10:41
The conference is over. Thanks for tuning in to PALGN and remember to check back in a couple of hours for the Microsoft conference.
10:40
Reggie is now by himself and comments on E3. He talks about the fact that Nintendo are taking risks ( and the Wii and the Nintendo DS are risks. "Thank you all. See you tomorrow".
10:39
The game will be playable on the show floor, so expect us to have some hands on impressions within a few days on PALGN.
10:37
Reggie is back, as is Iwata and some other guy. They are now playing four player. They are playing vertically. The game still looks very fluid.
10:36:
Some guy called Scott Dyer won (watch his name be plastered over every gaming site around). Hopefully now we can go back to the conference.
10:35:
Tennis is being demonstrated by Miyamoto. He serves the ball up, hits the forehand and swings the racket. His actions are reflected almost perfectly by the player, which looks absolutely amazing.
10:33
Some videos are now being shown of the sports titles. Reggie is brought back on to the stage. The AOL sweepstakes winner is about to be chosen. There are three grand finalists.
10:31
Satoru also thinks that the games will bring old and new gamers together. The Wii sports range should be able to do this. Titles like Tennis, Golf and Baseball should bridge the gap and all three titles will be there for the launch.
10:30
This will all be embedded in the hardware, programmers won't need to write a single line of code.
10:29
The Wii has been designed to also do something when it is off. "Wii Connect 24" will auto stand-by. This means the Wii will be constantly connected to the web. For example, in a title like Animal Crossing, any time the console is in standby someone can visit your town or leave a message and a gift.
10:28
Speaking of loading, he comments that he is spoiled by the DS suspend option, which lets him close the screen and then just open it when he wants to play. The Wii will minimise load times too. Virtual Console and Opera Browser saved to flash rom will load within seconds.
10:27
The Virtual Console gets another mention. Apparantly, it will bring together old gamers and also be a way of obtaining simple, intuitive games. Satoru mentions that he hates load times, and that he is far too busy to wait around.
10:26
One handed control with the Wii is just like the touch screen of the Nintendo DS.
10:25
Satoru is making a lengthy speech about appealing to non gamers and to gamers. Apparantly the "solution is to reinevent the relationship between the player and the game".
10:23
Mario Vs DK: March of the Minis is shown, as is Link from Zelda whacking stuff. Satoru Iwata is on stage now, speaking in English. Apparantly it's about 1AM in Japan now, he must have some serious jet lag.
10:22
We get another trailer reel. Mario Hoops 3 is shown (looks pretty average), Starfox DS (with some decent 3D, but no touch screen) and Yoshi's Island 2, which looks really similar to the first title.
10:21
Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is shown. Apparantly it "picks up where Wind Waker" left off. You can control the path of a boomerang with the stylus.
10:20
Final Fantasy III is coming to the Nintendo DS with improved graphics. Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam is shown with 3D on the top screen and a 2D map on the bottom screen.
10:19
Diddy Kong Racing, Yoshi's Island 2 and Starfox DS logos flash on the screen. Unfortunately, there is no footage though.
10:18
Finally we get to the games. George talks about the DS Lite and New Super Marios Bros. Pokemon Blue Mystery Dungeon and the Red version are set for release in the US on September 18th.
10:17
George quickly comments on the success of the Wi-Fi connection sales. Over 1.3 million users with over 40 million sessions.
10:16
George says he isn't going to talk sales figures, but then directly comments on the PSP and states that the DS has sold more than 16 million units, with the PSP trailing behind with "millions" less.
10:14
Reggie introduces George Harrison who is going to talk about the Nintendo DS.
10:13
The Red Steel demo is finishing up now. There are dozens of control combinations possible. Apparantly the game is simple to pick up, but very in-depth.
10:12
The game will contain destructible environments and enhanced physics. It's possible to pause the game, find the weak point of the enemy by pointing and resume the game to kill. We're not sure if this will make the game too easy, but we'll give it the benefit of the doubt. It's clear that Red Steel is going to be a flagship launch title for the Wii.
10:09
The game will be a launch title and is exclusive to the Wii. The game will be set in the USA and Japan. There was a bit of a delay getting the video on screen but everything seems to be working now. A lot of moves are being executed, such as firing and hiding. The graphics aren't particularly impressive, but it certainly looks like a different game.
