"Play the game."
Nintendo continued its anti-establishment E3 2013 with these words uttered by Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo America, at a Software Showcase for the Wii U this morning. With no new hardware to show, the company is placing emphasis on why the handheld, and to a lesser extent the 3DS, are still worth a gold coin.
What followed was a tap dance of top Nintendo developers explaining six new Wii U titles from Shigeru Miyamoto; and Eiji Aonuma introduced Pikim 3 and the Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD. The company had earlier laid out these and third-party offerings like Batman: Arkham Origins and Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag in a Nintendo Direct.
Wii want U
Through a translator, Miyamoto, whom a digitized Mario called "the man who brought me to life," made the Wii U a hallmark of his talk.
"When I started working with the Wii U, I thought that this is the right hardware for Pikmin 3," Miyamoto said. "This was about two years ago. I truly believe this is a game that can only be played on a Wii U."
The U has struggled from a dearth of games, but Nintendo is trying to shift that perception with the introduction of new titles here at E3.
The Showcase had a touch of whimsy and innocence, themes different from the shoot 'em up and speed away order of Microsoft and Sony's shows. There were devs in cat gloves and ears, a giant Donkey Kong and hands on time for attendees.
The company also introduced a new character to Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the Wii Fit trainer, who took on Bowser before Nintendo staged a duke it out battle with the another new character, Mega Man.
Nintendo's time here is so far cute, kitschy and silly, but also pointedly serious about showing why the Wii U shouldn't be ignored. We're not completely taken, but we hand it to Nintendo for doing something different.
