The Big N5 of the Week - Reggie has FURY!

Huge stories for our Big N5 today. Let's see what happened in the world of Nintendo this week: 

5. Pokemon Global Link 2.0.  

After a two week hiatus of site maintenance the Pokemon Global Link is now back up and running, with exciting new features. Pokemon Black and White players can now instantly connect with other players without a Union Room, and use the new XTranseiver and Entralink to play new mini-games with other people from around the world, which boosts prizes and EXP, while increasing the number of people in the Black city/White Forest. And lastly, players can connect to the dream World seamlessly via Wi-fi. Be sure to check it out! 

 

4. Reggie calls out unsatisfied fans. 

Didn't like this year's E3? Reggie has something to say about that: "One of the things that, on one hand, I love and, on the other hand, that troubles me tremendously about not only our fanbase but about the gaming community at large is that, whenever you share information, the perspective is, 'Thank you, but I want more.' 'Thank you, but give me more.' I mean, it is insatiable. And so for years this community has been asking, 'Where's Pikmin?' 'Where's Pikmin?' 'Where's Pikmin?' We give them Pikmin. And then they say, 'What else?' For years, this community have said, 'Damnit Reggie, when you launch, you better launch with a Mario game.' So we launch with a Mario game, and they say, 'So what's more?' I have heard people say, 'You know, you've got these fantastic franchises, beyond what you're doing in Smash Bros., isn't there a way to leverage all these franchises?' So we create Nintendo Land and they say, 'Ho-hum, give me more.' So it's an interesting challenge." Take it however you must, but you have to give him credit for having guts. 

3. Two games coming to 3DS VC every week in July! 

Nintendo hosted a post E3 conference on Nintendo Driect on Friday revealing some juicy new info on 3DS titles. But it wasn't just new titles that getting the spotlight: Nintendo also announced that two VC titles will be released every week for the 3DS, through July 5th to August 1st. The first title will be the classic Legend of Zelda, followed by The Sword of Hope IIand Kirby's Pinball Land the following week, with the next two weeks titles including Tumblepop, Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters and Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 at the rear of the current release list (wait, isn't that three in one week?) Sonic Blast and Sonic Labyrinth from the GamGear are also scheduled for a Summer release, but no specific release dates are given.  Please consider releasing GBA titles next, Nintendo!  

2. Namco-Bandai co-developing the next Smash Bros. 

Nintendo also revealed on Friday that the next Smash Bros. game will be co-developed with Namco-Bandai. Nintendo didn't reveal too much after that, but they did specify that the staff teams that worked on popular franchises Tekken, Tales, and Soul Calibur are the one's in the development working on the new Smash Bros. Will we see characters like Klonoa, Nightmare, or Pac-Man duke it out on the field? Cross your fingers and hope for more info come next E3.  

1. 3DS XL announced! 

And finally, Nintendo revealed the new 3DS iteration: 3DS XL. With a 1.5x bigger screen, it will make your 3DS games come to life like never before. Unfortunately, it does not have a right analog stick and it will not support the current accessory already out in GameStop, but luckily it isn't necessary if you're already used to using one analog stick. The system will cost $200 and will released in Europe on July 28th. NA release date is still TBA. 

Thanks for reading, and join us next week for 5 more reasons to be a Nintendo gamer! 

  

The Big N5 of the Week - Reggie has FURY!

Big N5 of the Week - Guns, Wii U's, and Kirbys Everywhere!

Our new news feature, depicting the top 5 best Nintendo stories from around the web. Updated every Sunday. Is your body ready?

