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

Into said:
This is really anti climatic, the one year they have games to show (and this is, at the end of the day, all about games) they chose not to?

Having Mario Kart, SSB, Zelda, Mario 3D and others finally up on stage would have been great way to change the perception of the Wii U to something more positive.
Click to expand...

It's anti-climactic but it lets Nintendo unveil those games in a controlled environment, with longer gameplay demos, with press interviews straight afterwards, with no technical difficulties and without having to rush through various games just for the sake of showing them. I'll miss the drama and the excitement, but maybe just maybe that excitement will be spread over a few days rather than in one big gulp. It's going to be like loads of different Smash Bros Brawl unveilings.
 
Pappasman said:
they will be showing games. they are having smaller events all throughout E3 instead of one big conference.
Click to expand...

Yeah i know but Mario, MK, Zelda deserve the big spotlight. This is the time they really have promising games to show, and they decide smaller events?

Yet last 2 years they had these vague conferences where they revealed very little and had "unprecedented partnership" with a certain publisher that ended up screwing them over.

The bad news is that this takes out some of the excitement out of E3, as people really enjoy the "big 3 conferences".

The good news is that E3 does not matter in the grand scheme of things, so whether they are there or not wont really have much of a impact on sales in the long run.
 
Disappointing. Seems clear that the poor WiiU sales and barren release schedule forced their hand into setting up the Nintendo directs, the negative press needed taming, and now they've blown their load in terms of new game announcements so the E3 conference would be sure to disappoint. So it makes sense and I don't blame them for taking that approach... But it still sucks.
 
thepotatoman said:
E3 press conferences are advertisements and marketing. It's just the type where people don't really look at it as an advertisement and are actually interested in what's going on.
Click to expand...
And they're still having press events, you just won't see them streamed live and instead see pre-recorded directs with the same information packaged for the consumer, not the journalist and the retailer all in one.

The press will still cover the events they will attend and the playable games on the showfloor, why's that so hard to get for so many people, it's in the thread title.

I guess EatChildren should correct it again into "the sky is not falling, Nintendo is not going third party" or something given some of the replies in here.
 
shinra-bansho said:
Which seems odd, considering those new ads, for example, and some of the comments from the investor briefing, would suggest Nintendo is doubling down on targeting families and/or expanded audiences to try and turn the Wii U around.
Click to expand...

The funny thing is:
Nintendo still didn´t realize that the "expanded audience" doesn´t give a rats ass about the WiiU and never will.
 
I, for one, think this is a great idea. No more needing to request the day off work. The Direct will be more straightforward and not beat around sales etc. Just get straight toe the software and show what gamers want to see. I'm also glad they're not cramming in the press/distributor stuff together with what they plan on showing to gamers. Now, they can show a game once it's ready to be shown any time of the year and they won't need to wait for an event like E3.
 
Into said:
Yeah i know but Mario, MK, Zelda deserve the big spotlight. This is the time they really have promising games to show, and they decide smaller events?

Yet last 2 years they had these vague conferences where they revealed very little and had "unprecedented partnership" with a certain publisher that ended up screwing them over.
Click to expand...

This way, they can potentially dedicate more time for these particular games instead of trying to fit everything into one hour-long presentation.

I will definitely miss the live, bombastic reveals, though.
 
You won't see Nintendo Direct on TV and even 30 seconds on TV (CNN, US Today etc.) could mean more than some ads. Average families/people will see that something is going on and if they are interested they will find out more about things they are interested in.
 
thepotatoman said:
E3 press conferences are advertisements and marketing. It's just the type where people don't really look at it as an advertisement and are actually interested in what's going on.
Click to expand...

...And Nintendo's new strategy doesn't undermine that line of thought at all. They're still going to be there. There's still going to be press events. The only difference is that there isn't going to be a conference in the fashion that people are used to.

Once again, this doesn't change anything. The only people who are potentially impacted by this is random_gaming_blogger_29 and company who shouldn't have gotten a press conference invite to begin with.
 
This sounds better to me, not just their approach, but because I've never really been one to enjoy there conferences. Last one I legitimately liked was E3 '06 right before the Wii came out, and it just went downhill after that.

I wish the other two would go for the same approach kind of, because I want lots of in depth content about their new systems.
 
