Seriously, last week’s Nintendo Direct presentation was thrilling to watch. In a short span of 30 minutes, Nintendo managed to drum up more hype for the Wii U than two E3 conferences, four separate previous Nintendo Direct broadcasts, and multiple press events had managed. Everything was covered, from the usability issues that stem from the Wii U’s seriously unoptimized, bloated OS, to new, long expected features like the Virtual Console, to new games, both expected and unexpected… seriously, it’s like Nintendo looked at every single rumor concerning the Wii U on the internet, decided to make it a reality, and then threw in some zingers to add some icing to the cake.

The impact of the Nintendo Direct was that, while of course we all know that the Wii U won’t be competitive with the next Xbox or the Playstation 4, and that it is likely to lose what little third party support it has right now once those systems release, it will still remain a competitive and viable alternative, a nice complement from those system’s offerings, a system with just enough must haves that you will want to have one.

Iwata started slow, outlining the Miiverse- Nintendo’s unique online community for the Wii U, that is genuinely and legitimately a step forward from the segmented community experiences that Xbox Live and PSN have provided us so far- and how successful it had been. He did spend a whole lot more time on this than was perhaps desirable, because for the first fifteen minutes, it legitimately looked like the Nintendo Direct would fail to deliver again, like everything Wii U so far. However, Iwata quickly began to get to the point, as he began to outline the planned improvements for Miiverse, alongside the rather startling (albeit expected, because of how many times it had been hinted at) announcement that Nintendo would be delivering an official Miiverse app for smartphones, to increase the community’s reach. Miiverse being accessible, at least partially, on other devices can only be good for Nintendo- Microsoft, Sony, and Valve all understood this when they made Xbox Live, PSN, and Steam apps available on smartphones- so it’s good to see Nintendo joining in on the fun.

Of course, it is slightly weird that Miiverse is coming to third party devices before the 3DS, Nintendo’s own handheld (which is now successful and stable enough that Nintendo chose to ignore it completely for this presentation, promising a future one outlining 3DS software instead). However, Nintendo clearly is beginning to understand that segmenting their hardware and software from everything else in this era of a unified and coherent software ecosystem is stupid, and they’re beginning to act on it.

The improvements to Miiverse were, therefore, much appreciated, as was Nintendo’s promise that the Wii U OS would also be fixed. The Wii U OS has been a disaster, with there being a day one update that’s in excess of 3 GB, and the OS still being slow, laggy, and plagued by loading times that stretched to several minutes. Nintendo has promised a fix to all the major issues that affect the Wii U and some minor functionality fixes too, coming via two firmware updates, one in Spring, and one in Summer. It was refreshing to see Nintendo actually admit that there was an issue with its system, and then tackle it head on.

This was followed by an admittedly more exciting announcement: the Virtual Console was finally coming to the Wii U. Now, as anyone who actually owns the system already knows, you can already access the complete Virtual Console (along with any and all titles that you may have bought over the last six years) on your Wii U, but they have to be accessed on the old Wii Shop Channel in Wii Mode. This means that they get no benefits from any of the new Wii U feature (including off screen play). Nintendo announced that a Wii U optimized and enhanced Virtual Console would be coming to the Wii U Virtual Console too, including new features like save states (already available on the 3DS Virtual Console), configurable buttons (a first for Nintendo), off screen play on the Wii U pad (yes!), and Miiverse support. Iwata also stated some important caveats: only NES and SNES titles would be compatible off the bat, and not all of them to begin with, and if you’d already paid for a title available on the Wii U store, you’d have to pay a small fee to upgrade to the Wii U edition.

So it was sort of a mixed bag, and it has to do with Nintendo’s lack of foresight with user accounts on the Wii, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been (they could have just flat out charged full price, and multiple suckers would have paid $5 to play Super Mario Bros. on their Wii U Pad). In addition, the announcement of their new pricing scheme, their new sales and discounts, and the fact that the Gameboy Advance was coming to the Wii U Virtual Console (what?), and it was hard to be too mad with this section of the presentation.

