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[mikefrails]

Of all people, i didn't expect Gerstmann to add to the E³ relevance discussion, and not with this opinion.

Still, NX having it's own event is fine, but a little tease at E³ wouldn't have hurt them. Unveil the name, show one game, and mention the standalone event again.

Okay great, but don't interject like E3 is so relevant. I'd like to see some proof if you feel that way.

This is terrible reasoning. 1) it shows more how Nintendo is out of touch. And 2) Nintendo directs are the definition of preaching to the choir. Gotta get that big stage annouchment so people even know what you have.

Nintendo trends with every Direct across social media and gets coverage across the board. Again, prove him wrong.

 

[SuperSah]

Has the doom and gloom run its course yet?

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

I'm morbidly curious what it would be like if Nintendo never made a game again.

Christmas without Santa.

 

[Toxi]

The real funny part about the E3 Direct is gonna be how they focus on Zelda's anniversary (Since Zelda won't actually be coming out in time for said anniversary).

 

[MatrixMan.EXE]

21 million people tuned in to watch E3 last year via Twitch alone. That's not what I call irrelevant. Musings by one of the most insufferably cynical journalists on the internet doesn't change that number. They don't really show up to other tech events either. Are they all irrelevant too? Please.

Nintendo trends with every Direct across social media and gets coverage across the board. Again, prove him wrong.

Here's your proof. Take a seat:

 

[MK_768]

This is terrible reasoning. 1) it shows more how Nintendo is out of touch. And 2) Nintendo directs are the definition of preaching to the choir. Gotta get that big stage annouchment so people even know what you have.

But that doesn't mean it has to be E3....

That's the point lol.

FWIW, I don't think E3 is irrelevant...but it's not as relevant as gamers make it out to be.

 

[SuperJay]

The only good thing about this news: I used to be unsure how I'd spend my money this holiday, PSVR or Nintendo NX--

Now the decision is a lot easier.

 

[thefro]

The problem with announcing a console via a Direct as opposed to E3 is that Directs are often announced only a few days in advance, allowing little time for the word to flow around, whereas the dates for E3 are announced literally as soon as the last show ends, giving people an entire year to prepare.

They're not going to announce the console only with a direct.

Media will be there to go hands-on with the system.

 

[Godzilla's Left Toe]

Because their directs gave been reaching people so well...they may not want to do E3, but given that they don't show up for any other big tech events, or hold any conferences at all, they are really starting to box themselves into a corner. Maybe they will have their own event, like others are doing, but just a direct is not a good way to announce new hardware.

Adam Sessler really did best describe them when he call them echo chambers

 

[DragonKnight]

I really don't like this move by Nintendo.

If the NX isn't ready this holiday, that's fine, but you don't launch a new console and decide not to show it at E3. What in the hell are they thinking?
This was their chance to have their big welcome back moment with a huge, live, on-stage press conference at E3, with the world watching, where they could show off Zelda and Mario for their new console... and they blew it.

This company, man. Ugh... I want them to succeed, I really do, but they're making it harder on themselves than it has to be.
When will they learn?

Yep. Nintendo wont do anything like reserve a venue at a high profile location with invited press to debut the concept. Cuz thats totally confirmed, right?

Always the doom and gloom. Skipping E3 makes perfect sense for this reveal. The reveal will happen on nintys terms and they wont have to compete with sony or micro for mindshare.

 

[PdotMichael]

Yeah, the E3 is not the right platform for niche consoles.

Ouya didn't need the E3 as well.

 

[Toxi]

I'm morbidly curious what it would be like if Nintendo never made a game again.

We shrug and continue to play video games, occasionally lamenting the loss of one of the most prolific and innovative developers in the industry.

 

[crazygambit]

2017!

I wonder is this because of either lack of hardware units or finished games?

Looks like another treehouse this E3 then, I wonder if there will be any NX games, by the tone it seems unlikely :/

How can they show games for NX when they won't even tell us what the hell it is?

