The heavy hitters were highlighted in the beginning, starting with the highly-anticipated Pikmin 3. Although it's funny and sad at the same time to hype HD gaming these days, Pikmin 3 looks great. The franchise is loved by many and has been a long-time coming.
No shocker at all, New Super Mario Bros. U will bring much more familiar 2D gameplay, with this game utilizing the Wii U tablet controller. It's pretty much what you would expect from this franchise, only it'll be more socially active online. Graphics look sharper, including the backgrounds.
Much attention was given to Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition, which will utilize the tablet controller more. It sounds alright, but was it necessary to dedicate all that time to it? The game's already out on the Xbox 360 and PS3, so will people even care upon release? I've already played it, so I'll likely pass on this one.
Warner Bros. unveiled details of LEGO City Undercover, which looks like Grand Theft Auto done LEGO style. Players must venture throughout this block-filled world and solve crimes. Ubisoft has been a big player for the new system and showed off gameplay of ZombieU, where you can use the controller to hack through doors and shrug off zombies. Other titles mentioned include Mass Effect 3, Rayman Legends and Aliens: Colonial Marines.
Wii Fit U was unveiled, the popular series that's sold tens of millions of copies on the Wii already. No doubt Nintendo's looking to replicate that success again. The same can be said with Just Dance 4 and a karaoke game with the working title of "Sing" so far.
The 3DS got a little tease, but will mostly be discussed during a special conference Wednesday. We saw looks at Paper Mario: Sticker Star, New Super Mario Bros. 2, and Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon. The heavily rumored bigger 3DS version was not mentioned.
Nintendo ended the conference announcing NintendoLand, a mini-game collection featuring popular Nintendo characters. Like Wii Sports, this is a multiplayer game that will focus on all the technical features of the fancy new controller. They said it would launch with the Wii U, so hopefully that means a pack-in game. Otherwise, a high price tag doesn't seem worth it.
Overall, the conference was OK, and between the Big 3 they still "won" it this year hands down. It started off strong with Pikmin 3 and New Super Mario Bros. U, but ended on a whimper with NintendoLand. No price or actual release date was announced, but that was expected. But the new console will release this holiday, which should make it one of the hottest gifts out there.
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