I wanted to get a Wii U, but the cute and cuddly Nintendo Land bundle clashed with my style. I need something dead and decaying because I’m so macabre and mysterious.

Enter Nintendo’s newest Wii U bundle, which comes with a copy of Ubisoft’s first-person survival game ZombiU. This package debuts at retail on Feb. 17 for $389.99. It comes with the Deluxe Wii U, which is black and has 32GB of storage. The bundle also includes a Wii U Pro Controller and a ZombiU art book.

So while this bundle is about $40 more than the Deluxe Wii U set, it’s actually saving you around $70, according to Nintendo.

If you’re getting a Wii U and don’t plan on playing much multiplayer, this is definitely worth a look. ZombiU is one of the console’s better games, and it does a great job showing off the hardware’s unique capabilities. Check out our review.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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For the French game publisher Ubisoft, new platform launches represent an opportunity to test new ideas in the market and release new intellectual properties. With the Wii U, Ubisoft lined up eight games to come out at or near the launch of Nintendo’s new game machine. Nintendo sold 3 million Wii Us in its first season, but its expectations are falling short for the quarter ending March 31. So did Ubisoft make a mistake in backing the Wii U so heavily?

Xavier Poix runs Ubisoft France, overseeing the publisher’s three main studios, with more than 700 developers. He is in charge of the Just Dance, Raving Rabbids, Rayman, and Ghost Recon franchises. He gave a talk yesterday on leveraging new technology for games at the DICE Summit, an elite game industry event in Las Vegas. We caught up with him for an interview. Here’s an edited transcript of our talk.

GamesBeat: What is the gist of your talk?

Xavier Poix: It’s focused on leveraging new technology in order to change the way we play. It’s about how we can mix the creativity that we have with what we want to do in terms of new design and the innovation that’s brought by new technology. In France, we have two main studios — Montpelier and Annecy. Especially at Montpelier in Paris, we’ve focused on designing games for new consoles.

I’m sure you can imagine that when you’re designing for launch technology — when you need to be there at the launch of the console — at this point you have no benchmarks. There are no games out there using that technology. You can talk about it, but you can’t playtest it. It’s a time where it’s about your intuition and only your intuition. It’s about knowing that technology presents a lot of opportunities but also constraints. The tech is built by you and empowered by you. It’s quite complex.

The purpose of the talk is to explain that it’s at those moments, when you have so many new constraints and opportunities, that you can face new changes in gameplay. I have a lot of examples, from Ghost Recon, which we brought to the Xbox 360 at launch, to Rabbids and Red Steel on the Wii. There’s Just Dance, which came after that. And now on the Wii U, with ZombiU and Rayman Legends.

GamesBeat: How many titles have you shipped on the Wii U? You had eight in the works, right?

Poix: We did four in France. There was also Assassin’s Creed, which was done in Quebec, and a sports game we did in Barcelona.

GamesBeat: You guys report earnings on Thursday.

Poix: Yes. [Chuckles]

GamesBeat: So you can’t really say how well they did, but do you have some kind of postmortem on the process of getting those games out at launch?

Poix: Yeah. Our focus in this case is that we needed to make sure that we found the new innovation that the console is bringing. I think we’ve done a good job as far as what we’ve been able to provide in terms of asymmetrical gameplay. Our goal was to find new ways of playing with that, and we’ve done it.

Of course, it’s the launch window, so you need to wait for the final results. Nintendo is talking about that a lot. The figures aren’t as high as what they were expecting. But for us it’s been good. What we’ve discovered building games on this technology at launch — on the multiscreen approach, on having another kind of controller in the living room. It will bring something very new in terms of gaming. It wasn’t as easy and obvious for them, compared to the Wii, to communicate those ideas. It will take some time. But we’re very proud of what we’ve done. Since we have so many games that we’ll be releasing, the people who will buy the console will eventually play good games on it. We think that especially with ZombiU, for instance, and Rayman Legends, they’ll have something to play for a long time.

GamesBeat: What else is still coming on the Wii U?

Poix: I can’t disclose any other projects. Today our focus is on Rayman Legends. I don’t know if you had the chance to play it, but it brings something that hasn’t been seen on the Wii U so far, with the multiple gameplay types. It’s very interesting. The demo showed some, but we have so many more to show in the next month.

GamesBeat: Was there any feedback from gamers that was interesting to you, as far as playing your games on the Wii U?

Poix: One good example came from ZombiU. ZombiU was very challenging for us because it’s very innovative, in terms of both what Nintendo’s console brings and what we wanted to convey with the experience and gameplay. We decided to go for a very hardcore approach. Death is permanent. You need to start the game over again when you lose. We got a really good response from fans about that.

What was also widely talked about was a social feature that we added to the game. When your character dies, you can see them as an enemy afterwards. You can also see guys from another console that are dead coming over into your world. That’s the kind of stuff we really appreciate. Another nice feature that was quite new is the fact that you can write messages to other players at certain points. “There are zombies coming!” When you’re in your own experience and your own world, you see where other survivors have written stuff on the walls. It’s really interesting. The response from fans was ideal.

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Nintendo completely forgot about some of its systems in last week’s eShop update, so today it’s going to make it up to each and every Wii U owner with a small amount of new stuff. You can also get another full 3DS title and a Virtual Console game for the Wii, so it’s a good week for everybody. Sort of. You’ll see.

First up is the Wii U, which does get two additions to its digital download service: a pair of demos, one for ZombiU and one for NBA 2K13. For those who aren’t familiar, the former tasks you with navigating a zombie-infested London and features permanent character deaths, and the latter is a basketball game that constantly promotes the fact that rapper Jay-Z was an executive producer on it. As Nintendo adds more demos to the Wii U eShop, maybe someday it will decide to actually make them easier to find.

The big update for the 3DS is another full retail game: Hello Kitty Picnic with Sanrio Friends. If you’ve been thinking about picking that one up and want to avoid the judging eyes of a GameStop clerk, now’s your chance to have some minigame fun with Keroppi and Badtz-Maru like you’ve always wanted. If you have no heart and don’t like Hello Kitty, maybe this week’s 3DS eShop offerings are for you: Reel Fishing Paradise 3D Mini, Wild Adventures: Ultimate Deer Hunt 3D, and 101 DinoPets 3D. The first two are self-explanatory, but the third one is about dressing dinosaurs up in hats and is “more fun than a puppy,” according to Nintendo.

Seriously, of all the fake names to pick… .

As usual, the weirdest update of the week comes from the DSi. Its only new piece of downloadable content is an app called Biorhythm that somehow tracks your physical, intellectual, and emotional “cycles.” It sounds like the dream that the Nintendo Vitality Sensor still lives on as we all hoped it would.

Finally, another old 2D fighter comes to the original Wii’s Virtual Console, and for once, it wasn’t developed by SNK (though that studio did work on it, so it’s basically the same thing): World Heroes 2, which features characters based on various historical figures like Captain Kidd and … a football player. It was the ’90s — that’s what video games were like.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Video game trailers are a big deal. Where once big budgets were the exception, they are increasingly becoming the norm. Deep pockets are not always key to creating a stand-out trailer, though. Ingenuity, innovation, and a healthy sense of humor can also go a long way to help sell a game.

Here we present the best game trailers to grace our screens during 2012. They represent a cross-section of the gaming world and feature a variety of styles and budgets. The one thing they have in common? They’re done right.

If you think we’ve missed any trailers of note, feel free to drop a comment below.

Borderlands 2

Gearbox Software gave its first-person role-playing shooter Borderlands 2 (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360) a sing-a-long soundtrack that just shouldn’t have worked. The genius is that “Wimoweh” has never sounded as gloriously out of place since its original 1939 release. Even better than Tight Fit.

Watch Dogs

Eschewing both gameplay and prerendered footage, this trailer for Ubisoft’s open-world action-shooter Watch Dogs (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360) brilliantly sets up the game’s premise with a starkly delivered blurring of fact and fiction that sounds eminently believable. Watch Dogs is certainly a title to look out for next year.

ZombieU

Zombies. Are we sick of them yet? Ubisoft doesn’t think so, having created one of the year’s most atmospheric trailers for its Wii U-exclusive survival-horror game. The film succeeds in making ordinary environments look extraordinary by subtly twisting our perspective on the dark streets of London.

Dyad

Independent developer Shawn McGrath unleashed his psychadelic musical shooter, Dyad, on the PlayStation 3 this summer. Its original trailer received an unkindly greeting in some quarters, with PlayStation Blog user Mattsta009 saying of its star: “It doesn’t look like that girl is even playing Dyad, she is kind of just holding a controller, acting badly and smiling vacuously at the screen.” In a stroke of genius, McGrath recast himself in the lead role. Watch from 20 seconds in to see him in action. The original trailer is underneath for a neat “compare and contrast” opportunity.

The Last of Us

Proof of the power of soundtrack, developer Naughty Dog used the Hank Williams song “Alone and Forsaken” to great effect in this trailer for upcoming PlayStation 3 action game The Last of Us. The atmosphere seems even more bleak and unforgiving with Williams’ raspy vocals layering on the tension.

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What do I like most about video games? They always strive to do more, to be better.

Games we judged as the best of the best a few years ago might seem dated now. Some feature such tight, timeless designs that they do hold up over the long term, but these fall into a very small category. Otherwise, and in every way, this is the industry status quo: Nearly every game competes not only to outdo past iterations but to also completely dwarf every other title on the market. They don’t always succeed. But one way or another, gamers always benefit from the effort.

The industry moves forward, always forward. So we look back to applaud the new directions it took in 2012 and how they might influence what comes next.

Integrating the GamePad

Most Wii U launch titles relegate the GamePad’s spectacular functionality to stolid maps or inventory screens. Ubisoft’s ZombiU does that, too, but in ways that feed directly into — and significantly enhance — its gameplay. Your best tool to survive the undead hordes is the “Prepper Pad” — in fact, the GamePad itself re-created in the game. It scans and tags items, enemies, and exits, but narrowing your attention to the pad’s small screen leaves you vulnerable to attack and permanent character death. Picking through your items makes you feel completely exposed. When a survival-horror game makes inventory management into a completely nerve-wracking experience, you know it’s smarter than the average bear.

Honestly, I haven’t seen game controls so deeply symbiotic with their game since Dance Dance Revolution. ZombiU simply couldn’t exist on a different system, and it’s a beacon to other developers on how to take full advantage of Nintendo’s new hardware.

Silent storytelling

Minimalism isn’t exactly a new thing in games — see N+ and Limbo for details — but minimalism with depth of design and storytelling threads a fine needle with mountaineering rope. Journey, from Jenova Chen and thatgamecompany, did just that, building an epic story without any words, written or spoken. It didn’t need any, either. A deft combination of imagery, music, and interaction made us feel the joy of discovery, the struggle against adversity, the elation of flight. Journey created great complexity out of relative simplicity.

Not everybody stripped down that far, but more than a few games this year dialed back the interactivity to dial up a player’s personal interaction. “Don’t look or it takes you” set the tone for Slender in just six terrifying words. Antichamber’s tests only said enough to make you question every reflex you’ve learned as a gamer. Dear Esther gave you an island and a mystery, but nothing to jump over, no puzzles to solve, or even any items to touch. Like Journey, those approaches all left the explanations open to interpretation … effectively turning the stories themselves into interactive features. Those journeys became our journeys, full of sweeping emotions and buoyed by the indomitable urge to press onward.

Deconstructing our heroes

Sure, games offer a huge slice of power fantasy with a side of personal awesomeness, but I can’t remember ever playing so many out-of-their-depth characters as I did this year. We’ve never been more fragile. We played as children in Unfinished Swan and Papo y Yo. Postapocalyptic survivors in games like I Am Alive, ZombiU, and The Walking Dead always felt like they were mere inches away from disaster. A world of death quickly unraveled protagonists in Far Cry 3 and Spec Ops: The Line.

But that’s nothing compared to what we did to a lot of our old friends. Commander Shepard suffered from survivor’s guilt all through Mass Effect 3. Max Payne’s self-loathing never ran out of downward spirals to charge through (in slo-mo, of course) until he finally reached for the light again. Even the implacable, emotionless masks of Hitman’s Agent 47 and Halo 4′s Master Chief took serious hits as each found something deeply personal to fight for … fights that frequently came with devastating turns. When the Master Chief suddenly refuses a direct order, it’s time to re-evaluate everything he is.