I think this is the first time we get the release date before they actually reveal the hardware right? At least as far as I can remember.

It's usually the other way around, you build hype for your machine and the last thing you announce is the date and price. Then again Nintendo being weird is nothing new.

 

[Bots are better than you]

Okay great, but don't interject like E3 is so relevant. I'd like to see some proof if you feel that way.

You want what from me? I only said that i'm fine with a NX-only event, yet it would have been nice from them to throw us a bone at E³, what's the problem?

 

[DragonKnight]

Yeah, the E3 is not the right platform for niche consoles.

Ouya didn't need the E3 as well.

I think Nintendo is simply taking the Apple route in regards to revealing the hardware and concept.

 

[Griss]

E3 is obviously still relevant, and Sony's dominance coming off the back of their pre-launch E3 decimation of Microsoft shows that.

But the point is that revealing a console in the news-blitz of E3 - one that won't be releasing for another year - is probably too soon, and certainly not how Sony / MS did it. I reckon they wanted to launch this year and do the whole E3 thing, but that was scrapped when the release was delayed. And I don't disagree with that.

The second point is that NX will get a prelaunch showing at E3.

Spoiler

Because this thing isn't coming out next March and that's just a bone thrown to the investors.

 

[Pinky]

Wow……wow……….wow….

Yesterday, I was like:

And now, I’m like:

Okay, well….heh……whoa….


Now, let me try and make sense of this.


No NX at E3 / NX Launching March 2017

A huge shocker for me. No NX at E3, but launching next March. Unless Nintendo plans a special conference/event for NX beyond that of a Nintendo Direct at the end of 2016, this console will have INCREDIBLY low exposure. So, for the love of God, Nintendo SURELY has plans to unveil this thing in a big way. They have to go beyond the Direct format and take the same approach Sony did with the PS4. They just have to.

Games and Development Time

We obviously have no clue what kind of software is being developed internally at Nintendo. They’ve been super tight-lipped, which is almost always the case. However, now that we know NX is launching next March, this paints a clearer picture as to why we haven’t heard shit from outside studios/third-party devs. The stories that were/are going around about how almost no one has dev kits would make sense. This concerned many who believed it would ship in 2016(I was one of them). I mean, why don’t devs have kits if this thing is launching this year??? Well… :-/

Since we have a year to go, could we possibly be looking at a large and varied launch lineup for NX? I mean, what else does Nintendo have in the pipeline for Wii U? Pretty much nothing. All hands have to be on board for NX right now and probably have been for a while.

Possible Changes to Hardware?

Could Nintendo be waiting for better, improved chips? Did they run into a snag that they didn’t see coming? Are they trying to counter PS4K/XB1.5(highly doubtful, I know, I know…)?

Missed Sales Opportunity for the Holidays

This is a big one. I hope NX really brings the goods and draws consumers to the register regardless of whether it’s the holidays or not. Holidays have always been kind to Nintendo, but this is a huge, missed opportunity for them.


Man… I’m still all WTF. A whole other year… Well, Nintendo, let’s see what you do.

I will say one thing. My hype for E3 dropped from 100% to about 20%.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

I feel its less of spending money on nothing but more so not burning your bridges with the people that bothered supporting you. If the Wii U really has no big game this fall, then I could easily see people just saying "Well, guess I will get PlayStation/Stick with my Nintendo handheld instead of their pointless consoles".

But who really cares anyway, if Nintendo does not want to make their fans happy with games, they can always get other platforms on the market or invest more in the 3DS library.

Is it really burning bridges if Nintendo knows most of those people will continue to support them anyway? They will never say it publicly for obvious reasons but I think Nintendo probably feels they can call the bluff of any disgruntled Wii U fan and be alright.

 

[Schnozberry]

This is terrible reasoning. 1) it shows more how Nintendo is out of touch. And 2) Nintendo directs are the definition of preaching to the choir. Gotta get that big stage annoucement so people even know what you have.

Who watches an E3 stageshow that wouldn't watch a Nintendo direct? They both target the same E3 audience, and most of the people who watch the stage shows in the room are industry people and plants. Remember the Xbox One reveal?

