E3 2004 was a buzz with many things. Sony unveiled God of War and demonstrated the PSP, though the PSP was not playable at the show floor.
Microsoft wowed audiences with Halo 2, even giving a release date and showing off Crash Twinsanity which was playable on the showfloor. Microsoft also boasted about their recent purchase of Blinx the Time Sweeper developer Artoon.
Valve’s Half-Life 2, EA’s Sims 2, and Rockstar’s GTA San Andreas were of note.
Of course, Nintendo always last to the party.
Nintendo’s Presentation Begins
A man walks on stage. The audience is completely unfamiliar with this man as he introduces himself.
A PLANET TORN
A scenic shot of a planet is shown. The planet blips into a much darker sinister looking planet for a fraction of a second.
SOMETHING IS HIDDEN WITHIN THE PLANET
A shot of a cavern is shown. Phazon is bubbling in the center of it.
SOMETHING POWERFUL
The bubbling phazon is getting faster and more violent.
HUNTERS ARE SEEKING IT
Shots of bounty hunters are shown. It’s Sylux, Spire, Trace, Kanden, Noxus, and Weavil.
BUT WHAT THEY SEEK MAY JUST HUNT THEM
It cut back to the violently bubbling phazon. The bubbling phazon explodes, revealing Dark Samus.
A BATTLE BETWEEN LIGHT AND DARK IS ABOUT TO OCCUR
Gameplay is shown of Samus fighting Dark Samus.
HUNT OR BE HUNTED
Metroid Prime 2: Hunters
The crowd applauds, as the trailer ends. Reggie begins talking. “We like game with big worlds to explore.” A trailer starts.
A scenic shot of Chinese landscape is shown. Another scenic shot is shown, but this time there’s a man.
It’s Ryo Hazuki.
It cuts to more shots of scenery with Ryo walking through them, the shots transition faster and faster until it cuts to Ryo Hazuki fighting enemies.
Shenmue III
The trailer ends the crowd again applauding. “We like games with big stars and big explosions!” Reggie says as a trailer starts.
The trailer ends and Reggie continues. “And we like games so scary they keep you up at night.”
The trailer ends and Reggie begins to talk. “It is game time! It’s a new day. A new day for me and a new day for Nintendo. So let’s get a couple of things straight. Right off the bat my job is finding a way for you the game experts to have fun. At the same time, I understand if you’re among the terminally hip Nintendo isn’t your only choice for gaming, but maybe what you’ve already seen helps you understand that we’re serious about expanding what we do. We also understand that we’re not going to run our company just for hardcore gamers. There are gamers out there who aren’t as knowledgeable as you, gamers who aren’t your age, gamers who don’t have your tastes, gamers who live for Mario and Yoshi and Pokemon. It’s my job and it’s Nintendo’s job to make sure we satisfy all the gamers and to do it better than our competition. We know this is your third stop on the E3 press tour, over the last 24 hours we know what you’ve seen and heard, so let me draw a comparison. One of our competitors is a manufacturer in Japan who wants to capture every one of your entertainment dollars, transporting all your content between all your electronic devices on their memory sticks, we’re not that company. And there’s another company out there who doesn’t care what you do as long as it’s on their operating system.” The audience chuckles and applauds at Reggie’s jab at Microsoft. “We’re not that company either. Over the years I know you;ve heard a lot of Nintendo people say “We’re all about the game”. Well guess what, we are. Whether you’re talking about Donkey Kong or Sonic or Battlefield or 2k or Mario or Banjo or Metal Gear or Resident Evil, he with the best games wins. Always been that way, always will. As this company moves forward, you’re going to see more Nintendo games and different Nintendo games, and most importantly new ways for you to relate to your games, but let me tell you one other thing. This is not a promise for what we’re going to do sometime in the future, it’s what we’re doing right now and if you don’t realize that listen closely. While others are talking, Nintendo is acting. Let me ask you a question, what company right now is driving category sales. If you said someone other than Nintendo, you’re wrong. Our momentum isn’t slowing down, it’s speeding up. Now I’d like you to welcome a guy you’re all familiar with, a guy who’s been essential in building and maintaining our momentum, Peter Moore.” Reggie leaves the stage and Peter Moore come on.
