Last year at E3 2005, Satoru Iwata, the president of Nintendo, addressed fans’ concerns about the next game in Nintendo’s hugely popular <em>Super Smash Brothers</em> series. He told the crowd that he was “pushing” for the game to be a launch title.
Naturally, with only this information as a source, all fans of the <em>Super Smash Brothers</em> series sat in eager anticipation of Nintendo’s E3 2006 press conference. As the show went on, and no mention of the series was heard, fans assumed that they were saving the trailer for this hugely anticipated game for last, as they had done with the <em>Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess</em> trailer at E3 2004.
However, to everyone’s disappointment, no mention of the game was ever heard. The series wasn’t talked about… it was simply forgotten.
There was a ton of great games on display, no doubts there. Especially after Sony’s fairly lackluster presention on Monday, Nintendo’s was a breath of fresh air. They showed playable demos of dozens of games, and revealed sequels to critically acclaimed games that no one expected. Some of the surprises included sequels to <em>Diddy King Racing</em>, <em>Starfox</em>, and <em>Yoshi’s Island</em> on Nintendo’s DS. Ubisoft came in from France (oui… or rather Wii, France
) to do an extensive demo of <em>Red Steel</em>, a game which combined first-person shooter gunplay with sword-fighting, and made great use of the Wiimote controller. <em>The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess</em> was also demoed, showing the extensive functionality of the Wiimote for use with pretty much all of the in-game items (not to worry Gamecube owners, a version is coming out for both consoles, the Wii and the Gamecube).
Also previewed (briefly) was <em>Super Mario Galaxy</em>, which will serve as Mario’s next step in the 3D platforming world. All gameplay is done, of course, using the unique Wiimote controller.
However, with the conference ending with not a trailer for the sequel to everyone’s favorite Nintendo franchise, but with Satoru Iwata, Reggie Fils-Aime, Shigeru Miyamoto, and a sweepstakes winner playing a version of tennis with the Wiimote, we fans of <em>Super Smash Brothers</em> can’t help but feel let down. Last year, we were told that the sequel to <em>Super Smash Brothers: Melee</em> was being “pushed” as a launch title. And now, an entire year later, no mention is even made of the game.
So, what can fans conclude from this? First, the sequel to <em>Super Smash Brothers: Melee</em> is not coming this year. If the game were being released this year, enough of it would be finished at least to show a video of some of the gameplay. We can assume that, in an attempt to find the correct control scheme for the game, Nintendo has had to delay the game into 2007.
Some people have asked whether the sequel to Melee may just be on the show floor, and that Nintendo just didn’t put it in their conference.
Don’t count on it. The pre-E3 press conference, not just for Nintendo, but for all companies, is their big chance to really show off. They reveal all their upcoming games, big surprises, basically anything they can to make them look just a little bit better than their competitors. <em>Super Smash Brothers: Melee</em> was the best-selling Gamecube game of all time. The sequel, with next-generation graphics and an innovative new controller, is one of if not THE most highly anticipated game for Nintendo’s Wii. If Nintendo had had something, anything, to show for the game, they would have shown it at their press conference.
So, sit tight, fellow gamers. Hopefully, a reporter for some website or magazine will catch someone with Nintendo and ask them how our favorite franchise is fairing. Until then, we’ll just have to keep an ear to the ground, trying to pick up any information about the new game.
Try not to be too disappointed though. In the words of the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto, “A delayed game is eventually good; a bad game is bad forever.”
Naturally, with only this information as a source, all fans of the <em>Super Smash Brothers</em> series sat in eager anticipation of Nintendo’s E3 2006 press conference. As the show went on, and no mention of the series was heard, fans assumed that they were saving the trailer for this hugely anticipated game for last, as they had done with the <em>Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess</em> trailer at E3 2004.
However, to everyone’s disappointment, no mention of the game was ever heard. The series wasn’t talked about… it was simply forgotten.
There was a ton of great games on display, no doubts there. Especially after Sony’s fairly lackluster presention on Monday, Nintendo’s was a breath of fresh air. They showed playable demos of dozens of games, and revealed sequels to critically acclaimed games that no one expected. Some of the surprises included sequels to <em>Diddy King Racing</em>, <em>Starfox</em>, and <em>Yoshi’s Island</em> on Nintendo’s DS. Ubisoft came in from France (oui… or rather Wii, France
) to do an extensive demo of <em>Red Steel</em>, a game which combined first-person shooter gunplay with sword-fighting, and made great use of the Wiimote controller. <em>The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess</em> was also demoed, showing the extensive functionality of the Wiimote for use with pretty much all of the in-game items (not to worry Gamecube owners, a version is coming out for both consoles, the Wii and the Gamecube).Also previewed (briefly) was <em>Super Mario Galaxy</em>, which will serve as Mario’s next step in the 3D platforming world. All gameplay is done, of course, using the unique Wiimote controller.
However, with the conference ending with not a trailer for the sequel to everyone’s favorite Nintendo franchise, but with Satoru Iwata, Reggie Fils-Aime, Shigeru Miyamoto, and a sweepstakes winner playing a version of tennis with the Wiimote, we fans of <em>Super Smash Brothers</em> can’t help but feel let down. Last year, we were told that the sequel to <em>Super Smash Brothers: Melee</em> was being “pushed” as a launch title. And now, an entire year later, no mention is even made of the game.
So, what can fans conclude from this? First, the sequel to <em>Super Smash Brothers: Melee</em> is not coming this year. If the game were being released this year, enough of it would be finished at least to show a video of some of the gameplay. We can assume that, in an attempt to find the correct control scheme for the game, Nintendo has had to delay the game into 2007.
Some people have asked whether the sequel to Melee may just be on the show floor, and that Nintendo just didn’t put it in their conference.
Don’t count on it. The pre-E3 press conference, not just for Nintendo, but for all companies, is their big chance to really show off. They reveal all their upcoming games, big surprises, basically anything they can to make them look just a little bit better than their competitors. <em>Super Smash Brothers: Melee</em> was the best-selling Gamecube game of all time. The sequel, with next-generation graphics and an innovative new controller, is one of if not THE most highly anticipated game for Nintendo’s Wii. If Nintendo had had something, anything, to show for the game, they would have shown it at their press conference.
So, sit tight, fellow gamers. Hopefully, a reporter for some website or magazine will catch someone with Nintendo and ask them how our favorite franchise is fairing. Until then, we’ll just have to keep an ear to the ground, trying to pick up any information about the new game.
Try not to be too disappointed though. In the words of the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto, “A delayed game is eventually good; a bad game is bad forever.”