Nintendo ditches main E3 conference, still there with games, press events, N-Direct

Wow....Nintendo really needed an E3 this year to show people what they had coming out.

Shows how much faith they have in their products if they don't want to go up against Microsoft and Sony.
 
Or Emily Rogers might be as reliable as her track record, which includes passing off 'shops as Pikmin 3 and Endless Ocean 3.
 
So while Sony and Microsoft have live conferences on every game related websites, Nintendo us going to have multiple smaller events for different audiences? Iwata isn't even going to show up let alone talk? Sounds bad already. Nintendo might legitimately become an afterthought in terms of game journalists and media journalists while Sony and MS get the spotlight for their events. Not like that hasn't already happened but it's going to be worse with this new style.
 
MDSVeritas said:
People have been saying in this thread that this strategy will make Nintendo have less impact at E3, I'm confused as to why people think that. The main (possibly only come this year) way to watch press conferences is through gaming sites, and IGN, Kotaku, ect will undoubtedly host links to the presentations when they begin. This is combined with Nintendo's own hosting like what they've done the past few years, just with live presentations instead of directs.

What about gaming sites posting news on Nintendo's presentation? That will happen too. It's happened for every Nintendo Direct thus far, with the news going up on big gaming sites as soon as it comes out, I doubt the Direct(s) relating to the biggest Gaming expo will get any less attention.

What about exclusive demos and such? What about Journalists having hands on with the games? Nintendo has already said that they will have an event specifically for that.

Nintendo does not seem like they're going to somehow fly under the radar here. They aren't going to have a little tiny conference that everyone ignores. The only thing that isn't clear is if we'll have the New York Times talk about the announcements, and I think Nintendo will arrange to have such national publications to get that news anyway. So what's missing here? What is everyone so concerned about? That they don't have a staged conference in a theater? From everything I can tell it seems information is going to get out to most people as it has in previous years. I'm honestly curious if I missed something here, because some of the response to this seems way blown out of proportion from what I know so far.
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Well said.

Seriously, it isn't the end of the world or the end of Nintendo's relevance in mainstream news.
 
Duffyside said:
E3 is a big deal to people who like games in general. They get wind that E3 is going on and then flutter about to try and find what people are talking about, what's making waves, what's new, and most importantly looking for things that interest them specifically. Everyone who wants to gain some attention, ie consumers, takes a swing at E3 in hopes that what they're showing grabs people's attention.

Nintendo risks squandering this to instead continue to just bottle-feed their zealot fanbase, which is a big part of the overall problem at Nintendo, which is only getting worse now it seems. They don't need an E3 conference to sell people who already love Nintendo. They need it to take advantage of people who like games. Nintendo needs to take advantage of the podium, and go "here's what we got, and why it's rad."

That they're not doing that strikes me as a big mistake.
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But I don't understand it. Nintendo will be at E3 and will still be giving news about their games. They'll have dedicated time to it and show off what they got but this time it's not a big conference like before. They'll have media attention so people reading about E3 will get news about what they're showing and for those who want to watch their Direct would do so by watching it via a stream like the other conferences.

I know and can see how Nintendo Directs are mainly for just for the existing fan base and Nintendo needs more people coming on to the Nintendo train but it's not like they're going MIA.

Idk.
 
Mikey Jr. said:
This seems kinda....sad. Like Nintendo has officially given up or something.

The big 3 presentations were always the highlights of E3. Those presentations are important I think.
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The presentations have been the highlight only because that is where all the new news comes from. How i get the news doesnt bother me. A direct and special hands on events for previews wont in essence change anything for us who are consuming the media.
 
I watch the Nintendo conference out of habit, just to see what they have coming out and if anything entices me.

If there is no big presentation and I have to seek that info out for myself, then fuck that. I can't be assed.
 
MadOdorMachine said:
So was the Emily Roger's thread completely off kilter then? I want to be positive about this, but given Nintendo's track record, I don't have a lot of confidence. My hype meter is significant lowered for Wii U now.
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Nintendo is still at E3. With playable games. And smaller conferences. They're still there.

Alextended said:
I don't see why someone who is not watching Nintendo Direct would instead watch Nintendo's E3 conference, drawn out as those things tend to be with all the not-actual-games things they have had to discuss.

