new FIFA, etc., should all be drawn upon as examples of Nintendo’s third party alliances, but unless they have some third party exclusives, not many people will care for a game which is coming out on existing platforms.

It should be a given that, in 2012, games being released on a system that debuted in 2005 will be coming to a brand new piece of hardware. What Nintendo really needs to do is show it can draw exclusivity from prominent third party publishers and developers. Without this most gamers will just get back to their PS3 or 360, not bothering with Wii U until well after it releases. I really hope Nintendo introduces a brand new IP, either for Wii U or 3DS. I don’t care whether its core or not (please not a Wii Music-alike), just something which makes everyone sit up and take note.

As for the hardware, I believe Nintendo will announce third party external hard drive support, as a means to subsidize the likely small hard drive inside the console itself. This seems even more apparent given Nintendo’s recent admission that digital downloads will be available from day one. I hope they play to the system’s real strengths, and reveal some technological step forwards in terms of Near Field Communication for the tablet controller, and what this could bring to the console other than Spyro games. Paying for content with NFC enables credit or pre-paid cards and will certainly be a step in the right direction for Nintendo’s online service.

I am really looking forward to E3 this year and if Nintendo reveal just enough of their cards, it could be their best yet.

Kevin Knezevic

It’s hard to guess just what Nintendo will have in store for us at this year’s E3 (considering it has so much riding on the event), so I’m going to go out on a limb and make some rather bold (read: probably wrong) predictions as to what I think we’ll see from the company.

We already know that both New Super Mario Bros. Mii and Pikmin 3 will be making an appearance at the show, but I think we’ll also get to see some (early) footage of the next Zelda game (which will be running on the same engine that powered last year’s demo) and the next Metroid (developed by Retro Studios, naturally). If Nintendo is truly serious about catering to the hardcore demographic with Wii U, then it would want to utilize as many of its “core” properties as possible, and what better franchises to show off the company’s “gritty” side than Zelda and Metroid?

E3 would not be complete without at least a pinch of Zelda.

I also think we’ll get to see Dragon Quest X at the event, which will be announced as a Wii U exclusive in North America and will not carry a subscription fee for online play (much like Monster Hunter Tri before it). It also wouldn’t surprise me if Monolith was hard at work on a Xenoblade 2, but it could just as likely be developing a new epic property for the console. In either case, I believe we’ll see the first footage of its next game at the show.

I’m also still holding out hope that Nintendo will announce a new Eternal Darkness game at the event. The first, while by no means a commercial success, developed a very strong following among hardcore fans, and announcing a sequel would foster some goodwill toward this audience. I also get the feeling that we may see a new Wave Race game, if only to effectively show off Wii U’s capabilities (and assuage any concerns about its hardware). And I’d love to see Nintendo unveil a home console installment of Golden Sun (which is more likely now considering it would want to capitalize on the success of Xenoblade and The Last Story). Camelot is renowned for pushing consoles graphically, and Golden Sun, with its detailed environments and over-the-top summons, would be a great showpiece for the system. (Hey, a guy can dream.)

On the handheld front, we’ll see some new footage of already-announced titles like New Super Mario Bros. 2, Luigi’s Mansion 2, the new Animal Crossing (which by this point should have an official subtitle), and Paper Mario (which I’m afraid might slip into next year considering how crowded the holiday season is becoming). Beyond those, I think Nintendo will also confirm the American release of Fire Emblem: Awakening (as well as the pricing for its add-on content), and may even announce the localization of Monster Hunter 3G and Monster Hunter 4. I also suspect we’ll see a couple of new IPs for the system, but whether they take the form of casual titles like Wii Fit or something more involved is up in the air. In any case, 3DS should have another strong showing this year, with a few surprise announcements for good measure.

Of course, all of this is just baseless speculation, so there’s a very good chance that many (if not most) of my predictions will not come true. Still, I have no doubt that we’ll see a truly spectacular conference from Nintendo, and that’s reason enough to be excited for the event!

