And without further ado, he did. The new Legend Of Zelda game, subtitled Skyward Sword, made a muted debut. Introduced by a trailer, and sporting a soft cel-shaded aesthetic, Miyamoto had soon 'teleported' from a prerecorded video on to the stage and proceeded to demonstrate the new game's control scheme. It wasn't the greatest demonstration in living memory, the controller seeming unresponsive to Miyamoto's gestures, and Nintendo's attempts to blame it on the Wi-Fi was the first but not the last echo of Apple. The game is playable on the show floor, and we'll have impressions up imminently. 
Reggie: “That's just the top line”. Next was Mario Sports Mix, a selection of basketball, ice hockey, volleyball and so on that looks decent enough, though no one was choking with excitement. Fils-Aime then let rip at the pervasive perception that Nintendo's consoles are a graveyard for thirdparty developers – mentioning in passing that the Wii has sold more in the 43 months since launch than any console in history over the same time. In the ocean of Kinect and Move and slim console and price cut hype, it's a sobering statistic.
Wii Party had a brief showing, and looks an accomplished addition to the 'Wii' series of games, its emphasis on involving Miis and families. Despite this, its status as a party game meant the miserly round of applause was inevitable from an audience determined to play to type. A slick trailer announcing Just Dance 2 didn't improve moods, but it did underline Fils-Aime's point about thirdparties rather well.
Golden Sun on DS was shown again, its charming visuals and Phantom Hourglass-aping touch controls nice enough – the DS is hardly short of great RPGs though, and the prominence granted it, in the absence of something like a new Advance Wars, was a little queer.
A previously leaked GoldenEye video was shown, confirming we can expect Call Of Bond at Christmas, but omitting to mention online multiplayer. We'll clearly have to hold judgement on the game itself – but seriously, Daniel Craig? Spare a thought, too, for Rare's near-complete GoldenEye HD remake, now doomed to remain just a (substantial) rumour.
GoldenEye showcased a minor theme of this year's Nintendo conference – a slight pandering to a loud minority. The later showing of Donkey Kong Country Returns (could there be a worse title?) confirmed it, introducing far too much deja vu for comfort.
Epic Mickey was shown, looking more visually impressive than ever before, though the rumours of a stylistic overhaul were obviously bunk. Warren Spector took the stage, and his theme was “playstyle matters,” emphasising the variety of ways players can tackle the game – as well as showing off a gorgeous looking 2D level based on Steamboat Willie. Our impressions from the show floor will follow. 
Masuhiro Sakurai was another undercurrent, though strangely absent – first conjured when Fils-Aime introduced Kirby's Epic Yarn, emphasising how Sakurai and Iwata had worked together back in 1992 on creating the pink puffball. One of those dad moments followed from Fils-Aime (“Kirby's got game”), and then the game made it all better.
In look the game has elements of LBP and Yoshi's Island, but its style is singular – a delicious scrapbook of outlines and bright crayon colours that only the hardest heart would deny is magical. It was also announced for 'Fall', surprisingly, and was a little balm on the 2011 date for Zelda.
A slight digression into the imminent Dragon Quest IX was next, with a welcome focus on the online 'tag' mode. The main event was almost upon us – but first, a trailer for Other M that jettisoned narrative in favour of atmosphere and action, and had us salivating. There isn't quite the anticipation you'd expect for Other M, but it could be something special.
Then Retro's Donkey Kong Country Returns, and unfortunately it really does look like the return of DKC. Overfamiliar after GoldenEye, it doesn't look inspiring, and didn't even get a good line from Reggie: “we're going back to the jungle this holiday” had to do.
Then the 3DS. The reveal began with pictures of families looking dorky in 3D glasses - “man, those glasses” opined Films-Aime – before a red-and-white slide full of dollar signs rammed home how sinister and expensive current 3D tech is. Unfortunately, the introductory video then cut to a plinth highlighted by red and surrounded by white that held the new hardware. 
Satoru Iwata entered and held it aloft like the heir to an empire. He referenced the Virtual Boy, which he managed without actually mentioning its name, and then began to reel off some stunning features. A 3D depth slider to choose the degree of 3D, along with a 'Slide Pad' for analogue control, touch screen, gyroscopic sensors and DS compatibility. Its dual cameras can take 3D pictures – which we'll do ourselves before commenting.
That's a potentially revolutionary feature, but the announcement of major 3D movies on 3DS is no less significant, from Disney and Warner Bros among others. It also guarantees that a download store is a major part of the 3DS strategy – if not the entirety of it.
The showpiece game was the long-awaited return of Kid Icarus, the fruits of Project Sora, which Iwata revealed was established purely to develop a 3D system-seller. Pitt flew in, cheekily saying “sorry to keep you waiting”, before a trailer that showed some stunning visuals and draw distances. It got the loudest cheer of the evening – who'd have thought Pitt could outshine Link?
Further detail on the 3DS followed, but the key point for Iwata was “our biggest launch support ever from thirdparties.” It was a stunning list of franchises and publishers: Capcom and Resident Evil; Konami and Metal Gear Solid; Ubisoft and Assassin's Creed; Namco Bandai and Ridge Racer; Activision and DJ Hero 3D; Square Enix with Kingdom Hearts; THQ with Saints Row (which got quite the laugh); EA and its sports titles. For gamers, in short, the 3DS looks like it will explode out of the gate.
Iwata said he was “truly grateful” for such support, and as he quickly bowed he really did look it. ‘Composure in failure, humility in triumph’ was the motto of Nintendo’s ex-president Hiroshi Yamauchi, and the 3DS reveal certainly seemed a triumph. A cute Nintendo promotional video even showed a glimpse of a future Mario title, though telling little else. At this point, Fils-Aime announced that everyone would get to try the 3DS. The Nokia centre isn't Craggy Island, but cue lots of lovely girls with 3DS consoles. Forget them, here's what you want to know: it works. It works brilliantly. Plenty more to come on that.
As Fils-Aime made his closing comments, playable Zelda pods rose in front of the stage, a slightly awkward moment to go with the earlier ones – Miyamoto's bad luck with Zelda, some clumsy platforming in Epic Mickey, the arrival of a phalanx of beauties from the wings. The Nintendo conference isn't like any other, because it can sometimes feel a little bumbling – when the genius is they're anything but.
The fans got what they wanted, though the Christmas 2010 lineup doesn't look especially strong, but this has ever been the case with Wii – with Other M and Kirby significant exceptions. But whatever happened to the Vitality Sensor?
The important thing: the 3DS works, and has the potential to be a truly revolutionary device – if it has decent memory and a much better store than either of Nintendo's previous devices, then that's even better. As Sony and Microsoft finally catch up in other areas, it looks like Nintendo may have just wrongfooted them again. So, business as usual then – and business is good.