Peter Moore begins. “Thanks Reggie! Reggie does kick ass. He beat me in Smash Bros just the other day!” The crowd laughs. “Nintendo is on the rise. We’ve been on the rise since we launched the GameCube back in 2001, but now? Now we’re rising even higher, and we’re rising even faster than ever. In the last 2 quarters all US industry growth has been through Nintendo. Just look at this graph.”
Peter Moore continues. “So that’s what’s happening right now. But, now let’s talk about the future. While certain companies seem eager to start the next generation. The truth is, they’re scared. They’re scared of what Nintendo is capable of in the back half of a console’s life cycle. This is Nintendo’s fourth game system and we know exactly how to handle the back end of a console’s life cycle and I can tell you as someone who has history working with Sega back in the day, we also know how NOT to handle the back end of a console’s life cycle!” the audience laughs. “We know that we’ve burned through the hardcore early adopters. Those who want to be challenged, those who want the latest tech. The late adopters want something different; they want pure entertainment, they want entertainment that’s easy to get into, and most importantly they want value. These are the bargain hunters. They want major play, for minor pay. Not only have we lowered the price of the Nintendo GameCube to just 99 Dollars, but we have dozens of Nintendo Player’s Choice titles for them. For the same price as our competitor’s game systems, you can buy a GameCube and still have money left over for another game or accessories like a controller for your friend. And we’re not done, we got plenty of great new games on the way. Take a look." A trailer begins.
The camera fades to Banjo’s House. The camera pans around the house before stopping at Banjo with Kazooie in tow “Guh-Huh!”. The bear chuckles.
Banjo stops at the front door and attempts top open it, but the door is locked. A giant red pencil writes “SECRET! KEEP OUT!” On the door
The camera cuts to a view of the door’s peephole from outside. “Doh!” Banjo grunts as he looks through the peep hole. the bear’s face and eye getting close to the camera, showing off the detail of the new model.
The camera cuts to Banjo’s point of view. A very blurry view of Spiral Mountain can be seen from the peephole before the red pencil pulls a curtain down. The curtain has “WE REALLY MEAN IT!” written on it.
It cuts back to Banjo and Kazooie, with disappointed expressions. A Ding sound is heard as Banjo point a finger in the air. Banjo grabs Kazooie by the neck. Banjo fashions the Breegull into a crank-like object.
Banjo puts Kazooie’s beak in the keyhole turning her as clinking sounds can be heard, indicating the lock is being unlocked. Banjo attempts to pull the door open but it doesn’t budge. Kazooie’s beak comes loose from the door lock and Banjo and Kazooie look up. The camera pans slightly upward to find the red pencil is keeping the door shut. Banjo gasps and drops Kazooie.
It cuts to Banjo with a defeated expression. Kazooie gets up with an annoyed expression.
The camera cuts to the front of the door. The door is now comically sealed shut with numerous nailed plank boards and a giant pad lock. A sign written in red says “GO AWAY!”.
It cut’s back to Banjo and Kazooie, Banjo still defeated, but Kazooie’s eye widen as she puts her beak close to Banjo’s ear whispering something to him.
It fades in to black before fading back into the house Banjo is now holding Kazooie by the base of her neck. Banjo repeatedly pulls on Kazooie’s tail feathers with chainsaw revving noises as Kazooie’s head flails around. With one last tug the “chainsaw” gets started up and Kazooie’s head flails wildly with Kazooie laughing like a psycho. Banjo uses Kazooie to saw around the door. The entire front wall of Banjo’s house falls over with the door intact.
It cuts to close ups of Spiral Mountain, Music Notes, Honeycombs and a Jiggie shine in the distance.
“Guh-Hoo!” Banjo gets an excited expression. “Breegull!” Kazooie shouts as Banjo run’s towards Spiral Mountain, only to crash into a wall. The entirety of Spiral Mountain being a fake backdrop like a Road Runner tunnel. The backdrop falls front first going off screen. Behind the backdrop was a brick wall with the words
BANJO IS BACK!
