N-Sider will be viewing and reporting on the conference live. We'll also be updating with reports from AdvancedMN.com, Joystiq.com, and EuroGamer.net. Also, please join us in the N-Sider chat room where Dean is reporting wirelessly from the event.
10:41 - End.
10:41 - Reggie says, future of the industry is about inclusion not exclusion. Future is right here. Wii and DS represent the same thing. Risk. Risk allows progress. We're a company that doesn't run from it. We run to it. We're the disruptor 20 years ago. And we are today. Seeing is just an impression. Playing is believing. Thank you all. We look forward to seeing you on our show floor tomorrow.
10:39 - The Wii remote makes a ball contact sound when tennis ball hits it. Iwata, Reggie, Miyamoto and the AOL winner are on stage playing. Tennis will be playable on the show floor.
10:35 - Reggie returns. There are thousands watching in the audience and many more online. AOL sweepstakes winner gets to go on stage and play Wii. Shigeru Miyamoto and Bill Trinen comes on stage to announce the winner. First I will explain how we'll play, Miyamoto says. Control is simple and inuitive. Even your mom can play. Grip Wii remote like a Tennis racket. I'll explain in Japanese. Toss up and serve. One quick stroke. Fore hand. Back hand. You can swing low to high to hit lobs. Twist the remote as you're swinging for top spin.
10:33 - Iwata continues. Expanding the game audience. Increasing the number of people in any household who are involved with games. Today there are people who play and people who do not. We will help destroy that wall. "Wii can provide anyone with fresh new experiences. Every day there is something new for everyone. Everyday. For Everyone. This is our answer."
10:31 - We must remove several walls to reaching new gamers. New control and virtual console is important. Most important is software these people want to play. What kind of games? WiiSports - Tennis, Golf, and Baseball in one package. Available on launch.
10:28 - As games increased functionilty. Starting time on a game grows longer and longer. I still enjoy games but these days I'm busier than ever. If I have to wait minutes for a game to load sometimes I get frustrated and often I cannot wait. If serious gamers find the delays frustating how can we expect the mass market to wait. The Wii console will also help solve this problem. It can process applications almost as fast as television. Let me describe one more hardware feature. When a console is turned off. We designed our machine to provide a variety of services even when it seems like it's turned off. Wii Connect 24...console automatically enters standby mode. Uses same power of miniature light bulb. This means the Wii console can be constantly connected to the internet. This means developer can give you new weapons, levels even while you sleep. People could visit your Animal Crossing village while you're away. Other developers will design their games so players can receive information. Networking software is included in the hardware.
10:27 - Wii controller breaks down barriers. It's comfortable. In addition, lapsed gamers have memory of games they played. Virtual Console will bring them together again. It also act as laboratory for simple games. Business model of Virtual Console and Wii Remote, maybe a game like Tetris can be feasible again.
10:25 - In order to approach former gamers and non-gamers. Logical solution is to reinvent relationship between player and game. Game controller interface. We believe this approach can appeal to much broader audience. Also excite core gamers. Core gamers always represent our most important audience. First implementation Nintendo DS. Like many disruptions at first it confused people. But these people began to understand as they pet their puppies with the stylus. Next in Japan we launched the Brain Games...played by million of people who never played before. Many thought these people were impossible to reach. Now trend reach to Western world. How do we continue this strategy with Wii?
10:22 - Satoru Iwata, Nintendo president, arrives on stage. Thank you and good morning. When I became nintendo president we decided on new goal for company. Expanding number of people playing games. Target current games and two different types of consumers. Those that once played and lost interest and those that never played before.
10:20 - Chat over voice-over IP in new Tony Hawk downhill racing. zelda: Phantom Hourglass picks up where Wind Waker left off using DS touch screen. 100 new games for Nintendo DS between now and end of the year. Mario Hoops 3 on 3, Star Fox DS, New Super Mario Bros., Elite Beat Agents, Yoshi's Island 2, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Diddy Kong Racing, Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Big Brain Academy, Mario vs DK: March of the Minis.
