To be honest, I hadn't given the conference much thought leading up to it but ended up watching it in the early hours of Tuesday morning. I may not have understood a word that came out of both Miyamoto and Iwata, but I saw enough from the footage behind them to give me a clearer picture of what Nintendo has in store for us in the coming months.

In the run up to the release of Skyward Sword this November I have observed very little footage from the game and found myself a little underwhelmed by what few snippets I had seen. When the conference began I watched with curiosity as the game was shown on the big screen. My doubts about the game immediately vanished as my jaw hit the floor with how great everything about the game looked.

In fact, this was my general feeling towards everything from the early portion of the show! Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 followed closely behind Zelda and, again, my previous reservations were completely obliterated by the material shown. The latest game in the popular racing series perhaps impressed me the most as, for me, everything looked awesome, particularly the track designs and how the gliding and underwater sections will really add a new dynamic to the game.

Kid Icarus also looked better than before, if still a little unconvincing on the whole, and the sequel to one of my favourite Gamecube games, Luigi's Mansion, seems to be progressing well.

It was nice to see a new game in the form of Mario Tennis revealed, even if the previous outing in the series was less fun than the N64 version. A lot of the other games, however, weren't really of much interest to me personally.

As for the Circle Pad add-on, I was glad that it wasn't actually shown at the conference as I feel that took away from the importance of the peripheral, making it seem that it wasn't a necessity and merely an optional extra.

Overall, I was pretty happy with what I saw!

- Gregory Moffett

A few hours before the event took place I wasn't quite sure what to think. Would Nintendo actually show off a re-designed 3DS? Could the re-branding rumours be true? I decided (for the sake of my sanity and to avoid disappointment) not to expect too much and told myself the event would be based around the new slide pad attachment and Monster Hunter.

Despite trying to lower my expectations though, I couldn't help but stay up until 4am to watch the event. So I gazed upon Miyamoto and Iwata with excitement as they spoke gleefully about the future of 3DS.

If the event proved anything it was that Nintendo don't need to develop a dramatic 3DS re-design, nor do they need to re-brand the entire handheld - all they need to do is show some games.

With that in mind, Nintendo unleashed trailer after trailer of a seemingly endless stream of blockbuster titles not only from themselves but also from big third party publishers. Suddenly the excitement I once felt for the 3DS a year ago was back and it was clear to me that the 3DS is going to be a great successor to the humble dual screen we all embraced into our lives years ago.

The 3DS may have been through a tough few months but the horizon certainly looks rosy with Monster Hunter, Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 to look forward to.

So, from a software perspective I was impressed but what about the hardware? Rumours have been flying about like a flock of Pidgey over the last few days regarding a 3DS re-design and I have to say I was happy that one wasn't shown. It's far too early for Nintendo to announce a 3DS Lite (or something to that effect) and I really don't see a second slide pad as being a necessity, it's merely an extra.

The fact Nintendo didn't mention the slide pad attachment at the event was also a good thing as people over reacted so much when it was first unveiled yet games will be playable without it and I personally don't think many developers will support it. It's a nice extra for those that want it and nothing more.

Nintendo certainly seem to know what they are doing and seem to be back in control. The 3DS is going to have a bright future, has great third party support and will surely put up a good fight against the PS Vita and any Apple related product that may stand in its way.

Also, you can now sit on tree stumps in Animal Crossing. 2012 can't come soon enough.

- Josh Phillips

Well that's the last time I take any heed of pre-event rumours. Thank you, internet for pointlessly bringing up the possibility of sequels to Yoshi's Island, Baten Kaitos and Mach Rider. I must now implement a personal rule to take anything unsubstantiated originating on certain gaming forums as false, because investing any interest into it is a complete waste of time.

Which is the exact opposite of what I can say for Nintendo's conference. What we saw was a staunch defiance of the notion that the 3DS will go meekly into the night after the two Marios do the business this Christmas. Nintendo reminded us of its big guns: Kid Icarus, Paper Mario, Animal Crossing, and new surprises Fire Emblem and Mario Tennis. It also proved its ability to call in big favours from third parties when it matters: a new original RPG from Square-Enix, Dynasty Warriors, Tekken and 'that' megaton.

Whether you find yourself personally interested in it or not, Monster Hunter 4 is another game-changer. I fully expect it to transpire that it is not a 3DS-exclusive fairly soon, but regardless, it sends a potent message: if the crowd at Nintendo's stomping ground wants its biggest franchises in one place, it needs look no further than 3DS.

Perhaps Iwata had a point when he said this event represented an unprecedented range of games - the 150-million-selling DS certainly did not have a such volume of titles in the pipeline in its first year.

Finally, I think 'no 3DS redesign' is well worth a mention. It's wholly likely that a new model with the second circle pad will hit the market eventually, but for now, Nintendo has put its best foot forward with confidence and defied the naysayers predicting a sudden change in tack. These coming few months are going to absolutely rock; Nintendo's fightback starts here.

- Aaron Clegg

To me, it was clear that this conference was extremely focused towards the Japanese gamer. However, that doesn't mean that there isn't anything to get excited for us gamers in the West.

There may not have been many surprises, but the few that there were (Mario Tennis 3DS and Fire Emblem) should go some way to satisfy fans. 3DS gamers have a strong 2012 to look forward to, with these games adding to the already impressive roster including the first party Kid Icarus Uprising and Luigi's Mansion 2; and third party offerings such as Resident Evil Revelations and Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D. Who said there was nothing to look forward to after the two brilliant looking Mario games coming this Christmas?

