The GHZ Forum

• It's a totally new 3D Mario game. This is extremely unlikely; unlike a certain other video game hero, "real" Mario games come out a lot less frequently.
• It's a remake of Super Mario Galaxy. This is also unlikely - it would be remade for a new feature, or control scheme. MotionPlus wouldn't fit very well, as the game's motion controls were limited to shaking and pointing. So unless there's a new hardware feature that's going to be announced, I say no on a remake.
• It's a sports, party, or otherwise only sorta-Mario game. Mario Party fits well, with the MotionPlus attachment enabling a new group of minigames.
• It's some other subfranchise, such as an RPG (sort of doubtful, due to M&L's Japanese release not too long ago).
• It's a 2.5D game. No real citation or reasoning, but it's been a while since NSMB, so I could see it happening. Also to note that the Wario Land franchise got a sidescroller for the Wii, so perhaps we'll get another Super Mario Land?
• It's something completely new and unexpected, in a genre Mario hasn't really touched recently/memorably/at all.

Neo wrote:It's Super Mario Sunshine with New Play Control™.

Given what Microsoft apparently just unveiled at their E3 show I might actually give up on console games forever if that turns out to be the case.

A first person game like Myst where you can interact with the environment using your hands would at least get us started on our way. I really don't want to see this wasted on Xbox fit, which won't work anyway since Nintendo has already firmly secured the casual non-gaming community.

OK, I’ve calmed down now and had a bit to process this. My impressions:

It started out pretty good – unfortunately, my Internet died for the entirety of the NSMB run, so I wasn’t able to get to see that. Of course, this means I went into the rest of the presser pretty pissed. It sounds like a nice diversion, but it seems like it would be better-suited to the DS. From what I’ve been able to piece together, it’s Mario’s take on Four Swords.

...

That’s all the first party stuff you’re going to show about MotionPlus? I mean, sure, the third party stuff is exciting, but this is your conference. Do something. I think I understand why the WiiSports Resort took up so much of the time – it’s because you wanted to show off MotionPlus, but didn’t have anything new to bring with it!

Let’s see, RPGs. I guess SquareEnix fans are giddy… the M&L trailer looks pretty cool, too, though it’s a bit of an awkward subtitle.

Golden Sun DS... I think this is good news, but the trailer was short, and jittery. I never played the original two, but I think a hand-drawn look would’ve worked better here instead of a textured one, since the DS tends to be pretty bad at them.

...

It was interesting how Cammie started out the conference talking about how videogames compared to other media, because the conference in general didn’t feel like that at all. Over the course of the presser, it looked like they were marketing a toy, not a form of media or artistic expression. Games like Portal push the envelope of what games can be, where Nintendo is still stuck with the interface, not the message. MotionPlus is great, guys, but what good is it if all it’s going to bring is more minigame collections?

TL;DR version. Nintendo’s conference was very polar. Not bipolar, just polar. You should’ve at least scattered the hardcore games around the conference, not placing your two big hitters at the end in a row. The focus on Mario is also a bit disconcerting. Overall, this conference was leagues better than last year’s, but only because of the final 10 minutes. And even then I’m not very impressed with your “innovation”.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Wii Fit Plus, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Golden Sun DS, Metroid: Other M, and the mysterious pulse-monitoring peripheral. Not a bad showing for Nintendo, really, although I sure wish they'd launch some new IP again someday.

Zeta wrote:Also, guys, the Koopalings are back in New Super Mario Bros Wii as the bosses. : )

This is all very surprising. Super Mario Galaxy 2 looks very much "expansion pack as sequel", which is a little disappointing. Don't get me wrong, it's almost guaranteed that I'm going to enjoy the hell out of it, but I expect new ideas and features from a core Mario platform game. The addition of Yoshi looks fun though! It's not exactly a new idea, granted, but it looks as though it will be implemented in a new way.