10:18 - Pokemon Blue Mystery Dungeon for Nintendo DS and Red for GBA. New DS games on teh way including Yoshi, Star Fox and Diddy Kong Racing, Final Fantasy III, Wario.
10:18 - We've given you a promise. No matter who you are, retailer, gamer, etc. Wii will make it better. DS launched at end of 2004. Did well. Then PSP arrived. Some questioned if we were up to the challenge. It became clear that it was about the games. DS delivered things people had never seen before. Nintendogs, Wi-Fi play. DS has sold 16 million units worldwide. Growing momentum. First came Nintendogs, 13 million copies sold worldwide. Then we launched Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Easy and Free is a pretty persuasive answer. 1.3 million Wi-Fi connections so far. 40 million play sessions. In less than half a year. First Brain Game launched in North America. Has sold 5 million in Japan. Too soon to say our success but we're expect it to. Touch Generations furthered with Sudoku, etc. Nintendo DS Lite arrives in America in a couple weeks. If Japan is any indication, it will be even more popular.
10:14 - Nintendo DS. George Harrison arrives on the stage.
10:14 - Sword fighting in Red Steel. You use both your right and left hand to block and hit. Ubisoft leaves the stage. Playable at Nintendo booth tomorrow.
10:08 - Ubisoft France appears on stage to talk about Red Steel. Destrucible environments. Looks beautiful. Lots of explosions, flashy graphics. Game will feature a variety of weapons. Enemies are smart. Will hide themselves and go for cover, and try to control the situation. The guy playing it looks like he's having fun. You can slow down time to better aim at your enemies. You can tell people to duck and cover by pulling the Wii remote down.
10:07 - Joystiq says, Super Mario Galaxy image, Zelda image
10:06 - When Sega saw new control system, said it's time to put Sonic. Square Enix exclusive Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. Looks very nice. EA's Madden football, with freehand control reinvents everything from pass, etc. Activision's Tony Hawk Downhill Jam. Rayman. Wait till you see him with Wii. THQ's Spongebob also gets the makeover he deserves with Wii control. You'll be playing 27 different Wii games tomorrow on the show floor and seeing even more on the show floor. Doesn't include any Virtual Console titles.
10:03 - "Metroid Prime 3: Corruption". It's a new Metroid and the most intuitive first person shooter ever. "Super Mario Galaxy". Uses free hand control gives Mario moves he's never had before. Grad on to shooting stars with a pointer and skip along the stratosphere. We're also hard at word on new franchises. Three early previews. "Excite Truck". Now you're holding a steering wheel of a big damn truck. "Project H.A.M.M.E.R". Swing controller to to beat enemies. "Disaster". Come feel the panic and bring disaster under your control. Big wave crashes against a city.
10:02 - Reggie returns to stage. GameCube owners will still be able to play Zelda. Two different versions in North America. One for GameCube and one for Wii.
10:01 - We don't want to spoil everything for ya. We don't want to show what's behind that door. On the show floor you'll be able to kick back lakeside and enjoy your own fishing.
10:00 - Link's boots can lift you up with magnetization. Lets see what else do we have to show ya. Quick rotation for a spin attack on the nunchuck. Stab down with the nunchuck for a finishing move on enemies.
9:59 - Showing you today is a single stripped down version of a single dungeon. Nate is getting is butt kicked. Pick up crates with A button. Throw with a quick wave of the Wii remote.
9:58 - With bow, Wii remote allows depth of sound. Built into Wii remote is a speaker. You hear bow string drawn taught. Hear arrow and sound of arrow flying through the air. Developers already have a lot of ideas how to take advantage of this feature. Using motion sensing of Wii remote. You feel the impact of this with a built in rumble feature.
9:57 - Navi is in Wii version. Fairy indicates where you're pointing with Wii controller. Access menu and select items with Wii. Battle. Sword swings use B button. Not all enemies within reach so you'll have to use Link's bow. Bow is aimed using pointer on Wii remote.
