Tuesday 9 May 2006
Nintendo has today confirmed that three of its biggest name games are due to appear on Wii in the shape of Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and a special Wii version of Zelda: Twilight Princess. But it has also refused to say anything on the cost of the new machine, its launch line-up or the release date, except that it would be "more fun for less money" and appear before the end of 2006.
While some of the specific details that we were all hoping for went missing, there were still plenty of surprises shown. Key to the whole presentation was the presence of Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, which was confirmed as being released in two distinct versions: one for GameCube and one for Wii.
Above: Reggie takes to the stage to promote Wii as 'more fun for less money'
Reggie Fils-Aime, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Nintendo of America, also revealed that both editions would go on sale simultaneously in the US at Wii launch - but made no special mention of plans for Japan or us in Europe.
Naturally it was the Wii version of Zelda which was demonstrated at some length, revealing both how the Wii remote controller is used for everything from looking to aiming to fighting, but also showing how the nunchaku part of the control system can be used to stab opponents on the floor and throw crates around.
This seamlessly allowed big Reg and two friends from Nintendo of America to reveal another aspect of Wii's design - a speaker in the controller. And by playing the sound of Link drawing back his bow and firing, they claimed that the controller gives the impression of fully 3D sound that surrounds the player.
