I’ve always loved Nintendo, usually from afar while spending far more time playing other consoles. Though it hasn’t always been like that. Having invested heavily in an import Sega Genesis (Megadrive) back in the late 80s I later left Golden Axe and Sonic behind for an imported Super Famicom (or Super Nintendo Entertainment System). It was my first Nintendo and I fell instantly in love.

As I was still at high school I couldn’t afford two consoles; the Megadrive was duly part-exchanged and Super Mario World and Street Fighter II ruled my world – especially with International Superstar Soccer (precursor to Pro Evo) which followed later. There’s something almost intangible about what makes a Nintendo console great but the SNES was wonderful – it genuinely rocked my world (until the PlayStation took over some years later).

A lot is being made of the Wii U Gamepad that comes with Nintendo’s next tilt at console glory and was launched at E3 this week. It’s incredibly innovative and no doubt Wii U’s ‘asymmetric gameplay’ will rival the Wii’s revolutionary motion control. What really excites me, however, has nothing to do with peripherals or USPs – and everything to do with the games. Batman: Arkham City Armoured Edition and COD3 are slated for release, among other hardcore gaming titles. The Wii U might be a console that dominates the space under my telly, rather than in a cupboard to the side of it, only to be taken out when we ‘have people around’. I really hope so, I’d love nothing more than to get unsociable with Nintendo all over again.

Gary Burns is making up for missing E3 by listening, at regular intervals, to a loop of pre-recorded US-style ‘whooping’ on his iPhone.