I "third" that. And if the game is due out in Dec how much money not even now, but right right now, do they really need? Can't they take out a $20K credit card loan for 6 months? And besides, what if the WiU sells like the Wi and it's almost impossible to get for 2 years. Yes, it was that hard in the US, don't know about the rest of the world. More I think, worse it sounds. They should have made it $5, not $15.

OTOH is "Dec" the first official release date we've heard for a Wii U game?

That's funny as I've been saying all along Skyward Sword is a lullaby. She could watch him play that and she would surely fall asleep.

Canberra is the capital of Australia? I think that's the first I've ever heard the name. Maybe it can get destroyed if there is a Godzilla Unleashed sequel?

If you guys are going to live stream the actual presentation than I will no doubt be here. Then afterwards I'll watch it with my kids on the Nintendo Channel on the big screen tv. Kids in NY have school until June 22.

Are there still people saying the 3DS isn't doing well w/ 17 million sold in just over a year, or are we finally past that now? I think it would almost take a miracle for the Vita to get there it's first year, though I know Sony still has a lot of calendar left to get there.
Are we expecting great as-of-yet unannounced 3DS games this E3 or will it be a WiiU dominated show? Pikmin 3 on BOTH systems would be nice. Actually w/ the WiiU pad anything that works on the 3DS should work on the WiU and vice versa.

I wasn't impressed w/ the graphics. Just finished playing Sega's Binary Domain on PS3 an di looked better. Though ti's also a 3rd person not a FPS game so that might have had something to do with it.
I'm guessing the lack of WiiU date MIGHT have something to do w/ the lack of an actual WiiU system. Nintendo isn't going to let anyone announce a release date for a game on a system they haven't even announced the launch date for, let alone the official name.
I don't think this game is even really good enough to have in the launch window anyway, I don't think it would sell a lot of consoles, but that might just be me.

The more I look at both models the more I dislike the controller as a whole. I really prefer "sticks" over the "Sliders" but the screen is too low. I know centered is a better look for the screen on the pad but think about how you hold a book or a tablet, at or near the bottom looking above your hands. I'ld rather this thing were turned 90` so the controls were on the bottom and the screen above them, as if adding a screen to the top of a classic controller rather than in the middle. I feel like I'll need to hold the controller too much in front of my face blocking the tv in order to see it clearly.
Has anybody else had this reaction?

I'm pretty sure in hindsight Enslaved wouldn't have released the same DAY as Casltevania Oct. 2010 and Rayman Origins probably could have done a lot better as a summer release - I mean just look at it all colorful and bright and 4 player offline, perfect for summer gaming. Games really do need to be spread out more. Either Mario Kart 7 or 3D Land should have been out over the summer - I'm going 3D Land, that game didn't need a holiday to sell. It seems the only time a good game comes out non-holiday is when it MISSES it's holiday release date - SSBB and LBP2 come to mind. But neither of those games NEEDED a holiday release, they were both going to sell big whenever. Maybe publishers will figure it out someday.

Maybe as a $15 PSN game but I can't picture that selling on PS3 retail.
It kind of reminded me of Spectrobes on both the Wii and DS. That's not a good thing.

I haven't played the Lost Planet games but I did play 1 or 2 demos and I don't see the connection. Looks more like a ZOE spinoff.

Seems awkward. Either I'm holding 1 in each hand trying to point at the screen, or the screen is siting in it's cradle far away or laying faceup on my lap, doesn't seem like a smooth process at all. I'm all for using both controllers in a game, I'm pretty sure I can grip the pad with a Wiimote still in my hand, I just don't know how I can accurately point the Wiimote at the pad. My wrist hurts just trying it.
If the pad were portable like the Dreamcast VMU maybe this would be worth the effort, but since it's only IN GAME, I'ld prefer a section of my tv screen as a stand-in for the pad face (lets say upper left corner like PIP), then when I pick-up a guy and drop him on the stand-in space he "magically" appears on my pad screen. Same effect, but a WHOLE lot easier to do.

