Nintendo showed off a number of promising games for the Nintendo Wii today during their pre-E3 press conference, wowing audiences with some familiar faces and a number of new games on the horizon. However, the company remained tight-lipped on the price of the console, as well as the release date, although Reggie Fils-Aime did indicate it would be arriving sometime in fourth quarter 2006.

Probably the biggest revelation during the show was Super Mario Galaxy, a blazing new 3-D action game starring everyone's favorite plumber. Galaxy looked to be a return back to the golden age of Mario 64-style gameplay, but with some new tricks to use the Wii controller.

Wii Sports was also unveiled, allowing gamers to play tennis, golf, and baseball with the Wii controller. Miyamoto and Iwata-san took the stage, along with the winner of the AOL contest held over the past month, to play four-player tennis right on stage.

A new Pilotwings was hinted at, with a girl taking control of a virtual airplane with the Wii controller. Metroid Prime 3 was also unveiled, utilizing a number of slick controller features. Ping Pong and Wario Ware Wii were also briefly hinted at with quick video clips.

Probably one of the bigger surprises of the show, though, is that two different versions of the forthcoming The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess are being prepared. One will be for the GameCube, and the other will be made specifically for the Wii, and will launch alongside the system later this year. It'll feature a number of enhanced features, including accessible new gameplay modes that take advantage of the Wii controller.

Nintendo also briefly showed off a new title called Disaster: Day of Crisis, as well as an engaging action game called Project H.A.M.M.E.R.. To wrap it up, a spiritual sequel to Excitebike was introduced, titled Excitetruck. It features high-intensity truck tracing action with bonus jumps and stunts galore.

All of these games will be covered in the days ahead at E3. Keep it here for all the details!