Otherwise Nintendo Directs seem like things that will be covered by all the same relevant media outlets. They still will have press events, that the press will then report on/from and the games they get to play after that, and every site or whatever will most likely still post about the Nintendo Directs and all the information/media that comes out of them, and so on. I'm sure there are diminishing returns to a degree as you say but I'm also not sure it's more diminishing than a traditional E3 presence. Of course that depends on how they actually handle the change. But from what we know it doesn't seem bad.

If they have good things to show people will see them, if they're boring they'll get a bad rep like they get with every bad E3.
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Yeah, I agree.
 
Bad idea. They'll be completely overlooked by the gaming media and general public this year just like all the other smaller presentations usually is during E3 week. Bummer. :(
 
MDSVeritas said:
People have been saying in this thread that this strategy will make Nintendo have less impact at E3, I'm confused as to why people think that. The main (possibly only come this year) way to watch press conferences is through gaming sites, and IGN, Kotaku, ect will undoubtedly host links to the presentations when they begin. This is combined with Nintendo's own hosting like what they've done the past few years, just with live presentations instead of directs.
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The two presentations they've talked about are going to be closed. So there will be no streams. You'll probably hear about the games that were shown in Nintendo Directs.
 
The broadcast coverage of E3 on G4 and such was mind-numbing shit (that I watched anyways, lol), but I never got the impression they very much liked covering Nintendo's stuff. Guess now they don't have to!

(Yes, I know Nintendo will likely have demos and such there, but excising the conference removes the black-tie event they oh so liked to hype)
 
E3 has sucked these past couple years and not just for Nintendo. I don't see what the big deal is. So long as Nintendo impresses us with the games it has coming, makes some new megaton announcements with the possibility of giving those of us at home a chance to play the same E3 demos via eShop release, then what more do you really want from Nintendo ? Spare us the usual awkward speeches and boring live demos.

Shit. Nintendo just wowed everyone a few days ago with the 3DS Nintendo Direct. Give em a chance to try this different approach for E3.
 
Gamer @ Heart said:
How the fuck do some of you jump to they have nothing to show? Did you even read the quote the thread is based on?
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My thoughts exactly. There's an excessive amount of jumping to conclusions here, even by GAF standards. Drawn out demos of Mario U, Mario Kart U, Smash Bros. U & some sizzle reels could fill a stage show. Then there's stuff they've been holding back like Bayonetta 2, Retro's game, and Monolith's game.

And Sony and MS's initial hardware reveals will have already taken place, it'll be more about next-gen software reveals. Which, graphically, will surely overshadow Nintendo's software, but their legacy titles still garner lots of hype and excitement from fans and the press. I don't think their "retreating" from the competition. I honestly haven't been that impressed with any of the big 3's recent conferences. The best part is always the E3 hype before the conferences, then it's usually a letdown. I will miss the hype though. But I'm interested to see how the new strategy pans out.
 
Mikey Jr. said:
I watch the Nintendo conference out of habit, just to see what they have coming out and if anything entices me.

If there is no big presentation and I have to seek that info out for myself, then fuck that. I can't be assed.
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Seek info out on gaf? Pretty sure gaf will be booming with the new stuff Nintendo shows your gonna see it anyways
 
Bummer we don't get to hear any audience reaction when they show off Bayonetta 2, Retro's game, etc.

Well, guess we can now say E3 2010 was the best E3 conference... of all time.
 
SolidSnakex said:
That would be a legitimate megaton. Recent E3's have been pretty poor when it comes to delivering demos. They're actually pretty rare at this point.
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Yeah the last big one that come to mind was Lost Planet back in 2006. It was really cool to be able to try the game months ahead of release.
 
Everybody who calls this bad or is bitter must have missed their last two E3 conferences

They are starting from the bottom and we'll see what they'll show
 
It's almost like they are ashamed of their products, thinking that people will just look at the graphics from Sony and Microsofts conferences and scoff at their presentation.

Winter is coming..
 
I'm disappointed I always look forward to Nintendo's E3 conference for the lulz, they will be missed.

guess they have bigger plans
 
One benefit of this method seems to be that Nintendo can trickle out information... as in, after Sony/MS have blown their loads, Nintendo can release some new details to hopefully reclaim the spotlight a bit.

Don't know if it'll work though.
 
