Nintendo News

The amazing people over at GlitterBerri have been hard at work uncovering all of the details hidden within the Japanese text of Hyrule Historia. As each day passes they come closer to getting every page translated. Since our last update on their progress, they have fully translated five different sections and are still hard at work at bringing us even more.

From a statement from Shigeru Miyamoto to mysteries of the Triforce and the Palace of the Twilight, the new translations from Hyrule Historia may uncover more exciting details of the Zelda series than previous sections of the book. Make the jump inside to read a few quotes from Miyamoto and to find out more about what was uncovered in the translations.

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After the special edition of the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword was announced nearly 4 months ago, fans quickly were raising the question, what about a golden nunchuck? While we never did get one for Skyward Sword, it turns out we are in fact getting one now! Better late than never I guess. The Golden Nunchuck was announced at the Japanese Club Nintendo website and it will be available for 600 points.

However, there is currently a promotion where if you purchase Skyward Sword and register it on Club Nintendo, you can get this Golden Nunchuck for just 400 points. This offer is valid through February 20th of 2012. As of right now this seems to only be a Japanese special offer and we aren’t sure if this will make its way over to other regions. Go ahead and make the jump to find some larger images of the new Golden Nunchuck.

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The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is finally here and released after a long 5 year waiting period since the last console release. This was the longest since A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time which lasted an incredibly long 7 years. Luckily to help bridge the gap between Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword we had several different releases on the DS and 3DS to get us by, but now that the wait for Skyward Sword is over and thanks to the Zelda Wii U demo, we now begin the long wait for the next console Zelda title.

On one of the segments of Iwata asks, Iwata asked if it would be possible to complete a brand new Zelda game within 3 years. To read the discussion from the segment for yourself be sure to keep reading after making the jump!

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A few weeks back, the guys over at 3DS Focus posted about an Ocarina of Time 3D Bundle. At first it was mentioned to be released in Europe, but we later got confirmation that it was coming out in both the United Statues and Australia. In America, it was confirmed via the Black Friday GameStop advertisement. I have since traveled to my local Gamestop and while the bundle is supposedly one week away, the employees and even the store manager have no idea of its existence! Even after showing them the advertisement, they couldn’t confirm that their store would be getting these in. With just 6 days until Black Friday, there seems to be a bit of uncertainty as to what degrees all GameStop’s will have these.

So even if you cannot afford to buy a Nintendo 3DS right now, you could be in luck! The guys over at 3DS Focus are now giving away a Nintendo 3DS of their own! How can you win your own Nintendo 3DS? Well, jump inside to find the details.

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Nintendo has circulated an email informing people about a celebration of the launch of Skyward Sword. It is set to take place at Nintendo World in New York City from 9am to 1pm. They have many different things planned for the celebration such as: completing a Zelda Trivia challenge, taking a picture with the Master Sword, and getting a gift with the purchase of Skyward Sword.

To see a picture of the email and my thoughts please take the jump.

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Our great friends over at Zelda Universe have released yet another great year in their 25 years in 25 days segments. Today’s year is 1998. This is the year that seemingly changed gaming forever and created a bench mark for almost every title released after to be compared to. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is considered one of if not the greatest game ever and is still praised by fans to this day.

1998 laid the foundation down for almost all future title, but if we look past Ocarina of Time what else did this year have to offer? If your interested than be sure to make the jump to find out!

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As you may know our great friends over at Zelda Universe have been doing a special countdown for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword offering a highly thought out article going through the many years in Zelda history and giving details on all the Zelda related events that went on during that year. This is a great idea from Zelda Universe giving fans something to read, think about and discuss each day to get our minds off of that long awaited release date!

Today they released year 1997 which for many of us had nothing special about unless you were one of the few able to play the BS Zelda games, but little did we know that Nintendo was working on the game that would change our lives forever. That’s right The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was due for a 1998 release and we were just one year away. So what exactly happened in 1997 to make it so great for Zelda? Make the jump to find out!

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A couple of weeks ago I made a news post about IGN mentioning we would have the option to choose between playing with our right or left hand at the beginning of Skyward Sword Story. I’m sorry to say this, but as it turns out they had their information wrong. Nintendo officially announced the choice to play left handed would not be in the game. This is a big let down for lefties after being unsure of the option for over a year and finally being told some great news just to get it stripped away a month from release, but I’m sure even without the option to choose this game is still going to be amazing!