9:55 - Nate Bilhdorff and Bill Trinen come on stage to debut Twilight Princess on Wii.
9:55 - new Zelda is best Zelda game Nintendo has ever made. It's breaking precedent. First Zelda game on launch day alongside a new Nintendo system.
9:52 - We can't wait to show you what's on the way (games). Metroid Prime 3. Samus kicks some booty. Dragonball. Dragon Quest Swords. Fire Emblem, Nintendo. Spongebob squarepans. THQ racing game. Super Mario Galaxy. SD Gumdam G Breaker, Tony Hawk Downhill, Koei samurai title, Spike title, Race Track Nintendo title. Elebits, Konami. Red Steel, Ubisoft. Rayman, Ubisoft. Pangya Golf, Tecmo. Sonic Wild Fire ,Sega. Project Hammer, Nitendo. Horse Game . One Piece. Madden, EA. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Square Enix. Legend of zelda: Twilight Princess. Wow, these games looked beautiful.
9:49 - Thanks to everyone who wrote good things about Wii the day you heard it. The two of you. Ikea, Google...sounded strange first too. Change is good. Wii from Nintendo sounds like inclusion. Sound of every gamer and every new gamer that will join us. It's the sound of the future.
9:49 - This week everyone will feel our answer. Date and price, details will remain quiet for just a bit longer. We will give you more fun for less money and you will be playing Wii in fourth quarter of 2006.
9:48 - Over the years our industry has come to expect progress simply by what's on the screen. Many recall Super Mario 64 in 1996 when it jumped to life in 3D. That leap to revolutionary form of gaming wasn't really about the looks. Even then it was about the feel. Moving your character in any direction in real-time. The memory of that moment was also the starting point for Wii.
9:48 - Joystiq says, Racing Game Image
9:47 - Know people who've never read a book, movie, etc. Know people who've never played a video game? Probably, how can this be if we want to see ourselves as a true mass medium. This has to change. Change begins here.
9:46 - Text "2006" appears on teh screen. Reggie begins talking about. We pulled curtain back on Nintendo DS in 2003. People said, "Huh". At E3 last year Nintendo showed Nintendogs. People said, "Really?" Then last year people said, "We'll see". Well today you'll see. Welcome to next step in gaming. We have answers to some questions but deliberately not all. Not to fill left brain with information but jolt your right brain with inspiration.
9:45 - Zelda: Twilight Princess with the wiimote. Fishing.
9:44 - Now a pinp pong game. Now a Wario Ware game announced by Time earlier this week. Many mini-games using Wii controller. Now a new baseball game.
9:43 - Young Japanese boy plays a new flying game. A man plays Metroid Prime 3. Looks improved over Prime 2 somewhat. He's walking through the spaceship and shooting enemies. Now in morph ball.
9:43 - Racing rally game is shown again, People on the couch playing. Mario! Mario flys through the sky. Now he's climbing a mountain. Now being chased by a ball and bombs. Jumping and flying. Big octopus boss. Mario throws stuff at him.
9:41 - Now people playing a tennis Wii game. One announced by Time earlier this week. Now a woman playing golf Wii game. Now a group of people conducting music.
9:41 - Wii video showing i's jumping across the screen. Four Wii contorller held by two players playing the drum.
9:41 - Gaming is about everyone. It's not about what you see. Because what you see is not always what you get. The next leap is about playing. Because playing is believing.
9:40 - Miyamoto shows off the Wii controller. He walks off stage. Reggie appear. You came to LA this week to peak into the future. What you will see from Nintendo is not just next, it's absolutely new.
9:38 - On screen a group of musicians perform the Zelda theme music while Miyamoto waves his conductor hands, grasping the Wii controller. The audience applauses. New racing game appears on screen. Rock music play sin teh background. Nate Bihldorff plays. Now Red Steel on screen. Slashing the opponent with Wii controller.
9:37 - Conference is starting. Miyamoto walks onto stage it a bow tie and suit. Conducts Zelda music with a Wii controller and game.