Michael Contino

New Super Mario Bros. 2 hits 3DS this August. Although a launch date for Wii U will not be announced at E3, expect the new console to land mere months after Mario returns to 3DS. Therefore, after last E3’s New Super Mario Bros. Mii demo, Nintendo will most definitely show us something that distances itself from New Super Mario Bros. 2 enough to entice gamers to buy a launch Wii U.

Pikmin 3 is going to blow people away and show off Wii U’s capabilities. When the game launches, it will be over eight long years since the last game in the series. Mario and Captain Olimar will not be enough to grab non-Nintendo fans to give the platform a go. Assassin’s Creed III should be a launch title, as should Darksiders II. In addition, a Wii U-enhanced Batman: Arkham City, the recently discovered Rayman Legends, and even 007 Legends, could round out a solid launch lineup.

E3 would be nothing without surprises. Nintendo will have to give us a sneak peak of what to look forward to in 2013. Retro Studios is bound to be working on something spectacular. I long for the day when a Donkey Kong adventure, akin to Donkey Kong 64, is announced. Metroid Prime 4 is quite possible. Star Fox and/or F-Zero may be announced as being in development for Wii U. The most out-there prediction I can make is Gabe Newell will come out and reveal Half-Life 3 for Wii U. To make two final points on Wii U, I would welcome a name change to the platform, with open arms, and expect a tidbit or two about the upcoming Smash Bros. games (with added Geno).

New Super Mario Bros. 2 will be the first of many 3DS bright spots for the rest of 2012 and beyond. New trailers for Animal Crossing: Jump Out, Paper Mario 3DS and Luigi’s Mansion 2, should be shown along with one golden surprise, which will be saved for the end of the conference. The Legend of Zelda’s first original 3DS outing will be revealed, sending everyone away, happy.

Adam Sorice

The most recent of Nintendo consoles have had a hot and cold relationship with the gaming public. Back when it was initially revealed at E3 2010, the 3DS had gamers’ heartbeats running away (when the premise of an hi-def hardcore handheld felt like quite the teenage dream) but that initial enthusiasm soon became a love let down upon release ten months later. While a strong line-up of franchises were initially unveiled with the console, the final launch line-up needed some alterations as consoles were left sitting on shelves and early adopters left showing their teeth to the company when the release calendar dried up. Desperate to restore the 3DS’s crown and amend its crooked profits, Nintendo decided to forget about the price tag of the console and pulled out the skeleton guns to fast track a posse of Mario games into the holiday trap, prompting formerly unloved 3DS-es to exclaim to the mustachioed hero, “Where have you been all my life?”

Not wanting to make the same mistakes second time around, Nintendo has treaded much more carefully with Wii U and the press, a strategy that is likely to continue at next month’s conference. The company are ready for those flashing lights next month and knowing that anticipation is almost as important as the product itself, Nintendo is unlikely to announce the launch line-up and we already know that don’t give two shits about blowing open the price point at the show. Revealing every secret about the console on a single day may cause the current interest in the console to be knocked down like a domino, while drip feeding every minute detail about the impending release gives the company that many more opportunities to leave its customer base speechless. While it’s unlikely that they’ll never talk again (especially since we’ll be covering every fact that is revealed, I think the unknown facts about Wii U after E3 are going to be just as newsworthy as those that we do know. Nintendo’s famous for maintaining an unreadable poker face on these matters so after the relatively pedestrian of its last console (let’s not forget that the lost revenue poured into resurrecting the 3DS was some serious money, honey) a lot of the PR maneuvering that we’re about to witness is merely doing it for the fame of courting the gamer once again.

“I’ve had enough, this is my prayer…” noted Iwata regarding the hope of the Nintendo Network offering players a richer online experience on Wii U and 3DS.