 

[PdotMichael]

I think Nintendo is simply taking the Apple route in regards to revealing the hardware and concept.

There are no Apple Directs

 

[ironcreed]

21 million people tuned in to watch E3 last year via Twitch alone. That's not what I call irrelevant. Musings by one of the most insufferably cynical journalists on the internet doesn't change that number. They don't really show up to other tech events either. Are they all irrelevant too? Please.

Well said.

 

[mark_79]

This is a sign of how trash and unimportant E3 is and nothing more.

Diehard Nintendo fans aside, Nintendo won't even be missed at E3 2016.

Hell, I tune in to their conference just to laugh at their annual shambles.

 

[Andrew Evenstar]

I've only ever bought one Nintendo console in my life, a Wii. Hope they can get me on board.

Haven't cared for a Nintendo console since SNES. Wii was a good console but I wasn't interested. And NX doesn't seem like it will be enough to bring me back.

 

[Father_Brain]

I said during E3 2015 that the NX wouldn't launch in 2016. I predicted fall 2017, based simply on Nintendo's historical track record of delaying launches. I would've loved to be wrong. Nintendo just never learns.

Start the countdown to the delay to Q4.



http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=168433057&postcount=341

There's a first time for everything, but I don't think Nintendo has ever announced a hardware launch for a specific time frame and then subsequently delayed it.

At least, not recently. I think the GC launch was delayed slightly.

 

[Various Artists]

I'm morbidly curious what it would be like if Nintendo never made a game again.

Like the next 8 months more or less.

 

[Nanashrew]

This is terrible reasoning. 1) it shows more how Nintendo is out of touch. And 2) Nintendo directs are the definition of preaching to the choir. Gotta get that big stage annouchment so people even know what you have.

Again not true. They had a lot of mind share in 2014 and their Digital Event. Social media was a buzz about them, especially Splatoon and they didn't do a conference. They actually reached very far in the social media sphere like any conference would.

This whole conference versus digital is really nonsense as both can do well if the content is there. How much gets sold is another story.

What if scenario: What if Sony's conference is a dud? What then? Do we blame it on it being a conference or do we blame a lack of specific content?

I would blame it on the lack of specific content people are looking for, not on the conference.

 

[mikefrails]

Diehard Nintendo fans aside, Nintendo won't even be missed at E3 2016.

Hell, I tune in to their conference just to laugh at their annual shambles.

E3 has a spot in cringe compilations every year dude, are we really doing this?

 

[Thraktor]

1) Wii U wasn't "initially revealed" at E3 2012, it was initially revealed at E3 2011. I mentioned E3 2012 because that was the point at which the lineup needed to coalesce, and it fucking didn't. There effectively was no lineup at all when Wii U was revealed at E3 2011.

2) At PS4 and Xbox One's launch year E3s, they definitely had many many more games announced than Wii U did at its own launch year E3.

You said:

If it's not immediately clear when they reveal NX that it will have tons of games, they shouldn't have revealed NX.

Neither PS4 or XBO satisfied that, should they not have been revealed? Both consoles show that you can reveal a console about 9 months before launch without showing off that many games, and then have a separate show several months later with a blowout of all the launch window (and some more far-off) games. If Nintendo were to do an initial reveal at E3, then it would be almost exactly 9 months before release, leaving them room to do a blowout a few months later.

Wii U's pre-release showings were poorly executed, but that doesn't mean that you can't do a separate initial reveal followed by a software blow-out. Both Sony and MS have shown that it's an entirely reasonable way of doing things.

 

[DragonKnight]

There are no Apple Directs

Exactly. And how does Apple reveal their hardware? Thats what i was getting at.

 

[MrBigBoy]

Holy damn! Just got back from work and seeing this news ;_;

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

Haven't cared for a Nintendo console since SNES. Wii was a good console but I wasn't interested. And NX doesn't seem like it will be enough to bring me back.