Stephen Totilo of Kotaku was one of the lucky few that had some hands on experience with Skyward Sword and even discussed the game with some Nintendo Representatives. He discussed his experience with the game and its compatibility for left handed people and the reps never mentioned a left handed mode. Confused on whether or not it was going to be included in the game he sent an email to Nintendo public relations and linked them the IGN video. When Nintendo responded they officially confirmed a left hand mode was not an option. To read the full story from Stephen keep reading after the jump.

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It seems the president of Nintendo of America, Reggie Fils-Aime, is going to be appearing on Game Trailers TV to talk about Nintendo’s upcoming releases for this holiday season. One of which being The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. GTTV promises “exclusive new footage and details on the forthcoming Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for the Nintendo Wii.”

This could quite possibly be the last big spoiler we get from Nintendo before the long awaited release of Skyward Sword. I know it has me excited and wondering what exactly is going to be announced and what new footage they are going to show. Last time Reggie made an appearance on a show it was with Jimmy Fallon and I’m sure we all remember how that went. Hopefully this time with more professional people he can actually have a chance to tell us about Skyward Sword and maybe even some info on the Wii U or other important Nintendo titles. Keep reading after the jump for the full quote from Nintendo Everything and the date of this exciting event.

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If you haven’t put The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Limited Edition on preorder yet, you had better get moving because they aren’t going to be available forever. Nintendo of Europe warns us that there is getting to be a short supply of games to go around.

-NoE

This shortage may very well be only in Europe seeing as how Nintendo of Europe is the one who said this but it may also be everywhere. Letting everyone know just to be sure. Wouldn’t want anyone to be left out now would we? Have you preordered yet? What was your reason for wanting the Limited Edition? The gold Wiimote? The Soundtrack? Comment down below and let us know!

Source: Nintendo of Europe
Via: GoNintendo

Another piece of artwork? Why yes, this time it’s none other than the headmaster of the Skyloft Knight Academy and Zelda’s father, Gaepora! The official artwork was recently posted on Nintendo of America’s official twitter page. Though Gaepora looks a bit rounder in the artwork than in previous trailers and screenshots he’s still looking wise and more stylish than ever.

Another interesting detail we can pull out of the artwork is the book Gaepora is holding, it looks familiar but what could it be?

Be sure to take the jump to read our thoughts on the subject.

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A few months ago when the Zelda Symphony Concert was first announced we soon found out that there will be dates in both London and Los Angelos. We haven’t gotten any other definite locations yet, but we do know that Nintendo has a nation-wide tour planned in 2012. What about the rest of the world? Nintendo of Australia has setup a mini-site dedicated to the 25th anniversary and it is similar to that of the European and American versions of the website.

The notable differences with the site is that there is no image button for the Orchestral Concert Tour and some buttons are re-arranged on the site. Also, there is no link for Link’s Awakening DX on the Nintendo 3DS eShop, but instead there are links to the Australian pages for Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks, and Twilight Princess. The anniversary page does have the same links to the history page, flipnote contest, and downloadable wallpapers. The Australian site does have a few text links at the bottom of the page and if we look closely at the source code for these, we see something that catches our eye.

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Nintendo today announced a competition for the Zelda series 25th anniversary using the DSi software Flipnote Studio. To enter the competition you’ll need a DSi or DSi XL with internet access. Nintendo is asking for creative, fun and exciting flipnotes to be submitted. The best will be shown on Nintendo’s website!

The judges will include notable Zelda figures including Takashi Tezuka, Eiji Aonuma, Yoshiaki Koizumi and Shigeru Miyamoto. The competition opened today and will close tomorrow the 9th of August so be sure to get your entry in on time.

This competition is another great way to celebrate Zelda’s 25th anniversary and I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with! Check back to Zelda Dungeon for the results of the competition.

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That’s right, starting August 12th you’ll be able to pick up a new 3DS for only $169.99. For many of us who recently bought the 3DS (myself included) this may be a bit upsetting, but you won’t be upest for long:

20 games from the 3DS eshop may not be the same as the $80 price cut, but I certainly think it’s worth more than that. But to sweeten the deal on what Nintendo is calling the ‘Ambassador’ program they’ve also stated that 10 of these games will be exclusive to 3DS owners in the Ambassador program and other games will be released to Ambassadors early.

See a list of games exclusive to the Ambassador program after the jump.

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Recent statements from Nintendo have clued us in a bit more on the pricing for games from the 3DS’s eshop. They haven’t explicity stated which games will be included in the eshop, or the pricing for those games, but they’ve given us a ballpark range for the games with the rock bottom price for any game being $1.99.

