Tomorrow's Nintendo press conference: Predictions, hopes and doubts

I've been waiting to use this image again for a loooong time.



It's not uncommon for Nintendo fans to go months without information on games from their favourite developer. So when we hear the words "press conference", we usually go all sorts of insane. My first reaction to this sort of thing is to start thinking up what might happen at the event, and this press conference is no different. At the same time, my imagination goes wild with extremely unlikely hopes for announcements. I also consider some downright almost-certainly-not-going-to-happen announcements and reveals. So what will most likely happen? What do I dearly wish will happen? And what is most likely not going to occur at all? My predictions, hopes and doubts follow.

Predictions

These are the things I'm almost sure will happen. I doubt all of them will show up at this conference, but I have a good feeling at least one of them will.

Assets for Animal Crossing Wii will be shown

This game has been in a bizarre state of confirmation for quite some time. Nintendo is making it, and they're well aware that we know this. On several occasions, they pretty much outright confirmed it's existance. But still, there's no screenshots, video, official announcements or anything. Come tomorrow, though, I think this will change.

I'm willing to bet that we'll see at least some concept art or screenshots. Perhaps a trailer, and maybe some separate in-game footage. But I'm nearly certain we'll see at least something. And when it happens, I'll be sure to squeal with fanboyish delight.

Some news on Disaster: Day of Crisis

Of all the currently-announced Nintendo projects, Disaster: Day of Crisis is probably the one I'm most looking forward to. Even though we've seen little more than a five-second trailer and a few screenshots, I'm just so incredibly hyped for this title. And don't ask why, but I have this incredibly strong feeling that we'll be seeing some more on this game. Whether it's a new trailer, some screenshots or a name change, I'm almost positive this game will make some sort of an appearance.

The third fourth-generation Pokémon will be revealed

It's been almost a year since Pokémon Diamond and Pearl debuted in North America. I think it's about time we see the third game of the generation announced, don't you? After all, every conventional Pokémon generation (Not counting Firered and Leafgreen, which are remakes) has had three games: Two games released at the same time, with a third released later on. The third game always has some sort of special aspect to it, such as a tweaked storyline or additional areas.

It's been so long since Diamond and Pearl came out, and I've been thinking we'll see the third game soon for quite some time. To me, tomorrow seems like the perfect time and place.

Wii Channel news

This is an incredibly vague prediction, so it really can mean pretty much anything. Whether the news is a new channel, an upcoming update to an existing channel or the long-awaited release date Everybody's Nintendo Channel. I'm really hoping it's the latter, because we've really been waiting for ages and ages to get some info.

Hopes

These are all things I hope very much will happen, but seem improbable for one reason or another. Whether or not any of the following happens is beyond me, but I'd sure be happy if some of it did!

An F-Zero, Star Fox or Pikmin sequel to be announced

Come on, how awesome would this be? A new F-Zero on the Wii, with online play and Excite Truck-style steering! Or a new Star Fox game exactly like the one I yakked about back in June! And what about that new Pikmin everyone keeps begging for, with Shigeru Miyamoto-approved motion controls!

However, this remains merely a hope because of how relatively low-profile this press conference is going to be. It's not like E3 or the Tokyo Game Show, so we really shouldn't expect anything too huge. But still...

A solution to the Wii's puny 512 MB memory

Nobody can deny this: The Wii's default memory capacity sucks. SD Cards stream too slowly to be viable solutions, and the Wii-fridgerator idea is way too clunky and time-consuming. We need a hard drive, and we need it yesterday. With all these Virtual Console downloads, gamesaves and the impending WiiWare launch, space on our Wii's memory is going to become even more scarce. I really hope Nintendo's working out a solution to this.

But, no matter how hard I hope, it just doesn't seem like something Nintendo would do. Hard drives are expensive, and they just don't fit with the sort of approach Nintendo is taking. So as much as I'd like for it to happen, I doubt we'll see this tomorrow, if at all.

Doubts

These are announcements that I neither expect or really anticipate all that much. If they don't happen, meh, okay. If they do, ok, cool. I really don't care much either way. Not that it matters, since these are almost surely not going to happen.

New Wii colours

While it would be kind of cool to see a red or black Wii, I really don't see it happening. First of all, the Wii is already selling like mad. Sales don't need a kick in the butt just yet. Second, Nintendo's already having trouble keeping up with demand. New colours would just divide their resources even more. I don't think we'll be seeing new Wii colours for quite some time yet.

A new DS remodel

Whatever they do to make the next DS remodel different, it probably won't be happening for a while. To start, DS Lite's are still selling fairly well in almost every one of the world's markets. Also, what exactly could they change about the DS Lite to warrant another model? It's already incredibly small, it has a great battery life, and the screens are crystal clear. Any possible improvements are incredibly minor. I think we'll be seeing an entirely new generation of handhelds first, and that's far too big for a relatively minor event such as this.

So then, my predictions have been made, my hopes are stated, and my doubts are placed. Time to sit back and watch how things go down.

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The Duck Has Spoken.