Topic: Anyone else think Nintendo had a lame show?

[IwaoHazuki]

I didn't really like anything Nintendo had at the show. Nothing seemed too impressive. When I heard there would be a new Zelda game, I was real excited. But, the new Zelda game was like a mean prank. It had some good games shown... about all of them will see releases on other consoles. I thought Nintendo was going to rule the show this year. Microsoft clearly had the most awesome exclusive games shown. Halo 2, Fable, DOA Online, Ninja Gaiden, Doom III, and the three great games from Rare. Nintendo did have Rogue Squadron III and the new Star Fox Armada game for GCN, so not a total failure. But, it was still outshined by the games shown at E3 for PS2

Nintendo needs to get some exclusive games that can appeal to all gamers. The new Mario Kart scares even my little sister. I thought the GameCube was promised to appeal to older gamers. Didn't Miyamoto say that? I'm a 19 year old gamer and I really think Nintendo needs to get their heads on right. I think Miyamoto is trying to take us to trippy hippie land in every video game he makes now. MGS: The Twin Snakes sounds good, but I'm not looking for another MGS game.

Overall, I was pretty excited about all the games shown at E3, mainly the ones for Xbox. But, I'm still waiting for news about Shenmue III, and that will probably never happen.

[Mario]

*raises hand*

I thought we would have seen tons more games than what they showed. Where was Mario Tennis?!!! I WANT MARIO TENNIS GODDAMNIT!! Ive been waiting for Mario f'ing tennis since before the GCN even launched, and i still havent even seen it!! ARGH!! And what about Too Human, Zoonami's game, Mario 128, Camelot's RPG, Virtua fighter Quest, Pilotwings GC and more that i cant think of right now! But i suppose there were a few games that looked pretty cool, Starfox looks fun, Fzero looks incredible, Metroid Prime 2 looks very promising, Billy hatcher looks fun as hell and Mario Kart is looking good. But still, Gamecube flopped hard at this years E3 IMO, simply for the fact that Sony and Microsoft both had better games *ducks*

PS: The GBA had a good showing though, YAY GBA!

[Alliedrally68]

The two games I'm most excited about that were at this years show are 1080* Avalanche and Rogue Squadron III.

[RickPowers]

EVERYONE had a lame show this year.  I'll be writing up something about that, probably next week, but the general consensus from everyone I've talked to is that this year's show is a let down.  I mean, a lot of the games are great, but there is an air of excitement and anticipation that simply doesn't exist this year.  I think the press conferences got everything off to a bad start on all three sides of the console "war".

[boggy b]

I thought that for XBox and PS2 this was one of the BEST E3s.

Halo 2, DOOM 3, and the Rare games for Microsoft.

Metal Gear Solid 3, GTA5, PSP, GT4 and Castlevania for PS2 to name but few.

Nintendo DID have a lame E3.

[Bill Aurion]

psssst...Nintendo brought back Spaceworld for this year *wink wink*  

[Ian Sane]

I for the most part agree with Rick.  Though I've been mostly keeping up with Cube news I occasionally check out some of the PS2 and Xbox info just to keep in the loop and I haven't really seen anything that great on any of the three consoles.

I think a big problem is that every stupid company revealed most of their lineups BEFORE the show so there were very few surprises.  And the stuff that was saved for surprises was usually pretty lame.  I mean Nintendo shows off Mario Kart and Pikmin 2 and announces Metal Gear Solid beforehand and then the stuff they save for the show is f*cking Tetra's Trackers?  Had Mario Kart, Pikmin 2, Rebel Strike, and a whole whack of over exclusive Cube titles had been saved for the press conference (which was a TOTAL let down by the way) then we would probably have a higher opinion of Nintendo's E3 showing.  I think we tend to think that if Mario Kart is what they're showing beforehand then surely the surprise titles will be an even BIGGER deal.  Nintendo did pretty much the exact opposite and as a result we were all let down.

