E3 2011 Anticipation: Nintendo Wii

The Wii’s days are numbered. That is an undeniable fact. But the exact number left has yet to be determined.

We will know more this June when Nintendo holds its long-awaited E3 press conference. While the conference will mostly be used to hype the Wii 2, the original Wii is not likely to be ignored.

But if new games are indeed about to be announced, what can we expect?

E3 Predictions: Nintendo Wii Announcements

Pokémon: While this game has already been confirmed, the exact name and gameplay specifications have yet to be revealed. Will it be another battle arena-style Pokémon? Will it be a motion-controlled photography outing like Pokémon Snap? Or will Nintendo finally cave and develop a full-fledged Pokémon RPG for Nintendo Wii?

For now, this game is little more than a mystery. But let’s hope it’s not a sequel to Pokémon Mystery Dungeon. That would suck.

Wii Fit Version 3: Nintendo already has a Swan Song game for hardcore Wii players–The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. But if the company wants to please the average consumer, Nintendo must release one last game that caters to this market. For better or worse, that game is likely to be another Wii Fit.

Pilotwings or Star Fox: Aside from MMOs, which will never come to Wii, there are just two genres that Nintendo has yet to develop for the aging platform: flight simulators and flight/combat games. While Nintendo has never been big on either genre, Pilotwings is essentially a lighthearted, consumer-friendly flight simulator, while Star Fox is a linear flight/combat game.

Assuming that Nintendo is still committed to developing games for the original Wii, expect to see one of these franchises at E3 this year.

Another Mini-Game Collection and Wii Remote Combo: Nintendo loves its game/Wii remote combos. They’re cheap to develop, they sell a ton of copies, and they help keep Nintendo in the black.

What will the next mini-game collection include? That’s anyone’s guess. But rest assured, another one is on its way.

Mario Party: Speaking of mini-game collections, things sure have been quiet in the land of Mario Party. Expect the silence to end at this year’s E3 with a brief announcement.

Mortal Kombat: I’m not sure what form Mortal Kombat could or should take on Nintendo Wii. But considering that Warner Bros. abandoned the Wii with its current MK release, something tells me that it will attempt to make up for that at E3. Granted, this game may not turn out to be anything more than a collection of old MK games (which we’ve already had) or a remake of MK1, 2 or 3 (which isn’t that bad of an idea).

Wii Sports Offshoot: Though I’m convinced that Nintendo will save the next Wii Sports for Wii 2, I wouldn’t surprised if the company released an offshoot for the original Wii.

Third-Party Hype: To make up for what could be a lack of first-party excitement, Nintendo may choose to let third-party developers do most of the talking at this year’s E3. But don’t expect too many new announcements. If anything, they will simply hype the forthcoming Wii games that have already been announced.