	5. Rumor: Leaked Microsoft document revealed Wii U price tag? An apparent leaked Microsoft document describing the next gen Xbox, also had some stuff to say about the Wii U. The document described that the Wii U will cost $250, and being first in new console train line could "defend [Nintendo's] success in broad gaming segments" and "further erode console differentiation" by matching console hardware specs with PS3 and Xbox360. It was hard to say if the document was fake or legit, even though a $250 price tag is traditional for a Nintendo home console, but with the system being released with a gamepad controller, a $300 price tag would seem the most plausible. Unfortunately, the leaked document was soon taken down, so I can't offer any links.
	4. Jimmy Fallon thought Wii U was just a new Wii.   Yeah...you can watch it here. Thanks for adding more confusion to the already confused casual market that thinks this is just a new Wii accessory, Jimmy. The system needs all the help it can get.
	3. Keldeo Resolution form Revealed.  Teased on Tuesday in a magazine scan, Keldeo's new form was finally revealed this week showing off a more gutsy form of the newest Event Pokemon. According to Serebii Keldeo can only change form in B/W2 in Sangi Town while Terrakion, Virizion, and Coballon are in your party, and when Keldeo knows the move Secret Sword. Like the new form? Hate it? Tell us what you think!
	2. Kirby 20th Anniversary Game Line-up revealed.  Good news for Kirby fans: Kirby's 20th anniversary will not be in vain. The pink puffball's next foray will be a collection of his finest games for the Wii: Kirby's Dream Land (Game Boy) Kirby's Adventure (NES) Kirby's Dream Land 2 (Game Boy) Kirby Super Star (SNES) Kirby's Dream Land 3 (SNES) Kirby 64 (Nintendo 64), and will feature an on-disc history calender, a compilation CD, and some games will even include bonus content and new levels. It's every fan's dream collection of Kirby games all rolled into one! Happy birthday, Kirby; may your games live on for many, many more anniversaries!
	1. Miyamoto wants to make a FPS for the Wii U?  Source: Kotaku. You heard right. The man behind Mario and Zelda wants to someday make a FPS akin to Doom and Call of Duty for the Wii U. "I actually do kind of want to make a first-person shooter," he says, "but I don't have time." And also went on to specifics as how he'd make a FPS: "Rather than necessarily the question of 'What kind of weapon do I have?' in a first person shooter or 'What kind of effect does that have on an enemy?', I think that the structure of a first-person shooter is something that's very interesting," he said through a translator. "Having that 3D space that in theory you are in and being able to look around and explore that—particularly being able to do that in conjunction with another person—is very interesting." If anything it will not be your typical affair of a FPS, as shown how Miyamoto put his own spin on the RTS genre with Pikmin. Whenever he does decide to make a FPS, or whatever he does with the genre you can be rest assured that it will be like nothing we've played before.

Tune back next Sunday for other Big N5 of the week!

Big N5 of the Week - Guns, Wii U's, and Kirbys Everywhere!

N5S Impressions - Nintendo E3 Conference 2012

With a 3DS conference on the way this evening, it's a good time to take a moment and reflect on yesterday's Nintendo conference. While it was a decent show yesterday we still had our qualms about the games Nintendo showcased. Here's our impressions:

"This year I was not as hyped as I should be for Nintendo's e3 presentation, since I was not that interested in Wii-U, but I gotta say that now, after seeing the conference I'm getting more and more interested in it. Definitely not as much as I was for the 3DS, and I definitely won't get the Wii-U on launch or even a year after its launch but still, my hype meter has risen.

So anyway the conference began with Pikmin and Shigsy was as awesome as ever. I've never played Pikmin (I've always wanted to though) but the trailer was pretty exciting. Then when Reggie came on stage and announced that there were 23 games for the Wii U I was really impressed, and I hope that this means the Wii U will have a much stronger launch than the 3DS. The New Super Mario Brothers U looks really good and I'm loving the art design. I loved how unexpectedly they went from Mario to Harley Quinn and for a moment I thought they would announce a WiiU exclusive batman title but no it was Arkham City (which I already own) so I was kind of dissapointed. Scribblenauts Ultimate looks much better than the DS versions and the fact that you can add your own words and that there is a story mode is a huge plus for me. Most of the other 3rd party games announced were ports from the PC, XBOX360 and PS3 and I've already played most of them and I was kind of hoping for more exclusive and new games. Of the 3DS games shown nothing was new but still the new Paper Mario and Luigy's Mansion trailers were pretty cool. NSMB2's artsyle looks bland I hope I'm proven wrong. I can't wait for the 3DS exclusive conference tomorrow. Lego City looked like GTA and L.A. Noire with Legos and ZombiU's fluidity and real time menus positively surprised me. Rayman Legends looks awesome. The most boring part of the conference was NintendoLand which doesn't really look like something special in my opinion. I think it will be included with the console similarly to how Wii Sports was distributed along with the Wii.

Anyway this year's e3 was pretty average, the beginning was exciting, the ending was dull and the lack of Smash Bros info and more 1st party Nintendo games was disappointing. The Wii U looks good but I have yet to see a game that will make me really really want it." -TheFreakyManga, N5S Forum Mod. 
   
