E3Port Card: Nintendo E3 2013 Direct

Welcome to the E3Port Card, where I take a look back at last year Electronic Entertainment Expo to see which announcements came through as planned and which things we’re either still waiting on or never getting. For the next five weeks leading up the show, I’ll be analyzing every one of the five major media briefings from E3 2013 in the order they presented last year. Here’s what the schedule looked like:

MAY 12: Microsoft E3 2013 Media Briefing
MAY 16: EA E3 2013 Media Briefing
MAY 23: Ubisoft E3 2013 Media Briefing
MAY 30: Sony E3 2013 Media Briefing
JUNE 6: Nintendo E3 2013 Direct

Today is our final installment, and Nintendo’s E3 2013 Direct is in our sights. Nintendo chose a different route for its E3 presentation last year, but did a difference in presentation make for a more accurate E3? Let’s find out!

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata begins the presentation as he normally does, hand gestures and all. The first game mentioned is Pokemon X and Y, which reveals a new Fairy type.

Fairy type is indeed a thing, and Pokemon X and Y released in October to excellent reviews and sales figures. Looks like we caught ‘em all. +1. 1/1

Next Mr. Iwata announces the first 3D Mario game for the Wii U: Super Mario 3D World. The first-ever trailer is aired.

In an example of insane turn-around time, this is the first trailer we’d ever seen for the game yet it launched in November to rave reviews. Nice work, Nintendo. +1. 2/2

The next game on the docket in Mario Kart 8, the Wii U entry in the famed Mario Kart franchise. The world premiere trailer is shown.

If you haven’t played it yet, go get Mario Kart 8 and get racing. The game is AWESOME. +1. 3/3

A new trailer for Wii Party U follows, showcasing some new minigames but also announcing a brief delay. A delay for Wii Fit U is also announced.

Delay schmelay, the party game and the fitness game were both released before the holidays and a lot of fun and fitness was experienced. +1. 4/4

A new drawing game, Art Academy for Wii U, is announced, inspired by the drawings on Miiverse.  

I’m personally not the artistic type, but some of those Miiverse drawings are astounding, so this makes perfect sense. It’s also come out with all of the features announced here, so another point. +1. 5/5

A sizzle reel of third-party Wii U and 3DS games is shown, including Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Batman: Arkham Origins (console and Blackgate), Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director’s Cut, Disney Infinity, Just Dance 2014, Rayman Legends, Scribblenauts Unmasked (for both systems), Disney’s Planes, Shin Megami Tensei IV, Skylanders SWAP Force, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Sonic Lost World, and Watch_Dogs.

Nintendo almost had the first perfect sizzle reel of E3 2013… but then Watch Dogs showed up at the end. While Aiden Pearce has been playing vigilante on the other systems, the Wii U version isn’t available yet. What’s more, no one has any idea if and when it will be available. No dice. 5/6

Another sizzle reel airs, this one for indie games coming to the eShop. Games include Ballpoint Universe, Cloudberry Kingdom, Coaster Crazy Deluxe, Ducktales: Remastered, Dungeons and Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara, Mutant Mudds Deluxe, Oddworld: New N Tasty, Scram Kitty and His Buddy On Rails, Shovel Knight, Spin the Bottle: Bumpie’s Party, and A World of Keflings.

Again, while a lot of those games are available on the eShop, we’re still waiting for a few of them. Shovel Knight, I’m looking in your direction. No dice. 5/7

Next is a new trailer for The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, showcasing the Gamecube classic in amazing HD.

The game was so good I had to play it twice, and the tweaks made to make the game less tedious made the whole game better. +1. 6/8

The Wonderful 101 is the next game highlighted in the presentation, with a new trailer showing off some of the insane combat the game offers.

The Wonderful 101 is a highly-underrated game that more people should play. It’s been out since September. If you’re a late Wii U adopter, get on it. +1. 7/9

The newest game in the Donkey Kong Country franchise, Tropical Freeze, is next up. The first-ever trailer is shown to the public.

I love how Donkey Kong Country is the hardcore gamer’s platformer, while Kirby games are for the casual types and Mario fits right in the middle. DKC was really difficult, but still pretty good. +1. 8/10

Next is a brand new trailer for Bayonetta 2, showing off a new hairstyle among the same insane action of the first game.

I really want to play this, but the damn game still isn’t available. Hopefully it’s part of the Fall 2014 lineup. No dice. 8/11

Bayonetta is followed by a new look at the upcoming Monolith Soft game, still called X. We see mechs, open-world gameplay, and hear a pretty sweet song.

There hasn’t been a shred of information about X since last year’s Direct. Like Bayonetta, I hope this year blows the lid off of it. No dice. 8/12

The final game of the presentation is the highly anticipated Super Smash Bros., announced to be launching for both 3DS and Wii U. The Villager from Animal Crossing and Mega Man are announced as new characters.

I still remember losing my freakin’ mind when Mega Man was shown on the screen for the first time, kind of like how these people also lost their minds. However, the game still isn’t available for launch, but we know the 3DS version is coming this Summer and Wii U is this Winter. No dice. 8/13

FINAL SCORE: 8 promises kept out of 13 announcements (62%)

It’s amazing that Nintendo only missed out on five of their 13 announcements (two of which weren’t Nintendo’s fault) yet the percentage is so low. I suppose that’s what happens when you don’t make a lot of announcements. Hopefully the Digital Event at this year’s show will have a little more to talk about this time next year.

Let’s recap all five companies, shall we?

MICROSOFT: 19 announcements fulfilled out of 28 total topics (68%)
EA: 10 kept promises out of 14 announcements (71%)
UBISOFT: 10 kept promises out of 12 announcements (83%)
SONY: 21 promises kept out of 32 topics discussed (66%)
NINTENDO: 8 promises kept out of 13 announcements (62%)

Ubisoft far and away takes the prize, but they also presented the least announcements. Quality over quantity seems to be the strategy in Montreal, and if they can once again deliver on that, I don’t see a reason why I won’t be crowning them 2014 E3 champs. I expect to see The Division and other games that might not release in the next year, but so long as there are games to make up for it, Ubi is in a good place.

Thanks for keeping up with the E3Port cards, and look here for all of the biggest news straight from the E3 2014 show floor!