9:38am:  Miyamoto kicks things off by conducting a digital orchestra to provide the background music, using a Wii controller to control the ebb and flow of the musical tempo. This is going to kick ass.

9:40am: An extended version of the demo video they launched a few months ago, which only showed the players interacting with the controller now show us some real gameplay shots of the new Mario, Zelda and Metroid franchises, along with a bunch of other gameplay concepts.

9:42am: Reggie tells us now, “As for price and release date, we believe it’s in our best interest to keep that information to ourselves just a while longer. But let’s just say that we’ll provide more fun for cheaper and that’ll be available in the fourth quarter of 2005.” Thanks, Reggie.

9:55am: After another demo video, Reggie discusses Zelda as the “best Zelda game Nintendo has ever made, as well as the most beautiful game Nintendo has ever made.” It will be available at Wii’s launch.

9:56am: They’re now demoing the control scheme for Twilight Princess on the Wii. The remote acts as a pointer and aiming utility, guided by crosshairs or a fairy. “Built into the Wii remote is a speaker.” Sound will “travel” from the remote to the TV based on your actions and add some great depth of sound and interaction. There’s also still the built-in rumble.

10:02am: Confirmed title for the Wii Mario game: Super Mario Galaxy. Jumping from planet to planet, Mario is apparently able to survive in a vacuum.

10:06am: Reggie is going over all the first- and third-party games that will be available, including Madden ‘07, Tony Hawk, and a ton more, all reinvented to take advantage of the Wii’s crazy “freehand controller” system.

10:07am: “And while we’re not going to specify a launch number right now, you will be playing 27 games tomorrow on the show floor.” That bodes very well for the launch number, I’m thinking.

10:11am: The French developer of Red Steel is demoing the control system and physics engine, along with the graphics of Redsteel. It’s looking pretty impressive, but above all, the controls are where it’s at. The motion-sensitive nunchuck adds an entirely separately range of motion and interaction to these games.

10:13am: Oh, and Reggie let slip that there are still a few secrets left surrounding the controller, even after the news of the internal speaker has broke. But they’re not going to tell us quite yet.

10:16am: George Harrison talks about the DS and DS Lite’s new offerings, including VOIP over their Wifi Connection, a new Zelda title (The Phantom Hourglass) and Final Fantasy III. There will be over 100 new games for the Nintendo DS between now and the end of the year. Star Fox and Yoshi DS games are also in the works. Excitement abounds.

10:23am: Saturo Iwata tells us the goal since he’s become president of Nintendo has been to expand the total number of people playing games. He wants to include those who used to play but have lost interest, and those who have never played before.

10:24am: Iwata is talking about the success of Brain Age and Nintendogs. Oh, and I’m absolutely starving. (In the hyperbolic sense more than the third-world country sense, natch.)

10:25am: Iwata is now talking about the fond memories gamers have of the older games we used to play. Now he’s mentioning how unaccetpable even a 30 or 40 second load time is… We designed Wii to provide owners a variety of services even when it appears off. “WiiConnect24” runs even when the Wii is “off,” using just the power of a small lightbulb. “This means developers can push a new weapon or vehicle to you, even while you sleep.” “In Animal Crossing, anytime the console is in standby, that a friend has visited their village and left a message or gift.” “Networking software is included in the hardware.”

10:31am: WiiSports: A combination that will include tennis, baseball and golf in one package and available on launch day. This controller is going to completely reinvent the sports video game genre. Seeing the beads of sweat dripping off a player is only so nice; controlling them in a way that’s absolutely immersive and fun strikes me truly as the next big thing. But I’m a Nintendo fanboy, so there’s that.

10:33am: Now, Miyamoto is announcing their online contest winner, who will get to come on stage and play, for the first time.

10:36am: The winner is now playing doubles with Reggie, Miyamoto and Iwata. The idea is to showcase exactly how intuitive a system like this is, in that the winner has never played the Wii before and is still able to get right into it and go, with no real explanations.

10:40am: Reggie closes things up with a bit of a marketing spiel and the tagline “playing is believing.” We’ll get to believe tomorrow, I suppose.