The screen fades to black.
Fall 2005
Only on GameCube
The GameCube logo is still on screen. A buzzing sound is slowly becoming audible.
A chainsaw buzzes through the picture. The GameCube logo picture is sliced in half and the wall falls front side, revealing Conker the Squirrel. “Get this OUTTA here!” Conker complains as he punts the 2 fallen wall pieces off screen with his chainsaw. Conker throws his chainsaw off screen. “Now let’s see here.” Conker reaches into his pockets and pulls out. Conker lays down the title of his next game making huge CLONK sound.
Conker’s Other Bad Day
Conker wipes a smudge off and leans on the title. “It’s about time I showed up!”
The screen fades to black
Summer 2005
“Marvelous!”
The trailer ends and another begins.
It’s a scenic shot of the Carrington Institute. Daniel Carrington begins to talk “Joanna, we’ve recently received reports of strange activity in the Mojave Desert. We need you to investigate.” It cuts to Joanna Dark, her design is that of a cel-shaded, slightly animesque look. “I’ll make sure to thoroughly comb the beach then.” Joanna snarkingly responds.
The music turns serious as it cuts to gameplay.
It cuts to black and the intense music stops.
Perfect Dark 2000
Fall 2004
Peter Moore continues. “That’s just a taste, we got more!” A trailer starts showcasing gameplay from Paper Mario 2, Pikmin 2, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Fable, Viewtiful Joe 2, Advance Wars Under Fire, Donkey Konga, Tales of Symphonia, and Puyo Puyo.
“Game Boy Advance is also doing well. We have lots of hit titles coming to the GBA like Donkey Kong, Zelda, F-Zero, Sonic, Kirby, Battletoads, Killer Instinct. Mario, and Kirby. The latest entry into the Pokemon series. Pokémon FireRed and Pokemon LeafGreen are soon to be released this year.”
“Let me make a few things very clear. Nintendo is the leader of the handheld industry, Game Boy Advance is king, and if Sony thinks the PSP can usurp us then I say bring it on! Because we’re not afraid of you!” The audience cheers. “I’m going to leave you with a trailer of our latest Game Boy games!” A trailer starts showcasing Game Boy Advance games like Donkey Kong Country 2, The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap, F-Zero GP Legend, Sonic Advance 3, Mario Pinball, Mario Golf, Diddy Kong Pilot, Mario Party Advance, Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, and Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen.
Peter Moore is gone from the stage, but Reggie comes back. “What we’ve talked about today. Are our can’t miss games for Nintendo GameCube and Nintendo Game Boy Advance that you’ll be playing very soon, but there’s something else in our future and the wait is over.” Reggie reaches into his jacket. “This is Nintendo DS.” Reggie opens up the clamshell shape handheld for all to see.
“From the time we announced it’s codename. You’ve been wondering what these initials mean and now it’s obvious. Dual Screens, but that’s just what the initials mean for the consumer. For those in the game making business it’s meaning is much larger. It means Developer System. We have given the world’s most talented game makers new tools to work with, new ways to express their imaginations, and of course new enjoyment for all of us. The DS not only changes Nintendo, it changes our industry. Nintendo DS represents a brand new way for players to relate to their games and to each other. Listen to the experts.” A video begins.
