N-Philes

E3 is in less than two weeks. Companies have started to draw attention to their name with all kinds of pre-E3 announcements. Game magazines and prominent web celebrities are starting to roll out all kinds of next-gen Nintendo features and thoughts (with much enthusiasm I must add). The most significant announcement, of course, needs no more than three characters: Wii.

Love it, hate it, accept it, or deny it, Nintendo announced that the system that has surprised us with every glimpse, the Nintendo Revolution, is officially called "Wii". What sorts of ramifications has this had? Matt Casamassina now works for IGN Wii, Nintendo fans from the UK (especially) are pissed off, Revolution Report has to think how Wii Report sounds, and the Wildlife Institute of India has lost all hopes at retaining the top search result on Google.

But there were so many other Nintendo-related developments that came to light this month into which fans can funnel their energy. Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Madden, Super Monkey Ball, Elebits, SpongeBob, Avatar, Dragon Ball Z, Tony Hawk: Downhill Jam, Red Steel, a new Nintendo racing game, and a Hudson flight game were all announced for Wii, with strong rumors flying about Mark Ecko's Getting Up and a new NiGHTS game mmking an appearance. Every one of these games are third party (save the Nintendo racer), and every one of them will make good use of the Wii-mote. Cubaholics can experience Tomb Raider Legend, Lara Croft's debut on a Nintendo home console, in the near future. DS and GBA aficionados will also get to take Lara Croft further than anyone did with an N-Gage, play Meteos Disney-style, King of Fighters, Eragon, Top Gear, and soon enough, Final Fantasy III, V, and VI. Our frothing demand for E3 announcements is increasing.

And IGN confirmed that the nunchuck attachment for the Wiimote can also detect motion.

Of course, gamers do more than just complain in forums, beat Wii jokes to death, and seek out the newest pre-E3 announcements... they also play games! Micro owners saw a pretty sad Game Boy line-up in April, what with 2006 FIFA World Cup headlining, with Dr. Sudoku, Disney's The Wild and Cabbage Patch Kids: The Patch Puppy Rescue starring as the opening acts. The GameCube did slightly better, with FIFA World Cup, Major League Baseball 2K6, Rampage: Total Destruction, and Nintendo's Odama. Arguably the best line-up (as always) was on the Nintendo DS. Brain Age was the only first-party offering, with FIFA World Cup, the Wi-Fi compatible Lost Magic, Guilty Gear: Dust Strikers, Top Gun, and Blades of Thunder 2 supporting all those young brains out there.

The GameCube in Japan is deader than it is in the North America. Odama was the only title that shipped for the GC in Japan! Luckily their handheld support is far better. Mother 3, the newest entry in the Earthbound series, was finally released for the Game Boy Advance, whose only other title for April was a puzzle game from Success. Important DS releases included The Legend of Stafi 4, Chinese Character Rachi Dictionary, five versions of Travel Conversation Notebook DS, Tetris DS, Naruto DS, Osawari Tantei Ozawa Rina, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

European gamers also managed a few releases, like Trauma Center: Under the Knife, Tetris DS, and Mega Man Battle Network 5 DS, and Polarium Advance for the GBA.

Overall Comments: April was an exciting month for those who closely follow Nintendo, as more and more information about Wii (the Wii?) was revealed. Motion-sensing nunchuck, solid support with exclusive titles or features from EA, Activision, Ubisoft, Konami, and Sega, and of course the name of the console itself. And as we all know, these exciting developments are just, pardon the cliché, the calm before the storm that is E3.

A Month in Preview: May 2006

Does this really need to be longer than two characters? E3. The Electronic Entertainment Expo kicks off May 8th with Sony's press conference, with Nintendo and Microsoft's respective conferences hitting on the morning of May 9. Through May 12, the internet will be a smorgasbord of event coverage. Expect big things, as this could be the absolute biggest (or most disappointing) E3 ever.

N-Philes will have first-hand coverage with our dedicated, and gigantic, E3 team. Also expect a few changes around here, such as a stripped-down main page for the duration of the event and a revamp of our blog system, both of which will be constantly updated with impressions, media, and more throughout the show. Afterwards, kick back as we wrap up E3 with N-Philes-style features, including interviews from some industry players.

Game-wise, don't expect much beyond Over the Hedge and X-Men: The Official Game (because the other ones weren't official, right?). Oh yeah, and New Super Mario Bros.!