Nintendo Direct disappoints

Today’s Nintendo Direct video conference was a bit of a let down for those that were expecting big news out of the company following the release of the Wii U.  Nintendo spoke mostly about known games, little about the future of the new console, and introduced apps  for the device that have very little to do with video games.

On the Wii U front, Nintendo spoke mostly about games we’ve already heard plenty about.  Pikmin 3 is scheduled for a spring release, Wii Fit U is also due out in early 2013, and LEGO City Undercover will also hit the console in early 2013 as well.  Two highly anticipated games were not discussed.  Neither Bayonetta 2 nor  The Wonderful 101 was mentioned, and no further indications that Nintendo is readying other first party games aside from Pikmin 3 was not revealed.  For the 3DS, Nintendo revealed that Luigi’s Mansion would arrive in spring 2013, Fire Emblem: Awakening in February, and a new Brain Age game will also hit the device in February.

The feature set that the Wii U launched with received a mixed reaction.  How did they address these concerns?  Well, there’s a new Google Maps application coming to the console, which will allow users to see the world in panoramic view on the Wii U GamePad.  There was no mention of any changes or enhancements coming to the Nintendo Network, Miiverse, or other features on the console that could use some extra polishing.