My 3DS is doing a system update. Is this for Mario Kart or something else? I just updated a couple of weeks ago when they changed the store and added folders.

Well not Mario Kart, updating that now. but the system did update, just don't know what it did. And of course no Rayman until noon, I forgot about that, doh.

"So why should Nintendo makes its most recent generation of handheld games available on 3DS when it’s still working through Game Boy, Game Boy Color and SEGA Game Gear titles on the Virtual Console?"

Why should they, when the 3DS PLAYS DS cartridges?
Add me to the GBA chorus.

@samuelduh BUYING the games isn't the problem, playing them on the 3DS is. I'm not buying a DS to play GBA games.

@ajcismo I don't know about BG&E2 on the WiiU. I read on Pushsquare that the company making it said it won't run on current gen hardware - meaning the PS3 and Xbox360 - so I doubt it will run on the WiiU based on current rumours of the hardware specs.

I can't beelive Ninty announced no date or price announcement at E3. We want to know. Though I'm currently OK w/ the rumoured Oct. date.

My son turns 10 Sept 17. Even if Pro is $15 he's going to get it. I spent this morning online looking up TM #s for him. FYI 95 is the highest Unova TM#. I think he has about half of them memorized. What he REALLY wants though is Ruby and/or Sapphire. Nintendo needs to put them on DSiWare or virtual console or something. I'm guessing there are a lot of kids at this point w/ DSi who haven't got a chance to play those old games yet but would really like to.
My 7 yr. old son likes Pokemon as well but he also likes Faceraiders so I'm thinking he'll be in for Pokemon Dream Radar. He hasn't played Black or White yet, only Pearl, so I told him to hold out for 2.

Well since I wrote this last month when the release was announced:

"Having already played this on the GC about a miliion years ago, and now Nintnedo is releasing the NPC 3 years after Europe, the only way I'll be picking this up is if it is in one of those red boxes for $20."

I kind of feel obligated to pick it up now

We have three 3DS - red, pink and aqua blue - and the aqua blue looks really good in the green Zelda hard case. Better than the red in the blue Mario cover. Why doesn't anybody make a red cover? The pink is in a free reversible bag from Club Nintendo - my wife doesn't use it much so no cover.

Kinect Star Wars is #2? I haven't played it, anything else in the top 10, or Xenoblade (yet), but I've read awful things about KSW. And I'm pretty sure anything that has "Kinect" in the the title only has 1 SKU. Though I guess sales of the "bundle" helped. I'm guessing more people bought it and kept it as a collectible than actually played it. Both my sons enjoyed the heck out of Kid Icarus. Yesterday 1 was playing while the other was sitting next to him watching the 3DS anime series. It's a crazy world.

Wow, checked Wiki, this is the 8th or 9th AC game (does FB count as a game?). And numerous novels, comic books and animated films. No, not confusing at all

Didn't know this was coming to Wii U. OK, maybe I did know, but it just dawned on me now - after a long post on PushSquare yesterday about the video itself - that this is going to be the FIRST AC game on a N console. This is AC 3 but I'm pretty sure it's the 4th or 5th game in the series. Maybe more as I always lose track of the portable games. Will Ubisoft or the WiiU version of the game give us an encyclopedia to catch up on all the world conquering time travel factions this game has as a back-story? I really want to play it but probably like many of the Wii owners out there I haven't played any games in the series before.

So N had the E3 golf demo video BEFORE they applied for the patent? Can their own 'prior art' be held against them?

So how does this work? Is the front facing Upad camera reading the Wiimote or is the Wiimote reading something on the Upad?

I think it's a little late to be talking about anything new on the Wii, especially Wiiware. What I thought they should have done many years ago is bundle their OWN games. Buy a SNES game, get a comparable NES game free or 50% off. They own the games, they are probably making money at ANY cost, so get the good publicity and the sales of the more expensive games. This seemed like such a no brainer years ago, but it never happened. Hopefully the Wii U will be better.

