Our keynote reactions: Let us tell you them [update]
Eric Caoili: Unlike last year's E3 press conference -- in which titles like Yoshi's Island 2, Star Fox Command, and Elite Beat Agents were debuted -- there wasn't much new software shown for the DS at today's event that'd make us throw our arms up in celebration.
Seeing The Hylia's Mike "TSA" Damiani take the stage to demonstrate The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass brought a smile to our faces, but there wasn't anything demonstrated that we haven't already seen in previews or import impressions. Though casual titles made an appearance, the only items that perked our brows were Vision Training's US localization and hints of Cooking Navi receiving the same treatment. Disappointment-ton? That's what it looks to be, so far.
JC Fletcher: The best part of the DS coverage, I thought, was when Iwata started talking about Cooking Navi. But it turns out not to have been an announcement; he just really likes Cooking Navi.
The whole DS presentation was like that: underwhelming. Reggie mentioned Brain Age 2 for a fraction of the time he should have spent talking about it. Nintendo really undersells that here. Even when he said that it outsold Brain Age in Japan, that's not telling the story. It outsold most things in Japan. It was enormous, and it was just a footnote over here. Baffling.
Meanwhile, an unproven nongame is the focus of Nintendo's Wii presentation and massive hype. Not really presenting a unified front, are they?
David Hinkle: Things didn't go so well for Nintendo during the keynote and especially for DS fans. They focused heavily on the Wii, which sucks for us because we wanted to see more. Phantom Hourglass? There are plenty of videos of that game already, seeing as how it was already released in Japan.
Aside from that, no new colors for us. No software outside of a small mention of Brain Age 2. And Vision Training coming to the U.S. was good news, but what about Cooking Navi? Overall, I concur with my colleagues. I was underwhelmed.
Alisha Karabinus: Sorry, guys, better late than never. While you were all sweating out and waiting for DS announcements that didn't come, I was suffering at the dentist. So even if you're underwhelmed by the keynote, I promise you had a better time than I did!
As a serious DS devotee, I am disappointed at the lack of DS news. Brain Age 2, Phantom Hourglass ... these are great, and I will buy them both and hug them and squeeze them and all, but where's the new stuff? Just because the DS outsells everything but food doesn't mean we only want to hear about the Wii. That tide can turn. Throw us a bone here, guys! Where are our colors? Where are our new games? Where's my Cooking Navi? As a cooking enthusiast, I have lusted over that forever and it only gets namedropped? Lame. But hey, it's a Nintendo keynote, so frankly, I can't say I expected anything else. Reggie and co. are great to watch when they're doing their thing, but the information is often a little thin. Maybe we'll see some cool DS announcements over the rest of the show. Maybe.
[Update: Added statements from Latey McTardypants (Alisha).]
