Expected and saw:
- Mewtwo for Smash
- Mario Kario DLC pack 2
- More Splatoon, now with amiibos - I was already sold on Splatoon. Now I may get the amiibos too, even though I'm more of less trying to ignore them.
- Yoshi spotlight
- Xenoblade 3D trailer
- Indie sizzle reel
- Boxboy! - Again, was already going to get this. Great to see though.
- Puzzles and Dragons - Still unclear about whether this has in game purchases. If it's standalone, will get it.
Unexpected and awesome:
- Mii Plaza expansion - I haven't gotten the previous streetpass games yet, but it's cool to see Nintendo is still paying attention to this.
- Lucas, more smash DLC - Pls give me Ice Climbers and Snake and take all my money
- N64 and DS Virtual Console - Awesome news, but underwhelming launch.
- 200cc Mario Kart - Amazing.
- Codename STEAM usability update - Look like they're addressing the biggest complaint.
- FE x SMT still existing - this might be what finally gets my foot in the door of the SMT universe.
- Never Alone coming to the eshop, that's pretty cool. I may get don't starve for Wii U instead of PC because of the purchase bonus.
- YARN YOSHI CUTEST AMIIBO EVER.
Expected and nowhere to be found:
- New wave of Wii Releases on eshop - With Kirby coming to EU, and so many other title out there, a little surprising they're not playing this up more.
- Major highlight for Affordable Space Adventures, rather than just a sizzle clip. Shocking because Nintendo should be treating this as a high profile game, on the same tier as Shovel Knight. It has a great team, great premise, and is 100% designed for the Wii U.
- More info for Xenoblade X
Overall, extremely good direct. It seems like they're focusing on 1) building sustainable communities (driven by a DLC trickle) for their big multiplayer games (and working to get Splatoon into that class). 2) Focusing on expanding Amiibo types and functionality. 3) Building on unique assets like Virtual Console and Streetpass. In particular, I thought it was cool to see how Amiibo Tap worked as a cross promotion of Amiibo and Virtual Console. And to see the difference the FE DLC is this time around.
My expectation (or perhaps hope) is that these are all signs of a growing and cross-pollinating Nintendo Ecosystem, building around current assets like Miis, Amiibo, the Virtual Console, Miiverse, and Street Pass, but to ultimately include QoL, smartphone apps, and some kind of ranking/achievement integration. As they continued toward a more common architecture, we'll continue to see more of these types of interactions.