Topic: Nintendo Reveals E3 2014 Plans, Includes Smash Bros. Tournament

[Daan]

Like last year, a major game will be playable at Best Buy during E3.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/37291/nintendo-reveals-e3-2014-plans-includes-smash-bros-tournament

Nintendo of America announced their plans for E3 2014, which includes a video in a similar vein as Nintendo Directs, live streaming from the show floor, a Smash Bros. Wii U tournament in Los Angeles, and Smash Bros. demos at Best Buys.

The entire experience is dubbed "Play Nintendo." There will be no regular press conference, but something that the company calls a Nintendo Digital Event. It will be a new kind of video program that will stream online at 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET on Tuesday, June 10 (the first day of E3 2014). The program is set to announce information on Nintendo games for 2014 and beyond.

Additionally, the members of the Nintendo Treehouse will host live and unscripted game demos from the Nintendo booth. It will be streamed live during the show floor hours of E3.

Also during E3, Nintendo will host the Super Smash Bros. Invitational, in which the 16 best Smash players will compete in a Wii U tournament live at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles (where they used to hold their press conferences). Lastly, Nintendo will return to Best Buy once more and bring Super Smash Bros. for Wii U to stores across America, much like last year's demos of Mario Kart 8, Super Mario 3D World, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD.

According to Nintendo of America, more exact details will be announced soon. You can watch the promotional video, featuring Mega 64, here below!

[Soren]

By "Digital Event" they mean click the video player, receive a choppy signal with laggy audio, scream futilely at your computer screen, then wait for the video to appear on YouTube.

[TheYoungerPlumber]

Nintendo Doubles Down on Losing E3 Strategy

[Mythtendo]

If the Best Buy thing is like last year, then there is no point. It was in like 50 stores only, the nearest one to me was like 8 hours away (and I live between 2 major cities), and the time limit was incredibly short.

[Caterkiller]

Funny video. So it will be something like last year but with more love streaming from the actual show floor? I'm cool with that. They probably won't get back on stage with a huge press conference until the new hand held is ready to be shown.

If NWR needs an extra body for E3 I'm local and able!

[ymeegod]

"If the Best Buy thing is like last year, then there is no point. It was in like 50 stores only"

Yeah, recall last years fubar when I went to one of those BB's that were listed just to find out it was an "mistake" and no demo was available .

Really thought Nintendo needed an E3 show this year myself, it has to showcase 3rd party support and it really needs an game that sells the whole idea of a gamepad.

[ShyGuy]

At least Valve and Rockstar will still be at E3 this year.

[Adrock]

That video was so brutal. I'm embarrassed for them.

[Ian Sane]

Yeah, let's do the same stupid idea that completely flopped last year again!

You do a typical E3 presentation for years and years and your products sell decently.  You change it up last year and have the most disastrous year for sales you've ever had and you decide to keep going with this new approach?  E3 didn't sink them alone but you figure that ANY new approach from last year would be soundly rejected out of just a fear of making the same mistakes.

Last year the feeling was that by "skipping" E3 Nintendo was coming across as irrelevent.  Well in 2014 Nintendo pretty much IS irrelevent, at least on the console front.  So keep playing into the hands of your critics, Nintendo.  Just like last year, anyone who thinks the Wii U has no future and will not buy one because of that has all the "proof" they need to confirm that opinion.  "Gee, the Wii U MUST be toast as Nintendo has fallen on such hard times they don't even get a press conference at E3 anymore."  Does Nintendo not realize that people might think they were forced out of E3 or lack the resources or status to continue to have a press conference or that they forgo the press conference because they have nothing worth showing?  The whole thing just makes them look small time... when their console is a huge flop.  When they need more than ever in their entire existence to come across as a big deal.

[Adrock]

I don't see what the big deal is. The Developer Directs were informative, Nintendo addressed the media and retailers, and they even had a larger booth than Sony. The big press conferences are flat-out flipping awful. I prefer last year's approach because it cut the fat and got right to the point. After that, every major gaming site had plenty of impressions and off-screen video from the show floor.

[Ian Sane]

I see no benefit to skipping the conference but I see risk.  So why do it?  What problem was there with the old approach, the same approach that the competition uses?  The Wii U was a complete disaster last year so it isn't like they can point to any benefit and say "this is why we didn't have our own press conference at E3 and this is why we'll continue to do it this way."

You risk coming across as irrevelent or small time by "skipping E3".  It gains you absolutely NOTHING and you're coming off your worst year ever and you have no wiggle room on public image or marketing.  So why do it again?

[broodwars]

*throws arms up in frustration*

Goddamnit, Nintendo...you continue to learn NOTHING from your failures. I hope you enjoy the general (incorrect) consensus that you skipped E3 AGAIN this year, leaving a completely unplayable video of undoubtably underwhelming game announcements in your wake.

Well, I guess once again the Monday Press Conferences will be the only part of E3 worth following this year.