WiU port at least, for those of us who aren't big on tiny screens. Both my kids finished it w/o ever turning the 3D on so I know not having it won't be an issue, though I suppose they can always keep it if they want. And it would make good use of the touchscreen. I don't know how well PSP games sell on the PS3 but since they keep doing them I guess they sell well enough.

I'll gladly pay more than $1 to anybody who can build a decent web browser for the 3DS. It doesn't need 3D, it just needs to work like a mobile web browser should. I can't understand why w/ all the mobile phone web browsing in the world (and the iPod Touch and I'm sure some other small screen gadgets I'm forgetting) the dual screen 3DS can't easily browse the web.

I'm glad to hear it's an easy strategy game as both my 7 and 9 year old sons - the target audience for Pokemon games - are really looking forward to this, but I wouldn't let them get it if was too difficult. And while the 7 year old may be a bit too young for strategy games I think he can handle simple strategy as he has played alot of tower defense games. The 9 year old won't have a problem.

As for the person who bought a Nobonaga's Ambition game but got a simple game instead, I do feel bad for you being mislead. A lot of people hated Starfox Adventures b/c it wasn't a Starfox game. It happens to be my favorite GC though as I had never played a Starfox game before so I didn't understand all the hate. My point is - you're 2.5 out of 5 score sounds more based on what you were expecting and got than the games merits alone, so I'm hoping it will be better for my kids.

I agree w/ Sega. If you actually fly and "boat'? for a racing triathlon then this is a different game than MK7. Has that ever been done before, racing in 3 types of vehicles in 1 race? Would be nice to see some in game footage. If it has online multiplayer (unlike some Vita racing game which should be embarrassed for itself) then I can see this being a big seller.

Thanks CaPPa for the feedback, I think we'll be getting it then. The boost button sounds like a nice added touch.

Link977 - if I recall Flying Hamster was all about shooting guys in front of you, this game is all about NOT running into things, so the same but opposite.

What made Wii Sports (and hence the Wii) so must have was including Wii Sports in the box. We played that for a year before we bought anything else. I know this is also the downfall of the system for the hardcore audience but if N wants 95 million soccer moms to upgrade their system they need to put something in the box that makes use of the pad. Hopefully something better than that montage from last year of star throwing and hide and seek. Though hide and seek online w/ voice and video chat might work.

In for Starfox Adventures 2, though it might be better off just keeping it Dinosaur Planet 2 w/ Krystal riding around on a pteradon waving her staff. Considering how good it looked on GC hardware I think it could look like Avatar on the WiiU. (Avatar 2 is due out in 2015, might as well ride the hype machine to $.)

Though a true Starfox game w/ the Upad screen as a radar for aiming kinda sounds cool also. (Since I'm sure we're never getting a "Last Starfigther' game.) Starfox in HD on the WiiU could also be CG movie quality. I remember being blown away by Rogue Squadron on the GC (as was everybody else at the time), so that, 2 hardware generations later (ok 1 1/2 for the haters), w/ the Starfox humour and colorful color palate. Can't miss.

Normally I get annoyed w/ only 1 save slot but it's hard to complain for $1.99 w/ a game that is locked to the system anyway. For a $30 cartridge it's different.

I'm guessing this is such a small DL that size probably doesn't matter but shouldn't it be listed in there somewhere? That 2GB card is going to fill up eventually if N keeps putting out DL games.

Don't know how to word this but about how long does a "run' last? That bird looked pretty fast on the video. I deleted Jetpack Joyride in part b/c I could only go about 20 seconds before dieing. A "Sea Stars" run is good for a few minutes, which is why I keep going back to it. My kid will keep playing this if he can go about a minute or so, if he dies in 5 or 10 seconds it's money wasted.

Thanks for the review.

Well I've been promoting using the Upad as a digital clock/digital photo frame for about 10 months now so this works for me

They still need a cord option like the 3DS has (and we use b/c the base doesn't work w/ the way cool Zelda and Mario hard covers) so you can charge it while you play.

