E3 2012: Nintendo gives us a tour around the Miiverse

June 5, 2012

Tuesday’s Nintendo briefing brought us more on the Wii U: specifically, the game’s launch lineup (headlined by Pikmin 3, Nintendo Land and New Super Mario Bros. U), release window (“holiday”) and multi-GamePad support (though just two).  Pikmin 3 features a new type of Pikmin, four leaders to split your units between and different gameplay modes. 

The system’s proof-of-concept software, Nintendo Land, is a theme park title based on the company’s properties. Animal Crossing: Sweet Day, Luigi’s Ghost Mansion, Takamaru’s Ninja Castle and more are among the game’s areas, integrated with Miiverse for a more social experience.

New Super Mario Bros. U, similar to its Wii predecessor, features heavy Miiverse integration, a flying squirrel powerup, different Yoshis and five-player support (with one using the GamePad’s screen).

5th Cell is bringing Scribblenauts Unlimited to the system’s launch, with a multiplayer mode, item customization and a world to explore.

Unveiled after the event: Project P-100, a Platinum Games-developed, Nintend0-published game out during the launch window. With a superhero theme and a Pikmin-looking control scheme, it piques our interest.

Wii Fit U is unsurprisingly on its way, with a pedometer accessory that syncs and keeps track of the calories burned on runs. FreeStyle Games, the DJ Hero developers, are working on SiNG, a karaoke title for the system.

The company did take a break from Wii U to discuss three 3DS titles. New Super Mario Bros. 2 (with a focus on ‘gold’) will release August 19. Oh, and hey, we finally get Paper Mario! Paper Mario: Sticker Star will release this year too, and Luigi’s Mansion 2: Dark Moon follows sometime this holiday.

Other notes:

  • The Wii U will have Netlix, Hulu Plus and YouTube support, among others.
  • Third-party Wii U ports: Batman: Arkham City: Armored Edition, Darksiders II, Mass Effect 3, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Tank! Tank! Tank!, Trine 2: Director’s Cut, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge, Aliens: Colonial Marines,
  • Lego City: Undercover, teased last year, got a full unveiling at the event. It seems to be an open-world game with a GTA feel. It’ll also hit the 3DS.

Nintendo had previously shown off the Wii U hardware in a Nintendo Direct presentation Sunday, and plans to show more 3DS games at another event Wednesday night.