I agree with Katharine in her theory that Nintendo’s online presence and service will be a crucial part of the conference. While Nintendo’s relationship with online gaming and digital distribution has been a bit of a bad romance in the past, it appears that the company could be on the edge of online glory with Wii U. After creating a free soul, burning roads with the 3DS’s eShop, Nintendo has the potential to combine the accessibility of Nintendo technology (because some of us struggle with digital distribution in its current form) with an online network that not only draws in the player but is physically crafted to be fitting to the player’s needs. Microsoft, Sony and Apple have all tried to combine the television, the computer, the game console and the player (with some so frustratingly difficult to work that they may as well ask a non-German speaker to become fluent instantly) but with a well-designed interface, an evolution of Wii’s channel format and a second screen that crucially doesn’t have you tied to one room or left flailing at your television, Nintendo could create a multimedia presence that wins over more than just those for whom Nintendo pumps like the blood in their veins. It would also see an end to publishers running to GameStop to release a game like Xenoblade Chronicles when you could just drop it online instead. One more thing: GameCube games to download. In the scope of available content for Wii U, the under-appreciated purple lunchbox is the front man. Your weather channels, your NES games and your Netflix need to play back up for a while. To not offer them (just as Game Boy Advance are largely unavailable on 3DS) would be a stupid hoe decision, indeed.

In terms of software, this year’s E3 should be the last for a good few years where we see Mario being used repeatedly on all fronts, the franchise’s “I can be anything, I’ll be your everything” identity has too often be abused by the developer in recent years. Echoing Kevin’s thoughts on the announcement of New Super Mario Bros. 2 for 3DS a few weeks ago, it’s clear that the company has once again grown addicted to the Mario brand, even if they know it could be toxic. To use Mario thoroughly is good brand awareness, to use it excessively is in danger of alienating true gamers who go beyond fanboyism and aren’t just down for whatever. We all like a Mario game but there are other things out there, things that can’t be explored with Mario and the corresponding sport equipment. If I was the plumber, I know I’d be shouting, “Stop calling, stop calling, I don’t wanna talk anymore”, to Miyamoto for the immediate future. These things take their toll on him.

Even though I’ve had a little bit too much Mario, as long as Nintendo manages to strike a balance between the big hitting franchises, the slightly forgotten ones, some fresh content and third-party support that doesn’t feel forced or tacked on (or y’know, just Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance would be fab) they will be just fine. While Nintendo has recently been bad in terms of converting hype into turnover, they’re perfectly good at putting on great conferences that capture the industry’s imagination. If it wants to truly steal away the hearts of gamers and the confidence of investors, E3 2012 needs to be Nintendo’s first step in centering itself as a safe place for edgy, ambitious gaming and entertainment experiences. Nintendo knows its hardcore ownership will love it to the end of time but now its time to win back the veteran gamer and the mainstream once again. Regardless, you’re still good to me if you’re a bad kid, Nintendo.

Now that you’ve heard our (eclectic) opinions regarding what’s likely to be announced during Nintendo’s E3 2012 conference, it’s your turn to tell us what you think Nintendo will announce. A new name for Wii U? A new Zelda for 3DS? Another meme-tastic gem from Reggie? Let us know all your crystal ball predictions in the comments below.

Following the news last week that a UK retailer had allegedly leaked the Wii U launch line up, we decided to find out which confirmed game for Wii U you’re most anticipating. We don’t know whether or not they’ll be out for launch (You’ve made us wait long enough for Pikmin 3 Miyamoto! -Ed.) but Blockbuster says they will be and that’s good enough for us. For a poll anyway.

With only Pikmin confirmed to be heading for Wii U from Team Nintendo (and still without even a screenshot to tie to its name) the slack has been well and truly picked up by third parties in terms of early commitment to the tablet controller console. From Ninja Gaiden to Darksiders to Lego, a host of franchises have already put forward their games for release on Wii U and considering they’ve had the most time on them, we can imagine they’ll be out the gate quickly. Rayman Legends appears to be so ahead of the game that a trailer actually leaked for the upcoming title last month, boasting sumptuous visuals and gameplay integration with the tablet screen. If you haven’t watched it yet then you really should check it out.

From Batman to Rayman to Pikmin, the likely candidates for the Wii U launch lineup are about as diverse as they come. However, what we’re interested in is which is your most anticipated game! Are you dying to disembody some ninjas with Ryu Hayabusa? To check out the… dark side with Darksiders II? Or to return to the Distant Planet in HD? Let us know which you’re most looking forward to in our poll and if there’s a game that you’re anticipating on Wii U (announced or merely rumoured!) that’s not on our list then be sure to let us know in the comments!

