Jul 16
Nintendo E3 Press Conference 2008
The Nintendo E3 Press Conference has just concluded for another year. The Big N this time has revealed two new accessories for the Wii, and a number of upcoming titles for both the Wii and DS. The following is a summary of Nintendo’s E3 Press Conference for 2008:
Nintendo this year began with NOA Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing Cammie Dunaway delivering a short speech on all things Nintendo. Soon after, the professional snowboarder Shawn White came up on stage to present a demo of his new Nintendo Wii title ‘Shawn White Snowboarding.’The demo revealed the usage of the Balance Board and had Dunaway announcing the game was created by Ubisoft, exclusive to the Wii, and due out by the end of this year.
Nintendo Co Ltd. President Satoru Iwata was next in line, and discussed the success of traditional titles such as Mario. Iwata then addressed how Nintendo were aiming to expand their audience, by breaking the barriers between the casual and hardcore market with their new titles such as Wii Fit.
The first highlight of the show was information, screenshots and video footage of the new Animal Crossing for Nintendo Wii. All details were revealed via a pre-recorded interview with Animal Crossing creator Katsuya Eguchi. During the video interview it was revealed the new title for the Wii would now be officially known as ‘Animal Crossing: City Folk.‘ City Folkwill feature – the Happy Room Academy, famous fashion designer Gracie and a beauty salon allowing for different hairstyles, masks and Mii faces to be placed on the player’s character. Lastly, a new accessory titled ‘Wii Speak’ will make its debut alongside Animal Crossing: City Folk. The device will allow players to communicate with others worldwide helping to enhance the Animal Crossing experience.
Iwata concluded his presentation with more minor details about Wii Speak and then handed it over to NOA President Reggie Fils-Aime. Reggie dished out the usual, providing a statistic summary for both the Wii and DS. This followed with footage of three new third-party titles for the Wii. The titles were - Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV Parts and Call of Duty: World at War.
After the Regginator had finished with his third party display, Dunaway made a return to centre stage and began to discuss DS sales and female gamers. An on-screen interview followed with the focus this time on Spore DS. After the Spore insight, Dunaway then announced two new and exclusive DS titles - Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars.
After Dunaway had made the rather exciting announcment of a new Pokemon Ranger and the GTA franchise coming to the DS, Reggie revealed new details about Wii MotionPlus and announced Wii Sports Resort. Wii Sports Resort will be the first title to utilise Wii Motion Plus. The title will come bundled with Wii MotionPlus and a new Wii Remote grip designed to fit both the Remote and Wii Motion Plus in it. Reggie then made a statement that third-party companies are still currently thinking of ways to utilise Wii MotionPlus to its fullest extent. To wrap up this segment of the conference, Reggie and Dunaway battled it out in Wii Sports Resort. Whilst it ended up a tie, Reggie suggested it may be the birth of the ‘Camminator.’
After Dunaway and Reggie exited, the Nintendo God Shigeru Miyamoto stepped up on stage and began to demonstrate his musical talents in Wii Music. Miyamoto, after his performance, stated that movement is the key in Wii Music. The extra details revealed about Wii Music during Miyamoto’s talk were that the game will give players the option to use the Balance Board as a pedal if they are drumming, and four players can play alongside one another. A demo of the multiplayer mode was shown, featuring Miyamoto, NOA Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Affairs Denise Kaigler, and two other Nintendo staff members. Miyamoto and company concluded the segment by playing out the Super Mario Bros. Theme live on stage.
The conference was wrapped-up with Reggie reflecting on how the Wii and DS were originally under-rated, but since then have turned into a huge success. Reggie’s final comment stated Nintendo’s next steps would be occurring some time later this week during E3 2008.