And then we moved on to games. Continuing with the honesty theme of the conference, Iwata apologized to viewers about the lack of Wii U games and announcements so far. He said that he recognized that it was Nintendo’s responsibility to provide compelling content for its platforms (more than other console manufacturers, if you think about it), but he then promised announcements. Announcements he began to outline then and there, much to everyone’s joy and surprise.

Of course, first he went through the usual suspects. We got to see more of The Wonderful 101 (looks as good as ever), Lego City Undercover (which might turn out to be a genuinely compelling game), Wii Party 2 (an all new announcement, and not the most exciting one). We even got a neat look at Bayonetta 2. And then Iwata proceeded to announce the new stuff. He promised a new 3D Mario and a new Mario Kart, both exclusive to Wii U, both debuting this E3. He promised Smash Bros. 4, the nebulous 3DS and Wii U game that had been announced nearly two years ago, to finally make an appearance this E3 as well. And then, with a sly smile, as if understanding what was going through all our minds, he said, ‘Of course, many of you probably think that new installments in those franchises isn’t a big deal.’ And then he went on to announce two delightfully unexpected games.

The first was Yoshi. From the developer of Kirby’s Epic Yarn, the game continued with the same yarn theme, and it looked gorgeous, adorable, brilliant in 1080p. This is the first console Yoshi game since the N64 title Yoshi’s Story, and it has a lot to live up to, considering that Yoshi’s Island is still considered the highmark of 2D platformers by many till date. It is also to be hoped that unlike Kirby, the new Yoshi game will actually provide a decent challenge to gamers.

Iwata then proceeded to announce a title that was genuinely more puzzling than any other announcement so far: Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem, a crossover between two ultra niche, super venerated franchises. We didn’t get to see much, but we know Atlus and Intelligent Systems are co-developing it. Iwata smiled slyly, and said that this type of intense co-operation would be emblematic of the kind of third party support and co-operation you could expect on the Wii U. Considering that after Bayonetta 2, this is the second time we’re seeing something like this, you have us very intrigued, Iwata.

Iwata then went on to outline plans for Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda franchise, which has hit rocky waters as of late. Handing the screen over to Aonuma, Nintendo went on to outline their plans to play with the conventions of the Zelda series, introducing elements like a full open world, not having a specific order for dungeon progression, and maybe even multiplayer. Aonuma said that he understands players want to see the new game now, but he said it was not yet developed enough where they could show it off, instead promising a glimpse of the game this E3. Instead, he showed us something else instead, that he said he hoped would tide Nintendo fans over in the meanwhile: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Reborn, a fully HD remake of the 2003 Gamecube classic, being made from the ground up in full HD for the Wii U. Aonuma promised improved gameplay (does that mean they are getting rid of the Triforce Quest?), Miiverse compatibility (honestly a given), and improved graphics (a matter of opinion, judging by the reaction they got). The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Reborn would be available this August. Many tears were shed, many Wii U purchases made well in advance.

At this point, this was already the most successful Nintendo presentation in years, but Iwata wasn’t done. He had one last thing to show, a true killer app for the Wii U. Project X, Monolith Soft’s new RPG, exclusively made for the Wii U. It looked stunning, its scale looked beyond belief, and it looked like the first console next gen title we had seen yet. And it was running on the Wii U. Jaws dropped, and many people, even season Nintendo cynics, realized that this truly was a killer app that could potentially sell them on the system all by itself. And seriously, Project X, that looks like a successor to Xenoblade, but now realized with all the power of an HD system, a bigger budget given Xenoblade’s success, and of course, the online functionality that it so clearly seemed to include, will be incredible.

And that was that. Iwata signed off on that intriguing note. A possibility that there was more to the Wii U than we had thought. The promise of new games, expected and unexpected, old and new, and stuff that would appeal to both Nintendo loyalists and cynics. All of a sudden, buying a Wii U didn’t seem like such a waste of money anymore. All of a sudden, it looked like Nintendo had planted itself back in the race against the next gen systems when they ultimately release.

No one expects Wii U to get the same kind of third party support, or have specs that will be even remotely on par. We all know that is not going to happen. But what we do expect, and what Nintendo had failed on giving us so far, was a machine that would offer compelling games to us without necessarily being a part of the Xbox/Playstation ecosystem. Last Wednesday, Nintendo realized that promise. Last Wednesday, they made the Wii U a system many would want to own.

