E3 Nintendo Conference Thread

[Readykilowatt]

I thought this 1UP Blog play by play of the Nintendo conference was particularly hilarious Only because it totally derails toward the end as the writer is getting more and more frustrated with Nintendo.

http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8253507&publicUserId=5875338

That little skit there reminds me of the countless ones I've seen relating to the Wii and the DS over time. It just shows you how irrelevant and detached from the mainstream the "gaming media" has become.

 

[Zassk]

Dissapointing, as I though. All that wiifit/sports stuff is nice and all, but casuals arnt looking at E3, ''real'' gamers are ...

But you must remember, the new E3 isn't aimed at gamers (real or casual). It's aimed at industry partners.

 

[jandar]

But you must remember, the new E3 isn't aimed at gamers (real or casual). It's aimed at industry partners.

Yup, and I imagine quite a few developers are looking at Nintendo's newest hardware pieces and walking away thinking what they could do with them.

 

[tongue_of_colicab]

I rather have them walking away thinking what they can do with the wii controller instead of yet another piece of new hardware.

 

[Carl B]

The advantage of the new peripherals is that the developer doesn't have to develop their game with them in mind, so long as there is a certain mapping followed. To me, they seem rather seamless in terms of operation with or without the accessories.

 

[Xalion]

It seems to me as if Nintendo took the approach of "We already have the gamers, lets sell out upcomming hardware to the devs now". That could be a very good approach for them, afterall they do have a fairly solid install base that is growing at an unprecidented rate.

It did however make the conference terribly borring for Joe Average like me. It will be interesting to see if this decision plays out well for them.

 

[Farid]

The advantage of the new peripherals is that the developer doesn't have to develop their game with them in mind, so long as there is a certain mapping followed. To me, they seem rather seamless in terms of operation with or without the accessories.

I think tongue_of_colicab was talking about the sensor board that comes with Wii Fit.

I guess they'll use it for some games as well. They had a Donkey Kong jet/planes games in the works, if I remember correctly. That game could be tweaked to support the new board without too much work, I think.

 

[Cryect]

The Balance Board seems like it should be good for skating games as well and I'm sure a few other things.

 

[thatdude90210]

Yep, skating, surfing, skiing, & snowboarding, all might work.

 

[thatdude90210]

Here are a couple of articles from the mainstream press that illustrate the vast gulf between internet forum chatter and the mainstream press. While most gamers are critical of Nintendo for not show many games and spending most of their time on the non-game WiiFit. The mainstream press is eating it up.

Washington Post - Nintendo Is Star of E3 Show as Rivals Scramble to Catch Up

TG daily - E3: Sony, Microsoft stuck in the now, Nintendo already in the future

 

[quest55720]

Yep forbs and US Today are also declaring the Wii the winner of E3.

It seem WiiFit has really caught the attention of the main stream press. With the way people in america buy crazy diet/excersize equipment I can see WiiFit selling a ton and being a system seller.

Also if an EA developer is on this board please SSX game for the WiiBoard.

 

[Bobbler]

Completely bizarre how Wii (conference, at least) is arguably the biggest disappointment this E3 for gamers on the internet. It's as if the general press saw a different E3 conference than the gamers did and even enthusiast press. Kind of sick of this casual/non gaming binge the industry and press is on -- I certainly hope thats not the future of gaming, as TG daily seems to declare!

No idea how Nintendo does it, but they can't seem to do any wrong in the eyes of the masses (at least the press) now days -- games with the depth of a flash game and controlled with inaccurate motioning are certainly not the future of gaming (at least I hope not), as there's a substantial portion of the industry that I think would be a bit frustrated if that's what the typical game was. I'd prefer those types of games stay niche and the Halos, little big planets, MGS', Killzones, Heavenly Swords, Mass effects, etc. were the common game type, but with the press going on how they are, it seems like they think the gaming world should be full of Wii sports and Wii play games and other hokey games -- anything that requires you to move the controller rather than pushing buttons instantly means it's the future of gaming.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

It seem WiiFit has really caught the attention of the main stream press. With the way people in america buy crazy diet/excersize equipment I can see WiiFit selling a ton and being a system seller.

