Nintendo European Media Summit 2010 Round-up

Earlier today, two of Nintendo Life's UK editorial team attended Nintendo's European Media Summit in London's swanky O2 Arena, which was filled with transparent plastic chairs and surrounded with projection screens showing upcoming titles.

Although many of the major announcements were made at the US summit yesterday, today marked the day that gamers in Europe would find out exactly when they could get their hands on many of this year's must-have titles - Super Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid: Other M and more.

The event had a seemingly hardcore focus, with multiple setups of Monster Hunter 3 and a large projection of the Sin and Punishment 2 logo. Filled with transparent plastic chairs and nicely catered (always important at these events), there was the usual atmosphere of expectation and excitement.

The event kicked off with a short presentation hinting at exclusive announcements and hands-on slots. Teasing the first half of this year with a "pretty packed schedule". The brand new video of Super Mario Galaxy 2 showed off some new levels, the drill ability and an awesome Bowser Dragon level. It looks to continue the same spectacle of the original, with some really stunning-looking stages and enormous bosses. It was promised to be challenging for Mario veterans, with a European release date of June 11th. We'll have our First Impressions available shortly.

Going onwards, the next game shown off was Monster Hunter 3, with free online play confirmed and a release of 23rd April. We got chance to have hands-on time with the game a few weeks ago, and you can find out what Luke Westaway thought of it in our First Impressions article. One fact that was revealed today is the unwelcome news that US and European gamers will not be able to play against each other online as the titles are region-locked, a genuine disappointment for many.

For handheld fans there wasn't much in the way of big news, but Nintendo did confirm they would be combining with Square Enix to publish publishing Dragon Quest IX for DS in Summer 2010. No more information on the title was made public, and it wasn't available to play at the event, but the fact it's coming to Western shores is to be celebrated all the same.

Following that was a video of Sin and Punishment 2, showing some new levels and more of the same intense action that the first title is famous for. Watching it on the big screen, with the booming bass and huge surround sound was an awesome experience and it's certainly one of the more visually accomplished titles coming out on Wii this year. Even better is the fact it's confirmed for release in Europe on 7th May 2010.

That was more or less it for the presentation, as Nintendo were keen to let us spend as much time as possible playing the games. We set off in search of playable goodies, and later today you'll be able to read our First Impressions of Super Mario Galaxy 2, Sin and Punishment 2 and Metroid: Other M, so stay tuned for our thoughts on these highly-anticipated titles.