5 points that Nintendo needs to address at E3

Nintendo is set to hold a press conference at this year's E3 on June 7th, and, boy, are we excited.

Not only will the Japanese gaming giant reveal its next console, currently known as Project Cafe, but it'll also tell us what the future holds for the Nintendo 3DS.

Here at Pocket Gamer, we've put our best speculation hats on and pondered what we'd like to see the Nintendo bigwigs present us with. Games, hardware, future plans: we're greedily eyeing up every past Nintendo franchise and constantly spurting out 'what ifs'.

Rather than dribble our collective thoughts all over the page, we've produced a more concentrated list of the five areas we'd like to hear more about at E3.

We already know that Mario 3DS is coming later this year, but we're yet to hear any substantial details regarding the setting of the game, how it will play, and how it will compare to past 3D Mario platformers.

This is a dead cert to be revealed, but that doesn't make us any less excited. Confirmation that the classic raccoon suit will be in the new game leads up to hope that we're getting a more traditional Mario game, reminiscent of the original Mario 64 rather than Sunshine or Galaxy.

That's not the only Mario title we're excited about either, as we'd love to see details emerge on Mario Kart 3DS. Every Mario Kart release is a joy to play, and this one is bound to make us very happy indeed.

A 2012 release date for Mario Kart 3DS would be perfectly fine with us, although sometime later this year would be even better. We'd also like a whole host of new tracks, along with a selection of the best circuits from past games, and online multiplayer for finally making real use of the 3DS's always-connected capabilities.

And while we're talking about Mario, how about a new Mario Party game? Sure, the handheld versions of Mario Party have always been a little underwhelming, but with the recent success of Wii Party, and the speedy online play available on the 3DS, a new Mario Party could be a big hit.

Project Cafe, aka the next Nintendo home console, is set to be announced at the press conference. Of course, it's not going to be a handheld platform, and this site is Pocket Gamer, so why should we be interested?

Considering that the Nintendo 3DS was only released recently, and the new Nintendo console is scheduled for release next year, we'd be highly surprised if the two consoles don't interact in some way.

Rumours have been floating around that Project Cafe's controllers may have screens on them - perhaps the 3DS could be used as a controller? Or maybe the two will be able to link and share games, similar to the way the PSP and the PlayStation 3 currently do?

Of course, this type of thing was tried with the Game Boy Advance and the GameCube - think The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, which allowed players to enter special areas and continue the adventure on their GBA screens - but having to attach everything together with cables was rather a nuisance.

Wireless technology now means that Nintendo may well have another stab at it. We'll eat our collective hats if there isn't some kind of link between the 3DS and Project Cafe.

Professor Layton and the Nintendo 3DS releases

One of the main reasons to own a Nintendo DS was the Professor Layton puzzle series. With its challenging brainteasers and quirky stories, each of the three available games is an absolute joy to play.

And yet we're still not satisfied. There remain two additional Layton titles that have not been translated into English, and we demand that they be revealed at E3 as coming to Europe and America later this year.

We want Professor Layton and the Specter's Flute for the Nintendo DS and Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle for 3DS in 2011, please. It's taken a year to translate each Layton game in the past, so we could potentially see at least one of the games released around Christmas.

That's not all, however. A Professor Layton and Phoenix Wright 3DS crossover game was announced late last year, with a Japanese release date of 2011 set. Surely we're going to see details of the game at E3?

Of course, going by past Layton and Wright games, even if the Japanese version does appear this year, it may well be another good year or two before we see them over here. But considering the success of both franchises worldwide, we're hoping Level-5 will speed it up and have it out sometime early next year.

There's going to be a Pokemon game on Nintendo 3DS. We know it, you know it, Nintendo knows it.

What will be interesting is whether they'll continue along the same path with the series, spouting average-looking graphics and the same old settings, or whether they'll branch out and finally make that huge 3D roaming adventure we've all been longing for.

The Nintendo 3DS could possibly be the console to make this wish come true, with its powerful processor and potential for playing host to gorgeous worlds.

Plus, the Pokemon series has really been running along the same familiar rails since its birth, and with each new version, we've been left entertained yet longing for something different. Big game-changing Pokemon news at E3 is what we're looking for.

The opening of the Nintendo 3DS eShop was delayed last week, and will now be ready for business on June 7th - the very same day as Nintendo's E3 presentation.

Coincidence? We think not. If there's some kind of large eShop announcement coming, what better time to do it than on launch day. It could perhaps be big name games in the online store, or maybe some Virtual Console games that we haven't been introduced to yet.

It's also worth noting that it's not just the eShop that is coming on June 7th - we're also promised "a number of new features and enhancements", according to Nintendo.

We know one of these is the internet browser, but what else could Nintendo possibly be adding to the console? We're hoping for some form of online play enhancement, to tie in with the online store - perhaps lobby and chat features for talking and playing with friends.

Whatever happens, Nintendo needs to up its online game, and this would be the perfect opportunity to do so.