E3 2012: Nintendo's WiiU Press Conference

Props to Joaquin for uploading this!

HearMii E3 2012 Special: Nintendo

The gang assembles again to discuss Nintendo's E3 press conference.

Today we have:
Marley,
TheAssailant,
idofriar1313 &
eskimo-bob

Joel McHale likes the 3DS

This is one of the best promotional videos I have ever seen, and it is only being promoted by the best comedic actor to live on planet earth. Hope Joel McHale does more of these videos with Nintendo, and is on stage with Reggie Fils-Aime at E3 2012.

What Do I Think?: Nintendo 3DS

When 3D first started making its push with the Worldwide release and acceptance of Avatar; I was one of those few souls that just swept 3D under the rug and called it a fad. So I find it very ironic of myself doing a review/impressions of Nintendo’s new portable system, the 3DS. Mainly, because I actually like the Nintendo 3DS.

One of the main reasons why I have learned to appreciate the 3DS, is that it has a feature that I wish most 3D movies had; the 3D slider that adjusts the 3D or turns it completely off. Most of my time has been spent with the 3D turned completely off, with the exception of Super Mario 3D Land. I really find it a much more pleasant experience just sitting down and playing a game, rather than playing a game and trying to find the sweet spot in order for the 3D to work. It is rather impossible to play a game with the 3D slider on, and not lose the effect while you’re playing it. It is rather underwhelming when it happens, but not as underwhelming as a Virtual Boy purchase. I am happy to say that you will not go blind from the 3DS.

Secondly, I like the 3DS for each interface and interesting online features. Nintendo has brought the much likeable Wii interface over to the 3DS, but improved on it in many ways. Like the inclusion of multitasking(sort of), and menu icons that appear in 3D on the top screen when you cycle through your applications.

Also the biggest feature they added, and in my personal opinion it gave Nintendo’s online a kick in the right direction, and that is the inclusion of Notifications and Spot Pass. Notifications is actually what it sounds like if you are aware of iOS5, Android, or Windows Phone 7, but if you are living under a rock Notifications will notify you when the applications receive new content. This is a feature that I wish the Wii had, because if the Wii shop channel had a feature like this, then we wouldn’t be hearing about Wiiware developers complaining that no one buys their games. I would not be surprised if I see this feature on the Wii U.

The feature that I haven’t used all that much of however, mainly because of where I live, is the Spot Pass feature. This is quite an interesting concept that many developers are really taking advantage of. The feeling of receiving stuff in a game when you are not playing the game is just quite fascinating, and it makes me want to actually try this when I am in a crowded area of people all using their 3DS systems. This is a feature however I see skyrocketing in Japan, because everyone there rides the public transportation in Japan. 

Overall I really do like the Nintendo 3DS, and I see the potential of this system. Now that the 3DS has stumbled out of the shaky launch window with barely any games. We are beginning to see some great titles like Kid Icarus: Uprising, Super Mario 3D Land, Ocarina of Time 3D, and Resident Evil: Revelations. Can the 3DS keep this lead over the Playstation Vita, or more important Apple? We will see.

KINGDOM HEARTS 3D -Special Trailer-

Animal Crossing 3DS Developer Roundtable

HearMii NY Comic Con: Sonic Generations 3DS Footage

Footage of Sonic Generations from the NY Comic Con show floor.

HearMii NY Comic Con: Mario Kart 3DS Gameplay

Off screen footage from the show floor

Hearmii Will Be At NY Comic Con

I would personally like to announce that HearMii.com will be doing coverage of the NY Comic Con this year at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan. Be sure to check here for constant coverage. NY Comic Con is scheduled for October 13-16. No word yet on what games will be there, but we will keep you people posted. Thanks!

P.S. Any viewers who want to meet one of the HearMii staff who will be attending Comic Con, simply let us know by commenting on this post or shooting us an email. TheAssailant is still unsure if he'll be available then, but I know that I'm going to be there.

Nintendo E3 2011 Press Event

Reggie Speaks to Nintendo Fans on Twitter

EA and Ubisoft E3 2011 Media Briefings Live!