I really hope this comes w/ a power cord and not a USB port as cords charge much faster than USB. Plus I don't want a cord dangling out from behind my WiiU near the tv, I'ld much rather have this cradle on the end table next to where I sit on the couch. The more I think about it the less sense it makes to have this connected to the WiU, in fact it makes no sense at all.

"we would have preferred 24 levels of half the length to 12 marathon missions"

When I read the preview from 10 months ago this was my largest concern as it said 40 minutes to an hour. This is a portable system with a tiny screen, I don't want to stare at it for that long doing 1 level. Well OK maybe the final level or 2 so I know I'm at or near the end, but not the entire game. Probably not buying it now.

Thanks for the review.

I don't play FPS on any system, so it doesn't matter to me either way. I think the WiiU is going to sell or not sell this year based on price and exclusives, not 3rd party support. People aren't going to wait in line to buy a WiiU and then wait in line again to buy COD for it. Next holiday season (2013) the system will need to carry all the big games that are also on both the Xbox and PS to be taken seriously, but the WiiU LAUNCH is all about price and exclusivity.

I'm considering buying both Bird Mania 3D and Amoebatle. I can't remember the last time I was interested in 2 games in the same week. Maybe never? Looking forward to the reviews.

Wow that bird looks a lot faster than I expected, I may not get it for my kid after all.

Anybody with an iDevice can try out "Sea Stars" (I honestly don't know if it's on Android). It's like Jetpack Joyride only a whole lot better. For an annoying game that has only 1 level and no end - you just keep going until you die - it has a ton of incentives to keep playing - achievements, different characters to unlock, different powers to use.
From the video I can't tell if this game has any of that but the potential is there for a fun game. Hopefully the review in the next few days will shed some light on that.

@clubmini

It's not even remotely an iPad. It's not even one of those $75 Coby 7" products they sell at the drugstore. It's a Classic controller w/ a 6" screen stuck in the middle and an antennae to get all the info from the WiU. And an Xbox360 4Gb is $200. So $900? No. $300 is more like it.

@BJQ1972

Thanks for info. In retrospect that was probably a stupid suggestion on my part as everything is HDMI these days. Well everything except my DVI tv and old sound system, both of which I've been meaning to upgrade. Guess now would be a good time 8-)

Thanks for fixing the title James, much better now 8-)

As for the actual launch line-up, did anything famous ship at the Wii launch? I looked back over the calendar recently - a feature I also like on the 3DS and really wish the PS3 had something similar - and we basically only played Wii Sports for the first year we owned the system. I think they need a title like that for the WiiU. Not Mario or Zelda or Metroid but something for the soccer moms using the screen and camera like Skype w/ Battleship and tic tac toe and hangman. Which I've previously mentioned as "WiiU Play: Together".

James, what's with all the endings cut off of titles today? I know this one was supposed to say: Wii U Designed to Do The Impossible ON THE WII. Isn't there enough WiiU hype on this website as it is, do you have to keep putting meaning to peoples words that they never intended? sheesh

What Wii didn't do that WiiU should -
HD (obviously), 3D (maybe), digital audio out, NIC, robust online (greater multiplayer, better DL games and demos), significant internal storage, rechargeable batteries. If they do that the rest should follow.
Super Mario Galaxy looks better than some PS3 games, I can't wait to see what they can do w/ a proper HD system.

I won't reprint my entire PSN Bejelewed rip-off price post but the fact remains, physical copies of games can be had much cheaper a few months after release than DL. Look at Enslaved. If you are a day 1 purchaser than the price is the same, but any sane person with more brains than money who waits just 3 months can save a ton of money on games. Plus pre-order bonuses are extremely rare on DL.
Here's an example you all should be able to relate to - bought Skyward Sword for $50 release date from Kmart w/ $20 coupon so effectively $30. I played the whole game for 2 months then traded it in to Gamestop for $34. So I made $4 on the deal. Anybody can show me how to do that w/ DL than I'll be impressed.