Mihael Mello Keehl said:
Seek info out on gaf? Pretty sure gaf will be booming with the new stuff Nintendo shows your gonna see it anyways
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Exactly. Anyone that thinks that the Nintendo Direct info will be buried can't have seen the massive reaction to Bayonetta 2 being a Wii U exclusive. That information was unveiled in a Nintendo Direct, but there's probably not a single person out there unaware of the announcement.
 
Maybe I am reading this wrong but base on the information it actually seems like they are planning on cutting out the fluff and focus mainly on the software which is actually good news I am not sure why all the doom and gloom in here.
 
I love the conference atmosphere and build-up, so this is a little sad for me, but otherwise it's a superficial change.

If the argument is mainstream coverage, I saw 3DS Zelda and Wii U Update news articles after the direct a few days ago on websites like CNET and fucking Zap2It. As long as they're talking about something real, they get tens of thousands of viewers, twitter trends and articles written about what they announce.

The simple reality is that the January 21st Nintendo Direct was probably a better "conference" than their last two E3's. If this is more straight to the point, less "fluff" and more details, announcements and message - than it will be an improvement.
 
MDSVeritas said:
People have been saying in this thread that this strategy will make Nintendo have less impact at E3, I'm confused as to why people think that. The main (possibly only come this year) way to watch press conferences is through gaming sites, and IGN, Kotaku, ect will undoubtedly host links to the presentations when they begin. This is combined with Nintendo's own hosting like what they've done the past few years, just with live presentations instead of directs.
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I think most people watched the conferences on TV in the past few years. At least I think the ratings on Spike and G4 were pretty good.
 
Fine by me. I've been so disappointed by so many E3 presentations the last 4 or 5 years that it doesn't really matter anymore. This goes for Sony and Microsoft as well. Last years presentations were the final straw for me actually giving a shit. Still excited for E3 in general though and this year is gonna be epic.
 
EatChildren said:
Completely agree about the diminishing returns on Nintendo Direct. I obviously don't have market data to back it up, but the way Nintendo handles them sometimes is quite baffling. I have no reason to believe people who do not own are Wii U are, in droves, watching Wii U related Nintendo Directs to see if they want the system. They already don't care. The people who watch already own the platform, and are interested in the games.

Granted, the reasoning behind Nintendo Directs could be that they're just a fancy pants version of a press release. Yes, they appeal almost exclusively to platform owners, but people will still report the news, tell others, post threads, and so on. They might be thinking of Nintendo Direct as a viral kind of thing.

And honestly, as long as they're holding press related events at E3 (which it seems they are), I guess they're filling the purpose of the single conference incrementally.
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i think the small amount of people who actually watch the Nintendo Direct's live is what makes them so effective. it is just like E3. they turn everyday people into journalists with the scoop. they have to go tell everyone so they can be first. it frames the discussion from the start with a sense of urgency and all of the people who find out know that this is some important news. it was very effective with Animal Crossing. in the last one with LTTP2, i seen it everywhere. it made front page of reddit. i was watching a zelda stream at the time and people ran into chat within minutes after it was announced so they could tell everyone.
 
This could backfire on us if they deem the exciting-but-far-off game announcements as "pertinent only to retailers to assure them this product has long-term prospects," and they relegate us gamers to "shit you already know about you can buy in the next few months."
 
Nibel said:
Everybody who calls this bad or is bitter must have missed their last two E3 conferences

They are starting from the bottom and we'll see what they'll show
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Yeah the last 2 E3 conferences were shit. It was their chance to showcase the Wii U and what it could do a wide audience of gamers and they failed to convince people to jump in early. And it shows now.

So now bowing out is the correct answer? The people who care about Ninendo Directs are people who already own the system. E3 appeals to a much bigger audience than that.

I think this is a huge mistake on a lot of levels. We'll see though.
 
axisofweevils said:
Exactly. Anyone that thinks that the Nintendo Direct info will be buried can't have seen the massive reaction to Bayonetta 2 being a Wii U exclusive. That information was unveiled in a Nintendo Direct, but there's probably not a single person out there unaware of the announcement.
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Out where? On GAF? The entire gaming community? Or.. ?
 
Damn, I don't know how I feel about this...

Neiteio said:
To be fair, they still do the "one more thing" hat trick with Directs, with past examples including ALttP2, MonolithSoft's X, DKCR3D, etc.
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They just don't have as much effect. They're great, but nothing will beat the Twilight Princess reveal and (for me) the Kid Icarus reveal.
 
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