"Great entrance from Miyamoto-san. Pikmin 3 looks beautiful, although dated. Why is Reggie's monologue longer than the entire Pikmin demo when he said this show would be all about games? Why is Reggie talking so much about Miiverse when they had a pre-show to get it out of the way? Redundancy at its finest. New Super Mario bros. U? YES, doomed Nintendo is the best Nintendo. The third party sizzle reel just showed the exact same games as last year. Come on now, is this the best they could do? Why are they dedicating so much time to Arkham City, a port of a game that is not only available on other platforms, but has been for almost a year? A bit embarrassing. Why are they dedicating to much time to Sing? Why are they dedicating so much time to Just Dance 4? The usage of the Wii U game pad screen is very disappointing so far; Mario and Pikmin will hardly use it. Why are they wasting so much time on 3DS coverage when they announced a second conference just to cover it? Where is the graphical showcase exclusive to sell Wii U to the hardcore? Where are games like Alien: Colonial Marines showing off some cool controller usages? Why are they taking so long to show Nintendo Land? The guy is struggling to explain how it works, and I'm itching to see something exciting. Will there be a surprise at the end to woo the hardcore gamer, much like Metroid Other: M? Nope, more Nintendo Land footage. If I buy a Wii U at launch, what games can I get in the months ahead? Nintendo is in big trouble. They lack direction and strong leadership." -toadster101, N5S Admin and a Nintendo fanboy for life.

"Nintendo's E3 Press Conference this year was overall good but could have been better. At the beginning Nintendo had a strong start with Pikmin 3 which got everyone's bodies ready, but things got a little weak during the finish with NintendoLand." -CRAZ1ah, N5S Forum Mod and Unofficial Jesus. 

"I came in this E3 in open arms. I know it was dumb, but somethign told me deep inside that this was going to be the greatest E3 ever. Last year's E3 conference was lackluster and barren, but it was hard to be disappointed when they promised so much for this year. They promised us a new Smash Bros. for both Wii-U and 3DS. They promised that the Wii-U would not be a repeat like the 3DS's ho-hum launch line-up. They promised us games. So we waited 365 days - and E3 finally came. With each so-so conference coming and going and the countdown to Nintendo's conference ticking I thought to myself 'There is NO WAY they can screw up, it's impossible." And then Miyamoto came on the stage. My heart was racing. They showed Pikmin 3. 'Okay', I shrugged, 'Everyone expected that anyway.' Then Regiie came on the show and announced 23 games they were going to show on the floor. It was all about the games. His words made me shiver with anticipation. This. Is. IT. And then he talked...and talked...about Miiverse. But I told myself to be patient, wait for the good stuff, it will come. They WB Games showed a port of Batman Arkham Asylum, a new LEGO game, and another Scribblenauts. But I was only interested in the firs-party games, and at this point I was crawling out of my skin. Then finally they showed NSMBU. 'Great', I thought, 'slow start but now we're picking up steam now!' And then came the 3DS games...every single one we all knew about...and NSMB2, which to me looked horrendous. At this point I was beginning to sag into my seat. Reggie talked about Wii Fit U, ZOMIU, Sing, and Just Dance 4. Then came the finale...I tightened my wrists...took a few breaths...braced for it...Nintendoland. 'But that's...that's okay!' I assured myself, 'They'll be showing a teaser for something else I know i-' It ended. 

That was Nintendo E3 Conference  2012. This is what I hyped over for a year. Nintendo didn't bring out the big guns... they brought out their little water squirters and called them real guns...and were confident about it. Is this the future of video games? Nintendo will definitely cover for this of course, but to make me feel great about being a Nintendo gamer...this wasn't it." -EggBeatr8, Co-writer for N5S blog. 

"Nintendo's conference....the first ten minutes was a really exciting time with the reveal of Pikmin 3 and all, and despite my apathy towards the New Super Mario Bros. aesthetic style I actually cheered and clapped for the Wii U version because it actually looked sufficiently different from the other NSMB games. Also, as Reggie said 'What's a new Nintendo console release without a Mario game?'.

It's either that or Zelda, so I don't understand the people who got over-excited about the Zelda HD tech demo as if it was an indicator of the second coming. It is, after all, still just a tech demo. I'd wait until next year or so for a Zelda game; the brand is going into fatigue after the massive 25th Anniversary celebration last year which saw four Zelda games being released in close proximity to one another.

Following that were the 3rd party Wii U games, and although they're prettied-up ports of PS3/X360 games with screen controls shoehorned in, they're fine by me since I've never got a chance to play them. I'm sure a lot of others have though. There were a few unexpected surprises in there, like Mass Effect 3 being ported and Tank Tank Tank from Namco Bandai finally making it to home console (it was an arcade game, an excellent and underrated one at that). Scribblenauts Unlimited also made me really happy, I'm a big fan of the series and they actually made Maxwell more adorable that he already was in the DS versions!