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? What with a Top 100 to compile and argue about, we haven’t had much time to discuss what we’ve all been playing recently! Well, now that business is very much back to normal, today couldn’t be a better time to catch up with some of those long-neglected games sitting on our shelves. But with E3 just around the corner and the prospect of several new titles on the horizon, it seems like we’ve all subconsciously gone into retro-mode this weekend, digging out long-lost consoles and games that haven’t seen the light of day for several years. Perhaps it’s a sign that we all secretly yearn for times gone by, or maybe we’re cleansing our modern gaming palette so we can all be overawed by Nintendo’s guaranteed super-fantastic E3 presentation. Who knows! We’ll leave that decision up to you…

Joshua Johnston

I came upon some birthday money and put it into Dragon Age Origins: Ultimate Edition, which can be found for the bargain price of $20 (I love getting older games for cheap). It’s vintage BioWare, with the morality and dialogue trees, but it’s also equal parts Lord of the Rings (almost shamelessly in some places) and Baldur’s Gate. The combat system is a cousin of Xenoblade Chronicles with MMO-style cooldown timers, although I have to say I liked Xenoblade’s implementation somewhat better.

One other interesting sidenote: this is the first game I’ve played in years (probably since Knights of the Old Republic or Fable that had a romance component to it. While I was never a big fan of those elements in games, I’m especially self-conscious now… since my wife is usually sitting out in the living room reading or using the laptop while I’m playing on the TV. Suffice to say that my elven warrior has no interest in relationships.

Kyle England

I too have been cheating on my Nintendo consoles this week. I recently got a Dreamcast, so I am enjoying a few games on there that I never got the chance to dive into before. Sonic Adventure, Crazy Taxi and the original SoulCalibur are all awesome games that I have been enjoying. To be honest, Sonic Adventure hasn’t aged all that well but I still find myself laughing at the sheer cheesiness of it. The Dreamcast game I got that I love the most has to be Shenmue, though. Man that game is detailed. It’s got a life all to its own with features that even modern sandbox games don’t have. I was never a Sega guy but now I understand what I was missing. I can make room for Nintendo’s former bitter rival in my heart. I’m probably going to pick up Sega Genesis (aka Mega Drive) later this month too!

On the Nintendo side, it’s been nothing new really. Now that I am finished with classes I can jump back into Xenoblade Chronicles. I had to put it down for a couple weeks because I just didn’t have the time to invest in a deep RPG. I prefer to play RPGs they way they were meant to be played: zoned out for hours at a time forgetting about the world around you.

Oh, and just last night I had a reunion with an old friend, Banjo-Tooie. I live in a college dorm, so there’s no way I have room for my dozen or so consoles. I have to leave around half of my game collection at home, so every time I go back to my house I always take the time to boot up an old game again. Banjo-Tooie seems to have so many new layers to it that I can see now that I am older. The writing is just hilarious, and the graphics are still quite beautiful. Now that I am more familiar with game design, I do groan at some of the more convoluted and silly obstacles that Rare used. But on the whole Banjo-Tooie remains an absolute joy to play.

Michael Contino

Wow, I cannot believe the weekend is already here. My most recent purchase is Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition. I bought it the other night and have yet to play (Darn Team Fortress 2) so I will be playing that along with Crysis on Xbox Live Arcade.

I have an audio problem with my Wii so if anyone has any suggestions please feel free to shoot away! I have the official Wii Component Video Cable for my HDTV and everything works but the audio is way too low. Regardless if I figure it out this weekend, I will be playing some New Super Mario Bros. Wii for some awesome platforming fun.

I am going to be buying much less and saving more, for college expenses, but I would like to pick up New Play Control! Pikmin. New Play Control! Pikmin 2 is finally coming to the States next month, having been released in Europe over three years ago!!

Katharine Byrne

Well, we might have had New Play Control! Pikmin 2 for three years, but I would gladly trade that for a European release of Radiant Historia! It makes me incredibly sad that it still hasn’t been released over here yet (with not even the slightest hint of a European release date escaping Atlus Towers despite its recent reprint in the US), but a few weeks ago I finally decided to take the plunge and make it my first import purchase. I haven’t found any time to play it yet, but I’m really intrigued about how it will compare to Chrono Trigger, gaming’s other great time-travelling masterpiece. I’ve heard several sources say it doesn’t even begin to compare with Crono’s grand journey across the ages, but I guess I’ll have to wait and see!