Nintendo came down to us and presented the DS platform to us just about a month or so ago. I think everyone was in shock. – Willian Kassock, Vice President Global Brand Management Activision
When I told the functions of the DS to out creators, they were very excited and eager to work on new games. They really like the DS. – Yoichi Haraguchi, Executive Vice-President Square Namco
We’re really excited about the DS because it’s a lot more than just a screen and a controller, there’s all these new unique features that we can play with. – Voldi Way, CEO Wayforward Technologies
We can use 4 screens when played by 2 players, maybe even 6 screens or 8 screens. The number of screens increases rapidly and that kind of possibility of expansion makes us excited. - Keiji Inafune – Producer, Capcom
The DS will continue the Game Boy’s great success in the handheld gaming market. – Tomofubi Gotsubo, President and CEO Konami Digital Entertainment
Reggie continues. “As a whole the development community already understands what is going on here. I like to think of it like buying a car. Admit it, your left brain looks at a vehicle in terms of the numbers, what’s the horsepower, the towing capacity, the 0 to 60, that’s our competitors’ approach, but your right brain is different. There’s only one question out there sitting behind the wheel. Where will this baby take me? Do you want to go just a little bit faster down the same streets you’ve always driven or to places you’ve never seen before that’s the difference with Nintendo DS. Let me explain how this new journey is going to happen. Each screen is programmable in 2D or 3D. The choice is up to the game designer. This opens up a wealth of options for the game developer and they’re and they’re totally excited about it. The 3D quality is simply beautiful. Most of you remember how you felt the first time you saw Super Mario 64 on Nintendo 64, it was a breakthrough that took the industry by storm.” Dual Screen footage is played of Mario flying around Peach’s Castle on the top screen. The bottom screen shows a map. “The DS is able to flawlessly recreate the vibrant worlds of Super Mario 64. This is the kind of action you’ll see on Nintendo DS and you get to experience it on the show floor tomorrow.” The audience cheers. “Isn’t it exciting? Now how exactly do these screens get used? Well again it’s up to the developers choice, but for starters one character can stand 2 panels high, or take two different perspectives of the same battle. Or monitor constantly available maps and menus. Here is a brand-new Killer Instinct playing on Nintendo DS.” The crowd cheers as footage of Jago fighting Black Orchid. “The same way you’ll be playing tomorrow.” The crowd cheers louder. “You can easily see the action on the top of the screen while the bottom screen gives you all the info, like your health, the enemies health, and how to pull off your special moves.”
“But 2 screens are just the first 2’s that define the DS. Let’s move on to the next 2. A pair of media bays. One accommodates DS software easily, holding over 500 Megabytes of data. The other plays all your favorite GBA games.” The crowd cheers. “That’s right, backwards compatibility means an instant library of over 500 titles and it also welcomes a host of different accessories to enrich your game experience. Next consider the most exciting for game players. Two incredible new forms of player control. This is where your connection to your game really changes. The first is the touchscreen, responding to either a stylus or to your finger it’s transformative. Whether you’re inputting data onto a software keyboard, or changing the direction or viewpoint of your gameplay. It’s truly unique, the combination of 2 screens and touchscreen stands to reinvent gameplay. You can only find this on Nintendo, you can only feel this on Nintnendo, and besides touch there’s talk. The built in microphone can be married with voice recognition programs, that means your voice and only your voice can control game. Together touch and voice opens vast new realms of game interaction. If you’re looking for the future of gaming, look at the interface. Now my favorite, 2 dual wireless capability. The first is a proprietary application that allows up to 16 people to play and communicate together. The range extends up to 100 feet, think about different seats in an office, a lecture hall, an airplane, who says they can’t become connected playgrounds. With Nintendo DS local wireless takes on a whole new definition, imagine instant chat and draw transmitted exactly like you created in your handwriting, your works of art, will look exactly the same on different screens as they do on your own and DS will even connect for you. Springing to life from sleep mode when you’re in range of someone else transmitting in group chat. But what if your friend is more than a few feet away, say a few time zones away? No problem. Wi-Fi means you can connect to Nintendo Netcast. It’s not online anymore, it’s beyond online, it’s no line at all! This machine is truly transformative. It changes the way you connect to your games and to each other. What you’ve seen heard and what you’ve seen today don’t begin to tell the DS story. You can’t start to appreciate it until you get your hands on one starting tomorrow and even then it’s just a start. The benefits of DS will be rolling out for months and years following launch and when will that launch come? We’re targeting release of Nintendo Ds in both Japan and America this year and Europe and Australia in the first quarter of next year. The change that DS represents and indeed all of the new Nintendo is happening under the leadership of our worldwide president Mr. Satoru Iwata. Please join me in welcoming him.” The crowd cheers as Reggie leaves and Iwata comes on stage.
