E3 is upon us and with it will bring the dreams of thousands of Nintendo fans or so we hope. While this years E3 has been confined to a smaller, more private experience it will still be the time for Nintendo to showcase all there latest and greatest u...
Start reading inside! Before we get into this list, it should be made clear that this is not the combined hopes and dreams of all the writers here at Vooks and instead just that view of yours truly. This E3 is probably the most important Nintendo has had to face in years and it will be quite interesting to see just what they achieve with the dumb downed version of the popular gaming expo.
Whether in the form of Memory Card (Nintendo 64, Gamecube style) or an external flash drive Nintendo needs to strongly consider this method of backing up our Virtual Console games. It may add to the complexity of the system but really, the only people that download a vast amount of VC games to eat up the Wiis internal memory are hardcore gamers and they are beyond the stage of not understanding how to copy a game over to a flash stick. Even an update to allow for us to copy the games over to an SD card and actually play them off the card would be acceptable. Most of us have already filled our Wiis generous memory and with three to four more years of Wii we definitely need more space and soon.
Likelihood: Its a popular rumour and a topic often discussed amongst the hardcore crew. If it is announced it will probably be after the main show. But after a recent denial it looks unlikely.
I compiled this list before the other E3 lists started popping up around the Internet so no, I did not steal this hope for E3 though I am very pleased to see that many other writers share the same idea. The next instalment in the GTA series is exclusive to the PS3 and Xbox 360 and it would be complete insanity to even think that it would ever be Wii bound. The Wii is however port central and it would be a bad idea for Rockstar not to simply port Vice City and San Andreas with some waggle. Wii gamers would go ga-ga and devour these budget titles up before you could say Mario Galaxy.
Likelihood: A little bit from column A and a little bit from column B. Rockstar and Take-Two did say they would be supporting the Wii but I dont know if porting VERY old games will be viable.
No, I dont want Sonic to be revealed at E3. Sonic should be such a well kept secret that after the game is released and someone has chugged through a hundred hours of online play (or offline) they are rewarded with a surprise battle against our favourite blue hedgehog. What I want to see at E3 is confirmation on beloved Nintendo characters like Yoshi, Luigi and Donkey Kong as well as one or two newcomers directly from the Nintendo scene. Keep the surprise of our third party friends until the very end. Just seeing Snake in action will calm the mind, body and soul until the games release later this year we hope. Stay tuned on that last bit.
Likelihood: It will be playable and our old favourites will be there. I rate this as high up in the tree. [Note: Since writing the list, its been reported that SSBB wont be playable at E3, perhaps at the Tokyo Game Show]
Shiggy announced at the GDC in March that a new Mii Channel was in the works. That was good news, the bad news was the channel sounded dull and boring, just like every other channel currently available on the Wii (okay the internet channel has its uses and the Shopping Channel works like a treat). Lets start pumping out some Mii Clothes Channels and DS Demo Channels. Go crazy Nintendo. There are nearly Ten million Wii owners just waiting to accessorise their Miis and plenty of potential for DS owners to buy your games if they just knew what they were getting into first. Im not suggesting make your own version of Sonys Home network but do expand on whats there and bring some new life to a flavourless, one stop feature.
Likelihood: So high my egg is boiling. New channels are assured, channels we actually will like well wait and see.
Phantom Hourglass is so far the only big DS title of 2007 left to be released. 2005 saw an increase in quality DS titles, 2006 saw an eruption of DS titles and 2007 has seen Catz and more Brain Training. The DS can clearly support itself on the wind its currently surfing but if the hardcore and to an extent, the casual gamer havent got something fresh to play every so often, they are going to step outside and be burned by deadly UV rays. Announce a sequel to New Super Mario Bros (use the same engine even!); give us a new F-Zero game or even bring back Metroid Dread from the far reaches of Game Heaven. Its not all doom and gloom as third parties do have nice things shaping up for the DS but as far as Nintendo go, E3 will be the best time to blow us away.
Likelihood: Is there any doubt? New games will be revealed and they will have the potential to distract us from Phantom Hourglass.
Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros Brawl. The fate of these three titles has been a hot discussion in our podcasts for many weeks. Will they, wont they, are they even close to completion? Now this breaks down into two parts, the first being a release date for the US. This would at least assure us if they will be rearing their pretty heads this year and it so, how much longer we will have to wait. The second part is what affects the Aussies. With the 6-month delay of Super Paper Mario and the apparent much later than September release of Metroid Prime 3, which of the three can we expect to be pushed back into 08? Its going to be a few stressful weeks for the hardcore scene and with any luck; E3 for Nintendo will be the month to break the ice on the biggest kept secrets this year.
Likelihood: Release dates come eventually but we have no idea how far these games are away from completion. Either way one will probably suffer down under and heres hoping its not Brawl.
Imagine if it you will, eight players dog fighting in an asteroid field, racing through the galaxy in Wiimote controlled karts and friends invading your world while we sleep, chopping down all your trees and leaving holes all over the place. This would be a world where two so far unannounced games and one mentioned in passing would be online and available for all of us to enjoy. Of course we can expect new IPs and finally an answer of Project Hammers fate but the inner Nintendo fan wants to know about the titles that have convinced them Nintendo is the best developer in the world these past two decades. Youre probably wondering why I left out Zelda? Fact is they need to reinvent this game from the ground up. Showing it now would be to soon off Twilight Princess release and I think they definitely require months, if not years of careful planning before revealing the next twist in the Zelda series.
Likelihood: Animal Crossing will be mentioned and Mario Kart almost seems positive to make an appearance. Star Fox though not so likely. Previous attempts have fell flat on their face (notably Star Fox: Assault, developed by Namco) but with any luck Nintendo can return the franchise to its Nintendo 64 glory days.
Now you know what we want, tell us want you want or what you expect might be there!
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Drawing Quest III HD-2D Remake, Tetris Forever, LEGO Horizon Adventures, Petit Island, Little Big Adventure,…