Alright, my first live blog! Let’s get this thing started. All times are CDT, where the conference starts at 11am.
11:02 – Conference starts. Montage of fans, reporters, and other people praising the Wii and DS, and documenting their reach to the broader market.
11:04 – “My name is Reggie. And I – am happy.” Reggie takes the stage, and talks how this E3 is a celebration, a turning point for video games.
11:06 – Reggie talks about the booming industry (growth is up 46% in US, 42% in Europe, 114% in Japan).
11:07 – 69% of 2007′s industry growth comes from sales Nintendo products in comparison to Microsoft and Sony. Console market share of 70% in the past has now dropped to 50% due to handhelds.
11:08 – DS marketshare doubled from 2005 to 2006 to 23%, up to a quarter of all hardware sales in US.
11:09 – More talk about how Nintendo sales are reaching older gamers. Those over the age of 25 account for about a quarter of Nintendo sales.
11:11 – Across the rest of the industry, gamers are made up of 80% men and 20% women. Across Nintendo platforms, this ratio becomes 67% to 33%. 75% of women over 25 have reported playing the Wii, with one third playing it regularly.
11:15 – DS flew past the 40 million sales mark several months ago. Wii is still sold out worldwide. Wii is poised to be #1 worldwide this generation “very soon.”
11:16 – 60 games in Wii catalog, 300 for DS. This year, 100 more can be expected for the Wii, and 140 more for the Nintendo DS.
11:17 – Another video montage of Wii players and fan videos, including Nintendo Short Cuts entries.
11:19 – New Wii Zapper revealed, with a second handle with a better trigger. Wii Zapper will be available for Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, Ghost Squad, and Medal of Honor (built specifically for Wii Zapper).
11:21 – More Wii Zapper games will be revealed by third parties this week. Wii Zapper will be packaged with Nintendo games this year, and will be available seperately for $19.99.
11:23 – Dragon Quest Swords (Wii) coming early next year.
11:24 – Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games coming later this year, with up to four player gameplay.
11:25 – Super Smash Bros. Brawl shown. Game will be released in the Americas on December 3rd. “It’s the best Smash Bros. ever, by far.”
11:26 – Another video, featuring Mike and Jackie from TheHylia.com. Mike then joins Reggie on stage to talk about The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. Touch control revolutionizes the Zelda franchise like never before. Link can even walk tightropes that you draw across chasms (which is awesome).
11:30 – Metroid Prime 3: Corruption demoed by Jackie (from TheHylia.com). Game controls shown to be extremely smooth and easy to use. Z can lock on to any enemy and allow you to strafe around that enemy, but you’ll still be able to aim anywhere on screen using the Wii remote.
11:33 – Reggie shows off another video, related to online play over the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.
11:34 – 5.5 million DS owners have gone online for over 230 million online sessions.
11:35 – Virtual Console has delivered more than 5.6 million downloads for 112 classic games.
11:36 – WiiWare mentioned.
11:36 – “Check Me Out” Mii channel announced for Wii. You can vote on other Miis, and download the ones you like. This seems to be the popularity channel.
11:37 – Nintendo’s seriousness for online play is discussed with Pokémon Battle Revolution and Mario Strikers Charged. Madden NFL Football ’08 and FIFA ’08 from EA also shown. Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker from Square Enix also shown as online. Guitar Hero III: Legends for Wii will allow players to battle online.
11:39 – Mario Kart for Wii will launch in the first quarter of next year, and will allow you to race opponents worldwide. You’ll also be able to play battle mode online. More racers will also be included, but Reggie won’t reveal how many just yet.
11:40 – New Wii Wheel peripheral revealed to be packaged with Mario Kart for Wii. Looks simply like a wheel that you insert the Wii remote into horizontally.
11:41 – Another video, this time on expanding the market to all people and all ages.
11:43 – Satoru Iwata comes on stage to talk about new games for the expanded market. He talks about the success of Nintendogs, Brain Age, and WiiSports. He uses the Japanese cooking game for DS regularly to cook dinner for his family now. Says he wants to expand the market not to alienate the core players, but to allow the expanded market to potentially become experienced game players in the future. The gamer/non-gamer barrier should be broken.
11:50 – Video montage showing average people praising Super Mario Galaxy (how’d they get this game?) and Brain Age 2.
11:53 – Brain Age 2 coming August 20th. Super Mario Galaxy will be the first worthy successor to Super Mario 64. The new gameplay interface should revolutionize platformers, as it’s easily accessible to anyone. Super Mario Galaxy will be available November 12.
11:55 – Picross DS and MySims shown to be of appeal to all ages. High School Musical games on Wii and DS to be amazing. 
11:56 – Vision training game to be called Flash Focus in the Americas. The game will exercise your vision.
11:57 – Ubisoft’s My Word Coach to offer their own training game. My Life Coach also in development.
11:58 – Video about Wii Sports being beneficial for health and exercise.
12:00 – WiiFit revealed. Game uses a wireless pad for both your feet and detects the pressure you put on the pad. Exercises shown, what seems to resemble yoga included, and hula loops shown. Soccer goalie games, dancing games, more yoga.
12:03 – Mr. Miyamoto comes on stage to discuss WiiFit. He is joined by a translator and three fitness trainers. Sharon demonstrates a balance and leg exercise on the pad. John shows off step aerobics, where you must match the rhythm of the Miis on screen. Josephine demonstrates body twists, which help with balance. The game will be on the show floor today, with over 40 exercise games.
12:08 – The Wii Balance Board for WiiFit can measure your weight and how you balance shifts as you stand on the board. It can also be used as a new interface for games that use full body motion. The device is wireless.
12:09 – Measurement is really important in WiiFit. Reggie comes to stand on the Wii Balance Board. Reggie claims he is wearing heavy clothing in case they check! Reggie’s balance is shifted slightly to the right.
12:11 – Graphs are shown for all users of the game, and can be compared to each other on a chart.
12:12 – Reggie’s Body Mass Index is 27.51 (average is around 22), and his Mii suddenly becomes fat.
12:13 – Miyamoto and Reggie compete in soccer. The game actually looks pretty fun! Reggie wins! And that Olay song is playing as Miyamoto leaves.
12:16 – Reggie closes by saying that they aren’t satisfied, and that Nintendo would like to be a part of more of your time.
12:17 – Conference ends.