“Thank You. Thank You. Nintendo was proud when we introduced the plus key switch with the NES, proud of easy-to-use shoulder buttons on the Super NES, proud of 4 player gaming on the Nintendo 64, proud of that analog joystick and the rumble pack and true 3D. We are proud we have established portable gaming with Gameboy, all these advances are now industry standards. All make us proud, but I think we are most proud of the Nintendo DS. All of those innovations changed gaming, and so will Nintendo DS. The DS is not simply new, it’s not simply more functions or higher specs, it is a revolution! Of course that same word applies to our next home console. It won’t simply be new, it won’t simply include new technologies, better technology is good but technology is not enough. Today’s game machines already offer fairly realistic expressions, simply beefing up those graphics is not enough. A new machine must do much, much more. New machine must offer an unprecedented play experience. Something no other machine has delivered before. I want you to know that Nintendo is working on our next system and will create a gaming revolution. I could offer a list of the specs I believe you’d like that but I wont for a simple reason. They really don’t matter. The time when raw horsepower alone made a difference is over. From this time on horsepower only gets you so far, you must have technique. Technique that only you have. You must create unprecedented experiences the same way we have with Nintendo DS. Work on Revolution is well underway and when you see it you will be excited because you will experience first hand a gaming revolution and with Nintendo DS and Revolution, video gaming will be changed forever. I invite you to enjoy the new experiences we are creating for Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS. Thank You.” The crowd applauds. ”We do have one last thing to show you though. So, hang tight!” Iwata a trailer begins.
It opens with Tetra’s Pirate Ship out in the ocean before fading to white.
In Search of New Lands
Link, Tetra, her pirate crew, and a few other characters from Wind Waker are all gathered around a beach shore. Tetra talks via dialogue. “Alright! Listen up! This land may be the new land we’re searching for. We need to get to work on tents! I’m tired of everybody being cramped in the ship!” Everyone starts to walk off screen until Tetra talks again. “Except you!” Link is startled by Tetra’s shouting. “Link you need to explore the surrounding area and see what it’s like. We’ll need to keep searching the ocean if this place is just a slightly larger than average island.”
Link sets off on his greatest adventure yet.
It cuts to gameplay of Link exploring a jungle forest. He swings on a vines high in the trees.
Traveling by Land and by Sea!
Link is sailing on the King of Red Lions. He uses the Grappling Hook to haul up a treasure chest.
It cuts to Link opening the chest. The inside glows a bright white that envelops the screen.
Legend of Zelda: Winds of Exploration
2005
Iwata begins talking “What you just saw was a new installment in the Zelda series. A sequel to the Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. In this new adventure Link and Tetra have found a new land to settle in, a new Hyrule. Link’s journey is an exploratory one as he explores this mysterious new land. This new settlement starts only with a few tents but as Link explores the surrounding ocean and the mysterious land inward you will fins the town grow and who knows? Maybe one day it will be a large city!” We hope you are excited for Link’s new adventure. I leave you now with one final trailer.
Shigeru Miyamoto appears on stage via smoke screen wielding the Master Sword and Hylian Shield. Miyamoto begins to talk in English. “I am not Link, but I do know him. Even after 18 years the original Zelda never stops changing, and this game is no different. We are taking you to a world where Link is grown up, a world where he will act different and look different. How about I bring in my friend who is helping me developing this game.” Miyamoto ends his speech and Yuji Naka come s on stage with Bill Trinen.
Yuji Naka begins to talk with Bill translating. “So this project is the result of us at Sonic Team collaborating with Miyamoto at Nintendo EAD. I remember when Miyamoto-san first asked me about making a Zelda game. He said “Naka-kun do you think you can make Link look cool?” and I said “Miya-sama, Link is already cool” But then I said “But I bet I could make him even cooler!” and so that’s how this whole project got started. We internally called it Project Real because we want you to feel immersed in the world of Hyrule as if it were real. Both me and Miyamoto-san are excited for this.” Yuji Naka leaves.
Miyamoto begins to talk again in English. “We hope you enjoyed Nintendo E3 2004 presentation thank you and good bye!” the crowd cheers as Miyamoto does a cool pose with the Master Sword and Hylian Shield before he, Yuji Naka, and Bill Trinen all walk off stage. Ending the Presentation.