[Stealth]

Press conferences have no benefit. This is the right move for Nintendo

[Stealth]

Press conferences have no benefit. This is the right move for Nintendo

1) They have Youtube/Twitch this year, streams should be as close to perfect as possible.
2) Press conferences are always terrible, honestly, I would rather have a tight message, than marketing messups and nonsense.

[broodwars]

Press conferences have no benefit. This is the right move for Nintendo

Tell that to Sony, who rode to high sales over the holidays off the goodwill from their press conference.

[Professor Clayton]

Tell that to Sony, who rode to high sales over the holidays off the goodwill from their press conference.

I think the good will they received was based mostly on the content of their message, especially as compared to Microsoft...

I feel that if Nintendo delivers strong and relevant info to fans and cleans up the technical problems from last year, people will be OK with this for the most part. The question is, do they have the firepower in their arsenal (read: new and exciting game announcements) to satisfy ever more desperate fans?

[Luigi Dude]

Tell that to Sony, who rode to high sales over the holidays off the goodwill from their press conference.

Sony's high sales have more to do with the fact it's $100 cheaper then the Xbox One.  The average gamer isn't think, "Well Sony had a great conference so I better buy a PS4".  No, they're thinking, "Well the PS4 and One have 95% of the same games, but the PS4 is $100 cheaper so it's a better deal".  People seem to overestimate just how important E3 is when the things that are important to the average gamer are really much simpler then who had the better press conference that most of them don't even watch in the first place.


Plus need I remind everyone that Nintendo did this same strategy of not having an E3 press conference with the 3DS last year as well and yet that system did fine.  Shows that the lack of an E3 press conference isn't what caused the Wii U's problems for 2013, and isn't a neccessary thing in order to help give a system good sales.

[Stealth]

@broodwars


PS4 sales are up. Vita is selling worse than Wii U, and Sony first party game sales are down close to 40%

[Adrock]

Plus need I remind everyone that Nintendo did this same strategy of not having an E3 press conference with the 3DS last year as well and yet that system did fine.  Shows that the lack of an E3 press conference isn't what caused the Wii U's problems for 2013, and isn't a neccessary thing in order to help give a system good sales.

Precisely. It's strange to me how selective certain people are regarding this. Wii U is undoubtedly struggling, but 3DS is doing extremely well. If you suggest that the lack of a big E3 press conference hurt Wii U, that same logic would point to it helping 3DS. It really doesn't appear that E3 had anything to do with either product's performance. It also baffles me that the same people are applauding for Sony using the same reasoning despite Vita doing terribly. If you're going to **** all over Nintendo for their E3 plans, it's unfair to praise Sony at the same time.

Frankly, I wish Sony and Microsoft would follow suit. Oh, you're going to ramble on about TV and Call of Duty? I'll just skip those videos then.

[Tripon]

I suppose the question is, do you want to 'win' E3, or try to get as much hype and access to people as possible?

[NWR_Neal]

I feel that if Nintendo delivers strong and relevant info to fans and cleans up the technical problems from last year, people will be OK with this for the most part. The question is, do they have the firepower in their arsenal (read: new and exciting game announcements) to satisfy ever more desperate fans?

I agree with this and this kind of summarizes what this Digital Event needs to be for it to work. Clean up the technical issues. Straighten out the process. Make that all better, and then make sure you've got some awesome stuff that will wow fans, press, and the world. Then it's cool.

[Evan_B]

There are always people who are going to say "THIS IS WHY THE WII U HAS FAILED" but that's so stupid. The reason Nintendo failed this year is because they barely supported their new console. That's it. That's all there is. Saying that not having a press conference at E3 is the reason their system sales were down is implying the entire world watches E3 when it occurs, or listens to the press.

No one outside of dedicated gamers cares about E3 or the press it generates, and since Nintendo releases information in congruence with it means they are still going to receive press.

[broodwars]

No one outside of dedicated gamers cares about E3 or the press it generates...

And with the exception of Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed, no one outside of dedicated gamers buy gaming consoles or the software they run anymore. The casuals/non-gamers folks that don't follow E3 that folks here like to bring up are no more likely to watch the latest Nintendo Direct than they were to watch the E3 Press Conferences. With the exodus of those folks to smartphones and tablets, the dedicated gamers matter more than ever and (as you noted) they care about E3 and the press it generates.

[broodwars]

And for the record, the Vita was barely even featured in last year's Press Conference, which was a major problem I had with that conference. Hell, even when it was showcased, Sony didn't show off anything new for it. Small wonder that it's sold poorly.

[Pixelated Pixies]

If they really wanted to get people excited, worldwide downloadable demos would be good. I appreciate that E3 is by design focused on North America, but us lowly plebs in the rest of the world might like a taste. Co-ordinating in-store demos across various regions is probably infeasible, but downloadable demos are achievable and would really build hype (something Nintendo sorely lacks at the moment).

As to the whole 'not having a conference' thing? I'm resigned at this point. Nintendo clearly don't want to compete with Sony and Microsoft. Too be honest, I'm no longer sure what it is that Nintendo does want.