So how did Nintendo do? There’s no question there was much more for the hardcore Nintendo gamer at E3 2009, including the shock announcement of Metroid: Other M — probably the best kept secret in any of the first party briefings. Add in Mario Galaxy 2, the first hints at a new Wii Zelda (which was mentioned the next day at a Miyamoto roundtable), and a 2D Super Mario Bros for Wii, and Nintendo certainly has a lot of games in the pipeline.

Here are my thoughts on the briefing:

STAGECRAFT: The cramped Club Nokia stage combined with high-placed teleprompters made it look like the Nintendo executives were talking to the heavens for most of the briefing. Still, Nintendo always delivers the quickest (75 minutes) and most polished E3 briefing. This year’s show was no exception.

GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT: For most of the briefing hardcore Nintendo fans were up in arms. Half way through the presentation I was getting Tweets like “This is worst than last year!” But then, in the final 10 minutes, Reggie saved the show with Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M. Before I knew it, the positive Tweets were flowing, such as “Give Reggie a bear hug for us hardcore guys!”

CHECK YOUR FACTS: When discussing Wii Fit, Cammie Dunaway said that with 15 million sold, the Balance Board now ranks alongside other home systems in terms of worldwide installed base. What system is she referring to? While the Wii Fit numbers are impressive, both the PS3 and 360 are beyond 15M sales worldwide.

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: You have to give props to Reggie and Cammie for actually playing games during their briefing. Rival execs just read prompters, but the two Nintendo figureheads actually picked up controllers and played their products.

STRANGEST SEGUE: From Cammie Dunaway: “We admit we haven’t quite figured out how to move [Mario] into a fourth dimension. But that number, 4, that’s the key to Mario’s next surprise.” Is this a hint that the next Wii will include a water sprayer to add 4D effects to your Mario experience?

ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: Nintendo spent ample time hyping up the multiplayer in New Super Mario Bros. for Wii….but conveniently forgot to mention that there is no online multiplayer support.

ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM, PART 2: Reggie said, “”Third party publishers are drawn to opportunity. And right now there’s no opportunity larger than Nintendo.” The only problem? Third parties can’t seem to crack the opportunity and make non-Nintendo games a blockbuster hit on the Wii or DS.

BIGGEST OMISSION, PART 2: When Iwata revealed the Wii Vitality sensor he only showedphotos. But apparently there is a video of a Vitality Sensor demo, which Iwata showed to some European press behind closed doors. He edited the video himself on the plane trip over from Japan.

MOST OVERSHADOWED GAMES: Nintendo is getting into user-created content in a big way. Both Minis March Again: Mario vs. Donkey Kong and Warioware: DIY encourage user creativity, but the message seemed to be lost during the briefing.

BEST LINE: “I’ll be honest, I read the blogs too.” — Reggie, as he began to introduce the “hardcore” section of Nintendo’s briefing with Dead Space, The Conduit, and Metroid: Other M.

WHAT NINTENDO DOESN’T WANT YOU TO CALCULATE: Sure there are some big first party Wii games in the pipeline, but the vast majority are coming in 2010 like Sin and Punishment 2, Endless Ocean, Super Mario Galaxy 2, and Metroid: Other M. The second half of 09 looks very light for hardcore first-party games.

MOST QUESTIONABLE GREENLIGHT: C.O.P THE RECRUIT from Ubisoft for the DS. With GTA: Chinatown Wars off to a slow start, does Ubisoft really think it can be successful with a new original GTA knock-off on the DS?

ONLY IN JAPAN: Where’s the news on new Wii Channels for the US? Japan has been rolling out new content like the Wii No Ma video channel and even a channel to order Pizza online. But Reggie didn’t even mention Nintendo Channels during the briefing.

BEST REVEAL OF E3: The setup for the Metroid: Other M trailer was brilliant. Reggie didn’t give up the surprise with his introduction, and it took a good 10-15 seconds of the trailer before it was clear a new Metroid game was afoot. Bravo!

Madden NFL 10 / Mafia II: This episode gives you the world exclusive first look at Madden NFL 10 for both the Xbox 360/PS3 and the Nintendo Wii.  It will be interesting to see if EA’s new artistic direction for the Wii version will work or not. I’ll reserve judgment until I sit down and play it.

This show also has a look at Mafia II from 2K Games, and exclusive new content for Ghostbusters: The Videogame and Prototype. [Watch This Episode at GameTrailers.com]

Fight Night Round 4: A few weeks ago I headed up to EA Sports in San Francisco to chat with Peter Moore and the team behind Fight Night Round 4.  FNR3 was a landmark game, and the sequel looks to be even better with refined controls and a much quicker response time to your actions.  On the show we also announced that a demo is coming in May, featuring a re-creation of the upcoming bout between Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton.  And if that wasn’t enough, we also world premiered a new villain for Batman: Arkham Asylum – Harley Quinn.  The Batman game is looking better and better every time I see it.  We’ll have another villain reveal for you in May. [Watch This Episode at GameTrailers.com]

GDC 2009: I always love our show from GDC, and this year was no different.  It’s our best show so far this year.  I had a great time chatting with Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime about the Wii, DSi and Punch-Out!!  Reggie also gave us the world exclusive multiplayer trailer for Punch-Out!!  It was a big moment for us at the show because Nintendo doesn’t normally hand out exclusive trailers. In addition, we had some other huge scoops in the show: The announcement of the Killzone 2 DLC, and, a little world premiere for a game called BioShock 2.  Like always we brought you the first ever game footage of BioShock 2, and it seems like the fans are digging it.  It’s already up to nearly 1.5 million downloads on GameTrailers. [Watch This Episode at GameTrailers.com]

As always thanks for watching GTTV.  We have some great shows coming up in the weeks ahead as we countdown to E3 2009.

If that’s not enough, we also have some other great things planned. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime joins me to discuss the state of Nintendo and brings along a world exclusive trailer for Punch-Out!! that showcases new content. Reggie also tells us what he thinks about President Obama playing the Wii, updates us on what to expect at E3 from Nintendo, and gives us his take on how Microsoft and Sony are doing in the console war.

Also, you’ll get breaking news on what’s next for Killzone 2 and exclusive footage. And, game design legend Peter Molyneux joins us to tease what he has up his sleeve for E3 and beyond.

Watch the promo below and make sure not to miss this week’s show.