The staff's reactions to the latest Nintendo Direct start out relatively on topic.
Neal Ronaghan
Hey everybody!
Send in your answer to "What was your favorite announcement from the Nintendo Direct today and why?"
Andy Goergen
It's refreshing to see Nintendo pursuing exclusive content, but I think they're barking up the wrong tree with SEGA and Sonic: an IP that saw it's best day over 10 years ago. Perhaps the brand still carries more weight than I realize, but it doesn't generate the excitement that Nintendo sorely needs for Wii U. I would rather they release the classic games on Wii U Virtual Console.
Neal Ronaghan
I think the Sonic announcement was exciting from a sales perspective. I'm not excited for a Sonic game, but let's face it: the blue blur still sells well. This is the kind of thing that might work very well. Wii U and 3DS is the exclusive home for Mario and Sonic. That is nuts. And if Nintendo gives feedback on the game's development... No! I'm not hopping on the Sonic Cycle again!
Other than that, my favorite announcement is that the Game Gear version of Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine is coming to 3DS Virtual Console. The Genesis version is my favorite Puyo Puyo game.
Danny Bivens
For the Japanese Nintendo Direct, there were a couple of different things they highlighted that may never come to the West, or just take an extremely long time to get there. Seeing Yakuza 1&2 HD seems pretty interesting to me. I never played any of the games in the series, but the open world nature and also the game taking place in Tokyo seems pretty cool. And besides, now I can go to hostess clubs and not have to spend hundreds of dollars to pay for a beautiful girl's drinks!
In all seriousness, though, I'm really happy to see Sega on board with some serious Wii U support.
Zach Miller
Tie between Revelations on Wii U getting free DLC and Luigi being $20. Otherwise nothing super-exciting. I mean, even those two things aren't EXCITING.
Alexander Culafi
My favorite part of the Direct was when it was over.
It might have been one of the more depressing presentations Ive ever seen from Nintendo. Around half of it was spent on information we already knew, The Wonderful 101 is being sent to die against GTA V when it comes out in September (I think GTA overlaps almost any audience except hardcore weeaboos and Nintendo-only fanboys), Wii Fit U and Wii U Party are almost assuredly going to be stuffed in the final part of the year if we're extremely lucky, and this Best Buy garbage is yet another way that Nintendo is actively trying to evaporate most of my reasons for wanting to go to E3 3 weeks before it happens. And what was the good news? New Super Luigi U is reasonably priced? That's it?
I know you're saving all of the big guns for E3, Nintendo, but doing this instead of a press release just hurt your image as far as I'm concerned.
Neal Ronaghan
Wonderful 101 in September in NA basically tells me this fall on Wii U will still be disappointing, and E3 could very well be like last year where there aren't any surprises.
We're probably looking at Wii U Party and Wind Waker in October, maybe Wii Fit U and 3D Mario in November, and maybe Mario Kart in December. I don't see room for anything else judging by Nintendo's release style.
Zach Miller
I actually don't know if the RE thing was a part of the Direct. It showed up on Google but not Twitter. I haven't watched it myself.
Carmine Red
I'll write when I have a chance to watch the show. But Yakuza?!?! I hope that comes to the US!
Jonathan Metts
The only announcement of any importance is that people can play some of Nintendo's E3 demos at Best Buy. This is a huge deal, and there is no good reason to complain about it. I only wish it would be enhanced by offering the demos on eShop as well, and that could still happen. Regardless, it is the best move I've seen since launch to convince gamers to consider buying a Wii U (which will be conveniently stacked right next to the demo station).
Danny Bivens
This is an aside, but I don't understand why Nintendo isn't pushing Wii Fit U in the summer. I mean, sure, maybe they're trying to highlight it for the upcoming holiday season, but what happened to "launch window?" Is this game doing so many new things that they just needed that much more time to complete it?! [/end_rant]
Carmine Red
Nintendo quality titles mean nintendo quality delays. Also, they pulled staff off a lot of these delayed projects because the titles that DID launch needed help.
Justin Berube
My favorite announcement is that New Super Luigi U will be available at retail in an awesome green case. I love owning physical copies of my games so I can display them, as well as play them on any system that I want.
The bad news is the physical copy of New Super Luigi U won't be available until nearly two months after the digital release. Because of the delay I know I'm going to end up buying both. Lame.
Tom Malina
From a European's perspective, I'm revelling in the knowledge that Pikmin 3 and The Wonderful 101 are arriving as soon as they are, not to mention the fact that we're getting major releases before North America. For once, I won't have to wait for weeks in envy!
Looking at the bigger picture, I think it's very pre-emptive to call Wii U doomsday at this point. For me personally, there's a lot to be excited about on the system - it's hard to believe that 4 different titles from Ubisoft (Rayman Legends, Assassin's Creed IV, Splinter Cell Blacklist, Watch Dogs) might be in my possession before the end of the year.
Justin Baker
Just got home from work to a packed inbox. Looks like I've got some catching up to do! Here are my impressions of the ND:
Nintendo teaming up with Sega would have blown my mind fifteen years ago. Sonic has been doing well lately considering his sordid history, and I'm excited to see where this partnership with Nintendo goes. Game & Wario and Pikmin 3 look better each time I see them, and the addition of the non-gamer friendly Nabbit to New Super Luigi U means that me and my girlfriend will be spending a lot of Summer nights stomping goombas. There might not be a ton of new games on the horizon, but my Wii U certainly isn't going to be gathering any dust anytime soon.
J.P. Corbran
This was an iterative Nintendo Direct, but that's what we all should have expected it to be. Nintendo was up front about there being another one right around the corner for E3. If there were going to be significant new announcements, that's where they'll be.
I didn't expect anything more than release dates for stuff like Pikmin and Luigi, so I'm not disappointed about what we got today. The next one's a different story, though.
Zack Kaplan
My favorite Nintendo Direct announcement was that New Super Luigi U comes in a green box. It is so green and nice, and it's a box so it's functional. The green is a good change of pace from the usual blue. I hope there are more games with different colored boxes. If the Wii U needs anything it is multicolored cases for the games. So yes, my favorite part of the Nintendo Direct was the green box. I am looking forward to seeing what other color related box news comes out of E3.
Neal Ronaghan
Like I said, this Direct severely shat on my hopes for the fall on Wii U. I will be shocked if something notable other than Wii Fit U, Wii U Party, 3D Mario, Mario Kart, and Wind Waker come out. Should 3D Mario blow my ears back? Sure, but nothing else on that list is exciting or worth buying the system for. It's essentially a bunch of remakes with new hats with GamePad support. Give me a killer app, Nintendo. If that 3D Mario is something sort of spectacular, this holiday season might be terrible on Wii U.
Carmine Red
Wait wait wait. Nintendo specifically said that there will be a separate direct for fall game releases. You're saying this summer Direct suggests you won't be happy with the fall direct we haven't seen yet? How so?
And isn't Mario + Mario Kart the game combo that got the 3DS back in the game? How exactly is that disappointing if it that's how the lineup plays out?
Continued in "The Wii U and Objectivity"