Chie Satonaka said:
...And Nintendo's new strategy doesn't undermine that line of thought at all. They're still going to be there. There's still going to be press events. The only difference is that there isn't going to be a conference in the fashion that people are used to.

Once again, this doesn't change anything. The only people who are potentially impacted by this is random_gaming_blogger_29 and company who shouldn't have gotten a press conference invite to begin with.
Click to expand...

Yeah. I'm not sure why people think they're not going to have a presence at E3. They'll probably still have some event but it won't be in the same fashion as past E3s. Less announcements and more hands-on focused from what I can tell.
 
This definitely evokes a "this fucking sucks" immediate reaction from me, as I've loved watching the Nintendo conferences every year since 2004. I get excited for it every year.

Even then, the hyperbole in this thread is ridiculous.
 
If this speeds up the process of E3 becoming irrelevant, I'm all for it. Nowadays it's nothing but a week of media bullshit and promises that will be broken. Nintendo Directs are a much better way of doing things, and I hope Sony and Microsoft catch on soon
 
megamerican said:
Let's be honest, the only people who watch Nintendo Direct are pretty much the same people that already own a Wii U.
Click to expand...
I watch them and don't own a WiiU or 3DS. Also, every gaming site reported the information as usual so they reached way more people than those that watch them the moment they go up. So take your advice, be honest.
 
Alextended said:
And they're still having press events, you just won't see them streamed live and instead see pre-recorded directs with the same information packaged for the consumer, not the journalist or the retailer all in one.

The press will still cover the events and the playable games on the showfloor, why's that so hard to get for so many people, it's in the thread title.
Click to expand...

Of course I get that. Why do you assume I don't? I was specifically talking about the guy wondering why a CNN 30 second spot matters.

My main worry is that nintendo direct won't be a suitable replacement for an e3 event. A prerecorded thing that gets put out every couple of months doesn't seem to have the same drawing or sticking power that a press conference would have.
 
Just seems like a really risky gamble considering their current market position. Regardless of the intention or the effectiveness of smaller forums it just looks weak and confirms the impression that they can't compete.

The main show was an opportunity to generate some badly needed buzz and confidence. There's no guarantee that the smaller scale events will provide the same.
 
thepotatoman said:
Of course I get that. Why do you assume I don't? I was specifically talking about the guy wondering why a CNN 30 second spot matters.

My main worry is that nintendo direct won't be a suitable replacement for an e3 event. A prerecorded thing that gets put out every couple of months doesn't seem to have the same drawing or sticking power that a press conference would have.
Click to expand...
You say you get it but you still reply as if they won't have anything for the press at E3 when they very specifically say they will. Journalists won't be expected to stream the Direct to get the info, no.

And what's that about every couple of months? That they have Directs and Mini Directs for lesser information often doesn't mean their During-E3-Directs and their E3 events will be for such things too.

I mean, just telling us they save the 3D Mario and Smash Bros unveils for E3 shows they want and do save some things for those events. Not that I'd mind not waiting a whole year to get all the big news at TGS/E3 etc.
 
SaintMadeOfPlaster said:
If this speeds up the process of E3 becoming irrelevant, I'm all for it. Nowadays it's nothing but a week of media bullshit and promises that will be broken. Nintendo Directs are a much better way of doing things, and I hope Sony and Microsoft catch on soon
Click to expand...

Pretty much this. As much as I look forward to E3 every year, it's just a big spectacle for the sake of spectacle. They sort of stopped being for us a while ago. The conferences feel like they're for the media and shareholders. I still like the idea of E3, a big video game convention where everyone can show their stuff off, but I feel like the big conferences aren't as interesting. Sure we got some "shit just got realer than real" moments, but we'll still get those just in a smaller venue. I don't really care about sales data or any of that anyway.
 
megamerican said:
Let's be honest, the only people who watch Nintendo Direct are pretty much the same people that already own a Wii U.
Click to expand...

How about I say this "the only people who watch Sony's press conference are those that already own a PS3."

The only difference between me saying this and you saying that is I'm only pretending to be stupid.
 
thepotatoman said:
Of course I get that. Why do you assume I don't? I was specifically talking about the guy wondering why a CNN 30 second spot matters.
Click to expand...