Gamers have become an older, more sophisticated audience. The industry’s responded by adding vulnerability and depth to the people we play as, making us more sympathetic to their goals and more invested in their safety. And with games like The Last of Us and the Tomb Raider reboot scheduled to pound us mercilessly in 2013, you can expect this trend to extend well into the future.

Adventure games are still relevant

I was done with point-and-click adventure games back in the ’90s. I’m back on them now. The team at Telltale Games didn’t just keep the flame alive with The Walking Dead, their superlative five-part series based on Robert Kirkland’s graphic novel (and its television counterpart) … they brought modern game designs into what many considered an outdated genre.

And they did it with an elegantly simple device: the quick-time event. Turns out the same gameplay cliché that annoys me in God of War (and its many clones) instantly turns the usually static point-and-click exercise into a tense, action-packed struggle for survival. It’s panic-inducing to suddenly find yourself zeroing a shaky cursor on a shambling zombie before it takes a chunk out of protagonist Lee or, even more upsetting, to rescue darling Clementine, his young charge, from a grisly fate. That lends real danger to the rest of the story — survival feels tenuous indeed — and the split-second decisions you must make become even more agonizing.

I actually had to step away from The Walking Dead for a while after its devastating third episode. No other game this year did that to me. That little tick-tick-tick countdown behind every choice made Telltale’s simple point-and-click drama as intense … no, more intense … than any high-octane shooter or jump-scare horror game. More, please.

Games are growing up (maybe)

Two years ago, a trailer showing callous killer Agent 47 eliminating a squad of PVC-clad gun nuns wouldn’t have raised much more than a few eyebrows. Hey, we’re the medium where all the ladies in Dead or Alive get a dedicated physics engine for the boob-jiggle. It’s just a game, after all, so who cares?

Except that’s an argument you can make when you’re 12. The average age in the gaming community hovers in the mid-30s.

2012 saw a heightened awareness of and direct confrontation against the sexism that’s long been a part of this industry’s DNA, both in and out of the games themselves. Halo 4′s multiplayer shipped with a zero-tolerance policy toward racist or sexist language — fittingly announced by executive producer Kiki Wolfkill and Microsoft executive Bonnie Ross — and lifetime Xbox Live bans for violators. Gearbox Software tried to include a special character class in Borderlands 2 for less-experienced players before lead designer John Hemmingway self-sabotaged by calling it “girlfriend mode.” Despite that gaffe, it still presented a serious attempt at inclusiveness … which is the opposite of sexism.

We’ve got a long way to go, baby. But at last it seems like we’re moving in the right direction.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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You may be sleeping off a tryptophan-induced coma later, but Nintendo isn’t taking a break from updating its various digital download services. This week, it’s even getting into the Thanksgiving spirit by offering something new for everyone. Well, everyone who owns a 3DS, DSi, Wii, or Wii U at least.

First off is the Wii U, since literally everything on its eShop is new this week. Most of the system’s launch games are available digitally, like ZombiU, New Super Mario Bros. U, and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, but you could also download the Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, or ESPN Sports Connection apps if you need to entertain any family members that haven’t left yet. Here’s the full list of Wii U eShop items:

• Amazon Instant Video
• Chasing Aurora
• Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
• ESPN Sports Connection
• Hulu Plus
• Little Inferno
• Mighty Switch Force! Hyper Drive Edition
• NBA 2K13
• New Super Mario Bros. U
• Nintendo Land
• Scribblenauts Unlimited
• Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
• Trine 2: Director’s Cut
• Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013
• Assassin’s Creed III
• Darksiders II
• FIFA Soccer 2013
• Game Party Champions
• Just Dance 4
• Madden NFL 2013
• Nano Assault NEO
• Netflix
• Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge
• Rabbids Land
• Sing Party
• Tekken Tag Tournament 2: Wii U Edition
• Warriors Orochi 3
• ZombiU

The 3DS is hosting a few new titles as well. The big names this week are Crashmo and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. The former is the sequel to Pushmo, which our own Jeff Grubb referred to as “the secret best 3DS eShop game,” while the latter is best remembered as one of the few times Nintendo did anything radically different with the Zelda franchise. Both are available now, Crashmo for $8.99 and Zelda II for $4.99. Also new today is 3D Mahjongg, which is pretty self-descriptive, and a new episode of the Meat or Die video series.

The DSi brings a pair of new titles this week as well, though they’re technically just different versions of the same one: Spirit Hunters Inc., which comes in Light and Shadow variants, is a Pokémon-style augmented-reality game in which you capture and battle hidden spirits. Both types have a few exclusive monsters that you can’t find in the other, so you could buy both if you’re a completionist, but keep in mind that they are $7.99 each.

Finally, the Wii refuses to die, as yet another old SNK game comes to the Virtual Console. This week, it’s a Neo Geo fighter called Ninja Master’s, which includes an oddly placed apostrophe and a special move called the “Super Death Blow,” which sounds awesome.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Maybe you’ve heard about the Nintendo Wii U.

After a major marketing push and a torrential amount of Internet buzz, the successor to Nintendo’s wildly successful Wii video game console finally arrived in stores last Sunday. The gaming industry and the consumer base that feeds it have largely passed judgment already. But if you bought one of the 97 million Wii units solid in the last six years, and you consider yourself a casual user, you might wonder whether it’s worth your time and money to upgrade to the latest model.

Naturally, the answer depends on what you want it for.

Which model to get

This marks Nintendo’s attempt to catch up to its competitors on multiple fronts. We’ve covered the basics before, but the Wii U comes in two different packages — a white Basic Set retailing at $299.99 featuring an 8GB hard drive, and a black, 32GB Deluxe Set for $349.99 that includes a copy of Nintendo Land, a party-game compilation (read our full review here). That’s a significant increase from the Wii’s original $249.99 price back in 2006. Unlike its predecessor, the Wii U comes HD-ready, albeit at the lower end of the high-definition scale: 720p rather than 1080p.

Here’s a rundown of everything that comes in the box:

If you don’t plan to download a lot of games or apps, you might not need the bigger 32GB system. That said, the Deluxe set does include Nintendo Land, one of its best — and one of the few — casual gameplay titles at $10 off MSRP.

The big difference

The centerpiece of the Wii U is the GamePad, a handheld controller with a 6.2-inch touchscreen that combines a video game feel with tablet functions.

A nonstandard button layout presents a few problems for gamers, as we’ve pointed out already, but that won’t bother anyone coming off the Wii’s two-controller approach. In fact, I’ve already seen many clever applications for the GamePad’s capabilities — holding it up for “augmented reality” simulations, for example. But the Wii U’s not-so-secret weapon, asymmetrical gameplay, offers amazing possibilities by letting two or more players (one on the GamePad screen, the rest using the ubiquitous Wii Remotes or the Wii U Pro controller) experience the same game in very different ways, frequently with very different goals.

More often than not, you can also transfer what you’re doing to the GamePad’s screen entirely, freeing up the television for someone else to use while you continue your game or movie in peace. It’s a very liberating option, though at only 480p, the picture likely won’t be as sharp, and I frequently had to crank the Pad’s volume to maximum to hear Netflix films from its tinny little speakers. Plugging in a pair of earbuds only helps slightly.

Games, however, come through clear and strong. And the it’s games you play on the Game Pad that really show you the imagination and potential of the Wii U.

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Normal people associate the holidays with tacky decorations, dinners with annoying family, and an endless barrage of irritating toy commercials. Gamers, however, know that those last few months of the year really bring in a bounty of major game releases. That’s why this week’s edition of our Bring Your Own Topic podcast focuses on the holiday season of gaming, including a new system that you may have heard of.

This episode, GamesBeat editor-in-chief Dan “Shoe” Hsu sits down with our own Sebastian Haley, Rus McLaughlin, and 1up’s Jose Otero to talk about the biggest releases of the holiday season, including the Wii U, Assassin’s Creed III, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and Halo 4. Also, despite our best intentions, we do delve into a few minor spoilers. That was the warning. We just spoiler-warned you. No complaining now!

This episode’s topics:

• Our favorite holiday games so far
• Why or why not we’re getting a Wii U
• What makes a triple-A game
• Disappointing game endings

Listen:

Download (right-click and “Save As”): [.mp3]

Subscribe: [iTunes] [RSS]

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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That’s why no other third-party title to date feels so completely geared to Nintendo’s Wii U console quite like ZombiU (releasing Nov. 18 for the Wii U) does and why it couldn’t possibly land on any other system without sweeping changes. I’ve played a few Nintendo games that don’t feel as fully integrated into the Wii U’s abilities. It might be a revival of Ubisoft’s very first commercial release, Zombi, but ZombiU proudly plants the flag firmly for Nintendo’s latest — and somewhat experimental — hardware.

You want a plot? The dead walk. Want a plot twist? The dead walk in London. Now shut up and just try not to die. Easier said than done as it turns out. After the bombast and supersonic crash of Resident Evil 6, ZombiU marks a triumphant return of the survival-horror genre to console gaming. But it’s sure as hell not for everyone.

What you’ll like

It’s bloody brutal
The first game mechanic ZombiU teaches you is dying. It’s something you’ll do a lot, and the consequences that come with it drive all the decisions you make.

That’s because every single “Infected” you meet constitutes a lethal threat. They’re scaled back from the one-hit-kill status they enjoyed during early demos, but it doesn’t take much more than that to finish you. And on death, you lose the scant supplies and resources you risked so much to find in the first place. That character dies permanently, joining the ranks of the undead while a new, randomly generated survivor picks up and carries on in his stead. Sound harsh? It is … wonderfully so. ZombiU raises the stakes with every step you take. You can always try to recover your lost goodies by heading back and whacking your former self — waypointed for your convenience — with a cricket bat to the head, but ZombiU’s persistent world setup also guarantees that whatever killed you before won’t be far away.

Regenerating health? You wish. Save points? Spare me. You can’t just reload an old game if disaster strikes. You go forward and make do in the worst situation imaginable. ZombiU doesn’t bother with much of a preamble, either. You start off well after society collapses, with death and undeath and destruction everywhere, and that oppressive atmosphere blends perfectly with your own fragility. It’s rare that a game makes me so cautious. The graphics sell this destroyed world very well, too. It’s almost a shame they’re often shrouded in total darkness.

You get some support from the Prepper, a well prepared (get it?) and amusingly coarse bloke on the radio who hands out missions vital to your mutual survival. That’s when you switch on your weak flashlight and creep through the wreaked streets, driving rain, and gloomy subways of London town, hoping you won’t run into more trouble than you can handle. The plot dives a bit deeper, but the missions remain consistently engaging, ugly, and tense. And you always have everything to lose.

Survival-horror combat that feels dangerous
One zombie is a threat, but manageable. Two zombies, and you’ve got a problem; the wingman will flank you. Taking on three or more pretty much seals your fate.

Like the best survival-horror games out there, direct combat isn’t always the smartest answer partly because ZombiU doles out resources like Ebenezer Scrooge. Your survivor starts out with a cricket bat and a pistol with six bullets to defend against a city full of flesh-eating monsters. These aren’t Night of the Living Dead zombies, either. They keep coming after you’ve blown off half their skull.

That bat became my go-to weapon for a long while. It’s heavy, ponderous, and requires careful timing over button spamming. The deliberate pacing, punctuated by bone-crunching hits and a real sense of your own mortality, gives combat a real sense of desperation. Normal zombies takes a good 3-4 hits before they go down, and then you’ve got to apply a finishing move before it just gets back up again. One trick I found: suckering zombies into crawling over or under obstacles, which let me hit them with the finisher right up front. Good times. The game also mixes things up by throwing in a few pure action sequences, such as putting you behind a fixed turret that might run out of bullets well before you run out of zombies.

It’s amazing to finally return to a zombie game where seeing a zombie in the distance makes you stop and carefully consider what to do next. Every encounter has weight and danger. I quickly started looking for ways to sneak around unnoticed, debating if I should spend a flare to distract a few walkers and evaluating whether one zombie merited my only grenade even though my health teetered on the brink. Once, I managed to fight off four zombies with my meager tools, and that felt like I’d just swept every event at the Winter Olympics. Naturally, the very next zombie wiped me out instantly. I would’ve been secretly disappointed if it hadn’t.