I concur w/ the others about the misleading title, it should read: Iawata says ""Overwhelmingly Rich" Wii U Launch Line-Up "Too Much" TO ASK FOR. I'll give you guys the benefit of the doubt that it was written that way but the "To ask for" got cut off at the end by the webmaster.

I also disagree that the 3DS has a lacklustere lineup now that Mario 3D, Kart and Kid Icarus are out. We are talking about a 2 screen system w/ 3D. It may be easy to get a bunch of PS3, Xbox360 and PC ports to help round out the WiiU launch lineup but the 3DS developers are on their own to make new content for only 1 system. They should have made Pokemon B&W 2 for the 3DS though, DS owners already have theirs. .

I don't think I've ever read about ANY of these games before.Well maybe Ecoshot, I'm not sure. Not really a front page that is going to make people want to run out and join Club Nintendo now is it? Don't they at least have some crappy Mario off-shoot that at least looks good? Definitely seems the worst of the months. By far the worst on first glance.

OK, so I went back and read all of the reviews and I'm still not impressed. I would have bought Eco Shooter if it had multiplayer. Who makes a lightgun game w/o multiplayer? We have Link's Crossbow training, which also isn't multiplayer, but I'm sure is superior to this is every way should I feel the need to shoot things for an hour.

Oh well, next month has to be better, it's impossible not to be.

I think the game looked really good, especially for a Wii game, but no not the best. He should have at least had the common sense, and courtesy, to say the best looking "third party" game. He'ld still be wrong, just not laughably so.

That said, no way I play the sequel on the Wii. If there isn't a WiiU version I'll play it on the PS3.

Personally I did like it better than Skyward Sword, but I like almost everything better than Skyward Sword, washed out watercolor isn't my thing when I'm gaming.

On the overheating topic - I have a launch Wii and about 1 year ago after a firmware update the thing was constantly burning hot and games kept freezing so I turned off the sleep mode and now it's always cool and I haven't had a game issue since. I did have the Wiispeak and a USB to ethernet adaptor attached and always though that might have contributed to the heat as well. Now I only attach them as needed. So yes, overheating w/ an "always on" Wii was a real concern. I suppose it could be fixed now w/ the horizontal and Gamecube free Wiis.

Does anybody - and I guess by anybody I mean James - know if the WiiU will have an ethernet jack? I know the world is going wireless but my Wii w/ adapter, PS3 and tv viewing laptop all are wired b/c they are too far from the wireless router. (Yes I know I should move the router but it's next to my cable modem, tv, and wired PC.) I know wireless standards are getting faster but I still think wired is better.

James thanks for the answers. I don't think USB external HDD are really the way to go though for soccer moms who want to DL Just Dance 4 and Zuma 3. It's good news to hear they'll have it, but they still need something internal for the extra Katy Perry songs.

Also, upon further reflection over lunch, here are a few things maybe Nintendo can address that I don't like about my PS3 service.

1. I have PS+ but I don't use auto-update b/c I need to be auto logged in. There are 4 people in my home w/ separate accounts so it isn't fair to them. Don't know why it can't just auto-update anyway.
2. I don't use auto-update b/c it is a day late. Maybe they've fixed this, but on the very rare occasion when something would be automatically DL for PS+ subscribers the PSN "store" would update on Tuesday but the auto DL wouldn't happen until Wed. night, so I didn't have it until Thursday, so I stopped setting it and just DL it myself.
3. Nintendo has been good about the Thursday at noon updates, I hope they keep this up. The PSN store has no set time, between noon and midnight on Tuesdays (typing this while I wait for Awesomenauts).
4. It would be very nice to choose a DL beforehand. I think I can do this on Steam but honestly I've never tried as I'ld usually rather wait for a sale than be first in line. It would help Nintendo judge demand though, like a pre-order for the Nintendo eShop (or whatever it will be called on the WiiU). Sounds like something similar is in place on the 3DS now.