9:35 - IGN says, Red Steel Hands-On
9:31 - Eurogamer says, Its looking like theyre actually going to start on time. Were being clandestine with our laptops. Tom may well get violent if they try to throw him out, though, so keep an eye out for Nintendo security brutality footage on EGTV later.
9:31 - AdvancedMN says, It appears that Nintendo, like Sony, won't be starting its media briefing on time. We're still waiting. Please note - if you reload the page, it may take a while to load due to the high traffic. Hitting the reload button again will only make the site slower for yourself and everyone else.
9:31 - Joystiq says, Image of Kodak Theater Ceiling
9:28 - Joystiq says, Here's the layout -- yellow and blue ticket holders were sent to the third and fourth floors of the theater. Green tickets are on the second level. On the ground floor, those with red tickets (Mushroom Kingdom) are holding court.
9:27 - Eurogamer says, "The programme will begin promptly at 9.30," apparently. Theyre still telling us to turn off laptops and so on - our best guess is that theyre worried that too many devices running in the hall will mess up their wireless controllers. Back in the UK, though, Marks best guess is that Miyamoto is actually a Bluetooth-controlled robot who has been masquerading as him ever since the real thing died in a freak cosplay accident. I think we all know the truth of this.
9:26 - Joystiq says, Image of Kodak Theater
9:23 - Joystiq says, We've been informed that the program will start promptly at 9.30 am PST, right on time.
9:20 - AdvancedMN says, Once again, we are all waiting for the media briefing to start. 10 minutes to go. Hopefully this conference will start on time. This page will be the place to get the latest updates, with information being put up as it is announced. Detailed reports will follow from both our reporters around the world and our team in Los Angeles.
9:20 - EuroGamer says, Everyones filing into the giant, tiered Kodak Theatre. Slowly, but a bit more freely than we experienced at Sony yesterday. Nintendo just issued a command over the PA that people turn off laptops, wireless and Bluetooth devices before the conference. This could be interesting! Not to worry, though - theres always the high-tech solution of putting our laptops under our coats while updating.
9:20 - Techno music continues to fill the hall. We await Reggie patiently...
9:06 - AdvancedMN says, We're less than a half hour from the media briefing. It's rumored that Mario may make an appearance. In other news, Nintendo's got a nice techno beat playing for the members of the media in attendance.
9:05 - Joystiq says, Still waiting ... no word yet when the delays will end and we can get seated but they have some video feeds in the hall and it looks like it shouldn't be long. Looks like Microsoft is going to have delays of their own, being that almost all of the press here is going to head over.
9:05 - GAF says, Man Standing outside Kodak Theater
9:04 - N-Sider's Dean says, "The conference is beautiful. We're taking pics right now. Conference starts in 20 minutes!"
9:00 - N-Sider's Dean says, "We're here and we're in the front row."
8:47 - Joystiq says, We're in, standing in holding. They've admitted us to the teater but they're not yet seating. More to come.
8:45 - AdvancedMN says, We have just learned that we can expect to see some sort of new Star Wars game unveiled at the press conference. There are 45 minutes to go. After the conference look for more detailed reporting as well as video and images of the games shown.
8:25 - Joystiq says, The crowd's obviously getting a little anxious. We're just a few of minutes away now. EV-DO is a little spotty, but it's holding up.
8:29 - Joystiq says, We're shuffling in now, about to find our seats. Stay tuned as we get prepped and ready to liveblog.
8:13 - AdvancedMN says, The Nintendo press conference is less than 90 minutes away. Our team in Los Angeles should be getting seated soon, and from there we'll be bringing you the latest information as it happens. We'll also be publishing more detailed reports on the various Advanced Media Network sites. Once the conference starts, just reload this page every few minutes for the latest details. We're hoping that the site will stay up, but it is possible that we will have a slowdown and possible downtime with the high traffic expected.
8:05 - Joystiq says, We're live at the Kodak Theater in downtown Hollywood, it's the usual who's-who of the videogame journalism world. We actually just saw Miyamoto cruising around amongst the herd, but we heard he vanished down a warp pipe."