The high-tension construction
At one point, I tapped away on the GamePad’s touch screen in order to rip down a barricade blocking my path. By chance, I glanced up at the TV screen and caught sight of a zombie I’d missed shambling behind me. I disengaged instantly and tried to escape … but not fast enough. That’s what carelessness brings.

ZombiU integrates the GamePad in smart ways that actually enhance the tension. Early on, Prepper gives you his “Prepper Pad,” a tablet that bears a striking resemblance to the GamePad itself (Nintendo’s lawyers would undoubtedly sue if they hadn’t already been eaten). It’s your map, your zombie-sniffing radar, your backpack inventory, and an augmented-reality scanner. Hold it up, and it will find items, doors, and Infected for you to tag. It’s really quite handy, eliminating the need to physically search every corner for one measly energy drink. But the Prepper Pad’s scan shines a bright, zombie-attracting light when you use it, and you’re standing completely still.

Similarly, you can’t just pause the game and sift through all your stuff. When you swipe the GamePad to open your backpack, your character physically takes it off, sets it down, and goes into it, leaving you vulnerable. The same goes for looting a body, where you must also click/drag their items into your backpack on the touch screen. You can assign six “in-hand” items, but going into you backpack becomes a tactical choice — something you do very quickly when you’re reasonably sure it’s safe. How can you tell that a survival-horror game knows what it’s doing? When inventory management makes you nervous.

The game always finds ways to purposely draw your attention away from the TV. You tap the GamePad screen to add or remove obstructions, and a lock pick minigame takes more concentration than I felt comfortable with — just as it would if I had to jimmy a lock in a real-life zombie-infested location. ZombiU never unfairly zaps you when you shift focus, but it does make you feel uneasy and unsafe every time. That’s an amazing achievement, and something it could only do on the Wii U.

But no apocalypse is perfect. …

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It sounds crazy that a high-profile electronic device with price tag starting at $300 would ask consumers to take its features on trust. Nintendo’s new console, the Wii U, did just that.

In an era in which online gaming and downloadable content almost became mandatory for every major release, Nintendo’s smash-success Wii (with 97 million units sold in the last six years) fell dangerously behind the curve. The Wii U, promised Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata, would fix that. He didn’t actually say how. Indeed, right up to the product launch, the game-publishing giant barely gave its customers any details on what the Wii U’s online experience might be like. It wasn’t until late afternoon the day before the console’s North American release that Nintendo even turned the feature on.

Iwata and his company leveraged 30 years of nostalgia and customer loyalty against one big question mark. Now, finally, we’ve seen what’s behind the curtain.

Jump to to Page 2 for a detailed overview on the major features, like the Miiverse, Friend List, TVii, and Internet Browser. Click here for all of GamesBeat’s Wii U launch coverage.

Can the Wii U go online right out of the box?
Well, no. You need to download a day-one update to activate the online functions, and you might want to plan well in advance when you do. When the update finally went live Saturday (Nov. 17), the download progressed at the speed of continental drift … likely due to hundreds, possibly thousands, of prerelease Wii U consoles flooding Nintendo’s servers at once. All told, it took about 90 minutes to download and install the update. We shudder to think what might happen when several million people show up on launch day.

Is it worth the wait?
That depends on your expectations. And we’re still waiting … not everything’s active yet.

Does it support voice chat?
Not yet … just video chat through the GamePad controller’s camera. That will have to do for now, I’m afraid. The Miiverse community (explained in depth on Page 2) centers on game-centric message boards, too, which allow for typewritten or stylus-doodled posts.

We’re not still trading Friend Codes, are we?
No! You create your own Nintendo Network ID and link it to a Mii. You can friend people in the Miiverse by entering their ID or by sending them a friend request from their profile page, just like FaceBook. First, though, you’ve got to set up your Friend List, which can’t actually be done from the Miiverse. Your Friend List has its own top-menu icon.

What about game matchmaking?
This remains to be determined. Yes, games with online multiplayer have some sort of matchmaking, but many of these servers weren’t switched on until late in the evening on 11/17. We’ll update once we get a bit more time online and get a better feel for how well it works.

Does the Wii U have Achievements?
Sadly, no. Individual titles will have in-game, achievement-like milestones,  just as a few did back on the Wii, but Nintendo did not include an over-arching Achievement/Trophy system in the Wii U’s design. As far as we know, they don’t plan to, either.

Go to Page 2 for a run-down on all the major features!

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Nintendo wants the Wii U launch on Nov. 18 to be the video game event of the holiday season. Scott Moffitt, the company’s executive vice president of sales and marketing, is the man in charge of making that happen.

The Japanese giant has a lot at stake when it comes to the Wii U, which some have criticized as a not-quite-next-generation console that is about as powerful as Sony’s six-year-old PlayStation 3. Nintendo began advertising the system in earnest last week to convince gamers otherwise. We spoke with Moffitt about Nintendo’s approach, the ad campaign, and its timing.

Here’s a transcript of our interview.

GamesBeat: Tell us about what’s in motion right now. What’s happening as you lead up to the launch?

Scott Moffitt: We’re in the final countdown stage. We’re watching the imports every day, when the boats come in, to make sure we’re getting the product we’re anticipating. We started our marketing in earnest a few days ago. We’ve been building interactive kiosks in stores. We’ve got about 5,000 of those, so people can experience the system for themselves. That’s important for a complex product like this. We went live with advertising last week in social media and really in earnest over the weekend with some cinema. There’s a lot going on.

GamesBeat: The ad campaign seemed like it came late. What’s the thinking behind the timing of the ads?

Moffitt: The timing is almost to the day the same as we used for Wii. We weren’t trying to copy that plan exactly, but it just happened that way. We put a media plan together. We wanted to build awareness quickly, so it’s multi-touchpoint. There will be messages coming at people from every direction. We thought that Wreck-It Ralph was a good place to have some cinema. That’s where our advertising premiered over the weekend.

It’s not like a hardcore game where you need to release your advertising five weeks ahead of a game launch. For us, it’s fine to be closer to the launch. I think that makes more sense. The other factor, candidly, is that with an election campaign this year. There was less media available prior to when we bought, and it was much more expensive.

GamesBeat: Being virtually sold out added complexity to everything, right? If you convince more people to buy something this week, they’re not going to get it. They can’t even order it, right?

Moffitt: Right. Frustration can build up. That wasn’t really part of the plan either, though. We buy through an up-front process like a lot of big advertisers, so we committed to these media buys long before we knew that we were going to have a sold-out situation to pre-sales. We hoped we would be sold out, that pre-sales would be brisk. But we didn’t have the luxury of waiting to see that to know what our major plans would be.

GamesBeat: Have you guys made any projections on sales? I remember some analysts saying 4.5 million sales would be likely for the holidays.

Moffitt: What we’ve said is we’re capable of shipping 5.5 million units between Nov. 18 and March 31, the end of our fiscal year. That’s a global number. We’ve not broken it out by time period, so how much of that is week one, how much is holiday, we can’t say. Similarly, we’ve not disclosed how much of that will be in each region. The U.S. will clearly have the longest selling period, because we’re the first market to launch.

GamesBeat: If I tried to place an order, supposing some retailer had pre-sales still open, how long would it take at this point before I might get one? Is it well into the new year?

Moffitt: No, not at all. We’ve been through these processes before. We want product to be available on day one in stores throughout the country. If you line up or get there early, you should be able to get product on day one. GameStop has not sold all of their day one allocation. They’ve sold what they were making available for pre-sales. Those are two different numbers. Now, a lot of what we gave them, they’ve sold to pre-sales, but, like every retailer will, they’ve held some back so they have product on day one for consumers that come in the door.

We have said that we’ll have more Wii U units on store shelves in week one than we did for Wii in 2006. We’ll also have replenishment much more frequently during the holiday than we did for Wii. Having said that, though, we’re guessing there could be shortages. It won’t be there every day. Shipments coming in each week could sell very quickly.

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Not all game publishers have welcomed the Nintendo Wii U with open arms. But French game publisher Ubisoft has gone bananas over it, making more games for the new console than anyone else. That’s what Ubisoft usually does when someone introduces a promising new game platform. Ubisoft’s core strategy is to develop original intellectual property to launch at the debut of a new video game platform. It then follows up those hits with sequels that reap bigger and bigger revenues.

Tony Key, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Ubisoft, says his company is taking the same approach with the Wii U because it bring “second screen” gaming to life. Here’s an edited transcript of our interview with Key, who never met a new console he didn’t like.

GamesBeat: Here we are again. Another console launch.

Tony Key: I have this conversation every time a new platform ships, but our goal is to be the number one third-party publisher on Wii U. We have six titles launching on day one, another one two weeks after, and then another one in calendar Q1. So we have eight titles in what Nintendo’s calling their launch window.

GamesBeat: Can you run through the games as well?

Key: We have exclusive titles for the Wii U shipping on day one: ZombiU, Rabbids Land, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013, and our newly-announced partnership with ESPN called ESPN Sports Connection. Then, in Q1, our other exclusive is Rayman Legends. We also have, on day one, Assassin’s Creed III and Just Dance 4. On December 4, we have Marvel’s Avengers: Battle for Earth. Those three games are also on other platforms. You can see by the amount of exclusive titles that we’re very excited about the machine. When we were part of the Wii launch back in 2006, we only had two exclusive titles, which were Red Steel and Rayman Raving Rabbids. Those turned out to be the number two and number three best-selling Wii games of that launch, behind Zelda. We’re expecting to be heavily represented at the top of the Wii U software sales chart.

GamesBeat: What’s attractive about it, given that there’s been a lot of discussion about the potential of the machine among gamers? Some say it’s a great machine, some say it’s a bad machine. What would you point about it that tells us it’s going to do well?

Key: When the Wii came, it ushered in an era of motion gaming. It really opened things up for the industry. It was a very innovative machine, and it was hard for people to understand what value it brought until they got their hands on it. The same thing is happening with the Wii U. This type of innovation and Nintendo’s vision are going to be difficult to explain through videos and trailers, as you saw with that TV ad from the U.K. today, talking about the Wii U and the benefits of the tablet controller.

We think that this machine is ushering in a year of second-screen gaming. How the market will react to that and what kind of innovation that will bring obviously remains to be seen. Our position is, we believe in it. We’ve got all these titles we’ve been working on. We’ve had a lot of experience working on and playing games with the second-screen experience. We think it’s an innovation that’s going to have a big impact on the industry.

GamesBeat: If you look at a title like ZombiU, how do you take advantage of that second screen?

Key: I was about to say it gives you another set of issues. You’re one of the last people on earth, so you have issues, right? I meant to say it gives you another interface to utilize, to make the gameplay experience different. In ZombiU, the controller is your backpack. You’re carrying things around with this controller, but you don’t pause the game to get something out of your backpack, a new gun or a new tool. When you’re rummaging around in that thing, up on the television there could be somebody sneaking up behind you. It adds a new level of intensity to the product that wasn’t possible before.

There’s other features with ZombiU, without getting too tactical, that utilize the second screen. Finding a zoom lens and things like that. There are lots of clever ways to use it, but the thing we want to focus on is that it changes game design. It adds all kinds of possibilities. ZombiU utilizes a few of those. A game like Rayman utilizes a few of those as well. There’s a multiplayer mode, an asymmetrical multiplayer game occurring with that second screen. These are things that are hard to represent in video. We’re looking forward to that moment where a critical mass of consumers gets their hands on the hardware. That’s when people see how cool it is. I don’t see how people can be too critical of something that they haven’t had a chance to use yet.

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If you’ve heard the Wii U name before but don’t quite know what it’s all about, you’re in the right place. Video game publisher Nintendo has a new home console on the way, and we’re going to run down everything you need to know about it.

As the Wii U name implicates, the new hardware is the followup to Nintendo’s popular home console, the Wii. But this name may cause some confusion, so let’s clear a few things up right away:

• This is an entirely separate device from the Wii.
• The Wii U is not an add-on for the current Wii.
• The Wii U’s GamePad tablet controller does not work with the original Wii.
• The Wii U will play original Wii games.
• The Wii Remotes for the original Wii will work on the Wii U only if they are using MotionPlus (either built-in or as an attachment).