I also finished the story mode of Kid Icarus: Uprising this week, but by no means has the game finished with me yet. There’s just so much to go back and do, whether it’s completing parts of the extensive Treasure Hunt or just trying to up my average intensity level– which is currently sitting on a very safe 4.0. The mind boggles at the amount of content Sakurai’s managed to squeeze into this game, and while I really enjoyed all the twists and turns of the story, its replayability has got to be its most impressive feature by far. I’ll definitely be playing this for several weeks to come, methinks…

Nicolas Vestre

About a week and a half ago I powered on my Xbox 360 for the first time in two years. Since it had been so long, I decided I would start fresh with Braid and play from the beginning. After about thirty seconds of jumping around (I bounce around like a maniac in platformers) the game freezes up, leaving on the screen what looked like a tracking problem on an old VHS tape. I reset and try again, and it does the same thing. I load up another Xbox Live Arcade game, ‘Splosion Man, get to the end of the first level, and it freezes. I tried the feeble troubleshooting the Xbox website had to offer, but it did me no good. (Take off the hard drive and see if the game works then? The game is saved to the hard drive!)

Having no choice, I took the plunge and bought a brand new Xbox 350 S (the $199 one with 4 GB of memory). Now I can play Braid to my heart’s content. But after that’s finished, I’ll definitely be investing in several more Xbox Live Arcade games. I mean, I gotta keep that thing hooked up for a good while to justify the purchase.

Other than all that Xbox stuff, I’ll likely invest in a little Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley on PSP; it’s crazy addictive. My future dog needs a doghouse so I can put him to work finding Power Berries. But I’ll bring my GBA SP with Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels/2 Japan to the movie theatre for the line-up when I go see The Avengers.

Mel Turnquist

This weekend would be a great weekend for me to fire up the Wii and do some massive catching up with my console gaming, but alas I am working this weekend. And it just HAS to be nice out both days I’m working while going to crap all over again once the weekday hits. However, that doesn’t mean that I will be keep away from the 3DS at least.

I purchased the wonderfully fantastic Colors 3D where finally I can draw digitally with an actual stylus and actually SEE what I’m drawing (I really need one of those big badass cintiqs but perhaps the Wii U can help me in that instance). SO I’ll be spending my non work hours between that and dog sitting my two dogs (my parents are away on vacation). I’ll also be partaking in Mario Kart shenanigans. It’s surprisingly relaxing to race others before going to bed.

Once I pay my student loans bill and work a few more hours than usual, perhaps I can FINALLY buy Xenoblade Chronicles. I put $10 down on it but I’m kind of low on funds…stupid being an adult…

Bradly Hale

Well, after finally finishing up Xenoblade Chronicles a few weeks ago, and shaking my head in utter disappointment at its contrived, convoluted mess of an ending, I’m onto bigger and better things. Actually, that’s somewhat of a lie; this weekend I probably won’t be playing much at all. In truth, I haven’t touched a whole lot of games in the past week and a half – I’ve been far too busy preparing for Diablo 3. If I get in some gaming this weekend, it’ll probably involve some mindless grinding in Tera– or The Secret World beta– while consuming irresponsible amounts of alcohol. Nothing says a good time like beer and MMOs.

On the Nintendo front, I was able to pick up Skylanders a few weeks ago. While I haven’t played it nearly as much as I assumed I would, it’s still a fun distraction from my more serious gaming sessions. Plus, the collectible figures are pretty darn cool. At 26 years old, I’m okay with admitting that. Now whether that’s amazingly awesome or hilariously pathetic is up for you to decide.

Well, you’ve heard what the staff are playing, but what are you playing this weekend? Are you still knee-deep in Xenoblade Chronicles or are you taking a break from Nintendo this weekend and giving some other consoles some love and attention? Let us know in the comments below, and happy gaming!

