Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2011

[Xytox]

Oh, well, that makes it much better actually. And I think they'd make a great couple! It would be a combination of awesome graphics and awesome gameplay.

[Midnaroxursox]

Yeah, but there isnt the movement factor anymore.

[Kcired]

Rest of these are spoilered as to not clutter the thread.

Blue weird guy

Do I have enough eye liner?

Ho-oh uses aerial ace

If fyrus were a bug

A skulltula learns to wear shoes

I bleed squares

Thundercats ho!

What is that thing in the background?

Peter Pan fights Skeletor

[Nevermore]

Yeah, but there isnt the movement factor anymore.

Not true. The Wii U will use a similar system to the 3DS'. The controllers also have a gyroscope built into them. Like I said: they're still compatible with every Wii game and accessory. Nintendo themselves have confirmed this.

As for the mysterious white figure with tons of eyeliner: I'm not sure if anyone saw the Skyward Sword trailer that they showed at the Game Developers' Conference, but he also appeared there as well. However, he disappeared in a few seconds in...a cloud of squares, albeit white ones, not dissimilar to Zant or Midna. Could he possibly be an ancestor of the Twili?

I also think it's worth noting that the land of Hyrule has specifically been called, at this point chronologically, by Nintendo as 'the underworld.' I suppose that would indeed make Skyloft the 'heavens' (or heavenly place). Anyone getting vaguely reminded of Impaz's story from Twilight Princess? I'm sure it's not a coincidence...

[Xytox]

One thing I like to add is that he has some similarities to Vaati from Minish Cap. Just for fun, no theories from me on that part. I don't like to think that he's a minish or something.

[Kcired]

Some text from the Skyward Sword 'fact sheet', which I don't know what that means exactly, but it looks like a magazine ad or article. Most of this stuff you probably know by now, but it's a good read.

• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword boasts the most realistic sword combat of any
game to date, turning every encounter into a challenge of both brains and brawn. Wii
MotionPlus technology accurately translates the angle of every sword slice, effectively
putting Link’s blade in the player’s hand. Analyzing enemy attack and defense
tendencies and counteracting with precise swings of the sword provide a satisfying
experience that blends puzzle-solving with a new and distinctly unique combat system.

• Explore a massive, multilayered world that seamlessly blends soaring exploration in a
sea of clouds with intense ground-based adventuring that blurs the line between the
main world and traditional Zelda dungeons. Link™ soars through the skies on the back
of a noble bird and dives beneath the clouds to the continent below in an epic quest
that lays the foundation for the events in the critically acclaimed The Legend of Zelda:
Ocarina of Time.

• Prepare for intense puzzle-solving as only The Legend of Zelda games can deliver.
Exploration of the forests, volcanoes and deserts requires players to think on their feet
as they solve puzzles, overcome obstacles and escape deadly traps. Once they find
their way to each dungeon, they are confronted by even more puzzles guarded by
fiendish enemies.

• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword redefines the traditional Zelda framework and
introduces an arsenal of items, upgrades and rewards unlike any game in the franchise
to date. The adventure guides players into, out of and back to dungeons and areas
they’ve already completed. Along the way, Link gathers a massive inventory of peculiar
items and resources that can be used to upgrade many of his weapons and equipment.

E3 Trailer 2011


Demo:


Interesting notes:
- You can collect ingredients to upgrade weapons apparently
- You can run for a limited time, it looks to be quite fast.
- Enemies will actively block, or dodge in certain directions

I'm under the impression the Wii U is merely an upgrade and nothing entirely new. It's like when Nintendo released their Nintendo DSi XL. There was significant hype over the DSi because it had more bells and whistles compared to the DSL and DS Phat. This is what their pulling with the Wii U. They will have Wii U exclusive games, but have Wii compatibility, similar to the DSi. Also, The CPU unit looks like a rehashed Wii, though I suppose that is expected given the name is "Wii U". I was honestly hoping for a revolutionary system built from scratch. While I do appreciate the brilliant idea of alternate viewing options, the process is nothing different from when Nintendo released the DSi (XL).

Reading about all this puzzle solving, I hope it's better then Twilight Princess's. As much as I loved the game, I found no real mind bending puzzles on it. All too easy. I love good puzzles, so....

[Nevermore]

Snip

If the Wii U was not intended to be a sucessor to the Wii, Nintendo would have announced it as such. However, they haven't. The Wii U is an entirely new platform. They announced all the other DS's as, essentially, the same console just with, as you noted, slightly more features. Unless Miyamoto, Fils-Aime and Iwata are all keeping the notion a secret, it's its own brand new thing.

Being able to play Wii games isn't honestly an indication of anything. It's like saying the Wii is another version of the GameCube (which, if we're simply going by CPUs, basically is, on a technical level) because it can play GameCube titles. It isn't. So obviously, the Wii U's architecture is going to be somewhat similar to allow that backwards compatibility. Really, it's a marketing move on Nintendo's part to ensure that sales of the Wii will continue for a while into the Wii U's life cycle and then they can eventually pull the plug on it because, hey, I can play and use my Wii stuff on this new fangled system.

How successfully this will work is up for speculation and we'll just have to see, of course.

Edit: The Wii U's processor is also based on super computer technology, or so another post on Zelda Informer says (having an IBM Power-based multicore processor); found here: http://www.zeldainformer.com/2011/06/loads-of-wii-u-information.html)

Not to mention, this rendering demo done in real time:


It's more powerful than the PS3, currently...

[Kcired]

Got some concept art for SS, there's probably a lot more floating around out there.

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/2565 ... 852475.jpg