That should clear up some common misconceptions. If you’re still a bit shaky on exactly what the Wii U is, that’s OK. We’re going to do our best to explain. Here’s the basic answers to the frequently asked questions:

• Release date: Nov. 18
• Price: $299.99 for the Basic set, $349.99 for the Deluxe
• Pack-in game: Only with the Deluxe set. The Basic set comes without a game.
• Backward compatibility: Wii U can play Wii games
• Game cost: Most retail games are $59.99.
• 23 launch games: Nintendo Land, New Super Mario Bros. U, ZombiU, and more (full list here)
• Wii-to-Wii U WiiWare and Virtual Console game transfer: Yes

The system

The Wii U is entirely separate from the Wii. That has its pros and cons.

This means that your Wii, if you have one, is now obsolete. You can’t just go out and buy the Wii U’s interesting GamePad controller and have all of the functionality of the new system without buying a Wii U. If you want those Wii U games, you’ll have to spend at least $299.99 for the Basic system and then the cost of some games. The good news it that all of your old Wii games will still work on this new hardware. Also, a lot of new Wii U software is compatible with the Wii Remote as long as it’s using the MotionPlus dongle (or has MotionPlus built-in).

The plus side of a new system means the visuals are a significant leap over the Wii. The Wii U is Nintendo’s first fully high-definition console. It is capable of producing visuals at least on par with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. If you want a Mario game that takes full advantage of your 1080p HD television, the Wii U is the only way to make that possible.

The GamePad controller is the next big upgrade you’ll find in the Wii U. Nintendo’s advertising campaign is focusing on this new handheld device with a screen that connects wirelessly to a console. It’s easy to look at that and think “Why didn’t Nintendo just release that for the Wii?” Well, the Wii simply doesn’t have the juice to power what Nintendo plans to do with the GamePad.

We’ll break down the controller in detail in the next section, but the simple explanation is this: The Wii U can display one player’s in-game view on the GamePad and multiple other views on the television. That sort of video output requires a level of graphics processing that the Wii cannot reproduce.

If you have any WiiWare or Virtual Console games on your original Wii, those are transferable to the Wii U. The process requires both systems to connect to the Internet, so Nintendo can verify the content, and then you take an SD card from the Wii, pop it in your Wii U, and that’s it. It’s a similar process to moving downloadable 3DS games to a 3DS XL.

The Wii U console comes in two varieties: a white basic system with 8GBs of capacity for $299.99 or a black deluxe version with 32GBs of storage and a game for $349.99.

Here’s a list of each version with the included bits and pieces:

Wii U 8GB Basic: $299.99

• White Wii U console
• White Wii U GamePad controller
• 8GBs of storage
• Sensor bar
• AC adapters
• HDMI cable

Wii U 32GB Deluxe: $349.99

• Black Wii U console
• Black Wii U GamePad controller
• 32GBs of storage
• Nintendo Land (game)
• GamePad stand
• GamePad charging cradle
• Console stand

The controller

This is it. If motion controls were the big draw for the Wii, then Nintendo expects this controller with a touchscreen in the middle to reproduce that success. We’ll explain all the things the GamePad can do for games, but let’s run down the specifications first:

• Color: White or black
• Buttons: Six face, four shoulder, power, TV, Start (+), Select (-), Home, D-pad
• Analog sticks: Two clickable sticks (R3 and L3 buttons)
• Front-facing camera
• Microphone
• Display: 6.2-inch resistive LCD touchscreen, 16:9 aspect ratio
• Audio: Two stereo speakers
• Near-field communication
• Motion sensors: Accelerometer, gyroscopic sensor, magnetic sensor
• Stylus included
• Rechargeable battery
• Force-feedback rumble
• Headphone jack
• Infrared transceiver (for operation as universal TV remote)

If you’re confused by that list, don’t worry. We’ll explain how Nintendo and other developers plan to use all that junk.

Basically, the GamePad operates as both a controller for the game on your TV screen and as a tablet for observing and maintaining supplemental information in said game. For example, in an adventure titles, gamers can now tap on the screen to select between different weapons and tools.

But this a simple explanation of its capabilities. Nintendo built in some advanced sensing equipment that allows the tablet screen to directly interact with the television display.

In Nintendo Land, the game that comes with the Deluxe console set, a particular minigame allows players to hold their GamePad vertically and throw ninja stars by swiping on the screen. Those ninja stars then appear on the television exactly where the player aimed them.

Other games will allow players to hold the controller’s touchscreen up in front of the television to get an augmented perspective of the TV screen. Let’s say smoke fills your field of view on the set — hold up your GamePad and use it as infrared goggles to see your enemies.

Another oft-touted feature is the Wii U’s capability to play full console games directly on the GamePad LCD. If you are in a household where multiple people are vying for the television, you can quickly migrate a game like Call of Duty: Black Ops II from the television to the controller with a simultaneous press of the + and – buttons.

Since the Wii U will support the GamePad and the Wii’s old Wii MotionPlus controllers (along with new controllers like the Wii U Pro Controller), developers are designing their early Wii U games around an idea called “asymmetrical multiplayer.”

Asymmetrical multiplayer is when two or more users are playing one game and one of those players has more in-game abilities than the others. For example, Ubisoft’s Rayman Legends will have one person on the GamePad controlling a special touchscreen character who can interact with the environment that the other players are running around in.

You can see in the video above (starting around the three-minute mark) that the GamePad player was changing the world and allowing the other players to get more points as they traversed the platforms.

Nintendo wants this type of gameplay at the center of the Wii U experience, and it’s the GamePad controller that makes it possible.

This device also has a microphone and front-facing camera for video chatting and in-game communication.

It has a lot of features, but the GamePad will also work fine as a controller for standard games. It may look some chimeric monster built from leftover Kindle Fire and Xbox 360 controller parts, but our hands-on time with the device suggest it will be perfectly capable and comfortable for games like Assassin’s Creed II.

The controller as a TV remote

The GamePad has an infrared transceiver, so it can work as a universal television remote. That TV button on the bottom right will bring up television controls so that players can quickly turn down the TV’s audio if it’s too loud. The TV functions of the GamePad will expand beyond that, though. Even when the Wii U console is off, the GamePad can still control the TV.

Thanks to a service called Nintendo TVii, you may actually want to use this device as your primary remote.

Nintendo TVii allows your Wii U GamePad to hook into your Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Instant Video accounts. TVii can also interact with your Tivo or other personal digital-video recorders. If you’re looking for something in particular, searching for it on the GamePad will tell you if the show, movie, or sporting event is on one of your services or even it’s playing on television currently. If it is, the GamePad will tune your TV to that channel with the touch of a button. TVii also includes a suite of interactivity features for quickly sharing moments to social-networking sites like Twitter.

The games

Like any home console, the Wii U will have a lot of games. We’re not going to list them all here, but at the bottom of this section we’ve included a YouTube video that runs through many of the system’s biggest releases.

Instead, let’s talk about the types of games that you’ll be able to get on the Wii U, since that’ll be quite a bit different than the Wii.

On the Wii, developers couldn’t bring over the games they made for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Most developers had to rework their games for the Wii’s less powerful hardware and motion controlls. That will no longer necessarily be the case on the Wii U.

The Wii U now has the power and the controller necessary to play ports of games like Assassin’s Creed III and Darksiders II. On top of this, it’ll also support any developer who wants to build something new that takes advantage of the tablet controller.

Of course, you’ll also be able to get and play motion games like Just Dance 4 since this console still supports the Wii MotionPlus controller.

Theoretically, the Wii U should be the best of all worlds. It could have the best multiplatform games (Call of Duty: Black Ops II), fun motion-control games (Just Dance 4), and new kinds of GamePad games (Nintendo Land.)

How to buy a Wii U

OK, well, that’s going to be difficult, but not impossible.

Right now, the system is sold out on retailer GameStop‘s website. Some independent vendors on Amazon are selling the console for as much as $1,000. Between now and its launch on Nov. 18, the hardware may become available on different websites, but it’ll likely sellout as fast as it appears.

Our suggestion, and it’s only that, is to use Walmart’s layaway service to preorder the system. Walmart will allow you to reserve your Wii U for launch day if you put down 10 percent in their layaway department between now and then. You’ll probably still have to wait in line on Nov. 18, but you’ll have a better chance to get one than someone who didn’t reserve it.

Call your local Walmart first, though, because some only have one of the Wii U models (my local Walmart told me they only have the $349.99 version.)

Other retailers, like Toys R Us, Target, and Best Buy are all out of preorders as well. You might be able to get in line on the night of Nov. 17 for a chance to pick one at midnight at those locations and others (Fry’s, Kmart, Meijer’s), but by the afternoon on Nov. 18, customers will have picked over most stores.

So … should you get one?

We can’t really answer that for you. We’ll have a review of the system up around the time of its release, but everyone’s different. If the idea of Nintendo Land’s asymmetrical gameplay sounds appealing to you, it could be worth it. If you desperately want HD Nintendo games, you’ll likely get your money’s worth.

Oddly, despite the fact that we’re less than a month away from release, we still don’t know everything about this device. It’s online service remains something of a mystery. It will have some kind of service that’ll allow you to leave comments in your games that other players can read once they reach that point, but we don’t know much else.

If you’re on the fence, hold off. It’s going to be difficult to buy one anyhow. You might as well wait for the reviews.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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This morning, Nintendo finally announced the price and launch date for its upcoming Wii U video game console as well as its new TVii feature that lets you use it as a Netflix/Hulu/Tivo/whatever box. Of course, you can also play video games on the Wii U, and we have the complete list of the system’s launch window games, as well as screenshots of many of them.

The Wii U console is in stores Nov. 18, with the basic version costing $300 and the deluxe $350; for specifics on each package, see our story from this morning.

Now, the system’s “launch window” extends from when the Wii U comes out all the way until March of next year. That means a few of these might not actually be available in 2012, but Nintendo still includes them in the “launch window.” It makes sense if you try not to think about it too much.

Either way, check out the list and gallery below to see all of the games you’ll be playing on your hot new Wii U … at some point within the next six or seven months.

• Funky Barn
• NBA 2K13
• 007 Legends
• Call of Duty: Black Ops II
• Transformers Prime
• Wipeout 3
• Skylanders Giants
• Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2013
• Rapala Pro Bass Fishing
• Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
• Rise of the Guardians: The Video Game
• Ben 10: Omniverse
• Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade
• Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
• Mass Effect 3
• Madden NFL 13
• FIFA Soccer 13
• Trine 2: Director’s Cut
• Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien
• Zumba Fitness Core
• Jett Tailfin
• Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Wii U Edition
• Tank! Tank! Tank!
• Nintendo Land
• New Super Mario Bros. U
• Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge
• Sing Party
• Lego City: Undercover
• Wii Fit U
• Game & Wario
• Pikmin 3
• The Wonderful 101
• Aliens: Colonial Marines
• Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
• Nano Assault Neo
• Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper
• Darksiders II
• Wheel of Fortune
• Jeopardy!
• Toki Tori 2
• Assassin’s Creed III
• Just Dance 4
• Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth
• Rabbids Land
• ESPN Sports Connection
• Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013
• ZombiU
• Rayman Legends
• Scribblenauts Unlimited
• Game Party Champions
• Batman: Arkham City — Armored Edition

The gallery is below, but if you prefer your pictures to move and have sound, take a look at these Wii U launch trailers.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Blame Apple. The success of high-quality, economically priced options on their App Store proved gamers might willingly take their gaming to a nontraditional platform…at least temporarily. A tablet and a smartphone suddenly, unexpectedly, entered the game-console wars. That got some wondering if $60 games with budgets north of $100 million could survive as a business model against an onslaught of 99-cent mega-hits made for $140,000 by four people…such as Angry Birds, reportedly one of the most profitable games in human history.

And now we’ve seen how the big three video game publishers — Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony — decided to respond. Imitation, flattery, and prayer all play their parts.

Each company co-opted the tablet platform in a way that says a lot about them and their corporate philosophy. None, as yet, seems willing to give up on their established price-points, concentrating instead on value-added propositions. All want to convince you that playing a game on one screen won’t cut it anymore. But the actual value added by these tactics depends a lot on what gamers want and expect from their games.

