Nintendo's Pre E3 Press Conference

I know I'm a bit late with this coverage but bear with me, I've been trying to see Nintendo's conference for quite a while but my internet connection has been down.

I am very impressed with Nintendo's Pre E3 conference. Nintendo has blown the doors off the Nintendo Wii and I have to say, Out of the three big conferences, Nintendo's was arguably the best.

First off, Nintendo has shown off a very slightly redesigned version of what has been dubbed the "Wii-mote" (an obvious reference to it's similarities to a television remote) pictured below

The remote features motion sensing capabilities that surpass anything seen in console gaming. The controller can be used many ways, as demonstrated during the conference, such as a tennis racket (twisting the remote affects the spin of the ball as you hit it), a gun (for FPS) a sword, and a bow and arrow.

Several games were demoed, showing off the controllers unique features. Table tennis, a collection of Japanese themed minigames including Paper shredding and key unlocking.

A fan favorite and previously delayed game, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, was revealed to be launching in both Gamecube and Wii compatible versions. This comes as a surprise to some fans and a relief to others, as it was rumored that the Gamecube version of the game was simply going to be cancelled and moved to the Wii. The Wii version will feature unique controls, taking advantage of the Wii controller.

A large number of games were announced, and more demos were shown of ones previously announced. The games shown include: Project H.A.M.M.E.R, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Super Mario Galaxy, Disaster, Rayman and Red Steel.

Several New DS games were shown as well. These games include: Yoshi's Island 2, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Final Fantasy III, Mario Hoops 3 on 3, and Star Fox DS.

Nintendo did leave out a few crucial details that I think should have been mentioned, such as the launch date and price. All they told us is that the Wii would launch in 2006. Well, we already knew that. You told us that last year. I don't expect the Wii to retail for more than $200 but there have been some rumors flying around that the Wii will retail for $250 but I think they are unfounded. Oh well, I guess we'll have to wait a little while longer for that information.

Personally, this conference has given me a lot to look forward to in the coming months with the launch of the Wii and the arrival of several potentially AAA titles for the DS. I can't wait to try the Wii controller out for myself and see how it works in my favorite games, shooters. I have little doubt that Nintendo will deliver with the Wii.