Our first reaction to the latest notorious press conference.

Less of a press conference, more of a step through the looking glass, Nintendo's pre-E3 gatherings are more and more exercises in suspending disbelief. Never one for travelling the expected road, Nintendo yet again left the journalists of Santa Monica's Civic Auditorium and the legions of fans glued to streaming videos in a mix of amusement and bemusement.

The hallmarks were there: banter between Nintendo's real-life characters, talk of expanding audiences and shifting paradigms, a distinct lack of real, hard gaming footage and information, and a bizarre denouement. But this year's conference had an explicitly more evangelical tone than before, Nintendo now convinced that expanding the gaming audience is their mission, and there is no-one better to do it.

After having been kicked about by competitors with condescension in the N64 and Gamecube years, Nintendo are clearly ready to bask in their new success. The opening section of the conference, with its kaleidoscope of statistics about rising numbers of female and older gamers, and the startling but unsurprising dominance of the DS in the console market, was a back-patting session, but it set the stage for the main point of the conference.

Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart, third party online, Smash Bros. in the USA this December, new Wii Channel, the Zapper: all interesting enough, but nothing truly headline grabbing. Games weren't what Nintendo were concerned about this evening: this was a chance to preach the message of inclusivity, a reminder that Nintendo are marching towards a sort of world domination. Things like Metroid probably get in the way.

Like an eccentric preacher, Reggie took to the oratory and spoke of Nintendo's salvation: proving that "games are for everyone" and providing those very games for everyone. Nintendogs and Brain Training were the beginning, a road that has taken us to Wii Sports, Flash Focus, and the promised My Life Coach. The next big step is Wii Fit, marking another step away from traditional videogaming for Nintendo, a product that is both amazing and terrifying in its ability to conquer the mass market. A wireless board captures your shifts of body mass, allowing you to exercise with your Wii. Your body really is the controller, not even a nunchuk needed.

The response to the press conference is easy to forecast. The enthusiasts may be dismayed at the lack of concrete gaming information, but that should filter through tonight and in the next couple of days. The conference was engineered to push forward the agenda of winning the mass market, to "steal" as much of the videogamer's hours as possible. Wii Fit is hardly ambitious gaming, but it is ambitious thinking. The Wii's divergence as a lifestyle product continues, but the games, whether they got the spotlight or not, will still be clogging up our news pages this time next week.

Declaring "we are the ultimate interactive experience", there's no doubt left that Nintendo have their eyes on the prize. Where this will end up isn't certain, but what we can say is that E3 is about more than one showcase in the Civic Auditorium. So whatever your opinion of the conference, keep your eyes on that refresh button. The flood gates are open.

Conor Smyth
[email protected]

NE will be doing a more formal response to the conference, and the show in general, once the dust has settled. In the meantime, stay tuned at our E3 page for any and all updates we can get our greedy hands on.