Nintendo’s GamePad

What is it? A new tablet-like controller for Nintendo’s incoming Wii U console, featuring all the buttons, triggers, and analog sticks a hardcore gamer could possibly want in such a device…plus a reactive touchscreen in the middle.

Advantages: The GamePad lets Nintendo evolve the narrative it started with the Wii…namely that it’s not just a matter of what games you play but how you play them. Shooter X might release on every console, but Nintendo wants you to believe the definitive edition only happens on the Wii U due to the unique gameplay options a second, interactive screen offers. It’s also a nice touch that you can play Wii U games on the GamePad without needing a television. But the not-so-secret weapon boils down to asymmetric gameplay, where up to four people run through a game while a fifth on the GamePad plays the same game from a vastly different perspective, possibly with very different goals.

Downside: Reactive touchscreens carry a risk; they work well with a stylus (included with the GamePad) but not as well with fingers. Our time handling GamePads at various events seems to support this, though few games so far rely heavily on touch controls. Nevertheless, those “definitive” experiences feel pretty ill-defined. Batman: Arkham City’s GamePad-specific tricks feel obligatory in the same way most third-party games’ motion controls do on the Wii. Only Ubisoft’s first-person shooter ZombiU, specifically and exclusively designed for the Wii U, feels natural. Though as a game, it might have other issues.

We also recently learned that Nintendo balked at adding a second screen, and for good reason. The extra hardware will likely bump the Wii U into the same, higher price bracket as other gaming consoles (Nintendo’s consoles traditionally sell at $250). So either Nintendo loses its lower-than-the-rest price point, or it takes a loss on every console sold…something it generally doesn’t do.

Microsoft’s Xbox SmartGlass

What is it? An app that gives you an enhanced experience with your games. You might use it to call up info on enemies or landmarks you see while playing a game or to contact friends online.

Advantages: Easy integration. Just like Windows, SmartGlass works with the mobile devices you already own — laptop, tablet, smartphone — and you can bet it’ll come preloaded on every Windows 8 smartphone when it becomes available. We’ve already seen Xbox Live running on a tablet in real time, avatar and all. SmartGlass will give your games a presence on your mobile platforms as well…in spirit, at least. Overall, it’s a staggeringly easy way to throw together a second-screen solution, all while making sure Microsoft doesn’t get into the high-risk hardware-manufacturing business.

Downside: Microsoft doesn’t get the high rewards, either. Completists, superfans, and lore hounds might take an interest in what SmartGlass offers, but its offerings feel disposable to anyone else. By comparison, the planned app supporting Ubisoft’s upcoming, open-world adventure game Watch Dogs helps you interact with the game world in real time and even lets you mess with your friends’ games, whatever console they’re playing on. Nothing announced for SmartGlass sounds remotely as ambitious. And unless Microsoft charges for the app or throws in a number of annoying ads, it’s tough to see how it could make money off of SmartGlass. It’s even tougher to imagine anyone paying for it.

Sony’s PlayStation Vita

What is it? Oh, it’s just a handheld gaming device Sony released last winter. It’s really quite good, but the Vita hasn’t found its footing in the marketplace.

Advantages: The innovation company invented something. The software people made a program. Sony does hardware. Its Vita handheld gaming device already mimics a full console experience fairly well, but with the addition of Cross-Play, the line blurs even more. A Vita user can now join a multiplayer match with people on a PlayStation 3. Cross-Play is only confirmed for the multiplayer brawler PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale so far (think Super Smash Bros., but with Sony characters instead of Mario and other Nintendo icons), but with first-person shooter Call of Duty coming to Vita, the possibilities stack up fast. You can go gunning with your friends in your console games while away from home. That’s major. And the also-new Cross-Controller functions turn the Vita into a GamePad. Surprise, Nintendo.

Judging by the IR port on the original PlayStation Portable, Sony’s wanted to do all this for a long, long time. Technology (and the cloud) finally caught up. If Cross-Play takes off, it will boost the Vita’s fortunes, too…not a bad side effect.

Downside: The Vita retails for $250. Attractive bundles aside, you can get a perfectly good iPhone or Xbox 360 console for less. It’s also likely that Sony wants you to double-dip those game purchases…one All-Stars for your PS3, and one for your Vita. That’s a whole lot of money they expect you to spend. Particularly since, with only All-Stars confirmed for Cross-Play and only DIY platformer Little Big Planet 2 downloadable content (which you have to purchase in addition to the base game) named for Cross-Controller play, Sony’s given us more speculation than reasons to buy in.

So nobody’s perfect…but a lot depends on the developers, the games they create, and how much they apply to that second screen. If real thought and imagination goes into the application of that second screen, great things can result even working within each format’s limitations. A throwaway approach will result in throwaway feature. Nobody wants that. It really all depends on whether developers treat that second screen like an advantage or an obligation.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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The sensory smorgasbord of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) heaved itself upon the video game industry for three straight days, and GamesBeat’s intrepid crew enthusiastically hit showfloors, conference halls, and meeting rooms to offer our readers piles of previews, interviews, and news.

What follows below is our collected coverage during the show. You’ll find everything here sorted into categories for easy navigability.

Awards

Who needs stickers? We analyzed, judged, and sorted our top picks for the show’s offerings directly for you. Take a look — the results might surprise you.

GamesBeat’s E3 2012 Game of the Show…plus staff picks – by Dan “Shoe” Hsu

The GamesBeat E3 non-award awards: The least prestigious awards in the industry – by GamesBeat staff

The coolest technologies we saw at E3 2012 – by Dean Takahashi

The best family games of E3 – by GamesBeat staff

The top 8 trends of E3, from bows to brutality – by Mike Minotti

The top 15 swag shirts of E3 2012 – by Rus McLaughlin

Previews

You’ve found the beating heart of E3′s overwhelming magic. Whether from observatory impressions or direct, hands-on experiences, GamesBeat discussed and dissected a sizable stable of upcoming games and hardware.

Hands-on

Hitman Absolution lets you perform hits in giant crowds – by Dean Takahashi

Metro Last Light fights shooter fatigue with deeper single player – by Dean Takahashi

Crysis 3 brings the jungle, gun hacking, and silent stealth kills to Manhattan – by Dean Takahashi

EA reveals Dead Space 3, coming with drop-in cooperative play – by Dean Takahashi

Sleeping Dogs turns Hong Kong crime movies into a video game – by Dean Takahashi

From the creator of Portal, Quantum Conundrum caters to physics-based puzzle gamers – by Dean Takahashi

Capcom remakes hack-slash-shoot-grapple formula with upcoming DmC: Devil May Cry – by Dean Takahashi

Capcom shows three playable characters for Resident Evil 6 – by Dean Takahashi

Finding similarities between Arma III and Carrier Command: Gaea Mission – by Omri Petitte

Neverwinter’s user-generated content could elevate it above the competition – by Stefanie Fogel

DmC: Devil May Cry is full of swagger…and F-bombs – by Eduardo Moutinho

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed leaves Mario Kart in its dust…and wake…and vapor trail – by Mike Minotti

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is an anime you can actually play – by Eduardo Moutinho

Sony Online Entertainment’s PlanetSide 2 – by Rob LeFebvre

Slice, dice, and julienne enemies in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance – by Eduardo Moutinho

Medal of Honor: Warfighter deploys fire teams to the front lines – by Eduardo Moutinho

Hell Yeah! is like Metroid with a chainsaw jetpack-riding demon bunny – by Mike Minotti

Dead or Alive 5 wants to deliver a power blow to the competition – by Eduardo Moutinho

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s simplicity is just what consoles need – by Omri Petitte

Hands-off

Just what kind of game is Star Wars 1313? – by Dean Takahashi

Warner Bros. confirms LEGO: Lord of the Rings video game – by Dean Takahashi

EA’s cute The Act romance game exploits iPad’s touchscreen for unique gameplay – by Dean Takahashi

Turn the snow crimson with redcoat blood in Assassin’s Creed III – by Dean Takahashi

Far Cry 3 demo leads you deeper into drug-induced insanity – by Dean Takahashi

Quantic Dream’s Beyond: Two Souls is one of the best games of E3 – by Dean Takahashi

The 5 different games you’ll be playing in Dishonored – by Sebastian Haley

Final Fantasy XIV brings new gameplay and western sensibilities to venerable franchise – by Rob LeFebvre

Windows 8 works hard to meet the needs of all gamers – by Rob LeFebvre

A trio of Mario games strengthen Nintendo’s 3DS lineup – by Mike Minotti

OnLive’s MultiView spectating entices multiplayer and co-op gamers – by Omri Petitte

Player choice matters in The Walking Dead: Episode 2 – by Stefanie Fogel

The Last of Us is even smarter than you think – by Rus McLaughlin

Star Wars 1313 is a game of firsts for the sci-fi franchise – by Eduardo Moutinho

The adventure-game renaissance continues with The Cave – by Eduardo Moutinho

Heroes and villains join forces in Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion – by Mike Minotti

007 Legends proves personality makes or breaks a game – by Omri Petitte

Breaking down what’s exactly new in God of War: Ascension – by Dan “Shoe” Hsu

Turning technology against your friends in Watch Dogs – by Omri Petitte

Interviews

Chasing after the wayward developer or evasive executive amid a sea of journalists and industry luminaries didn’t slake our interview appetite, and we nabbed a slew of thoughtful talks with members across various gaming companies. Take a look.

Why Ubisoft is pouring a lot of resources into Wii U games – by Dean Takahashi

Harvest Moon creator wants to spread happiness with his new game – by Jacob Lopez

How Shenmue’s lead programmer rescued a bad game – by Jacob Lopez

The Last Story developer talks Operation Rainfall, reason for cover system, and Wii U – by Jacob Lopez

With 1.3B tanks obliterated and 30M players, Wargaming.net plans to conquer the online gaming world – by Dean Takahashi

Even Scribblenauts’ creator is surprised by the things people make in his new game – by Jacob Lopez

The Witcher developer CD Projekt RED wants to set new standards with Cyberpunk – by Stefanie Fogel

Japan’s Gree moves mobile gaming into the spotlight at E3 – by Dean Takahashi

THQ’s Brian Farrell talks about looking for a bottom and staging a comeback – by Dean Takahashi

Crytek says CryEngine 3 already does awesome graphics as good as Unreal Engine 4 – by Dean Takahashi

Our opinions

During the craze-filled days of E3, our minds typically busied themselves with ensuring our legs avoided snapping off our torsos and running away with yelping noises. But sometimes, a cohesive thought miraculously coalesced within our overloaded brainpans. Our hands shakily reached for the keyboard, keys started tapping, and well…these are the results.

The DeanBeat: What to expect at E3 – by Dean Takahashi

4 ways developers will use SmartGlass to enhance Xbox 360 experiences – by Dan “Shoe” Hsu

Nintendo’s Wii U: Safe on first, weak on third-party – by Rus McLaughlin

Why Nintendo will have a tough time adding a second GamePad tablet controller to the Wii U – by Dean Takahashi

Tomb Raider is not torture porn – by Rus McLaughlin

Would it be a mistake for E3 to move out of LA? – by Dean Takahashi

Bored, impressed, and giddy: Our final thoughts on E3 2012 – by Dan “Shoe” Hsu

Move over, consoles – mobile is the future – by Rob LeFebvre

Microsoft’s E3 2012: Analysis of 16,000+ comments shows Halo 4, South Park impressed, rest did not – by Andrew Hiscock

Sony’s E3 2012: Analysis shows “shotgun blast” won big, Wonderbook lost – by Andrew Hiscock

Nintendo’s E3 2012: Reactions show hardcore gamers lost faith in Wii U – by Andrew Hiscock

Memes

All it takes is one memorable quote, one Freudian slip, or some facepalm-worthy banter to prompt the Internet community’s creative and unrestrained hand at animated gifs, a worshipful use of Impact font, and hastily jangled Photoshop edits. Here’s what we’ve found.

