E3 2014 Roundup: Nintendo Rises With A Short But Sweet Press Event!

With the pale performance of the Wii U in the market, investors and gamers alike have cast a shadow of doubt upon Nintendo’s fate this year. Now that E3 2014 has arrived, Nintendo promised to deliver and make up for all the letdowns by focusing on what matters most: the games.

Unlike the first four media briefings on day 1, Nintendo chose to hold a digital event instead to unveil their upcoming lineup and content for 2014 and 2015, which was followed by a brief post-event show highlighting further the specifics of the live cast’s content.

The press show opens with a feature for Super Smash Bros. for both the Wii U and 3DS. They reveal a new mechanism which they’ll be using for the game and hereafter: The Amiibos. Like Skylander’s die cast AR figs, Amiibos are small toys which uses a microchip and can transfer data to your Wii U. It works by scanning the Amiibo unto the Wii U touchpad’s scanner. Once completed, the Amiibo, or the character thereof, will be entering the game for your use. Sweet.

They have also announced the inclusion of Mii Fighters to the game, enabling your Mii avatar to be used as a playable character. You have three types to choose from: Brawler, Swordfighter, and Gunner.

New characters for the game has been announced too: Kid Icarus’ Pit, Dark Pit, and Princess Palutena.

The next Zelda has finally been revealed for the Wii U, and apparently, it’s just The Legend of Zelda. No subtitles. Its creator Eiji Aonuma explained that the reason for the title is because they are looking to get back to the game’s original roots, whilst infusing something refreshing to the franchise – implying the addition of open-world exploration. The segment ended with a brief teaser showing Link(who sports a different outfit) being chased by a mechanical monster, before finishing it with his trademark magical bow. A 2015 release date has been announced as well.

A Hyrule Warriors development diary followed, unveiling more gameplay bits, as well as the announcement of three, new playable characters: Impa, Midna, and Princess Zelda(yes, all of their names are duosyllabic and end with A). Multiplayer feature was also revealed, and the game will launch come September 26.

During the break, a cinematic trailer was shown for the anticipated sci-fi opera epic, Xenoblade Chronicles X. Unlike its predecessor, the scale for this game has been increased, together with the inclusion of a new type of species called Growth, as well as new mechs. Awesome.

Yoshi returns in an adorable yarn-themed side scroller game, Yoshi’s Woolly World. The production feature revealed that the game was actually inspired by its lead programmer’s love for….. well, yarn stitching. It will also have multiplayer coop, and was given a 2015 release date too.

Jumping off from Super Mario 3D Land, Captain Toad debuts in a new adventure game called Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. It follows the same vein as the aforementioned Mario outing, and will be launching this holiday season.

Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire for the 3DS also figured in a new trailer, showcasing its visible improvement over its GBA source material, as well as the inclusion of XY’s Mega Evolution. It was also hinted that new monsters will be receiving mega treatment as well.

Bayonetta 2 unveiled its first, official trailer, featuring its frantic over-the-top gameplay, as well as the option to change to Princess Peach and Samus Aran’s respective costumes.

Nintendo also revealed a new way to play Mario through Mario Maker, a game which allows you to customize stages the way you see fit. You can even block the player’s path to the castle if you prefer. Crazy.

A brand new game called Splatoon has been revealed in the helm as well. The segment showed the development phase of the said game, as well as its dynamics. Prepare to blast bursts of fun(and ink), as Splatoon makes its way to the Wii U on 2015.

After the show, a special Treehouse event was held online in conjunction with E3 2014, revealing more new stuff for Nintendo’s array of consoles. Tomonobu Itagaki teases at a new Devil’s Third game for the Wii U, unveiling a gameplay trailer as well as more info for the said project.

Tomonobu also expanded on the gameplay, particularly its multiplayer function, which has a large customization option than other action games. Sweet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxsjM5BNj2U

Shigeru Miyamoto entered the fray and capped things off with a revelation that he is currently working on three projects: An undisclosed game, a new Star Fox entry, and Project Giant Robot.

Missed the Nintendo Digital Event? That’s fine. We got the entire replay for you. Be sure not to miss any of our updates for E3 tomorrow and Friday. Stay tuned!