I think another reason that this year's E3 is kind of dull is that the console war for this generation is essentially over.  We all know who's going to finish in what place.  As a result there's no illusion that Nintendo is going to reveal some big exclusive and it's going to change the console wars as we know it.  We know that things are going to stay as they are for the rest of this generation regardless of what titles are released.  Plus I think because of the pre-determined outcome the console makers themselves are doging it because they know they don't have to bother trying anymore.  Aside from MGS3 there isn't really anything super cool being shown for the PS2.  That's because Sony knows they've won and thus there's no need for them to secure any more huge titles for the year.  Nintendo on the other hand knows they've lost so they're now making whatever type of game they want (like Pacman) instead of concentrating just on potential system sellers.  They probably figure that nothing is going to sell Gamecubes anyway so why bother with a real Zelda game or a 3D Pokemon RPG.  They're likely not going to make a difference anyway so they might as well just release mediocre spinoff games that will likely sell just as well.  MS on the other hand actually looks like they're still trying and by no coincedense they seem to have had the best E3 this year.

[Grey Ninja]

Most people I know think that Nintendo kicked butt at E3 this year.  I tend to agree.  We got Star Fox, Metal Gear, Mario Kart, a bit of Killer7 and Resident Evil, Pikmin 2, Rogue Squadron 3, and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles!

I think that next year you all should stop hyping things so much if you can't accept that it's not going to be all that you hyped.  

[Vanilla Thunder]

In my personal opinion, there's plenty of reasons for a Gamecube owner to be excited this upcoming year, as the software line-up IS great.  Think about it.  

Double Dash fills me with warm, tingly feelings just looking at its smooth, colorful graphics and lickity-split antics, and I know it'll be an absolute blast for my friends and I to resume our multiplayer mayhem, this time with twice as many characters, all-new vehicles, items, and tracks, and even LAN gaming, to boot.  Koopa Troopa's back, and he's pimped up with a tight shell mobile.  What more do you want?  

I'm a diehard 1080 fan (it's pronounced Ten-Eighty, dammit!), and this latest installment expands its stylishly cool world in ways I only dreamed of (a fully realized and fleshed out world, with interactive NCPs, natural disasters, and truly beautiful, see-it-and-board-there scenery).  It's coming along smoothly, and I'm relieved.  I can't wait to finally out-trick my friend down the street (who was insanely good in the first one --- his half-pipe score was like in the tens of billions, seriously).  Hell, I may just go through the rigors of mastering real-life snowboarding out of love for this series --- it's THAT good.  The Winterborn cometh!  

Now I MUST have F-Zero GX --- to my friends and me, a new adventure with Captain Falcon is just as big a thing as the next Zelda or Mario game, and these speed demons are always one hell of a trip, with tons of intense but infinitely deep action.  Take F-Zero X's polished-to-perfection game formula, dress it up with some of the fastest and most visually stunning visuals ever, pump it full of brand new content with Sega AND Nintendo, give it an innovative customization system and strong ties to the arcades (here in the US, too!), and you have a real winner, a true triple A title to keep an eye on.  This IS a killer app --- racing game as it may be, it is.  Casual gamers will see Captain Falcon on the cover, recognize him as the bad ass from SSBM, and pick it up; then the breakneck speed will break them down and whup their ass; then they'll come back for more, and more, and more.  It always happens.  As for the hardcore "gamers," this should already be a must-have title.  

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes is a dream come true; take one of the best and most popular games of all time, and create the definitive version of it, rebuilt and expanded with Shiggy, Kojima, Silicon Knights, and one really good film director at the helm --- I'm sold already.  And Rebel Strike impresses me to no end, with phenomenal graphics and sound, an utterly complete reconstruction of the original trilogy that I and millions of others love so very, very much, and the inclusion of Rogue Leader, in co-op form... wow.

Pokemon Colosseum looks very appetizing.  The GB games got me addicted, the Pokemon Stadiums bred me into a seasoned veteran of its infinitely deep battle system, and Colosseum looks to take it to the next level, polishing my new two-on-two skills and use of the one hundred some new characters and all of the moves and skills they entail.  Colosseum is the reason that training those little buggers on the GBA is so worthwhile --- it just makes it all the more satisfying to pummel the snot out of your friends in full 3-D.  I must have this game, especially after seeing Groudon rendered in 3-D.  Me likes.  