In essence, Nintendo are playing catchup to EyeToy but succeeding where Sony failed through marketing. EyeToy Kinetic would reach the same market as those enthusiastic for Wii Fit, but Sony didn't get such mainstream attention. Thus we see Nintendo using E3 for something very different than MS and Sony, as others have pointed out. They're advertising to the mainstream. Sony would never front EyeToy Kinetic in a big way like this as they know all the mainstream gamers aren't interested, and so when it was released it was a quite event, and they failed to contact much of the available market. What Nintendo have now is marketing that Wii is the place for knick-knacks. Perhaps there is a large audience for peripheral devices, but this large audience isn't among hardcore gamers? Joe Gamer uses the default controller and not much else. Joe Public OTOH loves the idea of a specific implementation, and is willing to buy the console with the most controller variety. Never been tried before.

Of course, the proof will be in the sales, rather than the newspapers reaction. But this E3 is further evidence of Nintendo's intentions and confidence in pulling them off.

 

[PatrickL]

Maybe Sony and forums will notice that in that week MC sales the only PS3 game in the top 30 is a "non-game" ? While Zlda is still number 1 in japan?

 

[_xxx_]

Bobbler, you have to think of Wii not as of a gaming system but rather a home appliance/easy-fun-device. Then you can see it in the right frame from the general public POV. Gamers are few and far between on this planet in comparison. In the eyes of the masses, they do exactly the right things.

 

[Arwin]

The wii-feet is a lot more convenient than the EyeToy for this kind of thing. The EyeToy, setting up the camera and such, is much trickier and subject to light conditions. The real question in that regard is how well the new EyeToy performs. That's why I'm so curious about it.

Anyway, the wii-feet works always, and shares some features with DDR type dancemats too (though a few more things to step on wouldn't have hurt here). Wireless too, which isn't bad either. Again, as I've said before, I like it and its potential.

But the Wii won the show mostly by merit of what it has accomplished, by showing the current strength of its brand and its current strategy. That's what makes them win E3 in the mainstream media, I'm sure. The wii-feet thing just shows they'll be continuing in this direction, which is all the mainstream press needs to hear.

 

[Carl B]

It's like I was saying earlier in the thread - Nintendo was speaking to a different audience than the one that populates gaming forums. And when it comes to the relative importance of the two audiences - hardcore vs casual - I think people have to put the indignation aside and realize that when a company is having its conference touted in the WashingtonPost vs IGN... it's on the more lucrative track of the two.

I think it's great that Nintendo actually is expanding so rapidly into the casual market as something that is not only accepted, but considered cool/fun. I don't view the rise of the casuals as the death of the hardcore - both groups will get bigger, but the former has always been the sleeping dragon. Wii for them is the modern version of a board game - and I think that's a perceptual hurdle that absolutely had to be made at some point or another.

 

[_xxx_]

Wii for them is the modern version of a board game

Exactly. Mixed with some easy workout.

 

[tha_con]

The reason Wii had a bad showing this year is they were catering to an audience that wasn't there. You can't try to sell your console to a casual market and expect those casual gamers to follow a big tradeshow that generally caters to hardcore gamers.

I think they were talking to an audience that simply wasn't paying attention / wasn't there.

 

[NERO]

I've said it before and will say it again; The Wii is now perceived as a toy.
--
For the longest time, until I yelled out of them, my family members/ videogame ignorami friends called any system I had a Nintendo.

Dad: Stop playing Nintendo and let's go fishing!
Me: It's called a Genesis/Playstation!!!!!

Things have gone full circle and are going to switch back to Nintendo. People will look at it, as Carl said, as TV boardgame of sorts - the family toy. I don't know how long Nintendo can sustain this, but man am I impressed at how things are turning out.