Happy Nintendo day! Now the shouting's done between Microsoft and Sony - with a little chorus on either side supplied by Ubisoft and EA - it's time to sink back and enjoy the relatively mellow charms of Nintendo's E3 slate. There's no conference this year, though the Nintendo Direct that's kicking off at 3pm BST this afternoon is pretty much a like for like replacement.
What will its stance on DRM and used games be? Oh wait, we already know that. As we do what it's likely to show, with a new 3D Mario and Mario Kart slated to make an appearance, as well as the first trailer for the new Smash Bros. game.
Beyond that, there's some hope that we'll see Bayonetta 2 in action, and a somewhat slimmer chance that Nintendo finally reveals what Retro Studios has been working on these past few years. Can we expect a Wii U price-cut as well, and are there any surprises in store for the Nintendo 3DS? The EG team will be taking you through the show from 3pm BST, so join us for reasoned commentary and a few overexcited yelps.
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Our live coverage of this event has finished.
Welcome to another E3 showing from Nintendo! This year we get a more low key pre-recorded Nintendo Direct broadcast rather than the usual fancypants conference.
– Tom Phillips
After Microsoft and Sony's squabbling we'll hopefully get to the main event - a chance to see Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto cosplay as Link.
– Tom Phillips
Nintendo of America ass-kicker Reggie will also surely make an appearance. If you don't watch he'll know.
– Tom Phillips
– Tom Phillips
A pre-recorded event will hopefully mean a showing without any Wii Remote technical problems or endless 4-player demos of Pac-Man Versus (remember that year?)
– Tom Phillips
– Tom Phillips
What will Nintendo call its next 3D Mario, then? Mario Galaxy 3 - no, wait, that's Sega's new Sonic game.
– Tom Phillips
– Tom Phillips
That's your man Reggie, Nintendo of America's Bill Trinen, European boss Satoru Shibata, Miyamoto and Iwata, there. Aonuma obviously had trouble getting his Black Widow costume on.
– Tom Phillips
Retailers are already selling the Wii U at huge discount in the UK, some as low as £199. Will Nintendo make this official, or throw in a couple of extra games?
– Tom Phillips
Hey Nintendo, announce a new Retro Studios-developed Metroid game and I'll let you off the £300 I spent back last November.
– Tom Phillips
The conference won't just be about Wii U, of course. 3DS has lots to look forward to, including a new Zelda: Link to the Past sequel, Pokémon X/Y and its own version of Smash Bros.
– Tom Phillips
Advance Wars. Please?
– Christian Donlan
Perhaps even a 3DS XXL with an integrated Circle Pad, too?
– Tom Phillips
Eldritch: Axelay 2.
Dare to dream...
– Martin Robinson
What are the chances of a Retro-made Stunt Race FX?
– Christian Donlan
I paid £80 for Stunt Race FX when it came out. Such a mug.
– Martin Robinson
Tetrisphere. Now there is a game.
– Christian Donlan
No regrets.
– Christian Donlan
@Erp - REALLY?! That is genuinely exciting to hear.
– Christian Donlan
Surely Tetrisphere would be amazing in 3D, too.
– Christian Donlan
@Skith666 - as long as you aren't a surgeon, I think you'll be okay.
– Christian Donlan
Or a pilot.
– Christian Donlan
@Erp - I'm on it. Thanks so much!
– Christian Donlan
We're in! Pokemon X and Y.
– Christian Donlan
My favourite chromosomes.
– Christian Donlan
The leaks were true! Fairy Pokemon.
– Christian Donlan
Take that Dragon Pokemon.
– Christian Donlan
I saw a man eating a bag of Walkers with a pair of chopsticks the other day.
– Christian Donlan
New 3D Mario.
– Christian Donlan
Looks 3D Landish.
– Christian Donlan
Super Mario 3D World for Wii U.
– Christian Donlan
Four players in a 3D world. Mario Luigi Toad and Princess Peach.
– Christian Donlan
Toad is faster, for example.
– Christian Donlan
Co-op or competition.
– Christian Donlan
New power-up: Cat Mario. He is sick everywhere and ruins armchairs.
