There isn’t a whole lot to say about Nintendo’s E3 conference this year. It mainly focused on the casual market and aside from a quick mention of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, nothing else with the “core” gamer in mind was announced (no, we’re not counting Animal Crossing, Reggie).

Speaking to Forbes, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata says the company is sorry for this, noting that the “big titles” require a longer development period and as such, simply weren’t ready for prime time.

We are sorry about [the E3] media briefings, specifically for those who were expecting to see Nintendo show something about ‘Super Mario’ or ‘Legend of Zelda.’

However, the fact of the matter is the so-called ‘big titles’ need a long, long development period. … We really didn’t think this year’s E3 media briefing was the time to do so.

That’s certainly good to hear. It’s hard to get excited without laying eyes on the actual titles, though, but we’ll take your word for it. Let the waiting commence!

A Wii Bit Short On Supplies [Forbes]

The NPD Group has released its hardware and software sales figures for the month of June. As Nintendo just announced, the Wii pushed 666,700 units, surpassing the Xbox 360 with a total sell-through of approximately 10.9 million units in North America. Unsurprisingly, the Nintendo DS took top honors this month with 783,000 units sold.

Moving on, Sony’s PlayStation 3 saw a nice bump in sales for the month of June, shifting 405,500 units, which can be attributed to the launch of a Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots hardware bundle. In comparison, the Xbox 360 pushed a total of 219,800 units during the same timeframe. Clearly, MGS4 had quite an impact on hardware sales, unlike Grand Theft Auto 4.

“Platform-exclusive content usually fuels hardware system purchases, and PS3 sales certainly reflect the impact of Metal Gear Solid 4,” said industry analyst Anita Frazier. She added, “PS3 unit sales were the highest of any month outside of that recorded during previous November/December holiday timeframes.”

Hit the jump for the full software and hardware sales breakdown.

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SouthPeak Games today announced that its frantic puzzle title Roogoo, which was released on Xbox Live Arcade last May, will hit the Wii and Nintendo DS platforms later this Winter.

Promising “all-new levels and game modes,” the Wii and DS versions of Roogoo will take advantage of each system’s strengths, utilizing the motion-sensitive Wii Remote and DS stylus. In the game, players rotate meteors through a series of rotating disks.

According to SouthPeak, owners of both versions will have access to exclusive gameplay modes that use the DS as a controller for the Wii game. Neat!

No screenshots were provided, but SouthPeak did send over a few pieces of concept art, which can be viewed after the jump.

Roogoo Concept Art

During Nintendo’s now-concluded E3 2008 Q&A roundtable, game designer Shigeru Miyamoto responded to a question from Gamasutra editor Chris Remo, confirming that a new Pikmin is indeed in development.

“We’re making Pikmin,” said Miyamoto.

Aside from the unexpected name-drop, no details on the title were provided. Not surprising either as Nintendo obviously didn’t plan on announcing Pikmin at the event. Let’s hope an official announcement is made in the near future.

It’s safe to say that anyone who has been a hardcore Nintendo fan over the years felt a bit let down by the company’s E3 conference yesterday. Speaking in an interview with G4, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said he couldn’t understand why, though:

How could you feel left out? The Animal Crossing that we’ve been hearing about that people wanted. Fully connected to the Internet, go to other people’s towns. Plus as I said, Grand Theft Auto on the DS. How do you feel left out with those types of announcements?

Even though it’ll be a great game, you know that Animal Crossing doesn’t fall under the hardcore genre we’re talking about, Reggie. Sure, Grand Theft Auto for DS got us a little excited, but that was it! Most of us would have liked to see at least one more core title for Wii. That’s where the disappointment lies.

Publisher Konami has released a new selection of screenshots from its latest 2D Castlevania effort, Order of Ecclesia.

Featuring an all-new Glyph attack system and head-to-head multiplayer via Nintendo WiFi Connection, the game is slated for a release on Nintendo DS later this fall.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia Screenshots

Update: Following a vague reveal at E3, Rockstar Games just sent over a press release detailing its upcoming DS title Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, accompanied with the game’s official logo.

Scheduled for a Winter release in North America and Europe, the game is development at Rockstar Leeds, the same studio responsible for the PSP iterations of GTA.

“This is a game that will deliver a rich, fast-paced and intense ‘Grand Theft Auto’ experience that will be truly unique to Nintendo’s handheld platform,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. “Rockstar Leeds, along with the team at Rockstar North, has built upon a decade of progressive design on Grand Theft Auto, and has created something fundamentally fresh and immersive.”

An entirely original entry into the crime-laden series, Chinatown Wars promises to deliver a “new level of interactivity” utilizing the DS touch screen.

Rockstar is planning to reveal much more on Chinatown Wars in the “very near future.” more »

Texas-based developer Apogee Software is returning with a series of Duke Nukem missions planned to be episodically released on handhelds, the company announced today. Starting next summer, the first entry in what Apogee is calling the “Duke Nukem Trilogy” will hit PSP and DS, sporting 3D visuals, multi-player support with five different modes and “total ass-kicking weapons.”

The three upcoming episodes have been titled as Critical Mass, Chain Reaction, and Proving Grounds.

Is this a joke? Almost sounds like it, but it’s not. No delays, please. more »

RPG powerhouse Square Enix has sent over details on its E3 2008 lineup, a Final Fantasy XIII-less mixture of playable and non-playable titles ranging from remastered classics to new IPs.

Playable offerings at the event will include the recently announced Chrono Trigger DS, along with Final Fantasy IV DS, Dragon Quest IV, Infinite Undiscovery, and Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes.

For complete details on what’s not playable, hit the jump. Also of note, the press release confirms an October 21 release date for PSP title Star Ocean: First Departure. more »

Online retail giant Amazon is currently listing a yet-to-be-announced third installment in LucasArts’ Star Wars Battlefront series. According to the site’s database, Battlefront III is slated to hit nearly every platform under the sun next year. Namely, the PlayStation 3, PS2, Nintendo DS, Wii, PSP, and Xbox 360.

This isn’t the first time we’ve caught wind of Battlefront III’s existence. Rumors sparked two years ago that the title was in development over at UK-based studio Free Radical, the same folks responsible for TimeSplitters and Haze. more »