E3 2008 Part 2: Nintendo

Nintendo's show is one that was shrouded in rumor and hearsay, everyone seemed to be expecting big things from them this year, but it looks like Nintendo played it safe with some interesting new devices announced, but little else we didn't already know about.
Those that know me know that I have been a big supporter of Nintendo for as long as I played videogames. So I tend to look forward to the Nintendo conference more than any other. In the end i was not disappointed so much as I felt the show was a bit too dry. Then again the show really wasn't meant for me, it was meant for intriguing the casual crowd and shareholders.
The show opened up with a bit about the new Wii balance board, a device that can sense a subtle shift in the players weight to do some genuinely great stuff, but thus far there hasn't been any games to use the device that really interests me.
In typical Nintendo fashion, they introduced this years pseudo-celebrity to push a new game. this year it was Snowboarding Gold medalist, Shaun White, for the new snowboading game for the Wii baring his name, much like the popular Tony hawk Skateboading games and adequately popular Dave Merra BMX.
It was a nice show, for what it was, but still didn't do much for the hardcore gamers. Skipping ahead we saw all the things we expect from a Nintendo show, most of which are just slide-show sales figures that show just how well the Wii is doing followed by President Iwata's speech on innovation.
One part that kind of caught my eye was more info (ie: actual in game footage) on the new Animal Crossing (City Folk). Along side it we also saw the new voice chat alternative for the Wii, simply called Wii Speak. A device that will be placed on or under the TV and allow for "group chat", meaning everyone in the room will be able to talk to the person/people you're playing online with, rather than having a personal headset.
Given Nintendo's emphasis on having people play together in the same room over online play it makes sense they would use a device like this so that everyone can get in on the game, even if they're not necessarily playing it. Also, it is safe to assume that most (or all) games that use Wii Speak will likely require friend codes to be able to actually talk to each other (like almost any DS game to use the headset).
The other device that Nintendo showed at E3 this year was the new Wii Motion Plus, an accessory that will snap onto the end of the Wii remote (where the nunchuck or classic controller normally connects) and allow for true 1:1 control where the Wii remote will be able to exactly mimic your arm and hand motions in real time.
Along with it they showed the game that will be bundled with the device, Wii Sports Resort. It seems the new Wii sports will have a handful of new minigames based around the beach that include Frisbee, a wave race-like Jet ski game and a sword dueling game, each showing how the 1:1 motion can be used to improve gameplay.
While that was all very cool to see in motion, I have only one complaint about the whole thing. Didn't Nintendo tell us that the Wii remote could already do 1:1 motion two years ago? Now they're telling us we have to go spend another $20+ to get our remote to do what it was designed to do? Will they release a new Wii remote v. 2.0 with the technology built in, or do we need to use the device and make our remotes just a little bulkier? If they don't make a whole new remote will the Motion Plus at least come packaged with remotes in the future as well as coming solo? if we do have to buy them separately, that means the full Wii controller setup will cost upwards of $85-$100 for each controller.
Anyway, all that aside, the new Wii Music game looks like it could be fun, as long as the game doesn't just auto-play itself with you only selecting the tempo and there still is no answer to the Wiis storage dilemma, but overall a decent showing, just not a whole lot to really get me too excited yet. But the week isn't over yet.