Features// SPOnG's Review of the Year 2011: June

As always, the biggest news of June comes from E3. This year the crown would probably have to go to Nintendo, which took the big step of announcing its next console, the Wii U.

Before that though... The PlayStation Network was back! Or at least the PlayStation Store was!

Showcasing the new mix of standard Wii motion controls as well as a new controller with a built-in touchscreen, Nintendo seemed to be hoping that lightning will strike twice and its efforts to change the face of gaming again will lead to the same massive success that the first Wii‘s reliance on motion sensing did.

The Wii U’s announcement was, thanks to some dodgy wording from various executives, initially met with some confusion. It was unclear whether Nintendo was talking about a new console, a new controller or an expansion for the existing Wii.

While Nintendo was quick to clear up the confusion with its official unveiling, many observers were still left sceptical about the potentially gimmicky nature of the console. Nintendo were undeterred however, instead stressing its aims to win back the ‘hardcore‘ gaming crowd as well as holding on to the casual family-friendly market they captured with the Wii.

Solid third-party support has been an issue for Nintendo in the past, with the Wii in particular suffering from a slew of inferior ports and missing out on big titles due to its hardware. The Wii U looks set to fare better, with a port of Batman: Arkham City confirmed alongside instalments of the popular Tekken, Assassin‘s Creed, Battlefield and Dragon Quest series.

Nintendo was surprisingly tight-lipped when it came to confirming having any of its own projects in the pipeline for its new machine. But that rebel Shigeru Miyamoto couldn‘t help but confirm that he was working on a new Pikmin game for the Wii U.

Aside from the Wii U, Nintendo was also celebrating the 25th anniversary of its Legend of Zelda series, announcing a slew of games across all of its current platforms throughout the year.

June saw the release of the 3DS remake of the beloved classic Ocarina of Time as well as a port of Link‘s Awakening on the 3DS‘ virtual console.

Sony focussed primarily on promoting its next handheld console the PlayStation Vita. With considerably greater technical oomph behind it than Sony‘s former handheld the PSP, and a greater focus on social networking alongside gaming, Sony was presumably hoping to finally wrest the market away from Nintendo... and the growing threat of smartphones.

Some big PS Vita games shown off included Uncharted: Golden Abyss, a spin-off instalment of Sony‘s PS3-exclusive Uncharted series and a port of Capcom‘s upcoming console crossover fighter Street Fighter X Tekken, which was revealed to include an exclusive guest character in the electrical-powered Cole McGrath from another exclusive PS3 series, Sony‘s InFamous.