So as much as I like my PS3/PSN/PS+ service, and as much catching up that N needs to do, there are still areas where then can improve and get ahead of the competition, it doesn't all have to be about playing catch-up. Hopefully in 35ish days we can all be impressed.

You mean "Background" downloads? Would they have even considered offering the service without this? Though if they want to make news they can go 1 step further and offer a set time, sort of like PS Plus does for some updates.

Will they have retail game WiiU demos?

Any word yet on internal storage for these 10GB downloads? I don't care if its HDD or flash but I'm still hoping for 32GB minimum.

For anybody thinking the DL games will be cheaper (where have you been?) here's an example from last week courtesy of Sony:
PSN:
Bejeweled 3 - $15
Zuma - $9.99
Feeding Frenzy 2 - $9.99
Total = $35
Gamestop:
Bejeweled 3 game disc which also includes Zuma and FF2 = $9.99
So a savings of $25 ON DISC. The disc is $19.99 everywhere else so still a $15 savings.
To me this is a big problem w/ DL. Sony keeps charging MSRP when Amazon and TRU and GS and Target and Walmart are having half-off sales. And when's the last time Nintendo had a Wiiware or eShop sale? Downloads aren't cheaper than disc, they cost more.
I'm still more interested in knowing the WiiU storage before deciding if I'll be DLing anything.
Good for Nintendo though for coming to the party, even if it's a party I personally don't want to be at, lots of others seem to want to go.

Did SS sales fail to soar? Has anybody seen Nintendo's expectations for game sales? And don't tell me they didn't have any, nobody is going to invest 5 years in a game w/o sales expectations. Maybe sales even beat expectations?

I agree w/ almost everybody who has something negative to say about this game. I describe it as a lullaby. Everybody as a baby loves to hear their mother sing them a lullaby. But after a few years it's time to move on to rock or country or opera. This game is a great lullaby, like Zelda was 10 years ago, so if Zelda is your mother you may love it still, but nobody else wants to hear your mother sing them a lullaby. For a flagship franchise this series has gone nowhere, held back in large part by the Wii's limitations. I don't see anything in this game that in 2011 would get a non-Zelda fan to want to play it, unless they want to be put to sleep while they are waving their arms around. I haven't played Skyrim or Gears, but about 9 years ago I played Starfox Adventures on the Gamecube and it had full voice acting, better graphics, and a lot more going on than SS. I'm not saying it was better overall, but it seems a lot more "modern".

I can't imagine AA batteries running the WiiU controler w/ that 6" screen on it. Has any tablet ever run on AA batteries?
When I first bought the PS3 (about 3 years after the Wii) I hated that the controller used rechargeable batteries b/c I worried that when they died I'ld need to spend another $50 on a new controller (I had a Sony Clio PDA and the battery died after a year, same for my laptop). Fortunately 3 years later and no noticeable loss in battery power. Also during that time the Wii Motion Plus came out and I HATE changing batteries w/ that thing on. I bought 2 of the new built in Wiimotes (one came w/ Flingsmash and 1 with Play Motion) and one of those Duracell pads that lets me recharge the batteries while they are still in the Wiimote w/ the silicone sleeve on. So basically my Wiimotes now use wireless rechargeable batteries, and I am very happy for it. I expect the Upad to need to be plugged in to charge, but I'ld rather have a wall block than USB to the WiiU, they charge a heck of a lot faster than USB ports can. And I'm still hoping for a stand that turns the Upad into a digital clock/photo frame. The 3DS comes w/ a charging stand, so why not the Upad?

Just picked this up yesterday at Target for $5 or $6 so came here to see how disappointed I was going to be. Surprisingly sounds like I may get my money's worth.

"though it's understandably multi-cart only"
Has there been a 3DS game that IS single cart? I keep looking but haven't found one yet. The graphics on the box seemed so lame I thought this might be the one. Guess not. Guess I'll stop looking as well.