Nintendo Ditches its E3 Press Conference

[Cognimancer]

Nintendo Ditches its E3 Press Conference

After almost two decades of E3 press conferences, Nintendo is going to sit this next one out.

E3 is kind of a big deal. As one of the biggest video game events of the year, every publisher that can afford it usually puts together some sort of flashy presentation to wow fans and investors. The Big Three console producers are generally chief among these grand press conferences, but this year, that trio's down to two. In Nintendo's latest financial briefing, company president Satoru Iwata outlined Nintendo's "new presentation style" - which does not include a traditional E3 conference.

The decision was made as part of a new strategy for getting the right information to the people who care about it. Traditional E3 press conferences are massive undertakings, catering to fans, the press, investors, and business partners of the company. Putting together an appropriate presentation to suit the needs of all these groups is admittedly challenging. The typical Nintendo fan isn't terribly interested in sales reports, but industry analysts won't be happy if the conference sticks to promotional material for upcoming releases. Nintendo's solution is to avoid trying to satisfy every interest at once, and instead split their efforts into a number of smaller presentations.

Nintendo's presence at this year's E3 will include several events focused on showing off its upcoming software lineup, with plenty of details on this year's upcoming Wii U releases. One closed event will cater to American distributors, while another one gives the Western gaming media some hands-on time with Nintendo's newest software. Meanwhile, information will be coming to Nintendo's audience via more straightforward channels, such as Nintendo Direct.

The change makes sense on multiple levels - Iwata's logic is sound, but I wouldn't be surprised if this had something to do with Nintendo's recent financial woes [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123500-Nintendo-Misses-Profits-Forecast-By-50-Percent]. Large-scale press conferences of the E3 variety don't come cheap, and it's possible that the company doesn't think the loss of mainstream media attention will hurt them much. Alternate avenues like Nintendo Direct provide a solid way to continue hosting presentations at a much lower cost.

This year's E3 will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on June 11-13. Even without a traditional conference, expect some big news from all major players in the industry - Nintendo included.

Source: Nintendo [http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/130425/04.html]

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[V8 Ninja]

My, things are a-changing...

 

[Aerosteam]

Well, that doesn't really stop them from unveiling a new DS iteration a week after E3.

 

[blizzaradragon]

In b4 people claiming this as proof that Nintendo is dead/dying

In all seriousness though, Nintendo doesn't really need an E3 presentation. After all, just look at public opinion of E3 conferences over the last few years, and you'll see a trend of more and more people claiming that nothing good is coming from the conferences and/or an increase in the conferences being called things such as pandering bullshit. Plus, Nintendo already has a really good way to get info to many people who want it: Nintendo Direct. After all, many of their big games lately have gotten announced on there and the hype built itself from people watching getting excited. I think if anyone can skip this and be fine or even better off, it's easily Nintendo.

 

[DrunkOnEstus]

I was ready to call out the stupidity, especially considering that they just claimed a problem with consumer ignorance. Then I realized that E3 isn't really for the consumer. It's become a business circle-jerk and in-person console war, with pre-rendered cinematics for journalists to speculate about. I consider this move a bold step in the right direction, that could shoot them in the face. Those mentioned journalists tell people like us about the games, but they need to be telling the new audience they picked up with the Wii just what the Wii U is about. I'm sure those people don't even use Nintendo Direct. I actually just found out about Nintendo Direct.

 

[gentlemanghost]

"After almost two decades of E3 press conferences, Nintendo is going to sit this next one out."

"Nintendo's presence at this year's E3 will include. . . "

Ummm, don't these sentences contradict each other?

 

[Jumwa]

In b4 people claiming this as proof that Nintendo is dead/dying

In all seriousness though, Nintendo doesn't really need an E3 presentation. After all, just look at public opinion of E3 conferences over the last few years, and you'll see a trend of more and more people claiming that nothing good is coming from the conferences and/or an increase in the conferences being called things such as pandering bullshit. Plus, Nintendo already has a really good way to get info to many people who want it: Nintendo Direct. After all, many of their big games lately have gotten announced on there and the hype built itself from people watching getting excited. I think if anyone can skip this and be fine or even better off, it's easily Nintendo.