No one knows anything about the system though.

 

[Calamari41]

Yep. Nintendo wont do anything like reserve a venue at a high profile location with invited press to debut the concept. Cuz thats totally confirmed, right?

Always the doom and gloom. Skipping E3 makes perfect sense for this reveal. The reveal will happen on nintys terms and they wont have to compete with sony or micro for mindshare.

On the same token, now Sony and Microsoft don't have to compete with a Nintendo console reveal for mindshare.

 

[kennyamr]

most ppl don't watch E3 and the ones who watch it, they just watch the main conferences.
Making a video and not a conference is good for the core Nintendo audience but Nintendo needs more than the core fans to succeed. They need to reach out to people that play all of their games on PS4, XBOX ONE, and PC. Most of them watch only the big pressers because of their limited time and sadly a pre-recorded video is not going to cut it. Videos may be good in Japan but I believe that people still like live press conferences in the rest of the world. It's just my opinion though.

I still believe that Nintendo had to have very good reasons not to show it at E3, and if they think it's not ready yet, well, I guess not to show it at E3 is the right decision... but still I'm disappointed.
At least I still have exciting news coming to the Sony and Microsoft conferences.

 

[DragonKnight]

Wow……wow……….wow….

Yesterday, I was like:

And now, I’m like:

Okay, well….heh……whoa….


Now, let me try and make sense of this.


No NX at E3 / NX Launching March 2017

A huge shocker for me. No NX at E3, but launching next March. Unless Nintendo plans a special conference/event for NX beyond that of a Nintendo Direct at the end of 2016, this console will have INCREDIBLY low exposure. So, for the love of God, Nintendo SURELY has plans to unveil this thing in a big way. They have to go beyond the Direct format and take the same approach Sony did with the PS4. They just have to.

Games and Development Time

We obviously have no clue what kind of software is being developed internally at Nintendo. They’ve been super tight-lipped, which is almost always the case. However, now that we know NX is launching next March, this paints a clearer picture as to why we haven’t heard shit from outside studios/third-party devs. The stories that were/are going around about how almost no one has dev kits would make sense. This concerned many who believed it would ship in 2016(I was one of them). I mean, why don’t devs have kits if this thing is launching this year??? Well… :-/

Since we have a year to go, could we possibly be looking at a large and varied launch lineup for NX? I mean, what else does Nintendo have in the pipeline for Wii U? Pretty much nothing. All hands have to be on board for NX right now and probably have been for a while.

Possible Changes to Hardware?

Could Nintendo be waiting for better, improved chips? Did they run into a snag that they didn’t see coming? Are they trying to counter PS4K/XB1.5(highly doubtful, I know, I know…)?

Missed Sales Opportunity for the Holidays

This is a big one. I hope NX really brings the goods and draws consumers to the register regardless of whether it’s the holidays or not. Holidays have always been kind to Nintendo, but this is a huge, missed opportunity for them.


Man… I’m still all WTF. A whole other year… Well, Nintendo, let’s see what you do.

I will say one thing. My hype for E3 dropped from 100% to about 20%.

Its a delay of six months, dude.

 

[Toxi]

Is it really burning bridges if Nintendo knows most of those people will continue to support them anyway? They will never say it publicly for obvious reasons but I think Nintendo probably feels they can call the bluff of any disgruntled Wii U fan and be alright.

That doesn't seem very wise after their lowest-selling home console.

 

[The_Lump]

A few thoughts:

People are acting as if Nintendo had already announced the NX launch for holiday 2016 and have delayed it. This was never the case, and for all we know they had always planned a March 2017 launch. Furthermore, a holiday launch isn't a necessary or sufficient condition for a console to be successful. Case in point: the Wii U had a worldwide holiday launch. There are any number of potential reasons (both in terms of hardware and software) why a March 2017 launch might be more favourable to Nintendo, and we have no idea what any of them are. Contrary to what many people would like to believe, Nintendo isn't staffed entirely with gawk-eyed morons who choose release dates by throwing darts at a calendar. They're a multi-billion dollar company who research every minute implication of a decision like this before going forward with it.