The best memes of E3 – by Jeff Grubb

Remember these crazy memes from past E3s? – by Jeff Grubb

The wildest memes from the Microsoft E3 press conference – by Jeff Grubb

Silly memes inspired by Sony’s E3 press event – by Jeff Grubb

Aisha Tyler: Ubisoft’s meme machine – by Rus McLaughlin

The oddest Nintendo E3 gifs and Photoshops from the Internet – by Jeff Grubb

Galleries

We snapped plenty of pictures while attending parties, pressers, and meandering the showfloor. Direct your eyeballs upon these galleries, and enjoy the view!

The big gallery of E3′s huge banners – by Mike Minotti

E3 2012 will get your hands up – by Evan Killham

Our editor-in-chief’s E3 adventure – by Evan Killham

The many costumes of E3 2012 – by Jacob Lopez

Retro games have a place at E3, too – by Jasmine Rea

Videos

Dubstep. A beleaguered Lara Croft. Ham-handed hosts. No, this isn’t the latest entry in Alex Trebek’s dream diary — it’s some of our E3 video and trailer content below. Enjoy!

Tomb Raider trailer shows how Lara Croft feels sorry for shooting you – by Dean Takahashi

Konami pre-E3 2012 event: More Castlevania and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance – by Jasmine Rea

Ubisoft shows strong commitment to the Wii U – by Mike Minotti

6 awkward moments from the E3 press briefings – by Evan Killham

Why we wub wub wub E3 2012: The dubstep of E3 – by Jacob Lopez

Press conferences

Surprises and snooze-fests alike emanated from E3′s five major press briefings held by Microsoft, Electronic Arts (EA), Ubisoft, Sony, and Nintendo. Check out all the announcements and debuts here.

Microsoft (video)

Halo 4 trailer video shows Forerunners, new tech – by Rob LeFebvre

New Splinter Cell: Blacklist borrows from Uncharted – by Jeff Grubb

Gears of War: Judgment sets Sera on fire (again) – by Rus McLaughlin

Microsoft previews Xbox Music at E3 press conference – by Rob LeFebvre

Forza Horizon brings street racing to the franchise – by Jasmine Rea

Microsoft introduces Xbox SmartGlass to integrate smartphones and tablets with Xbox 360 – by Dean Takahashi

Nike+ Kinect Training brings in-depth fitness measuring to Xbox 360 – by Jeff Grubb

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer coming to Xbox 360 this fall – by Jacob Lopez

Usher hits the stage to announce Dance Central 3 – by Rob LeFebvre

Xbox Live is getting Nickelodeon, Machinima, and tons of live sports – by Tom Cheredar

Kinect voice commands hit EA Sports flagship titles – by Eduardo Moutinho

South Park creators introduce their game and playfully mock Microsoft – by Jeff Grubb

New Xbox 360 games coming from Signal Studios, Twisted Pixel, and…Gore Verbinski? – by Stefanie Fogel

Microsoft E3 2012 press conference recap…in limerick form – by Andrew Hiscock

Electronic Arts (video)

SimCity Social: If this free-to-play game is too good, will you pay $60 for the full PC version? – by Dean Takahashi

EA reveals Battlefield 3 Premium and fields “15 million players worldwide” – by Omri Petitte

Star Wars: The Old Republic gets new planet, new species, and free trial – by Jacob Lopez

EA nabs UFC from THQ – by Jeff Grubb

Medal of Honor: Warfighter’s beautiful carnage – by Rus McLaughlin

EA shows off Need for Speed: Most Wanted at E3 – by Rob LeFebvre

Ubisoft (video)

Rayman Legends rhythmically runs to the Wii U – by Eduardo Moutinho

You are the network in Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs – by Rus McLaughlin

Here’s where that Watch Dogs cube-head QR code goes – by Jeff Grubb

Sony (video)

Experimental developer Quantic Dream reveals the haunted life of Jody Holmes in Beyond – by Jasmine Rea

Nathan Drake and the Big Daddy Bouncer join PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale – by Mike Minotti

J.K. Rowling is writing PlayStation’s Wonderbook – by Rus McLaughlin

Sony announces Assassin’s Creed III Vita and PS3 bundles with exclusive content – by Jeff Grubb

Sony brings down the house with The Last of Us demo – by Dean Takahashi

Sony E3 2012 press conference recap…in limerick form – by Andrew Hiscock

Nintendo (video)

Social networking comes to Wii U, Miiverse will interface with PCs and phones – by Jasmine Rea

First look at action-strategy game Pikmin 3 – by Jeff Grubb

Nintendo confirms 23 games at E3, video streaming, and more for Wii U – by Mike Minotti

Wii Fit U will make you sweatier, livelier, and happier – by Rob LeFebvre

Brag to the Miiverse and take on new modes in New Super Mario Bros. U – by Eduardo Moutinho

Zombify your face with ZombiU for the Wii U – by Mike Minotti

Nintendo bets big on “asymmetric” tablet-based gameplay – one player against several – by Dean Takahashi

Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition utilizes Wii U’s GamePad screen – by Omri Petitte

Nintendo details 3DS Mario titles, Luigi’s Mansion, and third-party games – by Jeff Grubb

Nintendo Land brings asymmetrical multiplayer to Wii U – by Jasmine Rea

Nintendo’s E3 2012 press conference recap…in limerick form – by Andrew Hiscock

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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NeoGAF, one of the Internet’s most popular video game message boards, received over 16,000 posts during the three major Electronic Entertainment Expo press conferences. Now that E3 is over, we can take a look back at how these hardcore gamers reacted and draw interesting conclusions on what they thought of the industry’s biggest trade show of the year.

We’ve already seen how NeoGAF reacted to Microsoft and Sony’s press conferences, but what did the gaming community think of Nintendo’s? The below chart scores the members’ reactions, as posted in real-time:

Click for a full-size version. For a more detailed explanation of how we analyzed this data, please see the explanation at the end of this article.

What NeoGAF liked about the Nintendo press conference

Only three games registered as positive. The forum members received Pikmin 3 very warmly, and they gave it the highest reaction score of the press conference, while New Super Mario Bros. U and Scribblenauts Unlimited received largely positive comments for a very brief amount of time.

Otherwise, NeoGAF absolutely loved Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo’s legendary game designer, and Reggie Fils-Aime, president and COO of Nintendo of America.

The only other item that received a positive score was the announcement that the Wii U will support two GamePad tablet controllers at the same time.

What they didn’t like

NeoGAF reacted poorly to just about everything else. Posters lambasted established franchises such as Paper Mario and New Super Mario Bros. They dismissed revitalized and new intellectual properties such as Luigi’s Mansion and ZombiU, respectively. They outright destroyed any talk of motion-controlled games such as Wii Fit Plus and casual titles like Sing and Just Dance 4.

In fact, after Reggie Fils-Aime acknowledged the popular meme “my body is ready” in the 34th minute (which everyone thought was good fun), Nintendo did not generate a positive score for the rest of its morning press conference.

The worst individual minute occurred during the trailer for Sing, reaching a score of -117, which is extraordinary. To put this in perspective, I performed this same study in 2009, and the infamous Wii Vitality Sensor introduction scored only a -80. Sing’s lowest point was the worst E3 2012 press conference moment, beating out even Sony’s Wonderbook (though that scored lower overall due to it being a much longer demo).

Perhaps more interestingly, while the scores for the other conferences went up and down and back up throughout, Nintendo started very strong and then steadily went down from there. One could argue that this was just a result of what they showed and when they showed it. The 6,000+ posts of the NeoGAF thread on Nintendo made it clear that, as the press conference progressed, gamers were becoming increasingly disillusioned by the Wii U. By the end, the majority had lost faith.

This may have major ramifications for Nintendo. The Japanese company lost a big opportunity to court hardcore gamers during this press conference with a console many hoped would engage that very audience. With predicted new console launches next year, Microsoft and Sony could learn valuable lessons from Nintendo’s conference if they want to get core gamers excited.

That could be a big “if.” Video game consoles are much more versatile entertainment devices, engaging a much wider audience. Perhaps, as many members of NeoGAF fear, E3 is not for the hardcore gamer anymore.

Next year’s E3 press conferences should prove very interesting. With the possibility of new game systems, will Microsoft and Sony seek to please hardcore gamers? Or will they continue their momentum in search of more casual audiences?

The most valuable lesson they can learn here: Don’t try to appeal to gamers — as Nintendo repeatedly claimed to do throughout its 70 minutes on stage — and not deliver. As we’ve discovered, hardcore gamers are very hard to impress.

For more on how NeoGAF reacted to the E3 press conferences, check out the Microsoft and Sony studies.

How the scoring works

NeoGAF hosts a single message board thread for each press conference, where dozens of members comment throughout each show. I graded each comment as positive or negative, giving them scores of 1 or -1 respectively. Then I totaled the sum of these reactions for each discrete minute and plotted in the above chart. A high score means that the NeoGAF community liked what they saw; a score close to zero represents mixed reactions; and a low score means that they were not enjoying the show at that moment.

Some notes on how I scored each response:

• I made no distinction between really positive or somewhat positive comments — likewise for negative comments. Each was given either a score of 1 or -1.
• While I made every effort to understand the various memes and inside jokes that make up a large part of the responses, if I could not understand a response, I would not score it.
• In the event that a comment employed obvious sarcasm, I scored it to reflect the original intent of the commentator. If the sarcasm was not clear, I relied on the literal meaning of the comment. Fortunately, the very expressive NeoGAF community rarely employed subtle sarcasm.
• When comments included positive and negative observations, I accounted for the more immediate reaction to preserve a more real-time response. An example: “I liked the game that was shown at the beginning of the show, but this game now is bad” would have a negative score.
• Many comments weren’t scored as they offered no opinion. These included clarifications, questions, discussions between members unrelated to the press conference, and inquiries into whether one game or another would be shown at a later time.

GamesBeat 2012 is VentureBeat’s fourth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. This year we’re calling on speakers from the hottest mobile, social, PC, and console companies to debate new ways to stay on pace with changing consumer tastes and platforms. Join 500+ execs, investors, analysts, entrepreneurs, and press as we explore the gaming industry’s latest trends and newest monetization opportunities. The event takes place July 10-11 in San Francisco, and you can get your early-bird tickets here.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Right after the GamesBeat staff got back from the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) last week, we started wondering if we were all at the same event. Despite a combined 38 years of experience attending the annual game-industry trade show, lead writer Dean Takahashi, culture editor Sebastian Haley, and I (GamesBeat’s editor-in-chief) came away from the 2012 edition with drastically differing opinions on what we saw.

Here’s what we thought of this year’s E3:

Sebastian Haley, culture editor:

I might be alone on this, but E3 was a disheartening experience for me this year. Sure, I’ll buy and love Borderlands 2, Dishonored, and a ton of other games that were shown off, but everything was just so iterative — from the countless sea of sequels and spin-offs, to even the press conferences that seemed to focus less and less on what gamers like myself actually want.

After years of being the punchline of the Internet, why is it so hard to make a good E3 press conference? Microsoft gave carte blanche to Nike and ESPN to talk as long as they wanted, but when it came time to show off the only three original intellectual properties (IPs) in the entire lineup, if you blinked you would have missed it. And even if you didn’t blink, you’d still have no idea what the games were even about. Then Usher and Joe Montana come out for awkward performances, and that’s supposed to make things better?

The industry more or less seems to be on autopilot, and I can only hope it’s saving up all its energy for a massive 2013. But again, maybe that’s just me.

Dishonored

Dean Takahashi, lead news writer:

The game industry didn’t have such a bad showing at E3. The traditional game publishers showed off new original games such as Beyond: Two Souls, The Last of Us, The Unfinished Swan, Dishonored, Warface, Hawken, World of Warplanes, and Watch Dogs. New technologies such as Unreal Engine 4, facial animation, SmartGlass, the Wii U, and Sony’s Wonderbook were cool. The staple franchises such as Assassin’s Creed III, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Tomb Raider, SimCity, Medal of Honor: Warfighter, and Crysis 3 will keep gamers delighted and busy in the next year.

But like Sebastian, I also have high expectations of game makers in the core console market. And I’m not sure they have done enough to shield themselves from the disruption that is hitting their industry. This E3 was an in-between year. Next-generation consoles are in the works, but only Nintendo showed off its cards, and they weren’t very disruptive this time around.

From the outside, the game industry is under pressure. Apple is one of the driving forces of the real disruption, but it isn’t alone. Samsung announced at the show that it will create its own cloud gaming service in partnership with Gaikai and Nvidia. It will in effect become a fourth major platform for game makers, launching a cloud-based game service that could threaten the core console business. Apple and Samsung could bring cheap, high-quality games into the living room that could compete quite nicely against $60 games that come with the number “3″ or “4″ after their names.

This is a very real threat. At E3, I didn’t see a masterstroke to deal with it. There was innovation, but not enough of it to make a difference.

The Last of Us

Dan “Shoe” Hsu, editor-in-chief:

Last year’s E3 only gave me one stick-with-me moment: the BioShock Infinite demo. It left me near breathless, and even though I don’t smoke, I felt like I needed a cigarette after watching it.

Nothing this year quite matched that, but three games came awfully close, all from my personal top 3 games of E3: Watch Dogs, The Last of Us, and Dishonored. I saw The Last of Us on the last day of the show, and it just put the biggest smile on my face. Right when that amazing, frightening, tension-filled demo finished, it cemented this E3 as one of the best in recent years for me. So I’m quite surprised at Sebastian’s reaction — this show was amazing! When was the last time so many new IPs surprised and wowed us like this? We’re always complaining about the sequel parades (and rightfully so), but it’s up to us to look past the flashy hype of the Call of Duties of the world to champion original games like the ones I just mentioned.

Nintendo Land and ZombiU on the Wii U were both pleasant surprises as well (though the latter proved to me that first-pers0n-shooter controls will take a lot of hand-eye-coordination reconditioning due to the controller’s new layout — a reconditioning I’m not sure I want to commit to). Even the known quantities got me excited again: I honestly thought I was over Halo and Gears of War, but both Halo 4 and the overrun mode in Gears of War: Judgment were a lot of fun to play in multiplayer.

I went into my 16th E3 jaded and thinking I’ve seen and experienced it all. I left a surprised, giddy gamer.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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If your head is spinning from all the breaking news from the Electronic Entertainment Expo, GamesBeat wants to help. At the end of each day, we’ll compile a handy roundup of the day’s best content in one convenient post. If you want to keep track of them all, just type “E3 roundup” in the search bar.

DmC: Devil May Cry is full of swagger…and F-bombs

Game of Thrones and other such geekery to be featured in “retro” art gallery

ZombiU’s multiplayer plays to the Wii U’s strengths

E3 2012: Halo 4′s War Games is gunning for Call of Duty

Neverwinter’s user-generated content could elevate it above the competition

Microsoft’s SmartGlass reflects the ubiquity of tablets and smartphones (infographic)

Windows 8 works hard to meet the needs of all gamers

Nintendo’s Scott Moffitt has to create mass lust for the Wii U game console (interview)

Finding similarities between Arma III and Carrier Command: Gaea Mission

The big gallery of E3′s huge banners

6 awkward moments from the E3 press conferences (videos)

Why Nintendo will have a tough time adding a second gamepad tablet controller to the Wii U

E3 2012: Halo 4 to release free Spartan Ops episodic mission packs.

Final Fantasy XIV brings new gameplay and western sensibilities to venerable franchise

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Want a zombie horde at your fingertips? You’ve got it. Nintendo just took the lid off the multiplayer mode for Ubisoft’s third-person zompocalypse shooter ZombiU, and like the majority of the Wii U’s best offerings, it takes advantage of the one thing no other console can do: asymmetrical gameplay.

As yet, the mode itself doesn’t have a name, and the demo only offers one-on-one versus play — no word yet if additional survivors will be able to join in for the retail release. As-is, ZombiU runs a fairly well-balanced Capture the Flag mode, with one lone survivor up against the “Zombie Master” on the GamePad.

Like in many of the demos seen this year and last, the GamePad shows a top-down view of the map. From here, tap to select one of five zombie types: a Beefeater guard who attempts to capture the nearest flag, a stationary “guard” zombie who doesn’t move around, and two attack zombies, slow and fast. Tapping on the map spawns them in, but zones in red are locked out, including a fairly large halo protecting the survivor. Both undead ghouls and shotgun-wielding humans race around the Buckingham rooftops to capture flags first.

Making this particularly challenging for the survivor: ZombiU’s zombies kill you in one bite, both in single and multiplayer. You might find a few syringes of Virucide, which can fend off anything that gets a good hold of you, but once your get-out-of-death-free cards are gone, you better not let them get too close. In large groups, even your shotgun won’t save you. Fortunately, the game limits the Zombie Master to ten zombies at a time.

And when I say balanced, I mean it. A good zombie master can harass and down a survivor fairly well while grabbing flags on the other side of the map — you can spawn in Beefeaters right next to uncaptured flags (captured flags lock; you can’t recapture them). A good survivor can wipe out guards, build up a capture, then run to a threatened flag. Since zombies can’t spawn in the survivor’s vicinity, if you walk into a flag zone, the Zombie Master can’t build up defenses there. He’ll just spawn attackers outside the zone and send them your way. Or else he’ll turn to one of the other flags.

But it’s that variation of tactics that really shows off what the Wii U’s GamePad can do and makes you think differently about the game and what’s going on in it. Playing as a Zombie Master, I occasionally looked up to see what my undead minions were actually doing, bringing real depth to my otherwise top-down experience. Then I switched roles, trying to fight against the same tactics I’d employed to demolish my previous opponent.

ZombiU will release exclusively for the Wii U this holiday.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Scott Moffitt is the executive vice president of sales and marketing at Nintendo. He’s got a tough job because video game marketing is changing. Nintendo is trying to sell its 3DS gaming handheld in the face of huge competition from Apple. And he had to create desire in the mass market to purchase the upcoming Wii U video game console. We caught up with him at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) video game trade show yesterday. Here’s an edited transcript.

GamesBeat: How was it going up on stage today?

Scott Moffitt: It was great, yeah, fun to be there. Fun to kind of actually get to talk at E3. Last year was my first E3, and I was more of an observer. My responsibility was both sales and marketing, so I met with a lot of retailers last year. I took the opportunity to meet with all of our retail partners. It was fun this year to get to meet more of the media and people like yourself.

GamesBeat: I got to watch someone play ZombiU, and I played the Wii Fit U Super Mario Bros. The booths are all pretty crowded, so a lot of them I just had to look. And after the keynote we saw Nintendo Land.

Moffitt: Okay, yeah. Did you get to see all five attractions?

GamesBeat: Yeah, two or three of them. There’s 23 games — I guess you’re not counting the 12 Nintendo Land mini games, right?

Moffitt: Well, we should be clear, yeah, that is one game. It’s multiple experiences within one game. Our belief is that Nintendo Land is the game that will help consumers understand not only the new integrated second screen controller, which we call the game pad, but also this asymmetric gameplay that it enables. We think this asymmetric gameplay is the revolution now. And we think that game is one of the ones that really best exemplifies how asymmetric gameplay can happen and what it does for gaming.

GamesBeat: I guess the second controller was somewhat of a surprise, sort of like confirmation of rumors that were out there. What was the thinking for doing that? Maybe re-assessing and then deciding, yeah, we’d better do this after all?

Moffitt: I would say it’s not so much that. I would say that, to be clear, we are showing games at the show here that really only require one game pad. But it’s possible to imagine that games could be enriched by having two game pads. And some consumers might desire games where both players could have the same information on their screens or could have the same experience on their screens.

GamesBeat: I think of Madden and…

Moffitt: Yeah, that’s a perfect example. There are others that are easy to imagine. So it’s coming to that realization, that yeah, there could be some great experiences that could be brought to life with two controllers. We announced that it could possibly work, even though we don’t have the experiences here to show it. Our preference, honestly, would be to release that kind of information when you have the games to prove it. We try to offer proof points when we offer new technology. But we went ahead and confirmed it today and announced it.

GamesBeat: I guess some people wondered if you would have to sort of ratchet down the performance level of the main game in order to accommodate one more tablet, because it seems like there’s one processor and graphics system that is supporting not only the main display, but the tablet display. It seems like supporting three displays wouldn’t be that easy, so maybe there’s a tradeoff in performance.

Moffitt: I don’t know about that, because we don’t have the games here to show it. It would certainly depend on the game, and probably what was being displayed.

GamesBeat: If that reasoning turns out to be plausible, if you do want to go to two, then you might have to think of a game that is not going to stress the system out.

Moffitt: I would say I don’t know. We don’t have the games. So we’re just speculating on hypotheticals that I don’t know the answer to.

GamesBeat: How far back, then, does the idea of the asymmetric gameplay go? Is that a central idea that started the thinking towards the console?

Moffitt: The thinking for Wii U began a couple of years ago with one simple question: How can we bring something new and interesting to gaming? That led to motion control in the Wii. Technology progressed and flat screens and second touch pad controls happened on the DS. That could have been one inspiration. But I think it goes back to, what can we bring to gaming that will change the paradigm and create interesting new gameplay mechanics? It really starts with that simple question. There probably were a number of types of technologies considered. This one looked like it would have great promise. And so this is the idea that was brought forward. I would say that with Wii U, it incorporates, certainly, motion control gaming, and we want all of your readers to understand that they can still play all their Wii games on Wii U — it’s backward compatible — as well as many of the accessories they’ve purchased over the years for Wii. Their Wii Balance Boards, their Nunchuks, their Wii Remote controllers, all those accessories are useful on Wii U. That enables asymmetric gameplay. You can use all those accessories, and then a different player can use the new controller to have a different experience. Certainly Animal Crossing, if you’ve played Animal Crossing Sweet Day, if you’ve tried Zelda Battle Quest or Luigi’s Ghost Mansion, all of them show how fun it can be when one person in the family, or one gamer, has the game pad and the other people have their standard motion control accessories.

GamesBeat: I think that the media reaction last year was sort of puzzled. I don’t know if it was as bad as the reaction to the original Wii, but I think everybody sort of was blindsided by the popularity of the Wii. Nintendo had faith, I guess, that this was the right way to go. Are you feeling some of the same thing this time around, too? The skeptics say, “I don’t understand this thing. What’s it going to do for games?” Did you guys have something to show or prove, to convince them that they’re wrong again? 

Moffitt: I’d say that the reaction I’ve heard, talking to some people, has been really positive. So I think the industry is ready for innovation in gaming. I think they’re excited that we’re bringing true innovation and not just playing the graphics and memory arms race. I do believe that the reaction I’ve heard from retailers, from consumers, as well as from analysts, is that there’s great appreciation for the innovation we’re bringing. I think the idea of Wii U changing and transforming three pillars of home entertainment is pretty exciting. We’ve talked a lot today about how it can change gaming. You saw the unveil of the 20-plus games that will be available at launch and how many of them can be richer, deeper experiences using a game pad. The second pillar is, of course, social, and how it’s going to transform how consumers and players connect with one another, with the Miiverse. And then the third pillar, which we really only touched the tip of the iceberg of today, is how it will transform and enhance entertainment. So we revealed the partnerships with Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, and YouTube. There’s more to come there. We wanted to focus this presentation on gaming, because that’s what this audience really cares about, and that’s what your readers care about. But down the road, very soon, we will unveil more of the vision in the third pillar, which is entertainment.

GamesBeat: The Miiverse seemed like it was organized around the interest graph. Facebook is always organized around the friend graph, so this seems like a different kind of social network. I guess it’s starting to get proven out in the market. Pinterest or whatever, some things are really catching on because of the interest graph.

Moffitt: Yeah, I think it really has. It’s one of the more unique aspects of Wii U; it’s built right into the system. When you turn on your Wii U, you’re going to see the Mii Plaza, and you’re going to see these icons of games and entertainment that your Miis are congregating around. Your Mii will be there and all of your friends’ Miis and your family’s Miis and people in your region as well as people around the world that have similar interests. They’ll be congregating around those icons, and that congregation is an indication of interest. So if there’s popularity around an icon that you haven’t yet experienced, you can go there and discover what all those people are talking about and what they’re enjoying that you may want to go enjoy as well. They can also interact and communicate with one another using a suite of social media tools. You can post your gameplay screens; for example, you can post some of your game accomplishments. You can post a question. You can get help for a part of a game you might be stuck in. The way I think about it is, it’s a network that’s organized all around gaming and entertainment, rather than Facebook, which might be organized around other things, and gaming is a small part of it. To build on that, we also revealed that it’s a browser-based network. So even though initially, at launch, it will work just on the device itself, in the future you’ll be able to access the Miiverse from your smartphone, from your tablet, from your PC at work; you can access the Miiverse and interact and check on the activities that are going on in the Miiverse from afar.

