Topic: 2014 E3 Impressions

[Kytim89]

An F-Zero for 3DS would make more sense since Mario Kart 7 came out almost two years ago. As for Metroid on 3DS, that Donkey Kong Country port was possibly a tech demo for a 2D Metroid for 3DS and Nintendo sold the game at retail to payback the research and development costs of porting the engine to the 3DS.

[Nile Boogie Returns]

Today has been Nintendo's...no the best single day by any company at E3 in, well maybe ever. TreeHouse live was outstanding. What Reggie said about normal press conferences not being good for Nintendo because half of their developers don't speak english and it doesn't "translate" well on stage at first IO thought was straight bullshit but lo and behold the man was spot on. Give me this every year. Not some "suit" using his hands as if he's talking to stockholders and not gamers. And then the Smash tourney to end it all. GREAT JOB!!!

[UncleBob]

After watching the full "Digital Event" without interruption and tons of other footage...

There's a bunch of little things I could complain about (like spending an eternity on a CGI-fake-fight-scene to introduce a game we already knew about)...

There's a bunch of things to be excited about (Captain Toad!  Wright v. Layton US release!)...

After all this, I can honestly and truly say I feel exactly the same about Nintendo after watching all this as I did before.

"It's a great time to be a Nintendo fan."

[Luigi Dude]

[Adrock]

There's a bunch of little things I could complain about (like spending an eternity on a CGI-fake-fight-scene to introduce a game we already knew about)...

I didn't think Nintendo spent too much time on the DBZ fight. They were catering to their own fanbase by pitting Reggie against Iwata. A little showmanship and self-awareness are things Nintendo has been sorely missing. It was a fun way to introduce Miis into Super Smash Bros. It plays to the strengths of a pre-recorded message. And it isn't like Nintendo couldn't have had a live press conference this year. They had the Nokia Theatre to themselves. Instead of filling it with industry people, they filled it with fans and had the Super Smash Bros. Invitational. Maybe I'm giving them too much credit. They've had some total ass E3 showings in the past, but I thought they did pretty we this year despite the dearth of third party titles.

[UncleBob]

I don't want to spend a lot of time harping on it, because, like I said, it's a "little thing"... it just irked me that it went on for sooooo long.  Microsoft and Sony have gotten so much crap for showing CGI-rendered footage - yet Nintendo spent 10 minutes on a CGI fight scene that had virtually *nothing* to do with a game and nothing to do with showing us a *new* game... and it was the first thing they showed us right out the gate.  It's a minor annoyance, but it sticks out to me because it's the very first thing they showed.

[Soren]

It wasn't 10 minutes though. At the 2:30 mark on the direct we're already seeing the Mii's fighting and at the 3 minute mark the Amiibo figures are revealed. A minute later Sakurai is talking about Smash Bros.


The Digital Event exceeded my expectations. They weren't high to begin with but it's still a positive. Almost every game they showed had me hyped up. Yoshi, Kirby, Zelda, Splatoon, Captain Toad are all day 1 buys for me right now. I was a little lukewarm about Bayonetta 2 but now I think I'm more hyped for it than I've ever been. And while Xenoblade's character models underwhelmed me, seeing it in action at the Treehouse redeemed the game for now.


Also, can we talk about the Treehouse event? This is probably the best thing to happen to  E3 in years. The idea of suffering through awkward game presentations on a stage or brief, hurried demos on GameTrailers or IGN is over. Devs had plenty of time to go through the games in depth, the banter wasn't scripted and the hosts were generally well versed and charming. This has to be standard from now on, right?

[UncleBob]

Obviously, the "10 minutes" was not to be taken as the literal exact amount of time spent on the fight.  And to clear up any other confusion, the "spending an eternity" was also not to be taken as a literal observation either.

*I* didn't like it.  It's great that y'all did and it's great (?) that the internet will now have even more manufactured memes half-generated by Nintendo.  I didn't like it and that's just how I feel about it.  If it had been later in the direct (or, even better, held until the Smash Bros. Event), then I'd probably be okay with it.  Just the fact that Nintendo chose to lead off with it - and for the purpose of introducing a title we already knew about... It was just the low point of the event for *me*.

Think of it this way - If the entire event had been similar things over and over - (2:30 long segments of Nintendo Execs having nothing to do with the game they're about to introduce, then introducing a game we already knew about) - this event would have been considered pretty bland.