Aside from that, the decision not to show NX at E3 is a strange one, but there may be a few different reasons for it, off the top of my head:

1. NX isn't ready to show at E3

I think we can throw this one out of the way pretty quickly. The Wii U was playable at E3 almost a year and a half before release. This is 10 months before release, and they could certainly show off a handful of games, even if they leave more unveils for post-E3 directs.

2. They simply don't think E3 is the best place to reveal a new console

This is what I'd put my money on. Why reveal your new console within the few days of the year when you don't get near 100% of the gaming media coverage? Nintendo have been moving away from an E3-centric PR schedule for a few years now, with more games announced throughout the year during Nintendo Directs where they can have a lot more space to themselves. Furthermore, with PS4K, PSVR and perhaps an XBO revision due at E3, they don't even get the exclusive "new hardware" coverage. In a modern, internet-driven world, it makes a lot more sense to have your own reveal show in your own time, when you can dominate the news cycle.

And if you still think that every console has to be revealed at E3, consider this: neither PS4 nor XBO were revealed at E3. In both cases Sony and MS decided they were better off having their own reveal show than sharing the stage at E3. Now, both of these were pre-E3, but both consoles were scheduled for holiday launches. With a March launch the optimal reveal time may well be post-E3.

3. They want to wait until after the PS4K reveal so they can adjust their strategy if necessary

I wouldn't see this as being the main reason behind skipping E3, but in combination with point 2 it might make sense. They may want to adapt how they present the hardware, what their pricing strategy is, and other aspects of their reveal and pre-launch campaign in order to best position themselves in the market.

In a more unlikely scenario, they may wish to even adapt their hardware slightly to respond to PS4K. There won't be any chance of wholesale changes, as the SoC would already be taping out around now, but they could make a few more minor adaptations if they really felt it necessary. A simple example would be increasing clock speeds to squeeze more out of the SoC (as MS did with XBO pre-launch). If Nintendo had been targeting, let's say performance in between XBO and PS4 in a small, low TDP console, they may be able to switch to a larger case and a more capable power supply and cooling system and push up the clock speeds to match or even slightly exceed PS4 performance. Another possibility is to increase the RAM quantity, which can be done quite late on (as Sony did with PS4). With PS4K seemingly limited to 8GB of RAM, Nintendo may decide to move up to 12GB or even 16GB to have at least one spec where they can trumpet their hardware as superior.

The most unlikely possibility, although still theoretically an option, is to enable the full number of CUs on their SoC. I would assume that, like on the PS4 and XBO SoCs, AMD and Nintendo will have intended to leave two or more CUs disabled to increase yields. Enabling these two (or more) CUs could give them a performance boost, but would leave them with a higher cost per chip due to the decreased yields. As I say, it's a very unlikely option, due to the added cost, but it's technically available to Nintendo if they decide that PS4K's existence forces them to squeeze as much as humanly possible out of their already-designed chip.


Separate from all of the above, this does slightly increase the likelihood of a 14nm SoC in the console. I'd still count it as pretty damn unlikely, but it's perhaps a little more likely now.

Another interesting thing to consider is that if Nintendo's entire E3 2016 floor presence is dedicated to Zelda, then that would be by a huge margin the most E3 floor space ever dedicated to a single game, and the game it's dedicated to is one of NX's big launch titles. It'll be a little strange showing it off running on Wii U after the NX version has already been announced, but it makes a bit more sense than having the first game they show off running on NX hardware being a last-gen port.

All of this. Quoted for truth.
Thanks for the considered and measured response, as usual.

 

[Splendor]

What is the NX is like Mother 4, in that each day you live your life you are playing NX?

 

[Red Devil]

I really don't like this move by Nintendo.

If the NX isn't ready this holiday, that's fine, but you don't launch a new console and decide not to show it at E3. What in the hell are they thinking?
This was their chance to have their big welcome back moment with a huge, live, on-stage press conference at E3, with the world watching, where they could show off Zelda and Mario for their new console... and they blew it.