But the greatest 3rd party offerings of all were from Ubisoft, which showed off ZombiU and Rayman Legends. Ironically, Ubisoft's two big hitter games for Wii U made full usage of the screen controller even before Nintendo did. They're way more enthusiastic about this than anyone else, which is both good and bad. Good because a 3rd party is actually making an effort to innovate and use the screen, bad because it shows a lack of interest on even Nintendo's part. Where's your usual cleverness, Nintendo?

Now, one 2D Mario game was fine for me. Two in one go is overkill. As soon as the conference moved into 3DS territory I groaned as New Super Mario Bros 2 came on the screen. Literally, I groaned. It looks nothing like its big brother on Wii U and almost like the DS game's forgotten twin, they were so freaking alike. The new emphasis on coins don't help its cause. Luigi's Mansion and Paper Mario 2 were most welcome, however.

The hate showered upon the casual territory, while understandable, is rather unjustified; we've already got our own heavy-hitters a the beginning of the show, it's time for Nintendo to show the rest of their stuff to the newbie gamers and their own investors. It's not like we never got to see anything we wanted to see. Wii Fit U and Just Dance 4 look like high-quality pieces of kit, though I can't say the same for Sing. Karaoke games on a console has always been a terrible idea to me.

The absentees: Kirby's 20th Anniversary and all the other rumored games. They managed to make a whole hoo-ha over Zelda's 25th Anniversary last year, so what happened to Kirby? Is he going to be celebrating his birthday in Dream Land by himself? Or maybe he just wasn't the type of character to show on the conference; I don't recall any Kirby game being shown on the screen other than Epic Yarn. Who knows? There was some consolation for the cute pink ball though, because news going around E3 is that Kirby's Wii compilation is still on the way, slated to release this September.

As for the rest? Frankly I could care less about all the bovine excrement that was spewed out over the past few months. Rumors of Metroid Prime 4? New Zelda for 3DS and Wii U? New Starfox crossover with F-Zero or what have you? New Smash Bros? Okay maybe the last one could have had more confirmation after the statement made last year but still, there's no evidence that any of these are being worked on to be shown off at E3. It's 2010 all over again; gamers making unrealistic expectations of Nintendo to show off everything they want to see even though all they've been hearing is bullsh*t in and bullsh*t out. I shut my ears off to all Wii U related nonsensical rumors from a few months back, including all developer quotes and talk about tech specs and potential games, because there were so many of them and all of them conflicting with one another that I just didn't care anymore. Overhype kills.

It was a strong start and weak finish for Nintendo's conference, with good first-party titles and 3rd party titles revealed in the first half and casual stuff for the latter half ending with Nintendoland, another minigame compilation which most people would just yawn off unless it was a pack-in with the console or with another screen controller.

Unlike last year, I came in to this conference with low expectations. All I wanted to see was the Wii U itself and maybe a couple of games. The only thing I didn't get to hear were pricing and release date of the new console, but other than that I'm satisfied as a whole. Of course, it could still have been done better, but at least it wasn't as bad as the confusing train-wreck Nintendo did last year. I'm fine with it." -pikaby, N5S Admin and writer for N5S blog. 

So there you have it, folks. Thanks to all the mods/admins for their contributions!

N5S Impressions - Nintendo E3 Conference 2012

Miiverse announcement trailer

Explaining the concept of Miiverse would be rather boring and arbitrary, so I'll let this five-minute reveal trailer do it for you.



It's the nerdiest trailer ever, but you get the idea of what's going to be happening in it. Basically it's a huge social circle of Nintendo gamers who can see and talk to one another through their Miis, or using their smartphones, or using the Wii U controller for video conferencing. The console is more online-heavy than I thought! Wonder how comfortable it is to sit there and talk to a random stranger you've never met before...

It looks like one giant GameFAQs in the console. Wonder what else it can do?

Miiverse announcement trailer

Nintendo Direct announcements!

With the closing of Nintendo Direct's pre-E3 show today, there's been some interesting announcements. One announcement is that the Wii-U is receiving a new traditional controller that looks similar to the Xbox360 controller:

 

The controller will give gamers an alternative control scheme for playing Wii-U games without the touch screen interface.

And if that wasn't enough a new trailer for NSMB2 was revealed at the pre-show. It is compatible with Miiverse (posted above) and new gameplay elements were hinted at in the comments by the Miis on the world map, including a flying squirrel suit and a baby Yoshi that can inflate to carry Mario. Sounds fun to me!

The background elements and world map give off a Super Mario World vibe, and looks a whole lot smoother overall. It's the 3DS version though, the Wii U one will probably be shown at E3.

This is surely the tip of the iceberg, so get your body ready this Tuesday for many more updates, when Nintendo's conference goes live. See you at E3!

Nintendo Direct announcements!