Gallery: Nintendo Keeps Casual, Ignores Hard-Core at E3

: LOS ANGELES -- Nintendo loves casual gamers like Mario loves mushrooms. At a press conference kicking off day two of the E3 Media and Business Summit, the maker of Wii and Nintendo DS said Tuesday that while imitators copy its winning strategy, the company will continue to aggressively pursue nontraditional gamer markets. Nintendo introduced a new line of products aimed at a wider audience, like a new entry in multiplayer community game series Animal Crossing , a sequel to the hit Wii Sports and a music game that, unlike Rock Band , doesn't give you a "game over" if you play the wrong note.

But if you're a hard-core gamer who wants a new Mario or Legend of Zelda , Nintendo had nothing for you. Left: E3 might have been scaled back, but Nintendo's press conferences still bring out the crazy fans, like this Destructoid.com writer in a robot mask. Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com : Olympic gold medalist Shaun White kicks off Nintendo's press conference Tuesday.

White demonstrated the Wii version of the snowboard game that bears his name, to be published later this year by Ubisoft. White, left, and Nintendo Executive Vice President Cammie Dunaway both played the game, which uses the Wii Balance Board that comes with Wii Fit to simulate real snowboarding moves like leaning forward to speed up. Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com : Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, a former game designer who helped create the Kirby series, recaps Nintendo's newfound success over the past few years with Wii and DS.

He said the company's teams in Japan were hard at work making new games in the Super Mario and Legend of Zelda series, but didn't say much else about them. Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com : Animal Crossing: City Folk is one of Nintendo's big Wii releases for the upcoming Christmas season. The game lets you create characters that live in a town full of animals and go about their daily lives even when you're not playing.

You can go online and join friends so everyone can play together, and the new Wii Speak microphone, designed to sit on top of your television, lets everyone communicate with each other. Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com : Nintendo's E3 press conference takes place in the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, the site of the Academy Awards ceremony each year. Nintendo's event has a slightly different dress code than the Oscars.

Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com : Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé demonstrates a virtual Jet Ski game that's included in Wii Sports Resort , a newly announced package set for release in spring 2009. The game will include Wii MotionPlus , an add-on to the company's current motion-sensing controller that gives the Wiimote an even more accurate reading of players' movements. In this game, Fils-Aimé twisted the controllers to move his handlebars.

Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com : Fils-Aimé, left, and Dunaway face off in a fencing minigame included with Wii Sports Resort . The onscreen swords matched what the executives did with the Wiimotes in their hands. Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com : Nintendo closes its conference with a demonstration of Wii Music , another game the company plans to release this Christmas.

Legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, right, teamed up with three other Nintendo employees to rock out to the Super Mario Bros. theme song, pressing buttons and moving the controllers to simulate playing instruments. In total, the game will feature 50 different virtual instruments to play.

Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com or Legend of Zelda , Nintendo had nothing for you. Left: E3 might have been scaled back, but Nintendo's press conferences still bring out the crazy fans, like this Destructoid.com writer in a robot mask. Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com : Olympic gold medalist Shaun White kicks off Nintendo's press conference Tuesday.

White demonstrated the Wii version of the snowboard game that bears his name, to be published later this year by Ubisoft. White, left, and Nintendo Executive Vice President Cammie Dunaway both played the game, which uses the Wii Balance Board that comes with Wii Fit to simulate real snowboarding moves like leaning forward to speed up. Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com : Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, a former game designer who helped create the Kirby series, recaps Nintendo's newfound success over the past few years with Wii and DS.

He said the company's teams in Japan were hard at work making new games in the Super Mario and Legend of Zelda series, but didn't say much else about them. Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com : Animal Crossing: City Folk is one of Nintendo's big Wii releases for the upcoming Christmas season. The game lets you create characters that live in a town full of animals and go about their daily lives even when you're not playing.

You can go online and join friends so everyone can play together, and the new Wii Speak microphone, designed to sit on top of your television, lets everyone communicate with each other. Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com : Nintendo's E3 press conference takes place in the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, the site of the Academy Awards ceremony each year. Nintendo's event has a slightly different dress code than the Oscars.

Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com : Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé demonstrates a virtual Jet Ski game that's included in Wii Sports Resort , a newly announced package set for release in spring 2009. The game will include Wii MotionPlus , an add-on to the company's current motion-sensing controller that gives the Wiimote an even more accurate reading of players' movements. In this game, Fils-Aimé twisted the controllers to move his handlebars.

Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com : Fils-Aimé, left, and Dunaway face off in a fencing minigame included with Wii Sports Resort . The onscreen swords matched what the executives did with the Wiimotes in their hands. Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com : Nintendo closes its conference with a demonstration of Wii Music , another game the company plans to release this Christmas.

Legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, right, teamed up with three other Nintendo employees to rock out to the Super Mario Bros. theme song, pressing buttons and moving the controllers to simulate playing instruments. In total, the game will feature 50 different virtual instruments to play.

Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com. Wed Jul 2008 08:07 (5 months, 4 weeks ago)