Well said.

Add to that the fact that the general gaming media tends to ignore Nintendo news unless it can be spun into a death-prediction in favour of the Playstation vs Xbox dichotomy -- which will inevitably only ramp up at E3 as they both unveil their new consoles -- it doesn't seem like Nintendo will miss out on much.

I've found E3 to be rather a bore for years. It seems like such a shabby way to go about things. A flood of game news all pours out at once, making it hard to find the stuff you care about, and a lot of the more interesting developments get lost in the sea of high-spectacle PR.

Speaking of the high-spectacle PR, even when new things are announced there that you do care about -- say, a new console -- the details of it tend to be so hidden beneath PR-speak that it takes weeks or months to decipher what's really going on with it and determine the reality of what it'll be like to play it. i.e. Flashy cinematics shown off which reveals absolutely nothing about the game in question, or buzz-word blather about new console features that often don't materialize or end up being so different from the description as to be unrecognizable.

 

[Fappy]

The press conferences are always pretty terrible anyway. Nintendo made the right call imo.

 

[ToastiestZombie]

It'll be a shame when Smash Bros 4 is announced and there isn't a group of hundreds of people going crazy at the same time, but most of the applause now is common courtesy more than anything. Nintendo Directs are much better than E3 conferences because they don't bog it down with shit like ten-minute montages of already-released games (looking at you Sony) or guest appearences from anyone but the Nintendo main-stays (looking at you Microsoft), and they get to the point and announce game after game instead of rattling on about sales. They've already said they'll be showing multiple games at E3, and those will most likely be shown on a direct.

 

[Something Amyss]

The same thing happened to me in Game Dev Story when my latest game didn't do as well as expected.

Guess they don't have anything more to say.

Or Nintendo Direct is seen as a better way to deliver their messages.

After all, just look at public opinion of E3 conferences over the last few years, and you'll see a trend of more and more people claiming that nothing good is coming from the conferences and/or an increase in the conferences being called things such as pandering bullshit.

I was looking forward to the irrelevance of E3 that looked like it was on the horizon a few years ago. It's a shame the industry decided to double down on it instead, especially given the rising negative (and non-positive) opinions.

E3 was always intended as a "trade show," but I think in this day and age it's more of an echo chamber, and does the gaming industry need another annual circle-jerk?

 

[Scarim Coral]

It somewhat of a shame that they are not going to be in this year since their presentation was somewhat of a miss or hit (I mean when the other two console were going on with their new gimmick, their presentation was sound due to it being just showing more upcoming games and etc).

Either way that's one less presentations to watched during E3 day.

 

[sethisjimmy]

"After almost two decades of E3 press conferences, Nintendo is going to sit this next one out."

"Nintendo's presence at this year's E3 will include. . . "

Ummm, don't these sentences contradict each other?

I think it means that while they are foregoing the traditional big press conference they hold each year along with Microsoft and Sony, they're still going to be at E3 promoting various things. Just not doing a press conference.

 

[Fappy]

It'll be a shame when Smash Bros 4 is announced and there isn't a group of hundreds of people going crazy at the same time, but most of the applause now is common courtesy more than anything. Nintendo Directs are much better than E3 conferences because they don't bog it down with shit like ten-minute montages of already-released games (looking at you Sony) or guest appearences from anyone but the Nintendo main-stays (looking at you Microsoft), and they get to the point and announce game after game instead of rattling on about sales. They've already said they'll be showing multiple games at E3, and those will most likely be shown on a direct.

From what I understand they're only going to be revealing screenshots anyway, so it'd be kind of tacky to talk it up in a press-conference and have everyone go ballistic. I mean, I am just excited for the next SSB as the next guy, but I don't think we need a press conference for the reveal.

 

[TheSapphireKnight]

It makes sense to me, let Sony/MS try to constantly one-up each other. Nintendo can just easily find success without trying to play the traditional E3 game. I feel that Nintendo just has a different niche than Sony/MS at it makes sense they would do things the way they want for their specific audience.