I never said anything about wondering why. I said I wanted to see data, because a lot of you seem to be overestimating the impact of 15 to 30 seconds on a mainstream cable news network.
 
Good idea from them. Gives them space and more visibility when they don't have to compete with the madness of E3. People seem to really dig those directs too.
 
E3 to me is about cross pollination. Even if you don't own all the consoles you watch the press conferences to see 3rd party games and what things the other platform holders have to offer. If Nintendo doesn't have a press conference I will not know what they're working on. I'm not a huge Nintendo fan and I'm unlikely to seek out a video series aimed at core Nintendo fans. Even as someone who doesn't believe E3 reaction makes or breaks a product, I do believe awareness is very important. E3 is a unique opportunity to attract the attention of gamers who are currently using other game platforms. They're squandering an opportunity, but maybe things are that bad at Nintendo that they need to conserve money and take a year to retool. It will be very sad if we never get another Nintendo E3 again.
 
3rdDimension said:
In pretty typical fashion, looks like gamers don't like change!

This is a bold cost effective and smart move given the success of the nintendo directs. It is beyond me as to why people are viewing this as a fail.

They have solid data to back up that doing directly targeted video presentations will be just as if not more effective than the traditional conferences.

People always talk about these conferences as if they ultimately determine the success of a console.

The only things these conferences contributed to was the egos of fanboys. Just look at the whole silly thing of "rating" conferences. It's all pointless at the end of the day.
Click to expand...

Pretty much my take. I am accusing Iwata of being all talk, but this decision is the epitome of down to earth decision making. Dedicated communication channels that offer each segment a tailored channel. A Dedicated press event, a dedicated fan communication for Japan, US and EU, and a dedicated distributor event.

Now, please carry on with the doom and gloom.
 
Alextended said:
And they're still having press events, you just won't see them streamed live and instead see pre-recorded directs with the same information packaged for the consumer, not the journalist and the retailer all in one.

The press will still cover the events they will attend and the playable games on the showfloor, why's that so hard to get for so many people, it's in the thread title.
Click to expand...

You can't beat the live experience. Nothing beats the hype of all being together at the same time to experience something, whether it's a concert, football game or a press conference for video games.

How is Nintendo going to compete when there's no allocated "Nintendo only" time? What would a news outlet show for their story when there's no footage of the announcement being recorded as it happened?

This is yet another phase in Nintendo's catastrophic Wii U performance. And now downsizing their E3 presence makes it even harder for people to care about the Wii U, which in turn reduces sales, which reduces third party games, all in a constant snowball toward irrelevance.
 
Penguins&PolarBears said:
E3 to me is about cross pollination. Even if you don't own all the consoles you watch the press conferences to see 3rd party games and what things the other platform holders have to offer. If Nintendo doesn't have a press conference I will not know what they're working on. I'm not a huge Nintendo fan and I'm unlikely to seek out a video series aimed at core Nintendo fans. Even as someone who doesn't believe E3 reaction makes or breaks a product, I do believe awareness is very important. E3 is a unique opportunity to attract the attention of gamers who are currently using other game platforms. They're squandering an opportunity, but maybe things are that bad at Nintendo that they need to conserve money and take a year to retool. It will be very sad if we never get another Nintendo E3 again.
Click to expand...
Good, you won't have to seek it out, it will be as easy to find as an E3 conference stream, and it's not only going to be aimed to hardcore Nintendo fans, I dunno where you picked that up on.

BurnOutBrighter said:
You can't beat the live experience. Nothing beats the hype of all being together at the same time to experience something, whether it's a concert, football game or a press conference for video games.

How is Nintendo going to compete when there's no allocated "Nintendo only" time? What would a news outlet show for their story when there's no footage of the announcement being recorded as it happened?

This is yet another phase in Nintendo's catastrophic Wii U performance.
Click to expand...
So a news outlet won't be able to embed a Nintendo Direct or specific trailers just as well as they could embed the conference alongside all the playthroughs of the demos? What?

And of course the Directs will go up at a given announced time, like previous Directs, so you'll get the info alongside everyone else or wait for others to watch it and report as usual.
 
BurnOutBrighter said:
You can't beat the live experience. Nothing beats the hype of all being together at the same time to experience something, whether it's a concert, football game or a press conference for video games.