Thanks to Gamespot and Ustream

Pre E3: Metal Gear Solid:Snake Eater 3D- Developer Interview

Does the 3DS Live Up To Its Promise?

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: It's like a window to a whole other universe, and the 3D works amazingly well as long as it's directly in front of you. It takes a couple seconds to adjust your eyes, but after that, it works like a dream. And since conventional 3D with glasses is a problem for me considering the fact I have bad myopia and need prescription glasses, the 3DS earns my highest recommendation and I can't wait until more is revealed about the witchcraft that went into making the 3D effect work without glasses.

Nintendo 3DS Coming March 27th

I can say that the price tag is quite high for a handheld, but the 3DS is going to print money for Nintendo for years to come. I have yet to try this, but I am a little more intrigued on trying this after seeing some of the informational videos; I was completely uninterested with the 3DS at E3 2010. We will see what happens with this system in the future, and stay tuned for some video content from HearMii about the Nintendo 3DS.

Sony Boss Kaz Hirai talks about 3DS

Nintendo caused quite a stir at the E3 gaming expo with its glasses-free Nintendo 3DS. In an interview with Japan's Sankei, Sony Computer Entertainment honcho Kaz Hirai had this to say about the glasses-free 3D tech:

In in-house research, naked eye 3D for portable machines is not high and there are presently limits for it.

Sony has always done this before with Nintendo, but usually later down the line they will release a PSP with 3D capabilities that doesn't have 3D glasses. I really don't think Nintendo has anything to worry about it, they already have their fans hooked on the 3DS, now they just need to sell it.

Source

Resident Evil 3DS Direct Feed Trailer (Real-Time)

So far I am very impressed with what the 3DS can do, but I still haven't really seen this supposedly mind blowing 3D that everyone is going crazy over. Hopefully Nintendo will do a 3DS tour around the country showing off the Nintendo 3DS.

Nintendo 3DS coming to Europe March 2011?

It appears that Nintendo of Europe might have jumped the gun too soon, because they might have announced the Nintendo 3DS release date sooner than expected.  If this rumor is true Europe should have the 3DS in their hands on March 2011, and they will have Paper Mario 3D on March 25th, 2011.

If this release date is true, and Nintendo is sticking to releasing their products last for Europe; then I am predicting that America might get the 3DS in January or December. We will keep you updated as this story continues to develop.

Update: Reggie Fils-Aime said that they are planning on shipping the 3DS to all of their major markets on March 31st, 2011. No details were mentioned about specific release dates, but we  will keep you posted.

Source

3DS Graphics Chip Revealed, Say Hello to the DMP Maestro Pico 200

Ever since the 3DS was announced and we had our first glimpses of the games it could put out with just a few weeks of work, we knew the GPU powering the 3DS would be special.

The DMP Maestro Pico 200 is capable of pushing 15.3M polygons per second, and supports many programmable shader effects as fixed function calls, which simply means it will look really nice in terms of lighting without the performance or power consumption going crazy. Such effects include bump mapping, sub-surface scattering, self-shadowing, per-pixel lighting, refraction mapping, and tessellation, something really only shown in DirectX 11 and OpenGL. In addition, this GPU supports OpenGL|ES 1.1

It's actually quite sad. Nintendo has no experience using such advanced shaders as they simply did not exist in the GameCube or Wii. This is why the MGS 3D tech demo and Super Street Fighter IV 3D look better than Kid Icarus Uprising. I believe this would be the first time 3rd parties are able to make better looking games than Nintendo, but that will never necessarily mean that they will play better/worse.

Here's a couple of videos of the chip in action:






Source - NeoGAF

Iwata talks about 3DS Pricing

One thing that Nintendo didn't reveal was a price for the 3DS. However, the President of Nintendo is talking about a possible price point. This is what he had to say:


"I have to refrain from talking specifically about the price point. What I can confirm is that, in terms of the production costs, it will cost more than the costs for the Nintendo DS today. Having said that, we believe we will produce enough value worthy of the production cost. We do not think we have to sell the products below cost.” -Saturo Iwata

I personally would pay 250 dollars for a 3DS, but anything over that would be a little over doing it. We will keep you updated with this story as it develops.