E3 2018 will begin in just a few weeks, and that comes with plenty of announcements and trailers from Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, and more. Before the madness begins, we're looking back at the year to go over everything that was announced at E3 2017 and what's happened since. Did the year live up to the expectations set at E3? We've already looked at Microsoft and Sony, so now it's time to check up on Nintendo.
Before The Presentation
One of the most notable things about Nintendo's E3 last year was its presence in other publishers' conferences. Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle was announced at Ubisoft's press conference earlier in the week, while details about Amiibo support in Skyrim Switch were revealed during Bethesda's briefing. Since then, Bethesda in particular has shown support for the Switch with several ports, including Doom 2016 and the upcoming port of Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus--a huge shift from its stance on the Wii U, which it ignored completely. Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle continues to get support with upcoming Donkey Kong-themed DLC.
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More Details On 2017 Games
Much of Nintendo's focus during E3 2017 was on games coming out before the year was up. We saw new trailers for the now-released Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and Fire Emblem Warriors, and Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma detailed DLC for Breath of the Wild, which came out in two parts over the summer and in December. The presentation ended with a release date for Super Mario Odyssey (October 27) as well as a substantial gameplay demo showcasing what would end up to be the star of the Switch's end-of-year lineup. Super Mario Odyssey ranked among GameSpot's top 10 games of 2017.
Metroid Prime 4 And Metroid: Samus Returns
E3 2017 was a great time for Metroid fans, as Nintendo revealed two new games in the franchise. The first was Metroid Prime 4, which was announced with nothing more than a logo--and while we still haven't gotten any details since, it remains a highly anticipated addition to the Switch library. Then, during a Treehouse Live presentation directly after the main show, Nintendo revealed Metroid: Samus Returns for 3DS with an extended gameplay demo. Released in September, the reimagining of Game Boy game Metroid II: Return of Samus was a bit of surprise. Senior editor Peter Brown praised it in our review: "Samus Returns is both a return to form and a look to the potential future for 2D Metroid games."
Kirby And Yoshi
In addition to Metroid, two other Nintendo franchises got some love: Kirby and Yoshi! Both were revealed with adorable trailers, and both were otherwise untitled. What was initially just "Kirby" became Kirby Star Allies, which came out in March of this year; in our review, Peter Brown said that it ranks among "some of the best" Kirby games out there. As for Yoshi, we haven't heard anything else since E3, and the game is still known as "Yoshi 2018." All we know is that it's a platformer in which you can manipulate diorama-like levels to view them from multiple perspectives.
A New Pokemon Game
Another of Nintendo's future-focused teases was a "core RPG" Pokemon game developed for Nintendo Switch by series developer Game Freak. Tsunekazu Ishihara, the president and CEO of The Pokemon Company, appeared in Nintendo's presentation to tease the game and said it might not release for more than a year. Like Metroid Prime 4, no other details were shared at the time. There are plenty of rumors about the upcoming Pokemon game circulating, but we haven't heard anything since E3 last year.
Rocket League On Switch
Rocket League was shown playing on Switch in a sizzle reel at the beginning of the presentation, and developer Psyonix joined the show later on to confirm and give more details about the surprise port--which would (and did) include all the features present on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. When it launched in November, Peter Brown wrote in our review, "Save for its presentation, Rocket League on Switch is every bit the game it is elsewhere, and when you factor in its newfound portability, it's also the most versatile."
To Recap:
Nintendo's main E3 2017 presentation was on the shorter side, but the company's E3 was still filled with announcements. Earlier in the week, Nintendo had a huge reveal on Ubisoft's stage with Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. During its own show, it covered a lot of the franchises fans like to see: Metroid, Kirby, Yoshi, and Pokemon, plus details on games we knew were coming. Ports also made an appearance in Skyrim on Switch (during Bethesda's conference) and Rocket League. The headliner, Super Mario Odyssey, got a release date and tons of gameplay details. And one of the biggest surprises was Metroid: Samus Returns, which was announced after the main presentation had concluded and ended up being excellent. In the year since, we've had several Nintendo Directs about various games, but the biggest ones hinted at during E3--Pokemon and Metroid Prime 4--remain mysteries.
