Top Stories from E3 2011

Nintendo revealed much about its new console, the Wii U, at the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo. Not only did the company show the physical system itself, but it also revealed a new type of controller--one that integrates a large touch screen in the middle that lets users interact with games directly and allows them to stream Wii U games to that screen when the TV is in use by another person....

The Wii U's controller is the definition of a "kitchen sink." It has got so many different kinds of control schemes inside of it. You could even say that all the roads of Nintendo's past have led the company to the new controller. Looking at the company’s historical product lineup, you can see possible influences from more than 20 years back.

It was a huge Electronic Entertainment Expo for Nintendo this year. On top of promoting its 3DS lineup, the company formally announced a successor to the Wii, called the Wii U. GameSpot had a chance to speak with Mario creator and Nintendo senior managing director Shigeru Miyamoto about the company's handheld and its software, how The Legend of Zelda's 25th anniversary celebration came to be, and what the future holds for Nintendo's brand-new platform.

GameSpot: Let's start with the 3DS. We got to see a lot of content announced. Some of it is titles that we are familiar with, and some of it is new. Has there been a philosophy or a direction that Nintendo is taking in bringing titles to the 3DS?

Shigeru Miyamoto: Well, I'm really seeing a couple of different tendencies in 3DS software, and one is that the system itself is, I think, a great system, where games that we've released in the past can be remade and really take on new meaning, and there are new ways to make them fun. But on the other hand, at this point, what we're also looking at of course is creating new installments in existing franchises. And so that's, I think, where the system is right now.

GS: So speaking of existing franchises, if you were going to make another Pikmin game, would it be on the 3DS or the Wii U? Any preference?...

Irrational's BioShock Infinite E3 2011 demo was enthralling, exhilarating, and any other word you can pluck from the cavalcade of adjectives that convey astonishment at how a city in the sky and its residents sprang to life and instantly captivated audience members sitting slack-jawed in the 2K Games booth. It was a memorable moment in a show peppered with memorable moments, but it was also a vastly...

One week ago today, I staggered onto a Southwest flight headed to Oakland, having just spent a grueling week in LA covering the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo. I took a seat near the back, along the aisle, because I was sick and hung over and felt a star-flecked stumble to the bathroom could be in my future.

Back in the early part of this century, Nintendo was going through hard times. Sony's emergence in the console world wrested away Nintendo's ironclad hold on the industry, and disappointing sales for both the Nintendo 64 and GameCube, along with mediocre third-party support across the board, left many people wondering if Nintendo still had a future as a hardware manufacturer. When Microsoft...