From the information released we learned the prices of the following games:
-$3.99 Super Mario Land
-$2.99 Alleyway
-$2.99 Radar Mission

All three of these games were made for the original Gameboy, and from everything we’ve heard the eshop will rely heavily on vintage Gameboy games. The main question to come out of this is will there be a price hike for Gameboy Color games? My favorite Gameboy Color title, Link’s Awakening DX, has been confirmed by Nintendo, and even though a higher end Gameboy game like Super Mario Land is going for the great price of $3.99, I can’t help but think that these especially low prices are used as a selling point of the 3DS and the eshop, meanwhile, titles that are released after the eshop launch will be priced higher.

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Recently leaked information over on Andriasang has revealed that there would be a very limited amount of copies of Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 3D available on the release date. Their sources revealed that Nintendo will be shipping less than 150,ooo units for the initial release and will be sending small shipments to all retailers of the long awaited update.

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As recently seen in the Official Nintendo Magazine, Nintendo revealed six of their Augmented Reality Cards. One of these cards was shown in the features trailer for the 3DS, and can be seen in video below at the 1:50 mark. All six cards seen below come with every 3DS and all of them are Nintendo favorites.

The card we’re interested in is the Link card of course, but no one is really sure what to expect. In the video below, a creature is seen moving around attacking the 3DS, but can we expect something similar with Link? Will we help him fight off some octorocks? Perhaps these character cards will just be 3D statues that seem to sit on the table in front of us. I think that these cards will be a nice added feature to the system. As the trailer shows it could be anything from a neat little game or figurine replacement to a whole culture of trading cards. I look forward to getting my hands of some of these to see what they’re all about.

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UPDATE: Derp. As it turns out, several online gaming news centers reported false in formation. The Virtual Console, as we now know, is in fact part of the e-shop. Therefore, the Virtual Console, and Link’s Awakening, will not be available in March as we had hoped.
Source: My Nintendo News

A while back, Zelda Dungeon reported that the 3DS e-shop and Virtual Console would be available on the day of the 3DS launch: March 27th for the states. What we failed to report to you all is that for a time, the launch of the e-shop and Virtual Console would be delayed until May, at which point 3DS owners could get it on their 3DS with a downloadable upgrade.

Well today, more news has come on the subject! As it turns out, the virtual console will be available at the time of the 3DS release! So far the only confirmed titles for the Virtual Console are Super Mario Land and more importantly, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX. The only trouble is, no one from Nintendo has given us a straight answer on whether or not these will be available on the 27th or not. It is, however, expected that we will see several other titles on launch day.

My fingers are crossed! Who else is getting the 3DS on March 27th (25th for Europe)?
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Today, NintendoEurope is holding a press event and the star of the show is the 3DS. You can watch the event live here. The presenters are discussing everything from features on the new machine to new games. Tune in for the amazing game trailers.

The event so far has been interesting and telling. Here’s some of the things we’ve learned so far:

-The 3DS will come in Black or Blue
-The 3DS will cost $249.99 in North America, and prices aren’t set in Europe.
-The 3DS will be released in North America on March 27 and March 25 in Europe.
-Nintendo plans to have a steady stream of Gameboy and Gameboy Color games on the 3DS’s e-shop/virtual console.
-The 3DS will have pre-loaded games including the new Face Raiders.
-The 3DS is capable of taking pictures.
-The 3DS will have a web browser and video capability with a future software update.

Only a small mention of Ocarina of Time 3DS has been made. It was simply stated that it’s been “remastered” with all new “updated graphics.”

It’s funny that Skyward Sword was rumored to be released on the same day, but as it turns out it will be the debut of the 3DS. Here at Zelda Dungeon we’ll continue to keep you updated on this news throughout the event. Read more…

Nintendo of America recently released some information concerning the 3DS. Here’s a quote from their press page:

The quote confirms the release and satiates our hunger for the 3DS. It also mentions that Nintendo is holding an event on the 19th, so be sure to check back with Zelda Dungeon for any breaking news.

We already know that Ocarina of Time is not a release title for the 3DS, but we hope to learn more about it from the upcoming event. Read more…

The pictured tweet, if Google Translate can be considered reliable, translates to:

Nintendo France has a mysterious teaser press event in Amsterdam on January 19 … 3DS? Other?

