Nintendo's E3 Conference

Day 2 of E3 brought out handheld kingpin and motion-control trendsetter Nintendo, who introduced some of the most shocking surprises thus far. New titles for the Wii and DS, along with an interesting DSi exclusive, new peripherals and a collaboration project of unexpected proportions pretty much stole the entire show. Include a ton of sequels, many spin-offs and the oversaturation of a mascot–you got Nintendo’s E3 2009 showcase. While everything might seem tedious and predictable (minus the absence of Zelda), trust us, they continue to impress us every year. <!–more–>

Its about time Mario got some 2-D platforming love on the Wii. This time around we get 4-player coop, with the option of choosing from Mario, Luigi and two Toads; plus two new power-up suits (Propeller Suit and Penguin Suit). Your TV screen hasn’t been this chaotic since Smash Bros. New Super Mario Bros. Wii is scheduled for late 2009.

Another addition to the Wii Fit is here. Wii Fit Plus will introduce 15 new games like juggling and skateboarding, plus keep a daily track of your total calories and set up workout routines best fit for your schema. The introduction of six new strength and yoga exercises is sure to get more fitness aficionados into the mix. Check it out this fall.

The latest technological phase for the Wii–The Motion Plus. This little do-hickey has been created to work on most sports games, making the experience even more user-friendly and exciting. With the new Wii Sports Resort, gamers will become adapted to using the Motion Plus while they play a nice game of Basketball or Archery. Resort will come packaged with a ton of more games of course.

WTF? Nintendo doesn’t quit with hands-on peripherals. The Wii Vitality Sensor is a pulse detector that attaches to the bottom of the Wii remote and apparently allows you to “see information relating to the inner world of your body.” Ok, whatever that’s suppose to mean. Its suppose to coincide with one of their biggest titles announced (which will be advertised the further you read).

The sequel to the mediocre Red Steel, along with sports titles Tiger Woods, Virtua Tennis and Grand Slam Tennis were all on hand to display the Motion Plus control. Seriously though, Red Steel looks pretty good compared to the original. Tiger looks just as great as the last year’s rendition and the tennis titles might actually be good this time around.

Square Enix brings two spin-offs that we knew were coming. Final Fantasy Chronicles: Crystal Bearers for the Wii and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days for the DS. Nothing special here.

The Mario brothers continue to dominate the handhelds. If its not platforming, its on an RPG level. Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story has the plumbers traveling into Bowser’s “internal pipes” to find out why their biggest foe is such a douche. Look out for Bowser’s Inside Story this fall.

The Gameboy Advance classic Golden Sun makes it triumphant return. Details were beyond scarce, but the DS version will hit retailers in 2010. Now my RPG dreams are complete, at least on the DS front.

Another returning franchise, Mario Vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again lets you design levels from the ground up. You can also upload your maps locally or via wifi. What more can be said? Oh yea, its a DSIware exclusive. June 8 2009!

The greatest of all mini-game titles, WarioWare DYI lets you design your own games from scratch. Players control how their games play out, as well as their fate. Do you set the difficulty at Ninja Gaiden (ridiculously difficult) or Sonic 1 (super easy). You choose! Many are claiming this game to be one of the best game design titles since LittleBigPlanet. Nintendo’s on your ass Sony!

I guess the need to have Facebook on your DSi is that necessary. But this summer you’ll be able to upload, send and fool around with your pictures via DSi. What’s next? Twitter? Uploading music to your Myspace? Viral Sites will dominate this system, mark our words.

OMG, Super Mario Galaxy 2 is going to be the plumber’s greatest sequel (that’s right…its right on pace to be better than Super Mario Bros. 3). Mario creator Miyamoto states the game is 90% new levels and will introduce new power-ups, including the the drill (which looks awesome). Plus it rumored to work with the Vitality Sensor. The icing on the cake: Yoshi. Next year baby!

Samus never looked so good in 2-D. Developers Team Ninja (of Ninja Gaiden fame) have taken Metroid into a familiar, but new direction with Project M. This visually stunning jaw-dropper introduces the old school gameplay of the original Metroid titles with next-gen graphics that make a PS3 game envious. And we have the return of the Zero suit too. Nintendo–you’ve just officially won the software war.

Though Nintendo had nothing but sequels and no original titles onboard this E3, they still probably had the best show. Why? C’mon, Mario Bros. Wii, Galaxy 2 and Project M are clearly the show stealers this year. These titles are going to propel the Wii to even bigger heights. Plus the DS catalog continues to grow and the motion control peripherals are just a sign of greater things to come from the house that Mario built. Microsoft might not be sweating their competitor, but they should.