Show Pros: Pikmin 3 looks great - Reggie's body still ready

Show Cons: Pacing problems - Mostly devoted to things we already know - Boring

Pikmin 3

The show starts right off the bat with the only thing worth seeing. Even though we've known of the game's existence for a while now, it was nice to finally see some footage. The game looks nice and I'm definitely interested despite having only limited experience with the series. I only wish the rest of the show could have followed suit.

New Super Mario Bros. U

Another one we've known about for a while... yes, New Super Mario Bros. Mii is unsurprisingly making an appearance as a full-fledged game. What can I really say? I'm sure it'll be fun. The backgrounds look nice. They're reusing that terrible main theme again. The flying squirrel suit looks weird. Yeah.

Wii U Fit and Just Dance 4

Firstly, Nintendo, are you serious? Sometimes I wonder if Nintendo even understands who actually pays attention to E3. Yes, I know that these titles have sold well in the past and have helped move units, but these are simply not the titles hardcore gamers get excited about. I would think Wii Fit would reach more of its target audience appearing on Good Morning America of something.

Lego City

Again, I don't see many people being overly excited for what looks to be a fairly standard, by the numbers entry in the Lego franchise with no surprises whatsoever. I've never really been interested in the series and this hasn't done anything to change my mind.

Batman Arkham City

While obviously a well-received game, getting excited for an enhanced port is a hard sell. As someone who never played Arkham City or the original game, what would have impressed me is seeing them bundled together. For what it is though, the game seems to be making adequate use of the Wii U gamepad.

3DS Presentation

In keeping with the apparent theme of the presentation, nothing really new is shown here. I know there's going to be a separate 3DS conference, but they could have at least revealed one new game, right? 'Cause that would have been exciting. To make matters worse, all three of the games they bothered to show were Mario games. As for relevant information on the titles, I guess NSMB2 emphasizes coin collecting more than past games in the series and Paper Mario uses Stickers found in the game world as special attacks.

Nintendo Land

Obligatory mini game collection. I think it has some potential. The Luigi's Mansion minigame certainly looked fun. It doesn't quite look like it'll be worth fifty, or heaven forbid, sixty dollars, but it would make a lot of sense as a console pack in. It's kind of ridiculous that this is treated as the big end-of-the-show reveal though.

Closing Comments

You know there's a problem when Reggie uttering that now iconic phrase is seriously a highlight of the show. I could have left after the New Super Mario presentation and not missed a beat, which is even worse considering how early in the show that was. There were of course more games shown than those above, but I think that my inability to think of something to say about them is perhaps even more telling.

There may be a silver lining to all of this. If Nintendo is using our reaction to the show to determine the Wii U's price, then I think we're at least looking at a cheaper console.

Overall, there was simply nothing to get excited about. Will I buy a Wii U? I'm sure I will. If nothing else, it's looking like there'll be a fine selection of titles at launch. But I'm a fan girl. This was Nintendo's opportunity to convince the masses, and they missed it.