 

[Mr.Mattress]

It'll be a shame when Smash Bros 4 is announced and there isn't a group of hundreds of people going crazy at the same time, but most of the applause now is common courtesy more than anything.

From what I understand they're only going to be revealing screenshots anyway, so it'd be kind of tacky to talk it up in a press-conference and have everyone go ballistic. I mean, I am just excited for the next SSB as the next guy, but I don't think we need a press conference for the reveal.

If it's anything like Smash Bros. Brawl, they'll probably show a little Teaser Trailer for SSB4, that'll show off a few of the new characters, a couple of those returning, and some fighting on stages.

OT: As long as I get info on the Next Super Mario 3D game, then I'll be satisfied.

 

[Fappy]

It'll be a shame when Smash Bros 4 is announced and there isn't a group of hundreds of people going crazy at the same time, but most of the applause now is common courtesy more than anything.

From what I understand they're only going to be revealing screenshots anyway, so it'd be kind of tacky to talk it up in a press-conference and have everyone go ballistic. I mean, I am just excited for the next SSB as the next guy, but I don't think we need a press conference for the reveal.

If it's anything like Smash Bros. Brawl, they'll probably show a little Teaser Trailer for SSB4, that'll show off a few of the new characters, a couple of those returning, and some fighting on stages.

OT: As long as I get info on the Next Super Mario 3D game, then I'll be satisfied.

I am hoping we get more than simple screenshots, but according to this article that's likely all we'll get: http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/01/23/smash-bros-mario-mario-kart-confirmed-for-e3-2013?abthid=50fff28302d45ac22f000067

Granted, things may have changed since that article was published. If so, I don't think Nintendo has said anything about it.

 

[weirdee]

In b4 people claiming this as proof that Nintendo is dead/dying

In all seriousness though, Nintendo doesn't really need an E3 presentation. After all, just look at public opinion of E3 conferences over the last few years, and you'll see a trend of more and more people claiming that nothing good is coming from the conferences and/or an increase in the conferences being called things such as pandering bullshit. Plus, Nintendo already has a really good way to get info to many people who want it: Nintendo Direct. After all, many of their big games lately have gotten announced on there and the hype built itself from people watching getting excited. I think if anyone can skip this and be fine or even better off, it's easily Nintendo.

Well said.

Add to that the fact that the general gaming media tends to ignore Nintendo news unless it can be spun into a death-prediction in favour of the Playstation vs Xbox dichotomy -- which will inevitably only ramp up at E3 as they both unveil their new consoles -- it doesn't seem like Nintendo will miss out on much.

I've found E3 to be rather a bore for years. It seems like such a shabby way to go about things. A flood of game news all pours out at once, making it hard to find the stuff you care about, and a lot of the more interesting developments get lost in the sea of high-spectacle PR.

Speaking of the high-spectacle PR, even when new things are announced there that you do care about -- say, a new console -- the details of it tend to be so hidden beneath PR-speak that it takes weeks or months to decipher what's really going on with it and determine the reality of what it'll be like to play it. i.e. Flashy cinematics shown off which reveals absolutely nothing about the game in question, or buzz-word blather about new console features that often don't materialize or end up being so different from the description as to be unrecognizable.

Yeah. Case in point: last year, Watch Dogs, one of the FEW games with an actual gameplay trailer, and a long one, and the game looked FANTASTIC in both graphics and demonstration of gameplay, went largely ignored and was not even mentioned in the so called "awards" they give for the industry to pat itself on the back for barfing out half hearted sequels.

 

[ToastiestZombie]

Yeah. Case in point: last year, Watch Dogs, one of the FEW games with an actual gameplay trailer, and a long one, and the game looked FANTASTIC in both graphics and demonstration of gameplay, went largely ignored and was not even mentioned in the so called "awards" they give for the industry to pat itself on the back for barfing out half hearted sequels.

Huh, I remember Watch Dogs being the one game all of my friends and most people on the internet got really hyped about, I can't remember it ever being ignored.