This company, man. Ugh... I want them to succeed, I really do, but they're making it harder on themselves than it has to be.
When will they learn?

If the thing isn't ready to be shown at E3 it can't be shown at E3, it's simple... Or it could also be that they don't think E3 is the place for it to be revealed.

How can they show games for NX when they won't even tell us what the hell it is?

I think this is the first time we get the release date before they actually reveal the hardware right? At least as far as I can remember.

It's usually the other way around, you build hype for your machine and the last thing you announce is the date and price. Then again Nintendo being weird is nothing new.

Of course it could be a placeholder date, didn't we have a release date for "Ultra 64" at one point too?

 

[Davey Cakes]

I think the 18 month hype deflation tour the Wii U went on from unveiling to release probably weighs pretty heavily on this decision. I'll take Kimishima's word on them wanting more software ready for the unveiling. Perhaps they want to load everything into the cannon for their own event later in the year so they can control the news cycle for a few days.

Hard to disagree. I think it's truly just a strategic decision to avoid what happened on Wii U and 3DS.

People can say their hype is deflated and that they care less as the console is delayed but if Nintendo comes out with guns blazing upon the NX's official reveal, I'm sure many will jump right back on board.

Could be a case of Nintendo putting all their eggs in a basket but they obviously want to excite people again and are willing to take the initial blow in order to better prepare.

 

[Instro]

Adam Sessler really did best describe them when he call them echo chambers

Just to add on to this. They face a similar problem holding their own stage event. While it's necessary to have one, they currently don't command the kind of audience that other companies in the industry to. While E3 may be losing relevance, there is probably a better chance of getting people to check out their show, than there is at a separate Nintendo only event.

 

[TheKastorian]

E3 is the biggest gaming event of the year, and it's getting even bigger. What the hell are these people talking about?

 

[Insane Metal]

This is terrible reasoning. 1) it shows more how Nintendo is out of touch. And 2) Nintendo directs are the definition of preaching to the choir. Gotta get that big stage annoucement so people even know what you have.

Absolutely agreed, specially with number one. It seems Nintendo hasn't learned anything with Microsoft and Sony in the last few years.

 

[DragonKnight]

On the same token, now Sony and Microsoft don't have to compete with a Nintendo console reveal for mindshare.

I think Nintendo chose wisely. Even if sony or micro show something amazing, they have their own event months down the line after the initial hype has passed. It makes perfect sense to me.

 

[Nanashrew]

Okay great, but don't interject like E3 is so relevant. I'd like to see some proof if you feel that way.



Nintendo trends with every Direct across social media and gets coverage across the board. Again, prove him wrong.

This is true too. Nintendo Direct and whatever the hypest game is of that Direct tend to trend worldwide for a good while the day the Direct comes out. I never use tailored trends either btw.

 

[PinkyMonkey]

What would really make this tragic is that if NX turns out to be an inferior machine in terms of power compared to Neo and X1.5.

 

[Jay RaR]

Dammit I was wrong but what the heck is Nintendo thinking releasing the NX next year, missing the holiday season? NX not being at E3 is equally as mindblowing.

This all feels like a terrible joke.

 

[phanphare]

This is terrible reasoning. 1) it shows more how Nintendo is out of touch. And 2) Nintendo directs are the definition of preaching to the choir. Gotta get that big stage annoucement so people even know what you have.

no matter how many years go by people still think this lol

who's out of touch again?

 

[Calamari41]

I think Nintendo chose wisely. Even if sony or micro show something amazing, they have their own event months down the line after the initial hype has passed. It makes perfect sense to me.

You're probably right, especially with the delay. It could hurt Nintendo to blow their load almost a full year before the thing is even for sale.

 

[AetherZX]

What would really make this tragic is that if NX turns out to be an inferior machine in terms of power compared to Neo and X1.5.

Err, why would that be tragic?

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

I'm listening GameXplain's exasperation and I know how they feel.