Can't Wait for Tuesday... A Tech/Video Game Nerd Post

Good evening, folks. It's nice to get a break from work and jump back on the blog to share what's on my mind. We'll take a break from weather, though, and dig into one of my hobbies I've had since I was a little boy.

Ask anyone who knows me and they'll tell you that I'm one of millions of video game nerds on the face of this Earth. While my collection above is a part of what I own and pales in comparison to some of the real hardcore video gamers, I've loved video games ever since I've been able to grasp a controller when I was 3. It's also no surprise that a majority of the systems I own are from Nintendo. I don't want to say that I'm a fanboy (and I obviously don't want to get into a fanboy war since most of the systems from Sony, Microsoft, Sega and Nintendo offer good memories for gamers), but Nintendo had me hooked on their games and systems since we owned an SNES back in 1990. By the by, we still have that original SNES and it STILL works! I bring all this up for one big reason why I'm looking forward to this Tuesday...

This week, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3, will take place in Los Angeles where the big names in video gaming will share their future products and projects to the world. For gamers, this is our Superbowl, our World Series, our Stanley Cup, our second Christmas and a pilgrimage for those who have access to get inside and foot the expenses of the trip. Any and all of the big publishers in the video game industry that wants everyone in the world and the entire video game press to know about their products and their future projects will divulge everything possible at this event starting tomorrow with the press conferences and ending on Thursday. The three biggest press conferences that gamers will be watching will come from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. Microsoft kicks off the press conferences on Monday at 9:30 AM Pacific Standard Time and Sony will have their turn in the spotlight at 5:00 PM Pacific Standard Time. However, with buzz from Nintendo about showcasing a new system to succeed the Wii, all eyes will be on Nintendo on Tuesday.

I haven't really done any predictions or public speculation on video games on a blog or online before, but now seems like a good time to start. What do I expect from Nintendo's press conference on Tuesday?

I'm definitely expecting a lot of new and upcoming titles for Nintendo's newest handheld, the 3DS. The 3DS is the latest in the line of Nintendo's popular portable gaming system that launched early in March of this year. However, despite great first impressions and a good number of units sold since the launch, the numbers have not met Nintendo's high expectations when it was going into the launch period. One story out on the web actually surveyed those who bought and those who are interested in purchasing the 3DS. Those who purchased the system said that they like it, but they wish they had a better selection of games to play. Those who are waiting to buy one say that they want one, but they don't see any games that they actually want yet. Expect Nintendo to divulge a lot of titles coming soon for the 3DS from Nintendo and other third party developers. One game everyone's waiting for that will make another appearance at E3 will be The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D.

This is the remake of the original Nintendo 64 game released back in late 1998 and it was a big success for Nintendo with critical acclaim from the gaming press and a financial success with 7.6 million copies sold. For this remake, I at least expect the graphics to be revamped compared to the N64 version and based on the screenshot above, Nintendo has addressed that very well. We'll see what Nintendo has in store for this re-release when it hits stores June 19th this year and when the press will get a chance to play it again this week.

With the popular Nintendo Wii looking like it's in the last months of the life cycle, I think that Nintendo will be the main push of new games for the system with a majority of third parties seemingly jumping off the Wii ship. Personally, I would like to see a Wii version of Star Fox and F-Zero, two popular Nintendo franchises that have yet made their own individual appearances on the system. Throughout the past few E3 conferences, we have heard from the higher heads of Nintendo (Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata and famous video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto) that Pikmin 3 is in development. If they want a new Pikmin game out for this year, they need to show off a video of the game and/or have demos ready to play on the show floor. For now, though, the biggest title I can see Nintendo showing off for the Wii as a certainty is The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. The Zelda franchise did make an appearance on the Wii at the system launch back in 2006 after Nintendo decided to sell it alongside the GameCube version of the game. Skyward Sword would be the first Zelda game specifically designed and made for the Wii with 1:1 sword control with the Wii MotionPlus attachment for the Wii Remote to bring a unique gameplay experience that the Zelda franchise hasn't seen before. Look for this to make another appearance at the press conference with new demos ready on the show floor.

However, the biggest story that will come from Nintendo's press conference will be the debut of their next system that has the current moniker of Project Café.

Speculation on a successor to the Wii started as early as 2008 with talks of an HD version of the Wii with a hard drive and Blu-ray built into the system. But, here we are now with the pictures above showing at least what the developer kits (the system that game developers get in order to design their games) look like. Until we hear straight from Nintendo on Tuesday, several stories on the internet about the "leaked" specifications of the system have to be treated with a grain of salt. Some stories have hinted about the system using Blu-ray for the games, 1080p high-resolution and high-definition graphics, a new controller and better processing and memory capabilities than the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. I think that the system will be more powerful than the 360 and the PS3. It has to be since the Wii has a slight bump in graphics and capability over the GameCube. Since they said the system will be playable at E3, expect some games to be talked about during the show and actual demos ready for the lucky folks at the show to try for the very first time. As for a possible launch lineup involving software, anything is fair game.

Bottom line is this, folks. Nintendo has enjoyed plenty of success with the Nintendo Wii and various iterations of the Nintendo DS. Within the last few years though, in regards to the console side of their business, the hardcore gamers felt like they were left out of the loop in regards to the lack of games that appealed to them through a good part of the Wii's life. On the portable side of the business, the 3DS had a rough start out of the gate with fewer units sold than Nintendo was expecting. Nintendo needs to prove to the gaming community that it's really trying to get them back with a system that can back the talk and the games that will get them excited about what Nintendo has in store. Personally, I am excited to see what the press conference will unveil. Nintendo has surprised me with their previous press conferences and they are the most secretive when it comes to divulging what they'll talk about at the conference ahead of time. All I can say is get ready to be wowed by Nintendo once again.