10:08
Now we have a demonstration, with Ubisoft up to talk about Red Steel.
10:07
Now we see some third party stuff. Apparantly there won't be much of this shown today. but logos for Tony Hawk, Madden and Rayman are shown. Reggie comments that all of these games don't include the titles due with the Virtual Console.
10:06
Disaster: Day of Crisis, is where you can "bring the disaster under your control". There isn't much else spoken about with regards to this game.
10:05
Excite-Truck is shown off. You tilt the controller like handlebars, the terrain will deform beneath you in real time. Another game called Project Hammer is talked about. You swing the controller and nail the bad guys.
10:04
Super Mario Galaxy is shown. You can run around on either side of the world and battle objects and grab shooting starts with the remote.
10:03
We now move on to Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. It looks pretty similar to Metroid Prime 2 but you can use the Wii controller.
10:02
Reggie confirms that this is the "first Zelda to feature free control". The game will work on the Gamecube though. Nintendo will be releasing two different versions of the game, on the same day the new console launches.
10:00
It's possible to pick up crates using the A button on the remote. Throwing crates is done by doing a chuck gesture. The E3 version of this game has been downgraded and is a compact dungeon. The difficulty level has been toned down so the demo is a little more accessible.
09:57
Reggie calls Bill and Nate from NOA to play the game on the Wii. There is a fairy on screen which indicates where the remote is being pointed. Reggie confirms the Wii remote will have a speaker. It will be possible to hear a bow-string.
09:55
The talk now turns to Zelda. Reggie says that it is "the best Zelda game we've ever made". "It will be the first Zelda game that will be right there on launch day alongside a new Nintendo System". We thought it was coming out for the Gamecube.
09:54
We're finally seeing some footage of some of the games announced recently. Rayman 4 is being shown, as is Sonic Wild Fire. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles also gets a showing, as does Madden.
09:53
Nintendo are showing another trailer reel which contains Metroid Prime 3. Samus is firing in the air and and morph balling. Fire Emblem and Spongebob are also being shown, personally we're a little more excited about Fire Emblem over Spongebob.
09:50
Reggie is addressing the name and thanking everyone who wrote good things about the Wii when they first heard about it "both of them". Once again Reggie is listing the names that originally seemed bizarre but are now common, such as Google and Lexus.
09:49
Reggie comes back up and comments that people were skeptical of the Nintendo DS two years ago as well. Clearly Nintendo is making the point that the Wii is here to stay.
Date and Price: Reggie comments that the console will be available for less money in Q4, 2006 (not before September folks).
09:46
The video is over, the Wii logo is on the screen and it says "2006". This is already a little more exciting than the Sony conference. Could this mean we'll see all these games in 2006? Probably not.
09:44
A first-person shooter video is being shown with the player able to mark the targets before shooting. Zelda also makes an appearance and is firing arrows and slashing at enemies with the sword. The Wii control is also used to throw a fishing line into the water.
09:41
A short trailer is playing, there is a group of people playing tennis, as well as a golfing game. Mario gets his first glimpse and is shown running around, the Wii controller is used to smack things at enemies. A Wii WarioWare game is being demonstrated, as is a table tennis game.
09:40
Reggie Fils-Aime has entered onto the stage. He comments that if you're after next generation then you're in the wrong place. It's about what is new.
09:39
There are a few other technical demonstrations done, such as a driving game where you use the controller to turn and a sword fighting game where you slash with the sword.
09:37
The conference has begun. Miyamoto has walked onto the stage. Miyamoto is using a Wii controller to conduct an in-game orchestra that is playing the Zelda theme.
0933:
Well, we were optomistic that the conference would begin on time but unfortunately we're still waiting. It shouldn't be too long now though.
0920:
Nintendo has just announced that the presentation will start promptly at 9:30, which should mean that there will be no delays. This means the presentation will be underway in just under ten minutes.
0901:
Our staff have now entered the theatre.
0857:
People are in the building but not actually in the theatre yet. People are being assembled according to their level.
0850:
Our two staff are now inside the building and have joined another queue. At least it seems like there won't be much of a delay with the conference beginning.
0842:
We've just been informed that our staff members have joined the queue to enter the building, which is moving extremely slowly.
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