Nintendo's E3 Plans: Brilliance or a Dropped Ball?

Steve Anderson : End Game
Steve Anderson
The Video Store Guy
| The video game industry has gone from a mole hill to a mountain in no time flat, Chris DiMarco is your Sherpa as you endeavor to scale Mount “Everquest”

Nintendo's E3 Plans: Brilliance or a Dropped Ball?

Recently, new information has slipped out regarding Nintendo's plans for the upcoming E3 event, and the plans in question aren't what a lot of people were expecting. The plans in question are, in fact, rather innovative, but innovation almost always carries a risk of backfiring. So today, we're going to take a closer look at Nintendo's plans for the upcoming E3 event, and wonder: does Nintendo have a good plan, or is Nintendo about to shoot itself in the foot?

Basically, Nintendo won't be doing one of the giant colossal press conferences this year like it has in years past, and like competitors Microsoft and Sony do most every year. Instead, Nintendo will be hosting two smaller events, one for the gaming media, and one for the retail partners.  The retail partners event will be held at the Nokia Theater, which Nintendo has already rented out, and the media event will be at the LACC just ahead of the show opening.

There are, of course, two ways to look at this. The positive way says that, hey, this is a great idea. Let the games speak for themselves to the gaming media, and give them a shot to get in on the event before the crowds start filling the place up. The media gets to actually get hands on with the new titles and without having to jostle their way through a room full of people, all right.

The pessimistic way, meanwhile, says Nintendo's lost more face than a slasher movie convention and can't keep up with its competitors...again. The Wii U, tech wise, already looks like it's about on par with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, so watching Nintendo get blown away by the new hardware that will show up would just be, well, kind of sad.

As is commonly the case, the truth here probably lies between the two extremes. While it is something of a blow for Nintendo to not make the scene, it may well be on to something. Its Nintendo Direct reports have put out a lot of information already, so it's not like Nintendo's ignoring the fan base. Most people likely won't even make it to E3 anyway, so as long as Nintendo puts out plenty of game trailers, it'll do just as well in the end. Plus, Nintendo saves who knows how much money by cutting out the big show and probably still, in the end, gets just as much press.

Sure, Nintendo will lose some face for not being "in the mix". It's likely going to take a little bit of mockery for not showing up. But it may well be on to something that might catch on, and may well spell an end to E3 one day. Apple pulled out of CES once, after all...maybe the big trade show is going the way of the dodo.
Enhanced by Zemanta


Featured Events