And although Tetra's Trackers hardly seems substantiated enough to hold my attention for long, Four Swords looks AWESOME.  No, I'm dead serious.  Four Swords looks like a ridiculously fun time.  I have the fortune of having two gaming brothers and half a dozen gaming friends right down the street, all with GBAs (not all with cables, though), and being a seasoned expert of four-player gaming, I can see the potential this game has for great, great times.  Yes, the graphics may be simple, but since when was simplicity bad?  They're by no means ugly, and they look quite swell at that, duplicating the stylized look of ALttP and polishing it to a fine degree.  Either way, the fun factor is the selling point, and Four Swords looks like it's well worth the money; exploring a huge world with your friends at your side, the world we've all come to know and love; slashing, boomeranging, shooting, and bombing all of your favorite villains, then competing furiously to reap the riches they leave behind; staying with your pals, in the highlands, forests, mountains, and towns, or going solo underground or through houses on your GBA; playing with complete control over what your friends know and what they don't, always plotting your next move to get ahead... I LOVE THAT!!!  Four Swords looks like a nostalgic throwback to Zelda world of old while at the same time being a triumph of innovation and technology, and it's definitely on my to-get list.  I just fear that others may not be so responsive to the game's greatness.

In addition to this, the Gamecube also has a new Star Fox on its horizon, one which is early now but with Namco's vision and Nintendo's guidance packs great potential.  There's a sequel to Pikmin, which continues to expand this new franchise's universe, and Wario makes his console debut in an action-packed brawler set in his zany world of mischief.  Mario Party 5 is making all the right moves with over 60 all-new minigames, fully 3-D maps (about time), all-new Mario characters, and new gameplay features, with entire new minigame modes and strategies.  Geist looks like it has great potential to be a truly entralling FPS, and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is another great reason to link your two Nintendo systems together (if you don't have one, they're a bargain to get now --- and a very worthwhile one, too).  Viewtiful Joe, Soul Calibur 2, Sonic Heroes, Killer 7, Resident Evil 4, Metroid Prime 2, and plenty of other great games round out the arsenal.

And you have one great year of gaming!    

BUT, being the thrill-craving humans we are, it's only natural to feel disappointed when we don't get the adrenaline rush of huge announcements and big new franchises that we expect each year at E3.  Perhaps we were spoiled by last year's blowout.  At any rate, this year's case is not that there's not anything to be excited about (no, that's clearly not the case, judging from all the great games), but that we knew most of everything coming in and there wasn't any "surprise."  That's all.

In the end, the games are what matter, not how explosively they surprise us at E3.  I'm impressed with them, I'm excited to play them, and that's all that matters.  I can't wait for some of them, and with that in mind I can safely say 2003 will be a good year for gaming.    

[GoldShadow1]

I, too, was rather disappointed.  I simply didn't see anything earth-shattering from Nintendo.  Sure, Mario Kart sounds fun, but really, it's just another Mario Kart.  Sometimes I wonder if Nintendo is simply making sequels for tradition, not because they need sequels.  The only thing that sounds interesting is Geist, but I'd prefer it if it were just an action-adventure instead of a shooter.  This E3 is all about sequels.  And Nintendo promised us innovation this year, too!  What happened?

[Cube323]

I agree w/ RickPowers, everyone had a really flat show.  Still I can't believe that anyone could think that Microsoft had a good show.  They had tons of lame titles, especially those made by rare, and they filled dead floor space w/ old games that no-one played.

$ony was just a joke.  Eight years of playing the same crappy, unchanging, GT series titles.  Also even though I'm a big Castlevania fan, the new title reminded me of the horrible N64 titles and the camera (which could not be controlled!) really sucked!  I can see the reviews now, all 5's and 6's.  It's an average title at best.

Plus as far as PSP is concerned, it was nowhere to be seen.  It's also rumored to cost over $150!  Finally I wonder if it will break down just after your warranty expires.  As that seems to be the way $ony designs all of its systems.  I have very little faith in their vapor-ware hand held.

