Nintendo: 5 best E3 moments
5th Jun 2011 | 16:00
To round-off our best of E3 series we're looking at the most creative and innovative platform holder of the three, Nintendo.
It's a funny one because, Ninty's most impressive bits aren't necessarily gob-smacking "didn't see that coming" moments, but it has made some of the most important announcements from the E3 stage ever.
Here are our favourites from Nintendo. Don't forget to give us yours.
Wii-VOLUTION
This was Nintendo doing what Nintendo does best; innovative, creative... stuff.
Although not a darling across the whole of the hardcore market, the Nintendo Wii has been phenomenally successful and can be considered a major catalyst for everyone in the world becoming a gamer in some respect.
From nine-year-old kids to ninety-year-old grans, the Wii dragged the whole family to gaming.
In 2005, Iwata pulled a little black box from behind his back and labelled it a revolution. It might have been a standard definition revolution but he was right, it was a revolution nonetheless.
You only need to look at how much the HD platform holders have embraced the mass-market catching motion control to see how the Wii changed the face of gaming and it did so at E3 2005.
SUPER SMASH BROS BRAWL GETS SNAKE
The video that revealed Metal Gear Solid's Snake as a newcomer to Super Smash Brothers Brawl was a mix of Nintendo's amazing ability to hype up fans like no other company and Konami's brilliant willingness to put its tongue firmly in cheek.
Not only was Snake introduced to excited applause with the iconic codec but it turned out that he'd actually been in the Super Smash Bros world for some time.
Revealing Snake to be on a reconnaissance mission during one of the brawls, spying on potential opponents from his trademark box, was a lovely example of comedic execution. Perfectly timed and perfectly pitched.
N64 and MARIO 64
We're going back all the way to 1996 here, when E3 was only in its second year, and it's a two in one for Nintendo.
Not only did E3 1996 host the unveiling of the N64 but - to demonstrates the console's ability - Mario 64 was also gifted to the world for the first time.
One of Nintendo's most popular consoles was showing one of its most popular games, it's iconic in a way that those present 15 years ago wouldn't have realised at the time.
You only need to look at the presentation itself to see that it was a big deal, not because of the usual cheering and crying but because of what was happening on the screen. If we were to squint slightly, we'd have to say Super Mario 64 still looks pretty good today considering its age.
The very fact that the demonstrator has to explain how to move the camera in a 3D world and lists "many moves" and being "able to change to a different view" as a feature, just goes to show the kind of significance Mario 64 had - this was Nintendo's greatest franchise brought into a 3D world for the first time and it would go on to be described as a great success by critics.
The N64 and especially Super Mario 64 showcased beautiful cutting-edge scenes and this is one of our greatest E3 moments because of it.
THIS IS THE 3DS
We always like a bit of Reggie on stage. Auto-ten points.
But, much like the unveiling of the Wii, the arrival of the 3DS in 2010 was more about the significance of what was going on more than its spectacle.
It was another example of Nintendo doing that innovation thing. It represented, once again, the platform holder's willingness to delve into unknown technological territory and pull it off.
We were impressed with the 3DS hardware (we still are) but it perhaps hasn't taken off as Ninty would have liked.
That's a software issue more than anything and we don't think (as far as this feature is concerned) it should take away from the importance of the hardware reveal itself.
At the time, it felt like Nintendo had done it again, it had changed the gaming agenda. Who knows? Maybe the 3DS will pull through with more support at this year's E3.
BEST CROWD REACTION EVER
The reveal of Zelda Twilight Princess will be engraved in the memories of every Nintendo fan until humans no longer walk the Earth.
Fine, that might be an exaggeration but it certainly still sits very snugly in our minds. It wasn't just the gorgeous trailer, it wasn't even all about Miyamoto's 'shouldn't be cool but somehow is' sword-wielding entrance.
The thing that made the arrival of Zelda: Twilight Princess so special was the spontaneous eruption of 2004's E3 audience and their whoops of joy at every given opportunity.
It's best if you see for yourself: