2010 was the best E3 in recent memory, in terms of Nintendo's showing. We knew Skyward Sword would be shown, so that was exciting (even if the actual game was not so much). But what really pegged my meter days before the show was the leak that Retro Studios was making a Donkey Kong title. That said DK title turned out to be a Country revival utterly blew my mind as the conference went down. Epic Yarn was another swell reveal, but it was all out-done by the 3DS, starting with the amazing revelation Kid Icarus was coming back, under the guiding hand of Sakurai himself. And this was followed by a rat-a-tat-tat string of reveals that had me in hype mode for months: Ocarina of Time 3D, Resident Evil Revelations, MGS3D: Snake Eater, Pilotwings Resort, Star Fox 64 3D, etc. Simply amazing.
This year's E3 looks equally promising where Nintendo is concerned. Nintendo has confirmed that PIKMIN 3 and New Super Mario Bros. WiiU will be at the show. That's at least two WiiU titles right there, and I'm sure there will be more. Will Retro Studios' new game be shown? What about NST? Good Feel? Monster Games? Silicon Knights? The other EAD groups? So much to see, and then there's 3DS, which will surely have new news on Animal Crossing, Paper Mario, Luigi's Mansion, NSMB2 and more. The most exciting prospect is possibly seeing some franchises revived, much like Kid Icarus, DKC and Pilotwings were at E3 2010. We know Pikmin is coming back, and if that were it, that would still be enough to make my day as a gamer. But it's fun to think that maybe, just maybe, we'll see some other franchises come back as well. Wave Race? F-Zero?
Little more than six weeks now. This is the point at which the journey is most fun.