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the conference was the news that Monster Hunter 4 would be coming to 3DS. Most fans of the series were probably content with Monster Hunter Tri G coming to the console, expecting the next main instalment to come to a home console. Whether it is an exclusive remains to be seen, but one should not underestimate the sales power of Monster Hunter - the last portable version on PSP sold almost five million copies worldwide.

I would have liked to see news on a Zelda or Metroid in development for the console, but I guess we have enough Zelda goodness to keep us happy this year with the release of Skyward Sword, and the Four Swords remake for DSiWare. We must remember that Phantom Hourglass wasn't released until the original DS had been out for over two years.

Perhaps the one area where Nintendo still need to work on is to bring the casual gamers to the console. Yes, we have had Nintendogs+cats. Yes, the console has the familiar Miis, but we haven't yet had an original piece of software that has captured the market in the way the first Nintendogs did, like Brain Training did, like Professor Layton did. The latter series is still being published on the DS.

The general public haven't been fully convinced they have a need to upgrade yet. No doubt Mario Kart 7 will shift millions of units, but I think we are still waiting for something really new to appeal to the casual market.

Plenty of analysts are saying that Nintendo have lost the casual market to their smart phones. They have no need for a dedicated games console. This is true, to an extent. However, I am still of the belief that the quality of software on Nintendo systems far exceeds the experience on a phone. Nintendo do need to shift their plan slightly. The eShop is a good start to bridging the gap between high budget retail games and free games available on iOS and Android, but I feel they would benefit by embracing the "app" market a bit more. Get Facebook and Twitter on the 3DS and that's another selling point. Embrace messaging - Pictochat on the DS was a wasted opportunity - but now with a truly online console it would be an extremely useful and fun app, bound to be popular with the youth market.

The firmware upgrade detailed today will bring 3D video recording which is yet another unique feature 3DS offers over its competitors. And despite being nowhere near completing those already available, I look forward to new StreetPass activities to complete.

In terms of the circle pad attachment, I am unsure of what to think. It will definitely benefit the controls of certain games, but I do not think it should ever be made obligatory to use. The accessory is ugly, but none of us know how it plays. I think a redesign of the 3DS incorporating a second stick would be a massive mistake - it would be admitting that mistakes were made with the original 3DS. For me, it is a brilliant piece of hardware. And I hope this is a brilliant add-on, but nothing more.

Overall, I am hopeful for the future of Nintendo 3DS. Nintendo need to keep doing what they do best - making top quality games, only available on Nintendo consoles. There's a reason they have been at the top of this industry for so long - they know what they're doing. However, they need to keep an eye on the competition from both the upcoming Playstation Vita and the instant download mobile market which is proving to be bigger competition than Nintendo perhaps expected.

With strong first and third party support and strong, focused advertising to the public, I am sure the 3DS will overcome a slightly stuttering start and go from strength to strength in the upcoming year.

- Paul Muchmore

While I didn't watch the media briefing live I was pleasantly surprised to see a plethora of news articles posted within such a short space of time following the event; after skimming the headlines, reading about the announcement of 'Monster Tennis 4' alongside 'Mario Hunter' I then returned to normal viewing speed and I began to take in all that had transpired.

Never before has my faith in Nintendo been stronger, the 3DS may have got off to a somewhat shakey start but I think it's now safe to say that the console is here to stay for the duration regardless of generation. All the classics are now starting to arrive with some such as Super Mario 3D Land plus Mario Kart 7 hitting worldwide before this year is out with now many more to follow in 2012 and beyond. It's more than a comfort to see companies including Capcom, Konami and even Square-Enix rolling out support for the format... indeed it's something of a relief as it's these third-parties which will ensure long-term sales for the system well into next year and beyond.

As a gamer I'm most excited to see all these must-have games either finally arriving or at least on the horizon, as a fan I'm ecstatic to see my favourite games company getting firmly back on-track.

Nintendo's future rests on the 3DS, which is now firmly in the palms of our hands... now we're playing with power!

- Sam Gittens

It seemed to me that before the conference many people were treating this as a 'make-or-break' moment in the 3DS's turbulent history, with talk of redesigns, peripherals and rebrands.

Fortunately, only one of the above actually appeared. Had Nintendo admitted defeat by redesigning and/or rebranding the 3DS the damage would have been far more extensive than it already is.

I thought the conference had a solid line-up, if not unexpected, even though there was a lack of any "bombshell" moments (save, perhaps, for Monster Hunter 4). Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 are almost undoubtedly going to be the must-have games on the console this Christmas and should cause an increase in sales leading up to the holiday.

I was personally disappointed to see Kid Icarus be officially delayed, as I've been really looking forward to seeing and playing more of that title. Hopefully the delay will allow the development team to fix the ground controls and polish up the rest of what could be an incredible game. Having said all that, it boosts what is looking to be a very good line-up for the first half of next year along with Luigi's Mansion, Fire Emblem, and Animal Crossing to name but a few.

At the end of the day, I don't think that this conference was about announcing new games or hardware: it was about reaffirming the fact that Nintendo is behind the 3DS and has full confidence in its console. The message that came out of the conference for me was "we have a solid software line-up, with third party developers continuing to develop key franchise titles for our hardware". That's an extremely important message for Nintendo to get across at the moment. The 3DS isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

- Chris Rooke