Satoru Iwata just gave an amazing, heartfelt keynote. I'm not a Nintendo fanboy. Just look at my impressions of the DS to see that.
After this keynote, though…
He didn't give it a name but he verified that the DS is going wifi. Animal Crossing will utilize it. He promised a
huge announcement at E3 about a groundbreaking title.
He showed off Nintedogs. It has voice control that exceeds Seaman by leaps and bounds. I worry for real animals after
seeing that cute virtual puppy run around.
The Revolution will be backwards compatible, and easy to develop for. More at E3 of course.
He showed off Mario Kart play, and it looks like a blast. He brought up 8 birthday boys/girls and raced with them.
Then took the DSs back before they left the stage (I woulda pocketed that cart!)
Electro Plankton may as well have been Jerry Seinfeld. it had everyone laughing and clapping.
In a nutshell, if they would just frickin release these games I may update my DS impressions!
Oh yeah and they showed off the next Zelda. A clip of Link fighting in lush environs against classic Zelda baddies. It
looks stunning and it had the room electrified.
Furthermore!
Iwata's presentation is probably what secured my admiration for what Nintendo is trying to do. He's a personable guy. However, it was the little details of the speech that finally crystallized (to me) what their plan is. Nintendog and Plankton are playful experiences that simply don't come across well in video clips or description. But when you see them in action you get an idea how addictive they could be. The DS now seems more like a recreational device that's customizable to your gaming needs, as opposed to a "hardcore" gamer device or a "recreational" gamer device. Their effort to be all things to all people solidified in front of my eyes. I find it admirable. It's the naive part of me. The skeptic in me thinks that nothing can be everything to everyone. I hope the naive half is right. For once.
I find myself moved by Iwata's effort. I'm not a sucker for these things. I've never met a keynote I like. But this one seemed to do everything Nintendo needed to do — show actual titles for the DS, prove that they're different but fun, ask for a thorough going-over from the game development community, and remind everyone why we love games. One of the big criticisms of the Allard keynote is that it was all number crunching and trying to guess what the future will require. Iwata stuck with the Nintendo talking point - it's all about the software. Then he proceeded to show us software. Would it have been better if they'd introduced more quality titles for the DS earlier? Oh yeah. I don't think anyone can argue otherwise with a straight face. But I see no reason why their 4 million DS customers have to worry. Be patient? Yes. Worry? For the first time, I just don't think so.