How is Nintendo going to compete when there's no allocated "Nintendo only" time? What would a news outlet show for their story when there's no footage of the announcement being recorded as it happened?

This is yet another phase in Nintendo's catastrophic Wii U performance.
Click to expand...

1) There will be a press event and by that I mean an event for the Western media.

2) They can show footage from the Nintendo Direct for people at home.
 
BurnOutBrighter said:
You can't beat the live experience. Nothing beats the hype of all being together at the same time to experience something, whether it's a concert, football game or a press conference for video games.

How is Nintendo going to compete when there's no allocated "Nintendo only" time? What would a news outlet show for their story when there's no footage of the announcement being recorded as it happened?

This is yet another phase in Nintendo's catastrophic Wii U performance.
Click to expand...

You are worried that there won't be footage of someone saying "I'm pleased to announce... for the Wii U!" for the media to show in conjunction with game news...

...wow.
 
BurnOutBrighter said:
You can't beat the live experience. Nothing beats the hype of all being together at the same time to experience something, whether it's a concert, football game or a press conference for video games.

How is Nintendo going to compete when there's no allocated "Nintendo only" time? What would a news outlet show for their story when there's no footage of the announcement being recorded as it happened?

This is yet another phase in Nintendo's catastrophic Wii U performance.
Click to expand...

E3: There's nothing like being disappointed in real-time!
 
Officerrob said:
I have yet to watch a single Nintendo Direct, but I have watched Nintendo's E3 press conferences every year, this is a bad move.
Click to expand...

Why? Now you can watch Nintendo Direct: E3 Press Conference Edition.

What difference does it make? Or will you actively not watch it because it's a Direct?
 
Into said:
This is really anti climatic, the one year they have games to show (and this is, at the end of the day, all about games) they chose not to?

Having Mario Kart, SSB, Zelda, Mario 3D and others finally up on stage would have been great way to change the perception of the Wii U to something more positive.
Click to expand...

Because they can't do that without a costly stage presentation? They're still at E3, they aren't going to lock the games away.

Captain Smoker said:
Well, we get the same information.

Press conferences are great because of the lulz, but the important part are the games/information which we'll get anyway, so I'm fine.
Click to expand...

fabricated backlash said:
Pretty much my take. I am accusing Iwata of being all talk, but this decision is the epitome of down to earth decision making. Dedicated communication channels that offer each segment a tailored channel. A Dedicated press event, a dedicated fan communication for Japan, US and EU, and a dedicated distributor event.

Now, please carry on with the doom and gloom.
Click to expand...

Exactly. The best news about all this is how much it trims the fat. There's silly things in Nintendo Directs, don't get me wrong (my favorites being Lego Iwata and Tomodachi Collection Iwata), but by comparison to the bloated and overdone press conference, this gets to the point and gives everyone what they want in the best possible way.

Hell, depending on how they structure the press meeting, it could actually end up giving us better editorial content on the information released at E3. Q&As immediately following a presentation would be VERY ideal, instead of the press going and filling in any blanks they have on their own and making them spend less time chasing down answers to burning questions.
 
BurnOutBrighter said:
You can't beat the live experience. Nothing beats the hype of all being together at the same time to experience something, whether it's a concert, football game or a press conference for video games.

How is Nintendo going to compete when there's no allocated "Nintendo only" time? What would a news outlet show for their story when there's no footage of the announcement being recorded as it happened?

This is yet another phase in Nintendo's catastrophic Wii U performance.
Click to expand...
There will 99% sure be a "Nintendo Direct E3 Presentation" that Nintendo will hype up and people will watch.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Nintendo Switch Direct officially announced
2
60
3K
DKPOWPOW replied
Switch 2 leak claims Nintendo Direct may happen near console's release date with focus on games
Rumor Analysis Hype 
44
341
Kataploom replied
Rumor: Another Nintendo Direct this week?
2
68
4K
WhiteWaterM00se replied
  • Poll
How would you rate the Nintendo Switch 2 Nintendo Direct?
3 4 5 6 7
322
10K
ADiTAR replied
For folks with Oblivion remastered, is Orinthal still there?
5
469
AJUMP23 replied
Top Bottom