E3: Nintendo brings back Mario, Donkey Kong and Pokemon

Bayonetta would be back after having a "makeover", said Nintendo chief executive Satoru Iwata

The return of Nintendo characters Mario, Bayonetta, Donkey Kong and Pokemon has been announced in a video stream from the E3 gaming exhibition.

Chief executive Satoru Iwata also revealed an open-world game called X is being developed for the Wii U console by Japanese studio Monolith Soft.

Most of these new Nintendo titles will not be released before late 2013.

But it will add new tools, including digital crayons and pastels, to its Art Academy drawing platform this summer.

Mr Iwata said Nintendo had not anticipated the "high quality drawings" that were being uploaded on the Wii U Miiverse channel.

Super Mario is back in 3D and in MarioKart 8 on the Wii U, where players will be able to race upside down.

MarioKart8 players will be able to race upside down

Donkey Kong comes to the Wii U for the first time at the end of 2013 in Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, complete with high-definition graphics.

Titles from independent developers include Batman: Arkham Origins, also coming to the Sony Playstation and Xbox One in October, Sonic Lost World from Sega and Scribblenauts Unmasked: a DC Comics adventure from Warner Brothers.

"The games that they announced looked quite fun," said Stuart Miles, from website Pocket Lint.

"But the disappointing thing is that it seems like we'll have to wait until either the end of the year or 2014 to play them.

"What are we supposed to do between now and Christmas when some of these games will start appearing? And some of the cool ones - in 2014? I don't think it's good news."

Rob Crossley, from CVG magazine, questioned whether the announcement of new titles could compete with the high-profile presentations from Microsoft and Sony at E3 less than 24 hours earlier, in which both showed off new games consoles.

"The big question is whether [what Nintendo is offering] is enough to compete with two new games consoles coming on the market - my personal view that it won't be enough," he said.

"There's disappointment among the Nintendo crowd because so many games were announced for 2014.

"Some games that people anticipated, hoped for and really wanted to see... didn't show up, such as Metroid."

Read more of the BBC's E3 coverage.