There was a time long ago when the FIFA Soccer franchise was looked down upon with utter degradation. The laughing hordes of football fans could be heard from the virtual terraces mocking the pitiful little game as it hopelessly tried to stand upon its own two feet, and enter the stadium of legends where it would face off against the World champions from Japan; the Pro Evolution Soccer series.

Year after year it was a laughable exercise in futility from Electronic Arts, as the game was humiliated in every area of the pitch. From defence to attack, there would be no reply to the dominance of Pro Evolution. Pro offered us the pure footballing experience, not quite simulation stuff, and not quite ball stuck to your foot, arcade action. It was the perfect balance and it gave me and my friends some truly memorable nights.

FIFA was never even considered by myself or my fanatical footballing friends. From the early 2000s there was never even a mention, discussion or word spoken about FIFA. Not once did I ever hear anyone say “I might try out that new FIFA this year”. Such words would be tantamount to sacrilege. You may as well say “I wonder what it feels like to pour petrol over myself and strike a match”. You would be met with strange looks and people laughing nervously, hoping you were joking. That’s how bad it got for FIFA at one point.

Now, whilst all this FIFA bashing was going on, there was a whole world of people who were still buying into the premise. Sure if you like real names, kits, stadia and competitions then FIFA is the game for you, but as far as we (and other purists of the virtual sport) were concerned this would never sway our decision. Gameplay is what mattered most, and no amount of misspelt surnames and fake kits could take that fact away.

It is fair to say that in terms of sales, FIFA Soccer was always the most popular of the titles. Pro Evolution always sold well (especially in Japan where it’s called Winning Eleven, and has all correct team data) but the sheer publishing power of EA coupled with the official licensing meant that FIFA always had more mass market appeal. To date FIFA ranks as one of the best selling franchises in video game history, with over 100 million copies sold to Pro Evo’s 75 million.

Of course sales mattered not to us, and by the time PES hit its peak with Pro Evolution 5, we were content in our sea of ignorance, talking down about the easily swayed FIFA sheep who follow the herd which only lead to an inferior game. And back in those days we were 100% entitled to think that, such was the dominance of Pro.

Then suddenly a funny thing happened. The sixth generation of consoles came to an end, and it is at this point that Pro Evo started to slip from its lofty mantle above. The sure footed integrity of the series began to wane, and it is an injury that the series is still struggling to recover from.

Sure this did not happen overnight. Pro Evo 6 was still a competent entry into the series, and it still topped FIFA in terms of playability (especially on the PS2 and PC versions). But when ported to Microsoft’s new 360 platform it somehow fell short, missing the target completely. Suddenly everything about the game looked old and outdated on this new piece of hardware. The games engine was different to that of its PS2 and PC counterparts, and the result was a game that somehow missed the mark in terms of what made it so special for all those years.

I refused to believe this, and went on playing my PS2 version (I did not have a 360), blissfully unaware that the series had already reached and passed its prime. It’s strange really, because I would argue that the dawn of this (seventh) generation coincided with the western developers’ dominance of the video game world (again in terms of sales and now critical acclaim). Eastern developers (excluding Nintendo of course) have somewhat dropped the ball in terms of the quality of games that we see over here in the West. Names like Infinity Ward, Bethesda, Blizzard, Ubisoft, Activision and of course Electronic Arts rule the video gaming landscape when you look at the balance sheets, helped along by very Western genres like shooters and third person sandbox adventures as opposed to your turn-based JRPG with card-battle elements.

This is not to say that Japanese development has suddenly turned to utter garbage, more that some of the spark that separated the wonderfully Japanese games of decades past, has been lost somewhere along the line. Games like Skyrim, Grand Theft Auto, Journey, Flower, Uncharted, Halo, Call of Duty, and FIFA have respectively shown original ideas and huge selling potential alike. All are made by Western developers.

Personally I don’t really understand the idea of buying a brand new FPS every year, but unfortunately that is where the money is, and with publishers increasingly less likely to take up risky projects, some ideas are either being scaled back for mobile release, or may never actually see light of day. Let’s take Capcom for instance, or “the EA of the east” as I like to call them. They are actively seeking western partners for their games, and are unapologetically catering to the western audience with their upcoming titles (I’m looking at you, Resident Evil 6).

