We were on the scene at Nintendo’s E3 press conference, hoping beyond hope that they would announce an actual online service, or a Wii with an upgraded GPU for actual hi-def gaming.

We came away disappointed on both fronts, but at least we got to see some of their new game announcements. Lost in the sea of Even More Wii Sports and Fitness, we despaired of hearing of anything worthwhile.

Then, they showed Super Mario Galaxy 2. When the trailer began, an egg popped up, Mario jumped on it, and none other than Yoshi appeared. The crowd gasped in delight and a few ragged cheers arose from the tired journalists. Finally, hope.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 looks to be a “more-of-the-same” sequel, which sometimes isn’t  a bad thing. If a game works like Galaxy did, sometimes all you want is more of it. SMG2 seems like it will deliver. The addition of Yoshi will surely add a new dimension to the game.

For the first time ever, Nintendo announced a second primary console Mario title. New Super Mario Bros Wii is a simultaneous multiplayer Mario sidescrolling adventure; graphically, it looks very similar to New Super Mario Bros DS, but the addition of new powerups, and co-op gameplay will ensure that this will be a party game hit.

Mario made an unprecedented third appearance in the form of a new Mario and Luigi adventure: Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story. In this new DS Mario RPG, Mario and Luigi get shrunk down and have to solve some problems inside of their eternal arch-enemy, Bowser.

The only other announcement that made the crowd gasp and cheer was a Team Ninja-developed Metroid adventure called Metroid: Other M. From the trailer, it looks like a third person adventure filled with all the tricks, techniques, and gear that make Metroid so popular with gamers.

Of everything I saw at the Nintendo press conference, Metroid Other M excited me the most, and sent shivers down my spine; I generally don’t “yelp” at press conferences, but when we found out that the blond girl on screen was Samus, I couldn’t help myself.