It’s a tiny message on Twitter, but it’s interesting even if it’s just a rumor. If it turns out to be true, what might Nintendo talk about there and why are they holding this press event? This may or may not have relation to Skyward Sword or Ocarina of Time 3DS. Even if it’s general Nintendo news, it could have implications related to Zelda so one way or another this could be good… if it’s true of course.

This is somewhat exciting for me, as it could imply very cool news. Just to Zelda fans or even to the general Nintendo fan, this is an interesting prospect. And what could a date so early in the year mean? Especially intriguing when you consider the Zelda titles supposedly going to be released early in 2011. At the same time I’m incredibly skeptical. It doesn’t seem like this is coming from a source that is any kind of authority. At the same time, it’s something of a bold and oddly specific statement, so who knows?

Source: GoNintendo

What do you think? How believable is this rumor? What are your thoughts? And if you believe it, what do you think it could mean; why are they holding this conference? Post about it in the comments!

Everyone knows that Nintendo isn’t exactly an open book when it comes to their plans and business schedules, but there are a few things that LiveWii, a French Nintendo site, has gathered from their recent activities. The most notable of these is a pattern of releasing one major Wii game per month (in Europe). Starting in October we’ve seen Wii Party, Fling Smash and Donkey Kong Country Returns (that one’s on my x-mas wishlist). Scheduled for January is Mario Sports Mix and Kirby’s Epic Yarn will be released in February. What could Nintendo possibly have scheduled for March? Well, we (the collective Zelda community) hope we will see Skyward Sword! If this pattern continues, then there’s a good chance we can see Skyward Sword early next year instead of the next Holiday Season.

This pattern doesn’t hold up as well for Japan or North America, but the release schedules for Europe do seem to be a bit more planned out then most. In some instances Europe sees the first release like they did with the Wii Remote Plus, but other times won’t see a release until months later as with Kirby’s Epic Yarn which will arrive in Europe a full 4 months later than it did in North America and Japan.

Either way, let’s hope for the new game to be finished sooner rather than later. Let us know when you think we’ll finally see Skyward Sword. Read more…

The release dates have been announced! The newly designed Wii Remote Plus is going to be available November 11th in Japan, and surprisingly, Europe will see the new device before the land of the rising sun! The release for Europe is set for November 5th. Even more surprising, the new Wii Remote Plus will be available to Americans on October 29th! The only catch is that you also have to buy the Mario 25th anniversary Wii console to go with it, and the remote will be red. Otherwise, the Wii Remote Plus will be available in a variety of colors.

Here at Zelda Dungeon, we’re concerned with how the new device pertains to Zelda! Since Skyward Sword has been in the making for so long, I’d expect that at the beginning of it’s development they made the decision to make the controls work with the Motion Plus controller. It would also make sense that the Wii Remote Plus was developed with Skyward Sword in mind, making the controller less bulky and easier to use. In fact several reports make this same claim. It’s clear that Skyward Sword’s release date has been pushed back so it’s logical to think that the original plan was to release the new remote with Skyward Sword. Fortunately for us, Nintendo’s got a lot cookin’ and it appears the the Wii Remote Plus was finished before Skyward Sword was ready to hit the shelves.

The new device will be available on November 19th and can also be purchased in a bundle with Fling Smash. The US release will happen 8 days after the Japanese release and a full two weeks after the European debut. What do you guys think of the new remote? Will you buy one? Do you already have the Motion Plus accessory? Do you want to play Skyward Sword with the new Wii Remote Plus? or would you be fine using your Motion Plus? Let us know in the comments.

Source:JoyStiq.com
Source:NintendoLife.com

Part 3 of the Game Trailers Bonus Round’s preview of E3 is now online and it covers Nintendo. There is quite a bit that is talked about during this issue but it mainly touches on a Nintendo Wii HD, the upcoming Zelda title for the Nintendo Wii, the Nintendo 3DS, the Vitality Sensor, and more. E3′s press conference is set for Tuesday June 15th, just 8 days away, so be sure to check back here at Zelda Dungeon, where we will keep you up to date with all the latest Zelda news and information!

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Nintendo of Japan has officially released a document citing that the successor to the Nintendo DS, temporarily known as the Nintendo 3DS, will release by March of 2011 and will feature 3D effects without the use of glasses. Shown below is the full quote of what was released by Nintendo of Japan.

Nintendo Co., Ltd. (Minami-ward of Kyoto-city, President Satoru Iwata) will launch “Nintendo 3DS”(temp) during the fiscal year ending March 2011, on which games can be enjoyed with 3D effects without the need for any special glasses.

