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Peach and Zelda come down with a case of Stockholm Syndrome
Even outside of being recognizable and beloved Nintendo royalty, Peach and Zelda have a lot in common: They've both grown quite contemptuous of their heroic better halves. In their defense, we can't imagine living without central air, either. It's the little things in life, people.
Play a lot of new Nintendo games at GamesCom
Nintendo announced its lineup for this month's GamesCom event (August 18-22). Finally, those of you attending the convention in Cologne will have something to do there! And that something is "see Charles Martinet." Or, you know, play The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Metroid: Other M, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Wii Party, Professor Layton and the Lost Future, Tetris Party Deluxe, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, Kirby's Epic Yarn, Art Academy, and Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Miniland Mayhem. If Mr. Martinet is busy. Nintendo is showing pretty much its whole E3 lineup, with the exception of Mario Sports Mix.
Existence of a secret master timeline for the Zelda universe confirmed
First and foremost, that headline is the most skin-crawlingly nerdy thing we've ever committed to virtual paper, and we write about video games professionally on a daily basis. Moving on. In an interview with Official Nintendo Magazine (as transcribed by ZeldaDungeon), Eiji Aonuma commented on the placement of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword in the oft-speculated timeline of the franchise. More notable than the game's positioning was Aonuma's confirmation of an overarching Zelda timeline -- though he explained that it's a "confidential document" to which only "myself, Mr. Miyamoto and the director of the title" have access. Aonuma revealed that Skyward Sword comes before Ocarina of Time in said timeline, but wouldn't comment on whether it's the first game in the chronological series. He explained, "for us to add titles to the series, we have to have a way of putting the titles before or after each other," hence the secrecy. That makes sense -- as long as they're all comfortable with the swirling, black morass of insanity that's surfaced due to their reticence.
EEDAR releases preliminary E3 interest stats
Electronic Entertainment Design and Research (EEDAR) has released a report listing various attention metrics from gamers from two sites, GameTrailers and IGN.com, regarding the most "popular" titles from E3. We put "popular" in quotes there because these stats are for things like trailer streaming and page views rather than a scientific survey -- this is a general feel of the zeitgeist on these two specific sites rather than a comprehensive view of what gamers thought of E3. But there are interesting things to note even in this limited set of stats, especially when you compare it to our own anecdotal show floor and "chatter" data from you commenters. We heard from quite a few of you during the show that Nintendo's press conference was the most popular event, and this list agrees. Likewise, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword was one of the most popular titles on the show floor, and there's no shortage of Link representation here. Kirby's Epic Yarn is probably the biggest unannounced-before E3 title on the lists, and Marvel vs. Capcom 3 captured a lot of attention -- not much was revealed at the show itself, but it was placed front and center on the floor of the West Hall. At the same time, there are some weird conclusions here. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, an expansion which didn't even make an appearance at E3, registered in the top 20 in the GameTrailers stats and Red Dead Redemption, a game that's already out, picked up spot No. 8 on IGN's Page Views list of big E3 titles. EEDAR also notes that the Nintendo 3DS didn't rank on any of these lists, but given the lines at the Nintendo booth to see it, the new handheld garnered plenty of attention. So you can't really bank on these titles yet. But if you're interested, you can check out EEDAR's top 10 in each category after the break.
Visual overload: Nintendo's E3 Wii lineup
Nintendo brought most of its franchises back into active duty this year (sorry, Clu Clu Land!), flooding its upcoming Wii lineup with new games starring familiar characters. We've collected all the screenshots and trailers we had yet to post from Nintendo's crowded slate of Wii releases, along with ones you may have missed during our E3 coverage earlier this week. Clear your cache in anticipation of some serious video streaming, and join us after the break to see footage and screens of Donkey Kong Country Returns, Kirby's Epic Yarn, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and more.
Preview: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Nintendo may be looking to shake things up with The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, in terms of visuals and interface, but in every other way, the demo I played at Nintendo's E3 booth was the same Zelda we've seen for twelve years, with some hints of bigger changes behind the curtain that couldn't quite be discerned from where I was.
Zelda: Skyward Sword trailer is eye-meltingly colorful
We know it's hard for you to stay excited about the new Zelda when the remake of the best Zelda was just teased -- nevertheless, the debut gameplay trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is waiting for you just past the jump. Check out the Twilight Princess-meets-Wind Waker aesthetics, and witness some of the new tools of Link's trade. Which is, of course, Ganon-slaying. You can look forward to the write-up of our hands-on time with Skyward Sword later this week.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword revealed and detailed
As promised by Cammie earlier this year, Nintendo's E3 press conference brought the first solid details on the next installment in the Legend of Zelda franchise, subtitled Skyward Sword. The brief trailer for the game shown during the Nintendo E3 press conference featured far more vivid visuals than those of Twilight Princess, but with a very similar UI. It also features a new control scheme, which uses the MotionPlus peripheral for more direct swordplay, and the Nunchuck for more direct ... shieldplay. There's no actual aiming the game's ranged tools using the WiiMote pointer -- everything appears to be motion-based. Unfortunately, the press conference tech demo seems to be experiencing some "technical difficulties." Hopefully we'll have better luck when we try the game out on the E3 show floor. New items (which appear on a new radial menu) include a remote-controlled beetle, which you can use to collect faraway objects, and a whip, which you ... can use to collect faraway items. Man, Link has gotten really lazy, hasn't he? Miyamoto announced that the game will be available next year, at which point Link's stationary lifestyle should have transformed the typically lean hero into a slovenly mess.