[Vanilla Thunder]

Yeah, and if Nintendo has THAT attitude, the PSP will steal the handheld market from right beneath their noses, just like Sony did with the console market and their Playstation.  There's no telling what the PSP will be like, so no reason to write it off just yet.  

[GoldShadow1]

Obviously, I wasn't there, but I think the PC did the best - Half Life 2, Homeworld2, Deus Ex 2, Doom III, Star Wars Galaxies, Knights of the Old Republic... all huge, huge games.  On the other hand, though, these are all games we already knew quite a bit about, with the exception of HL2.

[Michael8983]

"I think another reason that this year's E3 is kind of dull is that the console war for this generation is essentially over. We all know who's going to finish in what place."

What are you talking about? Nintendo and MS are still basically neck-and-neck.
Nintendo is supposably still ahead in worldwide sales and MS has only a relatively small lead in the US and an even smaller lead in Europe. Before MS started its bundle deal, Nintendo was doing better than it in Europe and was very closely tailing it in the US.
There are AT LEAST another two full years (and two holiday seasons) before the new consoles will be released and A LOT of hardware can still be sold in that time.

[oohhboy]

Sure the press conference had taken the wind of of this years E3. But atleast you got to play/see the games that were announced barely weeks ago and considering that this generation is sort of in a mid-life crisis(Term used lossely) where there isn't really any new devices/games like on launch year or the year before. We have just simply not impressed any more because it isn't new any more.

I'm sure when NGCNX/XBOX2/PS3 comes out or is shown for the first time, people will be wetting themselfs again.

Then you say, "Sony annouced the PSP". But the thing is that they did not show it. If they had something to show for it all, then they would have stolen the show. Video's of DOOM 3 don't count as with all other videos. I mean they are only videos right?

[ThePerm]

well the goods the bads

goods

mario kart double dash looks like it will be the next awesome multiplayer game.
geist looks kinda cool
Teenage mutant Ninja turtles looks like its really going to rock.
Iv heard good impressions on the new final fantasy.
metal gear twin snakes is some of the mature support a system loves to have.

bads
Miyamoto said their would be new franchises announced...they're were'nt..he lied Miyamoto lied! ...cries in corner..idol has
lied to him
Metal Gear isn't as impressive looking as it was made out to be..it heavily needs work...snake loosk great..but the textures and lighting need to be improved..we were promised resident evil visuals in FULL 3d..one would expect Silicon Knights  with such awesome lighting and texture talent would have made a game that looks crazy by now..but iv been told its early..so i hope it comes out looking better then it does currently.
Everything that was new they told us a few weeks before the show...if they would have waited juist a tad longer they could have made it seem more substantial to the show.

i'm a little dissapointed this years e3....but i think the goods outweight the bads.

[Mario]

Quote
What are you talking about? Nintendo and MS are still basically neck-and-neck.

Give it up. GameCube is third. THIRD. THIRD! THIRD!!!!!!!!

[Uncle Rich AiAi]

Well said The Perm.  I was wondering too.  Didn't Miyamoto say that Nintendo were letting other companies develop games for their existing franchises to work on new franchises?

Or maybe they were too early in development to be shown?  Or maybe that's for SpaceWorld if they have one this year?

E3 did suck this year.  *sign*

And where's my Virtua Fighter Quest?  *does Hulk smash!*  Isn't this game being released at the end of the year?  Shouldn't Sega be giving info on the game now?

[Gamefreak]

