Nintendo Set to Disappoint at E3 Again
- Scribbled on April 15th, 2009 by Jonathon Howard
- Filed in E3, Editorial Content, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi, Nintendo Wii
Remember last year when Reggie Fils-Aime, the President of Nintendo of America, promised an awesome E3? Remember how we naively believed him, and then were treated to Wii Music? If you need to be refreshed, look at the video above and enjoy watching people who make six-figure salaries gyrating on stage like idiots.
This is why when Reggie says that Nintendo “always go into E3 with a very high bar, wanting to satisfy not only the core fans but also ourselves,” and “we’re hoping to do a much better job this year.” I just don’t believe him.
I have a feeling that everything exciting coming out of Nintendo this year has already been revealed: Spirit Tracks, and the Wii Motion Plus. That at this year’s E3, we will again see Nintendo trying to get core gamers excited by products more suited for the casual market. You know, the people who have no idea what E3 is.
(Thanks, Eurogamer.)
April 15th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
.
Nice contradiction in terms, Reggie.
April 15th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
*yawn*
April 15th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Yes, Mr. Fils-Aime. That’s exactly what we expect from Nintendo’s E3 this year.
April 15th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Well, it can’t be WORSE than last year, so you know they’ll be able to say they did a better job. But honestly, things are looking a lot better, games like Punchout, The Conduit, Spirit Tracks, ExciteBots, are all looking very promising. Plus the storage solution so we can get better DLC support and Wii Ware downloads is a big plus. Hopefully they keep moving in the right direction. My fingers are crossed for the announcement of a new Rogue Squadron game from Factor 5.
April 15th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
The problem is: Nintendo doesn’t splooge third party products in their conference. They only hype their own products, unlike the others. ie. Microsoft announcing Final Fantasy XIII, Grand Theft Auto IV, Tekken 6, and so on.
The Conduit is a shooter and a third party title. There’s ZERO chance Nintendo will show it off. Zero.
April 15th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
wtf do you expect? Wii is for kids, and everyone at E3 are adults. They obviously gonna look terrible to adults. If you think retarded kid games are going to excite a teen or adult then your stupid.
April 15th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
I just realized, I’m covering E3 this year, and may have to sit through Nintendo’s conference.
April 15th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Does it matter how Nintendo does at E3?
I think we’re all agreed in that their performance last year was terrible… and what impact did it have?
Zero. None. Nada. Zilch. Zippo.
They have a solid lead that’s E3 proof. Their base audience not only doesn’t care about media shows like this, most likely they aren’t even aware that things like E3 even exist.
The 20 million unit worldwide lead speaks volumes. Nintendo, technically, doesn’t have to show up at E3 at all. They’re only doing it as a courtesy.
April 15th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Jordan, that was last year, when the Wii was still in “shortage”. The eBay average sales for the Wii have been $0 above MSRP. Iwata has expressed concern over the slackening of Wii sales.
It’s a different story right now. At some point, Nintendo is going to have to convince the core Nintendo audience the Wii 2 is worth buying – because the casual consumer won’t be interested in it.
No interest. Zero. Zilch. Nada.
April 15th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Well, they have to announce a Wii2 first, don’t they? :^)
You’re right though, it’s looking like they’ve exhausted the casual gamer market and casual gamers are hanging up the controllers and putting away their toys.
Your average gamer is not impressed with being able to play “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” with virtual instruments so Nintendo is going to have to do something…
But for now they’re sitting pretty. Even if they decided to sell their last Wii TODAY it would still be several years before Microsoft catches up to them. That’s why I say it doesn’t really matter how well or how poorly they do at E3.
Now when it comes time to release something other than the DSi they better have something fantastic planned.
April 15th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
They’re going to cater the Wii 2 to the same market that bought the Wii, and will be shocked when those people say, “Screw you! I don’t need to spend another $250. I like Wii Bowling!”
And again – when do you start catering to the core audience? Jonathan told me a lot of his friends who were Nintendo faithful have moved on. The core audience who will buy the next console is eroding.
April 16th, 2009 at 12:28 am
[...] can tell E3 is approaching, as Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony continue to posture and make bold statements before the major event. Lately, [...]
April 16th, 2009 at 3:52 am
Nintendo is digging themselves a grave… sure the sales are good now but what happens when grandma dies and little baby timmy grows up….I own a Wii but I regret ever wasting my valuable money on it when i could have gotten an xbox 360!!
Unless nintendo makes a really good console whenever they decide to do that (im guessing 2012) im not gonna waste my money on some shitty ass cheapo console that i will play a total of like 10 times!
Fuck you Nintendo!
April 16th, 2009 at 4:28 am
yeah thats why i dont buy nintendo anymore they make to many kids games and the graphics suck.