Nintendo E3 2007 Media Briefing Part 1

First of all, I want to thank our friends at Nintendo for bringing today's E3 Media Briefing to New York. Today's briefing, which took place in Santa Monica on Day 1 of E3, was broadcast at Nintendo World in Rockefeller center for those of us who didn't want to go couldn't make it to CA for this year's stripped-down expo.

A majority of the briefing was spent citing some incredibly impressive numbers that validate Nintendo's general awesomeness and dominance in the industry. I'm not going to bore you with numbers because lets face it, unless you are an accountant, numbers are boring. Instead, I'm going to get to the good stuff and by stuff, I mean new games!

Including downloadable Virtual Console titles, there are currently over 150 games available for the Wii. By the end of the year, that number will climb to roughly 350. I guess I lied about not talking about numbers. Some of those games were shown today along with additional titles due in 2008. This year we should see the release of Super Mario Galaxy (finally), which was originally shown at last year's E3 event. Galaxy looks amazing and takes the Mario franchise, originally launched with Super Mario 64, into an entirely new world. Players navigate Mario through a series of gravity-defying planets, challenges and power-ups in vivid detail.

Also due before the end of the year is Super Smash Bros. Brawl. This sequel to the number one selling game of all time on Nintendo's GameCube ups the ante with new characters, new moves and new arenas in this smash or be smashed brawling game.

One of the most highly anticipated games due next year from Nintendo is Mario Kart Wii (working title). The Wii edition of the popular and long running Mario Kart series, will allow players to challenge and race other players around the world through Nintendo's WiFi service. In order to keep the race fair and give both beginners and pros a chance to win, Mario Kart Wii will come with Nintendo's new wireless Wii Wheel, a steering wheel housing for the Wii-Remote that introduces new controls and challenges.

We've got oodles of more Nintendo goodness to share with you but not enough space to do it in one post. So, check back tomorrow for part 2 of our report from the Nintendo E3 2007 Media Briefing.

_J. McKinney