Thoughts from the Nintendo Conference

The rumours about Goldeneye are true!

Tristan's assertion at the end of his (excellent!) live blog is absolutely correct – I am a happy man right now! But not just because of the new Zelda game. In fact, I hope to get hands on time with LoZ: Skyward Sword later on today during the Nintendo booth tour. Straight after the show, I was racing towards those girls and their strap-ons. You know. Their strap-on 3DS units.

After initial doubts about the machine, I can say that at least in terms of its 3D functionality, those doubts are fading fast. Unfortunately, there was no actual gameplay available – whether that will be different at the booth, I'm not sure yet. What I did see, were 3D versions of Link, Mario, Samus and all the faves. The 3D slider on the side of the top screen works to deepen the effect, and although it has a short range, the difference between full 3D and 2D was quite noticeable. The guy to my right in the media room here has just said, “You really have to be in the sweet spot,” but despite the newish XL, playing on a DS never really was a spectator sport.

Two cameras mounted on the lid allow you to take photos in 3D, you'll be able to watch 3D movies and play 3D games, all without glasses. It includes a motion sensor and gyro sensor and boasts a real base graphical improvement over its younger brothers. Online functionality has been spooned into this thing like it's going out of style – even when your unit is in snooze mode, it will constantly search for other owners and online access points to download updates, new maps and quests for your games.

A host of mouth watering new titles were announced, including HOLD ME BACK... Goldeneye for the Wii. Graphically, it's doesn't seem to be a far cry from the 64 days, but I really like that. If that little white bastard's not being pushed to its limit, then that means (possibly) a far larger and more varied “experience”. Yep, that word again.

Zelda's new features look nice, despite major technical mash making Miyamoto look as though he worked for Sony. Flying beetles, rolling bombs and a new whip all appear, as well as the ability to dynamically control your shield and sword – that truly is new, even if LoZ still looks and feels, as ever, just like LoZ. Bad thing? I don't think so, but that's me. There was nothing around the story, so who knows what we'll be doing. My guess is that Hyrule is in trouble. A new evil... ra, ra, ra, somewhere between a squillion and two infinities selling shortly. I know I'm being sort of flippant, but I haven't had my hands on yet, and I am hoping against hope that my deft paws can do a sharper job than the jerky, unresponsive mess we saw on screen.

Coming soon is Mario Sports Mix – volleyball, dodgeball, ice and beach(?) hockey to name a few. All with powerups galore. Upcoming “bridge” titles include Wii Party, with a host of online minigames, and utilising some of Nintendo's existing peripherals, as well as Just Dance 2. Unfortunately, with Dance Central due on Kinect this one might just get buried.

We have Golden Sun: Dark Dawn on the way, with the tagline “the world has been reborn.” I know this will impress a number of fans, including several on NZGamer.com who have hoped for a follow up announcement to last year's promise. Golden Sun is slated for Christmas here in the US.

Disney's Epic Mickey will rely heavily on gamer choice, with the ability to alter the environment using either paint or paint thinner. You can create or destruct however you please. Travel zones based on old Disney cartoons look to be a great way to hold the action together, and what we saw was inspired by Steamboat Willie – Mickey Mouse's first outing.

A real treat was the announcement of Kirby's Epic Yarn. He hasn't had a home console to call... home for a long time, and this one looks stunning. A side scrolling platformer is where this lovable blob looks best and in his fabric and woollen world, he's in his element. Check out screens for how it looks, because this is a big part of the hook. Once again, on the lightweight hardware of the Wii, innovation comes up trumps. It's due around September/October in the US.

Metroid Other M (looking every bit as beautiful as you'd hope, and just as action packed), Donkey Kong Country Returns, Nintendogs + Cats and Dragon Quest XI: Sentinels of the Starry Skies round out an inspired package from Nintendo this year. On top of that, a new Kid Icarus game, Uprising is on the way for the 3DS (no date yet, just as there's no date – or price – for the handheld). I was so excited about what they had coming I stopped watching the stage and started reading the prompter, which was running a bit faster.

Third party for the 3DS is touted to be the best Nintendo has ever had at the launch of one of their systems – Hideo Kojima was on video talking about what the system could do for Metal Gear Solid, plus there's Resident Evil, Kingdom Hearts and DJ Hero in the works.

Of course, a bird in the hand is worth several on very expensive screens with lots of pretty lights and models holding 3DS units, so I'll be back to let you know how some of this stuff actually plays very soon.