The conference is now over. A minute-by-minute synopsis can be found below. Stay tuned to Revolution Report for continuing coverage and more detailed information regarding these announcements.
9:15 AM PST: People are filing into the conference room.
9:23 AM PST: Winners of Nintendo's "First to Play" Wii contest have been announced. The first place winner is Scott Dier of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, the second place winner is Daniel Smith of Kalamazoo, Missouri and the third place winner is Travis Gordin of Phoenix, Arizona.
9:37 AM PST: Conference has officially started. Miyamoto is on stage wearing a tuxedo playing a conducting game.
9:39 AM PST: They also showed playable versions of Red Steel and the new Nintendo racer.
9:42 AM PST: Amongst several titles shown in a video reel is footage of a brand new Mario game, Metroid Prime 3, Wario Ware, a flying game and a baseball game.
9:45 AM PST: The video ends in a finale of Zelda footage including a fishing mini-game. Reggie Fils-Aime appears on stage.
9:47 AM PST: "Our plan this week is not to fill your left brain with information, but your right brain with inspiration," says Fils-Aime.
9:49 AM PST: The new Wii controller model has been shown sporting a slightly longer model, and microphone/speaker is also included.
9:50 AM PST: Date and price will not be announced today, but we can expect Wii to be released in America in the fourth quarter.
9:51 AM PST: Begin showing another video reel showcasing Metroid Prime 3, Dragon Ball, Dragon Quest, Fire Emblem, Cars, SpongeBob Squarepants, Super Mario Galaxies, SD Gundam, Tony Hawk, Elebits, Red Steel, Rayman, PANGYA Golf, Sonic Wild Fire, Project HAMMER, One Piece, Final Furlong, Madden and Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles among others.
9:55 AM PST: They begin talking about Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. It will be available alongside the Wii on launch day.
9:59 AM PST: They are demoing and discussing the gameplay mechanics of Zelda playing on Wii. They are using the controller's speaker to play a sound of the arrow leaving Link's bow, then making the sound travel to the TV's speakers as it "plunges into the enemy." The pointer of the controller is used to aim.
10:00 AM PST: "Controller ads depth of sound, that no other controller, and no other system can offer and developers have a whole lot of ideas how to use this," and they have also alluded again to more secrets behind the controller that haven't been revealed.
10:02 AM PST: Zelda demo is over and Reggie has taken the stage again. Zelda will be coming out in two versions, one specifically for Wii and one for GameCube. Both will be releasing on the same day (the Wii launch day). Reggie begins discussing details on Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and Super Mario Galaxy.
10:04 AM PST: Reggie is now going into discussion of three new IPs. First is Excite Truck, a racing game where you tilt the controller to steer. Second is called Project H.A.M.M.E.R. where you swing the controller to destroy enemies. Finally is Disaster Day of Crisis that has a decidely mature tone to it.
10:06 AM PST: Third-party titles are also being discussed including Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, Madden and Tony Hawk.
10:07 AM PST: 27 titles will be playable on the show floor tomorrow. Many more will be seen in video form. This number does not include any titles that will be on the Virtual Console.
10:08 AM PST: Representatives from Ubisoft have taken the stage to give a demo of Red Steel. The game features destructible environments in addition to "mindblowing" (according to Shawn) lighting and particle effects.
10:12 AM PST: There are several features implemented in Red Steel's gameplay mechanic, including commanding people what to do by making hand gestures. All of the voice acting is in game. "Block with left hand and swipe with right hand in any direction. Dozens of combinations to do." The game will be playable on the show floor tomorrow.
10:14 AM PST: Reggie has come back on stage. "Playing = Believing" is shown on the screen behind him. He introduces George Harrison to continue the conference. "No matter who you are, gamer, developer, publisher, retailer, Wii will make things better," says Harrison. He is now discussing DS.
10:17 AM PST: Sales numbers of specific titles and other numbers are being discussed. DS has sold 16 million units in 18 months. PSP is at "millions less, millions less." 6 million copies of Nintendogs have been sold. There have been 40 million Wi-Fi connections. He is now discussing the Brain Age series of game and mentions the "smaller, lighter, brighter" DS Lite.
10:20 AM PST: Several DS games are announced including StarFox, Yoshi's Island and Diddy Kong Racing. Final Fantasy III is coming stateside. A DS version of Tony Hawk: Downhill Jam is also announced and will use VoIP on Nintendo Wi-Fi. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is also shown, and the storyline of this picks up right after Wind Waker. There will be 100 new games by the end of 2006.
10:22 AM PST: They are now showing a video clip showcasing all of the new DS titles.
10:25 AM PST: Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has taken the stage. "When I became Nintendo president we decided on a new goal for the company, expanding the total number of people who play games, in order to do this we needed to target two types of gamers, those who have played and lost interest and hardcore, how would we do this?"
10:28 AM PST: "I have been planning, developing and playing games for a long time, and I still love this, but these days I am busier than ever. If I have to wait 30 seconds or more for a game to load, I get frustrated. Sometimes I just cannot wait... Now I can turn off the DS by opening and closing the top. I find myself spoiled. Unless we can change, we can never increase the game player population," says Iwata.
10:30 AM PST: Iwata unveils that Wii is the first 24-hour console. It is always connected and they are offering several services for the console including the Opera Web Browser. For game developers, the network software is all included in the hardware itself. "We are aiming for a system that is new everyday." The console will be available to receive updates for games even while you are sleeping.
10:34 AM PST: Wii Sports is announced as a launch title including tennis, golf and baseball. "Today there are people who play and people who do not. We will help destroy that wall between them regardless of age, gender and game experience, anyone can instantly understand Wii. And we can provide anyone with fresh, new experiences. Everday there is something new for everyone. This is our answer."
10:36 AM PST: Shigeru Miyamoto takes the stage to demo the tennis game and announce the grand prize winner, Scott Dier, who will be the first person from the public to play Wii. Reggie and Iwata take the stage to face off against Miyamoto and Dier in a game of doubles tennis.
10:38 AM PST: The demo is now over, but the game will be playable tomorrow on the show floor. Reggie comes back on stage. "The bottom line of every E3 is what's hot, what's not. What's hot is the feel, not the look... it's hot if it's disruptive, not if it's predictable. It's about the heat of emotion, not the chill of technology. Wii and the DS represent the same thing: risk. Risk allows progress. We are a company that doesn't run from risk, we run to it. We were the disrupter twenty years ago, and we are still today," says Reggie. "Playing is believing. Thank you all and we look forward to seeing you on our show floor tomorrow."