GamesBeat: That sounds like an example of openness. Historically, Nintendo has been more closed, and others have sort of pushed the door on openness, right? Is there some recognition there that openness is something that works as well?

Moffitt: I think there’s recognition that consumers do use multiple devices in their lives. So there’s recognition that people may want to check in on their gaming network from afar, and there are some other devices that can help them do that. We do see PCs and the Internet as helpful connective tools that make the Miiverse possible.

GamesBeat: Everybody’s got an interpretation of tablets this year. Is there a reaction you have to hearing about SmartGlass and the Sony cross-platform play with Vita as well? They’re all kind of tablet-ish, and you guys are into it as well.

Moffitt: Yeah. At least the SmartGlass example is conceptual in form, and so it’s hard to react to something that’s just a concept that I haven’t really seen proof points for. What I can tell you is that the Wii U game pad has been in development and is here and real and touchable and demonstratable by you and all of us. It’ll be available for purchase very soon.

GamesBeat: So it’s not quite demonstratable yet?

Moffitt: You can see plenty of examples of that here, where it obviously works and works seamlessly. What makes it different in my mind is that this is connected right out of the gate, right out of the box. You take it home, you turn it on, you power it up, and automatically you’re connected with the Internet, with your game pad, with your gaming system, and your TV. It’s seamlessly designed from the ground up to work together. And we have games that are already designed to take advantage of that second screen controller. So the proof point is there, and it’s fully integrated from the ground up, from design step one, rather than trying to integrate an apparatus or a device that wasn’t necessarily designed to go with your gaming console.

GamesBeat: Nintendo, say, wasn’t first on HD, wasn’t first on this Internet-connected stuff. It seems like part of the strategy is to wait for some of these things to become real and spread across the mainstream, and then to come up with something simple to serve these different sorts of developments. Is there a benefit to being slower to market, but maybe possibly more thoughtful about some of that?

Moffitt: I would say that what Nintendo tries to do is bring innovation to gaming that can enhance the gaming experience. If there’s technology innovation happening out there that may not enhance gameplay or may not make games more fun, more enjoyable, more exciting, or if the technology’s not necessary to make a game more interesting, more enjoyable, more exciting, then we may not be the first to jump on that technology. We believe that true innovation enhances gameplay, and our thought process starts there. Can there be an advantage to incorporating that technology at the right time? Absolutely. And so I think right now, touch screen technology really enables Wii U. And we’re thankful we’ve been able to find a great way to incorporate that into gaming and to make gaming mature and more interesting and more in-depth. If you saw the Batman: Arkham City game today, you can see how much more interesting that makes the Batman game. So yes, it’s a game that was out last year, but we think now the Wii U version becomes, automatically, the most preferred way to play that game. It’s more interesting, more in-depth; you can do things that you can’t do with a controller that doesn’t have a touch screen embedded.

GamesBeat: But context for the competition and the introduction of these new products is always changing, too. The 3DS was very good technology, but it seems like its market impact was blunted by the fact that Apple had done so well with smartphones and tablets. How do you guys look at that and introduce products into a market that is no longer what it once was? It’s no longer just a console market, right? Gaming has spread out to these other areas, too. So whenever you introduce a new product now, it’s not just other consoles you’re competing with.

Moffitt: Yeah, I think you’re absolutely right. The market continues to evolve. Speaking about 3DS and portable gaming, we’re pleased with our results on 3DS. The 3DS continues to track, to sell at a faster rate than the DS did when it was launched in 2004. We are now getting the content, and you saw a lot more content today. Going forward, we will have an incredibly rich lineup of games coming for this holiday season on 3DS, starting of course with New Super Mario Bros. 2, Paper Mario, and Luigi’s Mansion from our own first party. You saw a tremendous lineup of third-party games there in the reel. So great content coming for 3DS. I think it can help us continue the momentum. Of course, we are competing in a market that has changed from when DS was launched in 2004. It is a more complex market. But we’re finding, for those that really appreciate and desire a deep, immersive gaming experience that they can’t get from a fairly simple iPhone game, they’re still coming to our platforms and still understanding the value and appreciating the value of a dedicated gaming system. So as long as we continue to bring fantastic content in our first-party franchises, and that’s the only place you can play them, I think the fans will still be there.

GamesBeat: How is the Wii U developer support? I was surprised at how interesting and innovative the Rayman game was for Wii U.

Moffitt: That’s going to be a great game.

GamesBeat: Making a musical soundtrack from your button presses… [laughs] That’s pretty cool. Ubisoft is really all the way in on the Wii U. They’ve got eight games coming. So what are some of the other reactions you have from developers?

Moffitt: Wii U is going to launch with an amazing lineup of content. Both first- and third-party. Certainly you saw on the stage today, Ubisoft, Warner Bros. You saw Darksiders from THQ; you saw Mass Effect 3 from EA. The biggest franchises in gaming are all being re-imagined and reconstituted to take advantage of the Miiverse as well as the Wii U game pad. Current games as well as games that can stand…that can take advantage of the new technology that’s embedded in Wii U, like Batman and Assassin’s Creed. When you see Assassin’s Creed III, I think you’re going to see some things that allow you to play it in a different way and maybe a better way on Wii U than you might on the other consoles. We expect great third-party support, and the lineup that you saw today is a good start. But certainly Ubisoft, Warner Bros., THQ, Disney, Namco, among others, are bringing great content and bringing some of their best franchises to Wii U.

GamesBeat: Any last summary comments?

Moffitt: I’ll just say we’re excited about the transformative power of Wii U and how it can change gameplay. We think the idea of asymmetric gameplay and the Miiverse are new, unique ideas that, again, are going to change the way consumers interact with games, with each other, and with entertainment.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Make no mistake, Nintendo has its own content well in order. Beloved franchises came back on deck for yet another outing: New Super Mario Bros. U promises more party-platforming entertainment, and the newly announced Pikmin 3 looks nothing short of gorgeous, a grand adventure in miniature. It immediately nails the cool, shady, moist atmosphere of your backyard where, if you just looked close enough, you might just catch Captain Olimar leading scores of multicolored Pikmin into whimsical battle.

But where was everyone else?

I’m not talking about Super Smash Bros. U, which didn’t get a mention after being teased last year. No, I’m wondering where all the third-party magic went after last year’s sizzle reel promised us a dozen excited developers talking up the Wii U’s potential. And more importantly, where did that potential go?

Fair where fair’s due, Nintendo fit what it could into its 90-minute conference, and it’s entirely possible they just didn’t have room to squeeze in more than three extra companies (Warner Bros. Interactive, 5th Cell, and Ubisoft). But what they gave top priority to, while absolutely not duds in and of themselves, still felt very worrying.

For starters, the list of third-party titles in this year’s sizzle reel hasn’t changed any, save for a few subtractions and one big addition. Mass Effect 3 on a Nintendo console sounds huge…but it’s also last year’s game, available on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. So are Ninja Gaiden 3 and Batman: Arkham City. Only one, Tank! Tank! Tank!, is exclusive to the platform, and it just doesn’t look like a killer app.

The demo for Arkham City using the Wii U’s signature GamePad tablet controller in particular didn’t show much uniqueness. Inventory control? Steering bararangs? Detonating explosive gel? All things you can do on a 360 or PS3 controller. A new “B.A.T.” mode to put a touch more whoopass in your arsenal (merely activated from the GamePad) doesn’t really convince me to wait until I can play this game on this system. In fact, I didn’t.

And that’s the base problem Nintendo’s facing. Unlike the Wii, which skyrocked on its novelty and crossover appeal, the Wii U will have to fly without a general sense of good will. They’re up against casual gamers willing to stand pat with the older console and core gamers who saw their Wiis gather dust between interesting first-party games. Drawing the latter back means more great games releasing far more consistently than the Wii ever managed.

More than that, to succeed, the Wii U must establish that it’s not simply a good alternative to the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, but that games actually play better with a GamePad in the mix. So far, I have yet to see anything that makes these games the definitive editions that are worth waiting for.

That’s where Ubisoft’s zompocalypse shooter ZombiU offers some hope. As the one real third-party exclusive, it shows the GamePad used in smart ways. It’s the primary controller, and you can look down at its touch screen for information and functions vital to your survival: It’s your radar to track enemies, it scans on-screen objects, it’s a keypad to hack doors, and yes, you also run your inventory from it. But it feels far more integrated into the core gameplay and not smashed in as an afterthought feature.

That makes it better…perhaps even unique.

Another important distinction Nintendo should start making? They haven’t jumped on the Online Pass train; Batman: Arkham Asylum: Armored Edition won’t lock the Catwoman levels with a one-time-use code that must be purchased by second-time users. That’s an advantage I can readily see becoming a major differentiator as pass-locking on-disc content becomes a standard occurrence in coming years.

And they should start doing that right now. It generally takes developers a while to truly get the hang of Nintendo’s innovative frameworks and interfaces and turn them into innovative gameplay. But with Microsoft and Sony poised to one-up Nintendo with new, more powerful consoles next year and Nintendo’s finances taking a hit in recent months, the clock might tick louder — and faster — than before.

“Unique” might save them. But not without “more” and “better.”

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Xavier Poix, managing director of the Ubisoft France game studios, joined Reggie Fils-Aime, president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America, on stage during Nintendo’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) press conference on Tuesday to show ZombiU, a survival horror game where players have to fight off the undead.

Fils-Aime took a picture of his face with the Wii U’s tablet controller, which the game then zombified into a grotesque, animated image (pictured above).

A short video of ZombiU showed other unique features using the Wii U pad, which contains a touchscreen and gyroscope controls. One example showed a player trying to crack a security code on a locked door with the touchscreen. Players can also use the controller for sniping by holding the device in front of the area on the TV where they want to zoom in (pictured below).

Ubisoft Montpellier, which previously worked on From Dust, Beyond Good & Evil, and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, is developing ZombiU.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Ubisoft showed the world that it is ready to support Nintendo’s new, tablet-based system at its pre-E3 press conference with a plethora of game trailers.

First was Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth. The computer-generated trailer offered little information on how the game will play, but it did show plenty of famous superheroes, including Spider-Man, Wolverine, Captain America, Hawkeye, Thor, and Iron Man. The press conference’s hosts made the biggest fuss for the reveal of a Wii U logo at the end of the video.

A live demo for Rayman Legends, the sequel to the critically acclaimed 2D sidescroller Rayman Origins, demonstrated how developers could use the Wii U’s tablet for new and interesting ideas.

“The combinations of new controls and original game styles that the Nintendo Wii U makes possible really inspired the creative ambition of the team working on Rayman Legends,” said Michel Ancel, creative director at Ubisoft, in a press release sent to GamesBeat. “Rayman Legends expands upon what everyone loves about Rayman’s world and adds new ways of playing together that will make it the most collaborative and fun game in the franchise.”

The company showed off another computer-generated trailer, this time for ZombiU, a (please act surprised) undead-infested survival horror game for Nintendo’s Wii U set in England. The video’s creepy music and camera-panning still images of dramatic moments, including a man blowing his brains out before a horde of zombies can reach him, were reminiscent of the famous ad for Dead Island, another zombie game.

GamesBeat learned details about ZombiU earlier at a dinner with Xavier Poix, managing director of the Ubisoft France game studios. The title will be a realistic shooter that allows players with a regular Wii remote to battle the brain-seeking monsters while another person can use the tablet controller to command hordes of undead.

“ZombiU is a dark and daunting game that gamers will love to play again and again,” said Guillaume Brunier, producer at Ubisoft, in a press release issued to GamesBeat. “ZombiU takes advantage of the Nintendo Wii U’s one-of-a-kind capabilities and will be a launch title that every gamer will want to sink their teeth into.” The title is being developed by Ubisoft Montpellier, which previously worked on From Dust, Beyond Good & Evil, and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter.

Poix told GamesBeat that Ubisoft will be the biggest third-party publisher for the Wii U. This strong show of support at its press conference certainly seems to bolster that claim.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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