Its that time of year again. The time where companies prepare to show off their upcoming games for their respective consoles and the time where gamers eagerly await the release of said games. This event known as E3 is where the magic happens and is the first place we hear about upcoming releases or projects. Some people may want to know what Nintendo has in store for Wii owners this time around and what we can expect for the rest of 2008. Heres what we know so far:

Reggie Peaks Our Interest

Reggie got the ball rolling early on this year when he made this comment:
"I'll tell you this," he said. "We're going to have great new content maximising all of our key franchises. It's going to be a great second half. "There's going to be a big game for the holiday that gamers will want. All I can tell you is what we announce during E3 is going to be fantastic. The gamers are going to be excited and the expanded audience is going to be excited. We're gonna have great content."

The key franchises he is talking about are the games that we have not yet seen on Wii. We've already got a Smash Bros. title, Mario Game, Metroid and Mario Kart..so whats left? Expect to hear release dates and info on these series'/games, Animal Crossing, Pikmin, F-Zero, and StarFox. Whether all those games make their way to our consoles in 2008 is uncertain, but we will hear about all of these at E3. The two that are most certainly on their way soon are Animal Crossing and Pikmin, more on Animal Crossing in a minute.

Holiday Surprise

Next we have the "big game" for the holidays. Members of forums and Wii owners have been wondering about this game ever since Reggie had made that comment. What could it possibly be though? Rumors state that Retro Studios, the makers of the Metroid Prime series are hard at work on a Zelda spin-off, quite possibly a Zelda FPS of some kind. The other big rumor is that Factor 5 is working a secret Wii title that will maximize the capabilities of the Wii, maximize franchises..maximize the Wii seems like a bit of a pattern no? Any case that game is said to be a new Kid Icarus title, but could that Zelda spin-off or Kid Icarus really be the holiday hit or gamers game we will all enjoy? If its not one of those two expect a Zelda title following the series to be released for the holidays as Twilight Princess was released about a year ago, plenty of time for a fresh "Wii" Zelda. (Definitely expect new info on a new Zelda game at E3)

Another point of interest is the matter of Mario, and how we have seen plenty of him throughout the Wii's tenure. The point of interest though is that Miyamoto and others have hinted at possibilities of a Mario Galaxy sequel mentioning that it wouldn't be a bad idea. They're right, it wouldn't be a bad idea at all as Super Mario Galaxy was a great game and was well received. Maybe we will get some info on that game at E3 as well?

Hardware and Accessories

More about hardware now and accessories. Nintendo has not been shy about its accessories or peripherals that it has made for Wii, expect one or two to be revealed at E3. Last year they showed off the Wii Zapper which could be played with a bunch of different shooting games. This time around expect to hear info on a Wii headset, one that is long overdue. Expect it to be mentioned alongside Animal Crossing, which is the best game they could release it with no doubt as Animal Crossing has the potential of being the Wii's biggest and best online game ever. Headset will probably end up working like this though, chatting ability will only be used for friends that you have added in your games through friend codes. Could be a bit of a downer, but its still a good addition nonetheless. Another add-on which has a lower chance of being mentioned is the much wanted Wii Hard Drive. Nintendo has downplayed this on different occasions but maybe that was to increase interest?

Whatever the case, news will start trickling in soon and rumors will surfacing regarding different games and what not. In the July issue of Nintendo Power they have a few surprises in store, the moon which many have seen and speculated on which can be found in the upcoming June issue of Nintendo Power. What was on the moon, no one is certain. Rumored to be mentioned in the July issue is a big third party game which may or may not be on the moon. Either way expect a two or three new games to be mentioned in that magazine in July.

Summary

Heres what we can expect at E3. New peripherals (headset/hard-drive), news on Animal Crossing (headset launches with it), Pikmin, F-Zero and StarFox. Details of a new Zelda are also revealed and a Zelda FPS and Kid Icarus game could be on their way soon. Mario Galaxy sequel and mentions of improved third party support are sure to be revealed as well. July 15-17th at E3 will be interesting times for Nintendo for sure, but not nearly as interesting or fun as it will be later this year when we get to play all of these great titles.

Since Sotoru Iwata hinted on it, I really do think there will be some sort of storage solution. What really has my attention is that game that is coming out during the holidays.

agreed im very excited 4 a headset and or a hard drive the big game better be worth the wait like ssbb or mk or wii fit

agreed

very interesting stuff indeed. remember at the start of january,i posted release dates for 2008 and everyone said 2008 is not good for wii? well we can see that it will be better than last year, especially with stuff like headset and harddrive as well as awesome 3rd party games. gosh i really want a f-zero title!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The new game better have absolutely nothing to do with Wii Fit.

unless it is 1080 snowboarding..

CantGetAWii, do you have a link for this article?

grr im on holiday when E3 is, ill need to find a pc and internet connection some were :S

sounds good, like always the future looks bright, but i really dont see a SMG sequal TBH

Nintendo is on a roll. A Nintendo Chat Channel would finalize their dominance. I heard Wiiware will have online multiplayer games launch later. That would explain their lack of interest in turning VC games into online multiplayer. VC needs a lot of work, and I feel Nintendo neglected it. They also need more 3rd party support. Decent 3rd party support. The Wiifiit wasn't exactly the bomb last year. Let's hope Nintendo drops a nuke on competition in July.

i say its obviously Kid Ircuras.
i mean, cmon, metroid made an awesome transition from 2D to 3D so they are having the metroid team working on it to transfer it to 3D. and kid icarus played just like metroid but vertical. also, a 3D kid icarus would be like zelda to an extent. then with pitt being in SSBB... and only gamers knwo about kid icarus still, really, so i would bet on tihs.

Although Nintendo will probably have the least convincing E3 of the three, it would be GREAT if voice chat, a Star Fox game, and possibly hard drive with downloadable content came along.

^ you may have a point...

i believe he wrote it himself.

Interesting stuff, I would prefer a new Starfox title as the big holiday hit.
Iv never played animal crossing or pikmin so it will be interesting.

A harddrive or somesort of storage device, is the reason for the lack of decent third party support look at Gh3 and RockBand.

I would like a headset but i dont need it, id rather Ipod support :P say like a small fee off wii points than BAM ipod tunes on teh wii

I hate reading and hearing stuff like this because it gets me really excited, only to be let down.

New Zelda Game or StarFox Game would be awesome!