Now we just have to look forward to their E3 this year, to see how they will counter the double whammy of Sony and Microsoft unveiling their new systems.

“It’s quite common for a company to reject someone who only knows about games. We all have our preferences, but for us, I’d like to say that it’s the contrary. We’d most likely reject someone who doesn’t know his games. The reason being, we’d like to have someone who is as passionate about making games as we are.

“Of course it would be troublesome if gaming is the only thing one were to know about, but it would be even more troublesome if they didn’t know anything about it at all. We’re looking for someone who can enjoy making the game he made with his company.”

Essentially, Takahashi believes that knowledge alone isn’t enough if you don’t have the passion. Heck, it got legends like American McGee through the industry, so why not?

Source: Siliconera

Nintendo has released ten minutes of gameplay footage of Xenoblade (or Xenoblade Chronicles) in anticipation of its European release. It shows a side quest, with some great vistas and scenes. It’s worth watching, really, so watch the video above.

Reggie Fils-Aime has said that Nintendo of America will release Xenoblade in the US if the European version does well.

Some time ago, Nintendo announced that they will not be releasing their three major upcoming games for the Wii- Xenoblade, The Last Story and Pandora’s Tower- in North America. TH\hey said there wasn’t enough fan support for the games to be released there.

Fans, however, rallied together and protested against Nintendo’s decision, imploring them to release the games in NA. Nintendo, however, did not comply. There was a rumour that the games might get North American releases after all, but other than that, the outlook was not good.

However, Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America, said, while talking to IGN, that Nintendo will consider releasing the games in NA if the European versions are well received critically and commercially. “We will be watching very closely what happens in Europe,” he said.

“Certainly if there are business opportunities and positive consumer uptake from some of those titles, that will be great data for us to consider as we look at what to do with these titles.”

We sure hope Nintendo agrees to releasing those games in NA eventually, because they look very good. Stay tuned to GB for more on this.

Xenoblade, which was originally supposed to be released on the Wii in Europe this September, will not be releasing in August. The RPG’s date has been shifted from September 2 to August 19.

Nintendo also announced the Classic Controller Pro bundle is a limited version, so you should pre-order it while you still can.

We also reported earlier yesterday that Xenoblade, The Last Story and Pandora’s Tower might just get released in North America after all. Check out the entire article here.

A few weeks ago, that the three new games they’d developed, Xenoblade, The Last Story and Pandora’s Tower (which look awesome, by the way), will not be released in North America, because apparently, there wasn’t a market for them there. Fans rallied together and mounted a massive campaign to get these games released, and when Nintendo answered after a week of campaigning, they still hadn’t changed their mind.

Now, things seem to be changing. According to an Operation Rainfall Blogspot blog, Xenoblade’s NTSC localization was completed over a month ago, The Last Story’s localization will begin in a month, but currently, there’s no news on Pandora’s Tower.

The blog says Nintendo disclosed this information to Operation Rainfall (the name of the campaign), in confidence. Until Nintendo of America makes an official announcement, nothing is concrete. But the games are supposed to be coming to NA soon, so that explains why sites like Amazon are still taking pre-orders for them.

This doesn’t say much about the campaign, and the source isn’t very trusted, but we do hope it’s true.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!

Were you worried about the absolute lack of any big games scheduled for release on the Wii after the incredible 2010 that it had? Concerned that barring Skyward Sword, your Wii won’t be getting much love this year? Or are you just a fan of traditional JRPGs, and are saddened by the genre’s slow demise this generation?

Well, for all of you guys, rejoice, there is hope! Nintendo of Europe today announced that the Monolith Soft developed Xenoblade, the Wii exclusive spiritual successor to the Playstation fan favorite Xenosaga, will be releasing in Europe later this year. For whatever reason, it will be retitled Xenoblade Chronicles though. *shrugs*

The announcement came rather unexpectedly (and unfortunately close to the 1st of April), and with it came some more JRPG goodness. For instance, Nintendo’s announcement that this game will feature the original Japanese dub, in addition to English voiceovers too.

They also gave us a trailer, which, holy crap, reminds me of Shadow of the Colossus. I don’t know if that’s a good thing though. Check it out.

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