“Nintendo 3DS”(temp) is going to be the new portable game machine to succeed “Nintendo DS series”, whose cumulative consolidated sales from Nintendo amounted to 125million units as of the end of December 2009, and will include backward compatibility so that the software for Nintendo DS series, including the ones for Nintendo DSi, can also be enjoyed.

We are planning to announce additional details at E3 show, which is scheduled to be held from June 15, 2010 at Los Angeles in the U.S.

Pretty shocking to hear this right now as I wasn’t expecting an announcement of this type until E3 of 2010. 3D effects seem very intriguing and I’m not exactly sure what to think of it until I see the unit in action in just a couple months. E3 is set to begin in less than three months and who knows what will be announced when they reveal the console. It’s hard to believe we’ll be seeing anything Zelda related for the Nintendo 3DS, but at the very least we will be able to get glimpses of what Zelda could be like on the new handheld console. Read more…

In a recent interview with games™, Shigeru Miyamoto hinted to the possible inclusion of Zelda Wii Utilizing the Vitality Sensor in the upcoming adventure. The vitality sensor was announced back at E3 2009 but there has been very little information concerning the device since. At the time, the president of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, stated that video games may sound be used as a form of relaxation. Sure, video games are meant to be relaxing in a way, but I’m not quite sure Zelda Wii, with the utilization of the Wii Motion plus is the type of game you’d want to sit back and relax with. Miyamoto had his to say about the Vitality Sensor.

“So maybe you might like to ask me to incorporate the Vitality Sensor into Zelda so that as you become more scared, the enemies become even tougher.”

With both Zelda Wii and the Vitality Sensor likely to be featured at E3 2010, it seems that this will most likely be the next time we get any type of information in regards to either of the two planned items. In my opinion the Miyamoto quote seemed like more of an out of the blue response and there really is no connection between the two items. However, it does make you think outside the box and perhaps the vitality sensor can be used in more interesting ways than originally thought possible. You can check out the original article with the interview over at NOW Gamer.

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Nintendo Power’s 2009 award winners have been revealed and Spirit Tracks was able to take home two prizes. Spirit Tracks won the award for DS Game of the Year and also won the award for Best Adventure Game. Additionally, Nintendo Power put together their Best of the Decade list.

1. Super Mario Galaxy
2. Resident Evil 4 (GCN)
3. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii)
4. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
5. Super Smash Bros Brawl
6. Metroid Prime
7. Elite Beat Agents
8. Metroid: Zero Mission
9. Mario Kart Wii
10. The World Ends With You

In terms of primarily single player Zelda titles, we’ve gotten 8 Zelda titles this decade. While I don’t think that the top two were Twilight Princess and the Wind Waker, it was nice to see two Zelda titles make the list.

Check out GoNintendo for some more awards. Read more…

The October 2nd convention in Tokyo took place today and after rumors of a new Nintendo DS being releases, today these rumors came to be reality. The new Nintendo DS is known as the Nintendo DSi. The new model will be slightly smaller in size than the Nintendo DS Lite and it will have slightly larger screens. The new model has a ton of new features including an SD Card slot for digital downloads, a built in MP3 player, and a .3 megapixel camera, which can take pictures at resolutions of 640×480.

The new DS will not have Gameboy Advanced support as the SD Card slot has replace where the Gameboy Advanced slot had been. The system is scheduled to release on November 1st in Japan at a price of 18,900 yen (approximately $180). No release date for any other regions has been mentioned at this time. Click the link below for more information and even a new video displaying some of the new titles and features that are going to be made available for the DSi.

IGN: New DS Model Announced

10:14 – And that is it… Nothing from Zelda. What a shocker and a disappointment.

10:09 – Wii Music really doesn’t look good. However, now 6 of them are on stage at once and attempting to play the classic Super Mario Bros song. It looks alright. I really hope that Miyamoto hasn’t been spending ALL his time on this one game.

10:02 – Finally, Shigeru Miyamoto takes the stage along with some crazy guy playing the drums with the Wiimote. Apparently this is what the newest gimick of Nintendo is, Wii Music. Shiggy seems very excited about it, but to me, it looks rather gimicky. I’m sure a lot of people will enjoy it though.

9:56 – Reggie is back on stage and talks about Wii MotionPlus. Wii Sports Resort is announced and is displayed. Wii MotionPlus will be packaged with Wii Sports Resort. The games that come with Wii Sports Resort looks kind of gimicky. I’d much prefer a full blown Wii Tennis or Wii Golf. The Wii MotionPlus actually seems to be working extremely well. The sword game actually looks decent.

