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How Nintendo Stole E3
JudoChinX
June 21, 2010
S
ome argue that there's no real winner when it comes to the E3, but I beg to differ. Each year fan boys anxiously hunch over their keyboards as they digest the latest and greatest announcements from the Big Three. I'm not sure what it is exactly, but gamers tend to have a sense of pride for their favorite console, and E3 brings that out more than any other event during the year. Though the real victors from a successful press conference are the consumers, it's always fun to compare each company's offerings. Going in, Nintendo's event was the one I was least interested in. Surprising though it may be, I left with a greater appreciation for Nintendo than I've had in a long time. Nintendo single handedly outdid their competitors this year. It was a near 180 from last year's conference, so what changes did they make to create such a big splash this year?
The overarching theme I noticed throughout Nintendo's entire presentation was the realization that casual gamers paid little to no attention to E3. That's an important change as it seems like the last several years have held little for the core gamers out there like me. Once that was understood by Nintendo, everything else fell into place. We saw the announcements of huge titles including The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Kirby's Epic Yarn, Epic Mickey, and Goldeneye 007. Anyone who loved Nintendo during the days of the N64 and Super Nintendo should be excited for this lineup. It's almost enough to make me forget the last few lackluster years with the Wii. I've always been a believer that companies should remember those that made their company a success in the first place. Without us, the core gamers, Nintendo wouldn't have become the success it is today. It's refreshing to see them give us the attention that we crave.
The Nintendo press conference could have ended there for all I cared, but no, they had even more morsels of news to keep you in your seats. The 3DS was announced some time ago, but we've not heard much on the lineup in place, nor has anyone outside of Nintendo had a chance to play with the new handheld firsthand. When I heard that the 3DS would provide games in 3D without the need for glasses, I was skeptical. If it were that easy, why haven't we seen something like that on a larger scale such as movie theaters, or even home televisions? Well, for now, this tech only works on a smaller screen, though perhaps we'll see refinements to that in the future. Considering that this new kind of screen was something that we'd never really seen before, I was skeptical that the effect would have some sort of issues. Evidently that wasn't the case, because those at the event who had a chance to experiment with the console had overwhelmingly positive things to say. The bottom line is that the 3D effect works great.
A console isn't much without games, so I'm probably understating my feelings when I say that I was curious to find out what games were in development for the 3DS. I was blown away by the variety and quality of the titles announced: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Resident Evil: Revelations, Kid Icarus: Uprising, and Mario Kart 3DS. There's something here for everyone. These titles were announced at the actual Nintendo press conference and we found out about a few potentially game changing titles coming to the system during the days to follow the event. New games are great, but there's something special about a little bit of nostalgia. 3D remakes of both The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Star Fox 64, some of the most loved games for the N64, have been announced for the system.
Few can argue that Nintendo pulled out all the stops this year. Offering something for casual audiences, retro gamers, and core gamers, Nintendo has succeeded at impressing me on all levels. This next year is a great time to be a Wii owner, and assuming that these 3DS games come out at or shortly after launch, I think that the 3DS will inevitably become a financial and critical success. Nintendo, I tip my hat off to you. Well done.
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