Nintendo at E3 2018: Are You About That Smash Bros Life? Nintendo Gave Us Primetime

After Sony’s blood-soaked E3 press conference Monday night, I was looking forward to Nintendo’s more colorful and friendly Direct on Tuesday. The Big N is sometimes derided as being “too kiddie,” but I’ve come to appreciate their take on gaming in an industry that feels like it’s constantly pushing the envelope on showing gruesome deaths in 4K resolutions. There were no big surprises out of Nintendo at this year’s Direct, although what Nintendo showed still looks promising. The show kicked off with trailers for a new game, Daemon X Machina, a mech combat game, and new DLC for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 called Torna: The Golden Country. The concept for Daemon X Machina looked cool enough, but without actual gameplay footage, it’s hard to judge. Looks cool I guess? Nintendo also showed some more footage for Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu/Let’s Go Eevee, which was announced last week ahead of E3. This is Nintendo though, so, of course, they’ve come up with a cutesy way to separate you from even more of your money. This time, it’s the Pokeball Plus, a controller shaped like a PokeBall which, of course, is sold separately. The controller also comes with Mew, the legendary progenitor of Mewtwo. Is it worth the money? Probably not. Am I going to buy it anyway? Of course. Nintendo also showed the friendship-ending fun of Super Mario Party, the latest entry in the franchise which destroyed the analog sticks on my Nintendo 64 controller. Prepare to be frustrated this October. Rage   Next w…