9:47 – More talk about how female gamers are leading the way in higher gaming sales. Guitar Hero On Tour Decades is revealed for the Nintendo DS. Able to connect and exchange songs with the first Guitar Hero On Tour. Spore Creatures is shown for the Nintendo DS. The game looks alright, I’d have to take a closer look before giving a more formal opinion on the title. Pokemon Ranger is also given a release date.

A huge announcement. Grand Theft Auto: China Wars is announced for the Nintendo DS. Wow. Seems really intriguing.

9:42 – Three new games are shown. Star Wars: The Clone Wars is the first being shown. Doesn’t look like anything too exciting. Two guys are shown swinging the Wii-motes.

Rayman Raving Rabbids is next on the list. It takes advantage of the wii balance board. Looks okay, but kinda gimicky, like the previous titles.

Call of Duty: World at War is next on the list. While I can’t see off first glimpse, I’m certain there is a noticeable graphic downgrade from the PS3 and 360 counterparts. They gamers playing are shown using Wii Zappers.

9:38 – Reggie Fils-Aime takes the stage and talks about the Nintendo DS. He continues to boast about the sales of the Nintendo DS and the Wii. Fils-Aime is doing job of being honest about making comparisons between casual and hardcore gamers.

9:32 – Animal Crossing Wii continues and it reveals Wii Speak. This allows users to speak to each other over the internet via Wi-Fi. It is not a headset, but a community speaker that is placed near the sensor bar.

9:27 – Iwata continues about his vision of how to continue the bridge the gap between gamers and non-gamers. Kastuya Eguchi, the creator of Animal Crossing, is shown in an interview. He reveals Animal Crossing for Wii, to be released in 2008. The game looks alright. I personally am not much of a fan of the Animal Cross series.

9:23 – Satoru Iwata takes the stage and talks about Nintendo in the past few years. Talks about how our common sense views have changed. Iwata boasts about Wii Sports and Wii Play.

9:13 – Shaun White snowboarding (exclusive for Wii). Looks gimicky and fun at the same time. The game utilizes the Wii balance board. Shaun actually seems happy to be here.

9:10 – We are underway. A gimicky video is shown watching a bunch of women and old people alike playing the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS. Hopefully this is not an indication of what’s to come.

8:59 – The stream is now up and running. It has the Nintendo logo, indicating we are about ready to go.

8:40 – About 20 until the start of the conference. The excitement builds…

I will be updating the index page of the site as the Nintendo press conference occurs. I’ll be briefly mentioning some of the non-Zelda news that has been announced as it occurs. I don’t expect any Zelda information to be released until near the end of the Nintendo conference though, since they usually save their big name titles until the end. The time lists above are all in PST. The conference is scheduled to begin at 9am, so that is 12pm for those of you who live in the eastern timezone of the US. It’s coming soon as it is stated to start in about 20 minutes. If you are interested in watching the conference, check out the live stream of the press conference courtesy of IGN.

Nintendo E3 Press Conference

The Nintendo Wii has now officially surpassed the Microsoft 360 in terms of console sales. Even with the one year head start that Microsoft had, they still were not able to hold the console market for even a full year. Perhaps the lack of fan support in Japan is catching up to Microsoft? Nonetheless, this information shouldn’t be taken too seriously, as once next months much anticipated Halo 3 is released for the 360, a flip should surely take place with the 360 most likely to surpass the Wii. Although by years end with Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Galaxy, I can see Nintendo once again claiming the top spot.

One thing is clear from all of this… and that is that Sony is the big loser of the three.

Source: Kotaku

In a recent interview Aonuma pretty much confirmed that Sheik and Ganondof will make an appearance in the upcoming Smash title. Like Link and Zelda, Ganondorf has been re-worked to match his look from Twilight Princess. Sheik on the other hand is quite a surprise since well, she hasn’t been in a game in nearly a decade. It looks like Sheik will be a stand alone character as well and not just be a transformation of Princess Zelda. Nonetheless, it’s nice to see the roster consistently expanding.

Confirmed new characters include Pit from Kid Icarus, Wario, a version of Samus without her suit, and Ike from Fire Emblem. Snake from Metal Gear has also been confirmed but has yet to appear on the official Smash Bros. website. Time will bring us some more new faces to game. Personally, I’m hoping they bring over Sonic and maybe a few more Sega characters. The more the marrier.