Nintendo of America’s President and COO Reggie Fils-Amie definitely gave gamers a lot to talk about this morning during the Wii U U.S. launch announcement, but there were a few things that he surprisingly omitted. Let’s jump right in. I’ll add some additional news previously released to give the whole picture.

Nintendo just wrapped up their online press conference, detailing the console’s specs, launch bundles, and pricing. Most of the following info is for the Japanese audience, but there are still some tidbits that Western audiences can get excited over until the official US announcement later today.

The press for the event read “A DREAM COME TRUE EXPERIENCE FOR VIDEO GAME FANS & MUSIC LOVERS: NINTENDO’S “THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: SYMPHONY OF THE GODDESSES” TOUR PLAYS THE GREEK THEATRE, LA”

And it pretty much lived up to it. Last night I was able to attend the concert at the Greek.

The music is based on one of the most popular and beloved video game series of all time,
The press for it continues, “The name “Symphony of the Goddesses” refers not only to the concert program but also to the new four-movement symphony recounting the classic storylines from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time™, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker™, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess™, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past™. The concert also will highlight orchestral renditions of music from other series games, including The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening™ and The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask™. ”

Given the subject matter one would expect the audience to be filled with cosplayers and your stereo typical gamer nerds. I was actually surprised at how few cosplayers there were.  As for the gamer nerds, you would be surprised at how well gamer nerds clean up when we want to. There were a lot of industry people present as well. Faces I recognize even if I can’t remember their names. Folks from Blizzard, Nintendo (would have been more surprised if they weren’t there), as well as various gaming press. Given that E3 is going on across town at the LACC, its to be expected.

But enough about that. Read on for a review of the performance itself.

After announcing and showcasing the prototype for their next-gen system at last E3, Nintendo had a lot to prove this year, in order to generate hype before the holiday season.

Once the briefing was over, the response from gamers is universally “meh”.

The briefing started off with a video of Shigeru Miyamoto, relaxing in his green room, surrounded by his beloved Pikmin. He walked on stage to find even more Pikmin in the audience (via superimposed video). Using his whistle from the same game, he called onto stage Bill Trien, head of product marketing, to help translate.

Right off the bat, we start with a great game announcement (if it wasn’t apparent enough), Pikmin 3. During the demo, Miyamoto stated that he knew he definitely wanted to work on this game once the system’s specs were finalized. The updated graphics and HD resolution allowed for him to pull the camera back so the player can see more of their surroundings. Using the touch screen on the controller, players can control multiple teams to achieve goals throughout the game. The short presentation was a good way to demonstrate some of the new features found in the Wii U system.

You can read the full recap after the break.

Nintendo just finished broadcasting a pre-recorded video to kick off their E3 programming. President Satoru Iwata gave viewers an overview at the new controllers, plus a glimpse at some of the Wii U’s social aspects.

First off, the now-officially-called “Wii U GamePad” has changed a bit since its E3 2011 appearance. While the majority of the prototype controller’s style was kept, Nintendo swapped out the PSP-like slide sticks for actual thumb sticks that offer more accurate control. They also can be depressed to act as an additional button. The thumb sticks have been placed closer to the edge and adjusted the contours to maximize comfort. A “TV” button was added at the bottom, allowing for basic control over your TV’s functions. Finally, a NFC reader/writer was added for future use with game cards and other accessories. Interesting concept, but I wonder how much it will actually be utilized outside of the trading card games.

Iwata repeated a few of the controller’s functions that were announced last year; such as the ability to use the GamePad separate from the TV, an internet browser, and the ability to “push” videos from the GamePad to your TV.

Read on for the full recap plus a link to the full presentation.