In the midst of big game announcements such as The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD and Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem, yesterday’s Nintendo Direct also detailed some of Nintendo’s plans for this year’s E3. Satoru Iwata stated that both Mario Kart Wii U and a new 3D Mario will be playable at this year’s expo.
No footage of these two upcoming titles were shown, though Iwata stated that the new 3D Mario is being developed by the team that created the Mario Galaxy series for the Wii, and Super Mario 3D Land for the 3DS. The fact that they will be playable on the show floor points to a possible year-end release. Nintendo has always put a lot of effort into the holiday season, and these two games are guaranteed system sellers. The addition of Wind Waker’s HD remake means that 2013 could be a very big year for Nintendo.
The brand new Super Smash Brothers game, which is being simultaneously developed for the Wii U and 3DS, will also be shown at this year’s E3. Iwata had this to say about the game's development:
It is a huge development undertaking, and we need more time before it launches. Mr. Sakurai, who is leading development efforts, told us, ‘we set the timing to reveal the first game screens of the new Smash Brothers at this year’s E3’.
Sakurai’s plan to show “screens” at this year’s E3, rather than a full trailer or gameplay video, indicates that this title is still early in development. If rumors are true that the next Smash Brothers title will drastically change the core gameplay and physics engine, then fans shouldn’t expect to see it released before 2014’s holiday season. The next Legend of Zelda title also seems to be very early in development, with only a few vague details as to the game's direction being revealed. Whether or not any footage will be shown at this year’s conference is still unknown.
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