EA has announced via a press release that its E3 2013 press conference will take place on Monday, June 10th. The event will start at 1pm PT and promises plenty of surprises. Ubisoft confirmed earlier this month that its press conference will take place on the same day, but a time has yet to be announced.
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has revealed that as the company prepares itself for E3, the pace of software launches for Wii U will dramatically increase. Fils-Aime understands that the pace of software launches on Wii U have been slower than the company expected, but he’s been assured that the situation will be resolved.
“What I would say about Wii U – and what Mr. Iwata has said – is that the pace of launches has been slower than we hoped. But as we prepare for E3, the pace of launches for Wii U is going to dramatically increase.”
The Legend of Zelda Symphony of the Goddesses concert tour organisers have announced that the captivating show will be returning to Los Angeles during E3 on June 12th. The concert will once again return to The Greek Theatre and is being conducted by Eímear Noone. The tour will be composed of “old favourites” as well as promising “new surprises”. Tickets for the Los Angeles show will go on sale on Saturday, April 13 at 10 a.m. PT. You can purchase them through The Greek Theatre’s box office and all Ticket Master outlets.
Agatsuma Entertainment has announced plans to release Sayonara (Farewell) Umihara Kawase overseas. The platformer, featuring a 19-year-old Japanese girl who wears school uniform and carries a pink rucksack, was originally released on the SNES in 1994 and since then has spun many sequels. The Nintendo 3DS version sees a number of playable characters including the now 20-year-old Umihara Kawase, her kid double, her future descendant Yokoyama who is able to bend time, and her childhood friend Emiko who can restart various levels.
Speaking about an overseas release, Agatsuma’s general manager Rica Kuno Matsumura said: “Yes, we are planning to release [Farewell] Umihara Kawase in future, but not fixed anything yet. Maybe we will discuss during E3 with other new titles?” Sayonara Umihara Kawase is set to release in Japan this summer.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata told viewers of today’s Nintendo Direct presentation that while Smash Bros is a huge undertaking by the company, they intend to show off some screenshots of the game during this years E3 event in June. Iwata asked Nintendo fans to be patient regarding release details and trailers for the game which is due to be released on both Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.
“Smash Bros is a huge development undertaking and we need more time before it launches. Mr Sakurai told us that we have set the timing for the first screens at this year’s E3. Please wait for just a little longer.”
Nintendo UK’s James Honewell told Official Nintendo Magazine that there will be plenty of fantastic Wii U titles released in 2013. Honewell also said he’s certain that this year’s E3 will be a great show.
“As well as a strong launch line up, we’ve also got a really strong Q1. We’ve got a lot of fantastic titles – Monster Hunter, Ninja Gaiden, Sing Party, fantastic titles for everyone. And beyond – I’m sure E3 will be another great show and there will be lots of fantastic titles to come.”
GameStop CEO Paul Raines was recently interviewed by GameSpot. During the interview, Raines shared his thoughts on Wii U, which will be released this holiday. With the launch of Wii U, Raines is confident that GameStop’s business will improve. Raines spent time playing with Nintendo’s upcoming console during last month’s E3 and, from what he played, thinks that it’s pretty cool. Raines likes the Wii U GamePad’s rendering capabilities and claims that Wii U’s “graphics are fantastic.”
“We’re excited about Wii U. We think Wii U is going to be a very significant part of the holiday period. If you played the games at [the Electronic Entertainment Expo], it’s pretty cool. I went upstairs and played Pikmin for like an hour with the tablet and the controller, and it’s pretty cool. I mean, the rendering, the graphics are fantastic. So I think Wii U is exciting; we’re eager to get started on the launch and we’re doing a lot to plan for that.”
The Entertainment Software Association has announced via a press release that the Electronic Entertainment Expo will remain in Los Angeles for the next three years. It was also confirmed that E3 2013 would take place June 11-13, 2013, at the Los Angeles Convention Center, L.A. LIVE and a plethora of venues throughout downtown Los Angeles and the City.
“We are proud to partner with Los Angeles for another three years. The City serves as a strong backdrop for the video game industry’s biggest announcements and we look forward to remaining in LA. Video games are a dominant force in the global entertainment marketplace and there is no better place to display that than Los Angeles. We look forward to continuing our relationship with the City and AEG.”
- Michael D. Gallagher, CEO of the ESA, which represents U.S. video game industry.
According to Official Nintendo Magazine editor Chandra Nair, there are loads of unannounced third-party content for Wii U. Nair says that his favorite part from last month’s E3 was finding out about all the third-party Wii U games that weren’t revealed to the public. Nair thinks that we will hear plenty of third-party announcements for Wii U at Gamescom or TGS.
“It’s actually a moment I cant talk about, because my favourite bit of E3 was finding out about all the cool third party stuff that’s coming for the Wii U, which they decided not to talk about, which was awesome. So I just want to say yeah, there’s loads of third party stuff coming which I reckon we might see at Gamescom, or we might see at TGS, but its coming. That was my favourite bit because everyone was saying ‘No one’s bringing out anything for Wii U,’ and I saw some cool things.”
During E3, video game journalist Neal Ronaghan played New Super Mario Bros. U for Wii U and, while he was playing, asked a Nintendo representative where to find the Flying Squirrel suit. The representative corrected him by saying that Mario doesn’t wear suits but instead transforms into something after he touches a special item. Ronaghan then asked if the claim is a response to PETA’s attacks on Nintendo’s well-known plumber and the representative said, ”No, it’s always been that way.”