On the other hand, imagine if the entire event had been like the awesome Splatoon!! segment.  Enter with a short teaser that actually ties right into this brand spankin' new game we've never heard of before or seen anything like.  Tons of great gameplay footage to get you hyped.  Developers talking about what the game is and what it does - introducing us to the brand new world they've created.  Now, imagine if the event had been that 10 more times.  It would have been amazingly awesome.

[Adrock]

The fight wasn't so much introducing a game we knew about as it was introducing things about said game that we didn't know about: Mii Fighters (three different types of customizable characters is a pretty big deal for Super Smash Bros.) and to a lesser extent, Amiibo.

You don't have to like it and I'm certainly not trying to convince you otherwise. I liked the build-up because Nintendo generally sucks at hype, being the same company that thought keeping Cranky Kong a secret mattered to anyone. The segment worked for me because they only did it once and it worked for what they were announcing. Miis are pretty much getting overshadowed by Pac-Man's announcement, but the way Miis are being implemented is pretty ingenious, even if they aren't available in all online modes.

[shingi_70]

Nintendo won E3 hands down for me this year. I was hoping that Nintendo wouldn't fall into the current trend of everything is 2015 but it can't be helped it seems. My favorite game so far is probably Xenoblade chronicles X and the paint shooter.

[nickmitch]

I think the winner of E3 is the company that announced a better 2014 to 2015 ratio.

Need to check the stats sheet for that.

[Khushrenada]

What Unclebob mentioned would be pretty good but I enjoy some humour with this celebration of new games to come. However, what are the chances that something like that could be pulled off? The Zelda and Star Fox games are clearly a ways off in development to be showing anything like Splatoon did. Without those, were there even 10 other new games shown? Probably half the segment was on games we already know existed. The chances of a digital event like that happening now or in the future are going to be slim and maybe best possible around the time of a new hardware launch.

Personally, I liked it. It's like the format of a late-night talk show. You open with some comedy bits and then get into the guest interviews with a little brief comedy segment here or there inbetween them. As I was talking with a couple others in chat, I kept hoping for more Robot Chicken stuff. It was just as fun as getting to be surprised by a new game. All in all, I really liked the mood of the whole event.

I saw a couple segments from the Treehouse live. It was alright but nothing I stuck around for. It reminded me a little of in the past when G4 would do their E3 shows and have the host sit in an area and talk with different developers on the games they were showing on the floor so that didn't strike me as anything special but maybe I missed something there. When it first started, they seemed to keep having trouble with getting trailers to load and it illustrated the difference between a live show and the digital event. With the digital event, you can edit and polish it so that it is a smooth viewing experience. Contrast that to the days where a live show could bomb or have technical difficulties (like Skyward Sword not working for Miyamoto when he went to demonstrate it) and, especially this time around, it just seems like the better choice.

The Smash Tourney and involving the crowd was also a great touch. Was really hoping that Kirby would come out on top as the grand winner as that is my first character of choice even if he isn't always the best choice for fighting.

[Soren]

Looks like the Treehouse are highlighting Indie games today. Guacamelee on right now and later Swords and Soldiers.

[NWR_insanolord]

I do love that they opened on a "we don't have any Mario games today" joke...and then proceeded to show off 2 new Mario games: Mario Maker and Toad's Treasure Hunt. -_-'

If Toad's Treasure Hunt counts as Mario game, so does Yoshi's Wooly World.

[UncleBob]

I count both of them as Mario games.  If they're not Mario games, then how about not using established Mario characters in them?

[NWR_insanolord]

Well if you want to go that far, then all the games you'd consider Mario games are actually Donkey Kong games.

[Khushrenada]

Looks like someone doesn't know their Nintendo history/franchises.

[Nile Boogie Returns]

In this thread, Smash Bros. is a Mario game confirmed.

[BranDonk Kong]

And technically they'd all be "Jumpman" or "Mr. Video" games...

[UncleBob]

Well if you want to go that far, then all the games you'd consider Mario games are actually Donkey Kong games.

Actually, I'd be more inclined to say Donkey Kong games are Mario games.

But the "Oh, look!  Not another Mario Game because it doesn't feature Mario!" is missing the point.  It's not that these fans don't want another game where the main character is Mario - its that they want new and exciting ways to play.  Splatoon does that.  Captain Toad is more of what we got in 3D World.  Yarn Yoshi is more Yoshi's Island (which, it seems, everyone's been disappointed with every previous attempt to revive that concept).  That's not to say these games look bad.  Hell, Captain Toad is probably going to be a Day-One purchase for me.