Everyone, Rick? I thought that PC gaming had some awesome stuff this year. Thief III, Half Life 2, DOOM III, Halo online, Age of Mythology: The Titans, and other games that are sure to rock, or at least be far above average.
I thought Xbox had a surprising number of games that I want to play to, even if I don't have one Halo 2 is amazing, and I've always been a big fan of Midtown Madness and can't wait for MM3. Xbox is also getting the next Jedi Knight game while GCN isn't this time around...sigh. It's also getting Knights of the Old Republic. Rare seems to be actually working too, not just hanging out in the huge food court Nintendo built them right next to their offices...right across from the in-building shopping mall Ok so I made the mall up... Oh, and I made up the rest too. Rare's even lazier under MS, if that's possible...
On PS2's side, I only really want to play Gran Turismo 4...
Anyway, I thought Nintendo had a far better show than the average company, but it fell well below their shows from the past two years, and especially last year, which was in my opinion the single best showing from any company at any E3. But hey, Microsoft and such never had shows of such high calibur, in fact this year was probably MS's best E3, even if it was "lame" to you guys. Nintendo on the other hand just dropped from "best of E3" to "good". Sure, there are a number of amazing games coming out such as F-Zero, MGS, Crystal Chronicles, Rebel Strike, etc. but hey, we already knew these games were going to be good, and we've known about them for a while. Metal Gear Solid is the only real big game where we've seen footage of for the first time, and it's still in the early stages AND is a remake of a game that everone has already played. So it wouldn't have surprised anyway.
On the other hand, Nintendo blew everyone away with Metroid Prime, and with just a cut down version of the opening Space Station sequence at that. And then on top of Prime they showed amazing footage and demos of Wind Waker, Star Fox, Eternal Darkness, and Mario Sunshine. And those were just the really high profile games...

Edit: Oh, and Mario, IGN and Gamespot both confirmed on the first day of E3 this year that the GCN is SECOND worldwide, beating the Xbox by 1.3 million units sold, Xbox however, still has a sizable lead in the US, which happens to be where Nintendo sells the most software...But hey, Nintendo is profiting at least, until MS's game divisions...  

[rabid chicken]

I was fortunate enough to attend e3 and left the show with an overall feeling of unmet expectations.  Like Rick stated, though: the exhibition was unimpressive on all fronts.

The reason that Nintendo's showing seemed so lackluster relative to that of the other console manufacturers is that Nintendo, for the past two years, has shocked the public with either stellar line-ups or massive surprises (or a combination thereof).  This year, the public was instead treated to a score of rehashes and franchise-milkings (presented under the guise of the gimmicky GBA-GCN connection) combined with an underwhelming display of sequels.  Star Fox, for example, played and looked absolutely horrible -- certainly not up to Nintendo's standards of quality and not even up to those of Namco.  The greatest showings in the Nintendo booth (in my opinion) weren't even 1st-party games; Soul Calibur II and F-Zero GX garnered the most personal attention and seemed to be crowd-pleasers moreso than Nintendo's own titles such as Pikmin 2 and the lackluster Kirby Air Ride.  Titles scattered about the rest of the show floor such as Viewtiful Joe were better-received still than the majority of Nintendo's showings.

Conversely, Sony-specific products such as Final Fantasy X-2 and Microsoft-licensed products such as Conker: Live and Uncut were sickeningly unimpressive given hype and expectations.

This is an awkward time for the game industry.  We're roughly halfway between generations with three consoles on the market, with third parties being juggled about, with rumblings of mergers, with franchises being outsourced to exterior developers (Star Fox, F-Zero, Metal Gear, etc.) -- it's not especially abnormal, then, that this year's e3 fumbled about itself.

What is abnormal -- at least to me, as a Nintendo loyalist -- is the apparent utter lack of an attempted push forward ahead of the competition.  Nintendo generally exceed its competitors at this show -- not match them.   It's for this reason that I'm disappointed in Nintendo's showing.  This was their time to shine -- rather, to outshine -- yet, in my opinion, they failed to do so.

Here's hoping to a grand Spaceworld this August.  

[Gamefreak]

Here's hoping for a Spaceworld at all this August...

[KDR_11k]

I knew too much had leaked and there would be nothing big left. Nintendo did not fail my expectations.

[oohhboy]

Translation. We have been treated like spoiled brats. We wanted Nintendo to be more open about thier games right. Well, we got. it in spades. We are left wondering, what happened?

[Nintendo Gamecube]

I think someone said it best. Everyone released info about their games before E3; there were no surprises.

The only new thing I never heard about that I saw at the show was Geist. WOOOHOOO. (Sarcasm)

E3 sucked, but the line-ups are still good. <---I think that sums it up best.

[thecubedcanuck]

I think MS and Sony had very good shows. Nintendo showed a few good titles and bunch of crappy looking Zelda stuff.
Was this suppose to put Nintendo on top again?
I think a retooling is nessasary very soon.