My initial reaction was terrible. My mind has changed now.
A primary problem with the whole thing was the presentation. The flow wasn't great, and while I usually enjoy Iwata's directs, his ability to build hype wasn't on par with Reggie's. The broadcast wasn't as fun without a live audience to cheer and oooh. I like multiple presenters, even in Directs... like when Iwata finishes up but then hands off for Reggie to say "Here's a new Zelda!"
The quality of the broadcast was terrible. Laggy and low res, I kept missing parts. I thought 3DWorld was a 3DS game... when I found out is was Wii U I was shocked. The music playing while Mario was demoed was pathetic and cheap. The 3rd party games shown were fine but already known. DK looked good but not needed, especially with a lack of western third party shooter and adventure games but plenty of Nintendo masscot platformers around.
But now that I've had a chance to re-watch Mario 3D world in hi-res, my opinion is much better. I'm actually a fan of the blend of classic style and 3d gaming. There is a reason 3D Land has been the most successful 3D Mario to date, and that is because it's more accessible. I don't mean easier, but accessible. The fixed-camera style is easier to play for many people. Many people - especially females - have an issue with 3D visualization. That's not sexist, it's actual bizzare scientific fact. Most women can't pass the visualization test to become an air traffic controler. It's a weird evolution quirk. This affects a large percentage of women and some men who can't easily enjoy games which depend on understanding a rapidly changing 3D perspective. Super Mario 3D world will address this with it's style, and allow for more precise gaming. Also, it goes without saying that adding multiplayer is a fantastic step forward and may make this the best 3D Mario ever. The game has a major issue with presentation and flashy-ness. Hopefully the music played isn't the real music and the game is never going to awe people with visuals, unfortunately, but it does look like a very good game that is solid visually.
The rest of the lineup had some real excellent titles for the next 6-12 months. MarioKart really delivered in a way that people were hoping for Mario 3D. The visuals were outstanding and "next-gen" looking, the trailer was polished, the gameplay expanded in fun ways. X, of course was AAA. In heindsight it seems like Nintendo should have saved it completely for e3 and then they really would have wowed the audience. Having seen it once already kind of lessened the impact of that stunner. Windwaker HD looks beautiful and has really been enhanced. Smash looks excellent, of course. The rest of the titles look good.
For me the biggest flaws were the following: Retro working on another DK, which I feel is a major mistake at this time. DK is great, but it should be their NEXT title, not this one. Retro should have been on Metroid or something original. No new third party titles were announced. We now have word that GOD: Ghosts is indeed coming to Wii U which is huge, but we should have found this out in the Direct, or at least Nintendo should have said "More AAA titles to be announced soon". There were no exciting bombshells. e3 is all about hype, and Nintendo should have had at least one shocker here. But there was nothing. Lastly, a Wii U pricecut or new bundle or something of that nature would have been good, but it didn't happen.
So overall I'd say things are "ok", especially now knowing that COD is not skipping Wii U. It would have been nice to see Mariokart this fall since it trully looks like a well executed title. Some more third party support with titles like FFXV, KH3 and others would have been great. The whole thing should have been presented better. But the titles coming look very good, including 3D Mario. With WW, DK, WatchDogs, COD, MarioWorld, AC4 Nintendo's fall lineup will be solid and should buy Nintendo some extra lives for Wii U and give them time to really get it rolling.