"Mario" stands for a lot of things - and in this case, when fans say they're tired of Mario games, they mean they're tired of more of the same.  This doesn't mean "the same" is bad - it just means they're tired of eating pizza and Chinese take out and want to try the new BBQ place down the block.

Now, I don't mind more Mario games. I like them.  I want them.  But I understand folks what folks who say they're tired of Mario games really mean - but it's apparent from this that Nintendo doesn't.

[BranDonk Kong]

UncleBob = Mario-hating fascist confirmed.

[UncleBob]

Yup, that's me.

[MagicCow64]

Well if you want to go that far, then all the games you'd consider Mario games are actually Donkey Kong games.

Actually, I'd be more inclined to say Donkey Kong games are Mario games.

But the "Oh, look!  Not another Mario Game because it doesn't feature Mario!" is missing the point.  It's not that these fans don't want another game where the main character is Mario - its that they want new and exciting ways to play.  Splatoon does that.  Captain Toad is more of what we got in 3D World.  Yarn Yoshi is more Yoshi's Island (which, it seems, everyone's been disappointed with every previous attempt to revive that concept).  That's not to say these games look bad.  Hell, Captain Toad is probably going to be a Day-One purchase for me.

"Mario" stands for a lot of things - and in this case, when fans say they're tired of Mario games, they mean they're tired of more of the same.  This doesn't mean "the same" is bad - it just means they're tired of eating pizza and Chinese take out and want to try the new BBQ place down the block.

Now, I don't mind more Mario games. I like them.  I want them.  But I understand folks what folks who say they're tired of Mario games really mean - but it's apparent from this that Nintendo doesn't.

Ehhh, I dunno. I totally agree with your assessment of Yoshi. As someone who doesn't care for Yoshi's Island, though, but really liked Yoshi's Story, and loved Kirby's Epic Yarn, I've gotten sold on Wooly World, almost against my will.

I think overall with this E3 Nintendo has sort of clarified what their ethos is all about, and of course there's going to be a lot of Mario in there. As far as Nintendo not understanding how to handle that, though, I had a different impression. Captain Toad is just a completely new kind of thing. It's Mario in a broad sense, but the Toad levels stood out in 3D World for a reason. Of anything coming out anytime soon, I'm weirdly most excited for Treasure Tracker. Those levels in 3D World felt like they were cooking up a new recipe in much the same way that Mario Galaxy paved the way for Galaxy 2, one of the best things ever made. And the a cappella challenges in Sunshine feel the same way in relation to Galaxy and 3D World. Obviously Cap'n Toad isn't going to be on the same scale, but it's fresh and interesting to me.

Mario Maker even seems to be like an extension of their art-creation angle which occupied the DS for a time. Again, Mario branded, but the actual product is pretty unique in Nintendo's catalogue, but also an extension of previous ideas.

What would've been worrying is if Nintendo had spent 20 minutes on New Peach U and/or Luigi 3D World DLC packs. It seems like we're done with mainline 2D or 3D Mario games for the rest of the current console and handheld generation. And instead of coughing into their fist, Nintendo is sticking to their guns. This probably won't have a huge effect on the WiiU's success, but I'm pleased to see the commitment to an overall aesthetically driven enterprise.

[lolmonade]

Nintendo made some serious effort to not only have good game reveals this year, but have a level of polish in their presentation.  That's the biggest benefit of doing a "digital event" or "Nintendo Direct" at E3: being able to control the message and have a higher level of quality presentation, because everything is pre-recorded and there isn't room for error.
Glad to see they learned their lesson from last year.  I didn't even think their game announcements were bad last year, but the way they presented the message was miserable.

[marvel_moviefan_2012]

I gotta admit pre-E3 I was in the Nintendo is dying camp, or at least Wii U was as good as dead. I think they did a good job energizing the core base, even many of us who were losing interest so I would say that alone makes this a good E3 for them. Captain Toad, Spaltoon, Kirby, Mario vs DK, and Zelda U all have me excited to get one of these game machines. Everything else is just bonus which is what they needed. Up till now they had what five games I would consider buying, now assuming these all get released as promised, there are too many for me to keep track of which is what they needed something for everyone. Yes there are people sick of Mario and Mario-type games but there are also those who aren't sick of them but want something fresh and I see lots of fresh in this line up.



As far as 3rd party support, they might as well write off the US entirely but if they can get some Japanese partners to step it up then they might be able to get some good games out there eventually.