But anyway, I digress; let us return to the topic in hand. The developers at EA must have seen the new generation as an opportunity to pile the pressure on PES. They saw the new generations as a new beginning, a fresh chance to get it right. Let the past mistakes be forgotten, and just concentrate on the game at hand. And (football commentator’s voice) credit to the lads, they certainly delivered.

The first I remember were the emanating rumblings that FIFA 08 was (shock horror) better than PES 2008. This wasn’t from reviewers, but my friends who are infinitely less biased than a paid up reviewer could ever be. Indeed IGN gave PES a hideously overrated 9.2, which of course had nothing to with the fact IGN had in-game sponsors all over the place. That being said, I still plumped for PES when it came to the crunch.

By 2009 I was finished with PES. I went to the store and purchased my first FIFA game in almost 12 years. Finally I saw what everyone had been talking about. FIFA was indeed light years ahead of PES, and the tables had been well and truly turned. PES was content to sit back and rest on the laurels which had supported them so well, for so long. And whilst it was still a good game, there was no denying its glory lay firmly in the past.

It’s sad to say, but some of the imagination, mechanics and subtleties of the game have gone awry over the past five years, and that goes for some eastern developers as a whole, Konami included. Of course our tastes have changed, but there is no excuse for delivering uninspiring products, which fail to build upon the success of past ventures.

FIFA now carries the mantle of being both the most well respected, and best-selling football game of our times. It’s difficult to put into words what separates PES and FIFA. Moving with the times and getting the most out of consoles in terms of AI and physics goes a long way to making a great game. Unfortunately Shingo “Seabass” Takatsuka is yet to propel the series back to the top of the table, and as this generation winds down, it seems as though he is running out of opportunities to do so.

Some nights spent on PES are as good as any memories I have from my video gaming life, and that alone is saying something, considering it spans every generation from the 2600!

I long for the day that PES returns to its former glories. As good as FIFA is now, it still can’t hold a candle to the countless hours lost in custom leagues and berating my friends after a particularly heavy defeat. Just as I hold out hope of England winning the upcoming Euro 2012 tournament, I also have hopes that PES will reclaim its position as the best football game out there. But deep down I know that both are unrealistic, foolhardy dreams, that will only bring more pain when they don’t materialize. But here’s hoping.

3DS Continues To obliterate Vita In Japan

The 3DS unsurprisingly continues to dominate in Japan, while the Vita has minimal successes (it is being outsold by both the dying Wii and the assumed-to-be-dead PSP). Below you can check out the top 8 best selling hardware in Japan through April 30 and May 6.

1. 3DS: 91,868 (74,282)
2. PS3: 23,478 (21,114)
3. PSP: 20,033 (22,457)
4. Wii: 15,789 (9,200)
5. PSV: 10,583 (12,299)
6. PS2: 1,611 (1,395)
7. X360: 1,420 (1,327)
8. DSi LL: 1,097 (895)
9. DSi: 814 (717)

As you can see (if you have awesome math skills…), the 3DS is selling more than the Vita in Japan with a ratio of more than 8 to 1!

Source: GamesRadar

Wii U To Have Updated Circle Pads?

I don’t know about you, but one of the things that bummed me out most with the Wii U’s E3 showing was the return of the 3DS’ circle pads on the Wii U controller. It’s all fine and dandy on a handheld system like the 3DS, but with a console, I just want more precise control. It looks like Nintendo may be fixing this issue with a recently filed patent. Check it out below:

Wii U’s circle pads are starting to look more like analogue sticks…

This all makes sense with some recent rumors flying around that Nintendo will be updating the Wii U’s circle pads to be clickable, not unlike the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3′s analogue sticks.

Source: GoNintendo

Activision Estimates Skylanders Figures Are #1 Selling Action Figures

In a recent quote by Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, it is revealed that Skylanders may have trumped Star Wars figures as the best selling action figure line. These toys really took off, I would have never guessed that Spyro would come back with such a bang, even if he isn’t the main character of the brand anymore.

“Based on our internal estimates, we believe that Skylander’s toys sales in the first quarter exceeded those of Star Wars, the #1 action figure line.” - Activision CEO Bobby Kotick

Source: Spong