– Christian Donlan
Not really - can climb walls and scratch enemies.
– Christian Donlan
Out in December.
– Christian Donlan
Mario Kart for Wii U next!
– Tom Phillips
Looks like it has vertical walls, and wheels which can turn round to grab different surfaces.
– Tom Phillips
Of course there's a Princess Peach's Castle level.
– Tom Phillips
And it's called... Mario Kart 8!
– Tom Phillips
Mario Kart 8's coming out in Spring 2014.
– Martin Robinson
It's not just racing other players but sharing the fun with other people around the world. Mario Kart 8 will launch in spring 2014.
– Robert Purchese
And, in far less exciting news, it's a new Mario Party.
– Martin Robinson
Wii Party U a mix of party games, naturally - it's at least a good workout for the GamePad.
– Martin Robinson
It was intended for release this summer - but it's being pushed back to an undisclosed date.
– Martin Robinson
ALSO DELAYED! Wii Fit U.
– Martin Robinson
Being delayed for new features.
– Martin Robinson
And another apology from Iwata. Maybe they should announce that you can play used games on the Wii U seeing as that's a feature now?
– Martin Robinson
On to the Miiverse now.
– Martin Robinson
There's a new instalment of Art Academy but - this is a trend here - it's not near completion.
– Martin Robinson
But the drawing tool developed for it will be available on the eShop this summer.
– Martin Robinson
Giving Miiverse creations another boost.
– Martin Robinson
I'm already in awe of what's on the Miiverse. This is actually quite exciting.
– Martin Robinson
Also Dan in the office has just noticed how intense Iwata's eyebrows are.
– Martin Robinson
Running through third-party offerings now - there's Batman: Arkham Origins, on Wii U and 3DS.
– Martin Robinson
Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut, Just Dance and Disney Infinity.
– Martin Robinson
Scribblenauts DC, again on Wii U and 3DS, and Disney's Planes.
– Martin Robinson
Blacklist is coming on August 21st, and Sonic Galaxy - sorry, Sonic Lost World - is due this year.
– Martin Robinson
All stuff we knew about, but it's a sizeable list nevertheless.
– Martin Robinson
This could be an announcement of sorts - Nintendo's support of indies, which is already fairly strong, is rumoured to be bolstered soon.
– Martin Robinson
There's DuckTales, Dungeons and Dragons. Wait, these aren't indies? Sorry, they're digital downloads.
– Martin Robinson
Scram Kitty and Shovel Knight and Spin the Bottle - now they're proper indies.
– Martin Robinson
Legend of Zelda Wind Waker now.
– Martin Robinson
There's a new video. It's HD, obviously. Some of the purity of the original's cel-shading's been lost, though, and I can't help but feel sad about that.
– Martin Robinson
The bloom that we saw in our first look's been toned down, mind, and this looks a lot more convincing.
– Martin Robinson
Will they be restoring the infamous missing dungeons?
– Martin Robinson
The Wii U version runs at 1080p.
– Martin Robinson
And there have been adjustments to the game....
– Martin Robinson
Right now, they're just announcing that the Tingle Tuner - previously accessed by hooking up a GBA to the GameCube - is aped by the GamePad. Kind of - you can now post to MiiVerse with the Tingle Tuner.
– Martin Robinson
Legend of Zelda Wind Waker HD is due in October.
– Martin Robinson
Wonderful 101 now, which is out before then.
– Martin Robinson
Ohhh BOY. Back in time for WOnderful 101.
– Christian Donlan
Lovely hit-pause in this one. It feels like you're chewing through baddies.
– Christian Donlan
Which is out on August 23rd over here. Not long to wait!
– Martin Robinson
Do go on Twitter and ask Kamiya if Bayonetta's going to end up in Smash Bros, BTW. That always turns out well.
– Christian Donlan
The spirit of Viewtiful Joe is alive and well.
– Christian Donlan
There'll be a Wonderful 101 dedicated Direct soon.
– Martin Robinson
A new Kong game. Exciting, but please tell me this isn't what Retro's been up to all this time.
– Martin Robinson
Is this what Retro's been up to? Adding jelly to Donkey Kong?
– Christian Donlan
Donkey Kong's island has been over-run by vikings.
– Christian Donlan
It'll be the first Donkey Kong in HD.
– Martin Robinson
And you can see his fur flowing! I don't want to see the Retro logo anywhere near this, though.
– Martin Robinson
Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, coming out later this year.
– Martin Robinson
Oh well, we're about to see Bayonetta from the... front? Say what Iwata?
– Martin Robinson
She's got shorter hair. The camera's still a total perv too.
– Martin Robinson
Ulp. Looks like Donkey Kong is being made by Retro.
– Christian Donlan
Yeah, short hair is a feature.
– Martin Robinson
Just heard that Donkey Kong is being developed by Retro....
– Martin Robinson
Maybe Nintendo has asked Double Helix to make the new Metroid.
– Christian Donlan
Oh well. Bayonetta 2 looks great in action.
– Martin Robinson
Topical.
– Christian Donlan
Progguitarist: Where is METROID
It's dead. As is my heart right now.
– Martin Robinson
On the plus side, Monolithsoft's RPG looks absolutely marvellous.
– Martin Robinson
The goal's to create a large scale open world, says Iwata.
– Martin Robinson
Leaning on the experience from Xenoblade.
– Martin Robinson
Monolithsoft's working on a large-scale open world. Wii U. Robots and dinosaurs.
– Christian Donlan
2014. Please stay tuned.
– Christian Donlan
Robots, big arse monsters and an amazing open world. A 2014 release.
– Martin Robinson
ONE FINAL GAME.
– Christian Donlan
Smash Bros. to take us home.
– Martin Robinson
Tell me that Nook Jerk is in Smash Bros.
– Christian Donlan
If you could smackdown Nook that would indeed be a thing.
– Martin Robinson
Can you hit someone with Link's train?
– Christian Donlan
Metroid. Too soon, Nintendo. Too soon.
– Christian Donlan
VILLAGER!
– Christian Donlan
Alright, you can play as the villager from Animal Crossing.
– Martin Robinson
Super Smash Bros for 3DS and Wii U. Knock over trees!
– Christian Donlan
Mega Man's in it this time.
– Martin Robinson
Lordy, and Mega Man's in it too.
– Christian Donlan
But yeah, the villager from Animal Crossing! Exciting, right?
– Martin Robinson
Smash Bros website and Miiverse community opening today by the sounds of it.
– Christian Donlan
Being released in 2014.
– Martin Robinson
Sorry Martin!
– Christian Donlan
Pro_wrestler: This was underwhelming. Hardly a single game announced that we didn't already know about and everything is delayed.
Don't forget that Retro's making a new game! Oh, and it's a new Donkey Kong. Yeah, that wasn't all that.
– Martin Robinson
Hmm. Some lovely stuff in there, but some real disappointments too.
– Christian Donlan
Mario looks great, but I think a lot of us were hoping for a Galaxy follow-up of some kind.
– Christian Donlan
And no Metroid.
– Christian Donlan
There's always Gamescom?
– Christian Donlan
That's the end of the conferences. There's plenty more to come from E3, of course.
– Martin Robinson
Oli's going to be checking out Nintendo's games later today, and will be giving you his impressions soon.
– Martin Robinson
By this point, Nintendo might as well call its E3 press event: There's Always Gamescom.
– Christian Donlan
Plus there's plenty more to discover from Sony and Microsoft et al.
– Martin Robinson
@Sid-Nice come back in 12 months and maybe they'll have something?
– Martin Robinson
Well, that old Zelda game looked nice, didn't it?
– Martin Robinson
It's not looking like a great Christmas for Nintendo - going up against two new consoles with a ten-year-old Zelda and a Mario that, quite honestly, looks rushed.
– Martin Robinson
Sorry, just had to go and wipe away the tears, which seems to be something of a tradition when it comes to Nintendo at E3 lately. Anyway, that's a wrap. Hope you can join us here for the rest of the show!
– Martin Robinson
Still! At least we learned there's a Tetrisphere clone on Android, right?