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[Ridley327]

they don't even seem to be doing anything for zelda's 30th anniversary, let alone metroid's

Metroid has some brand new badges available in the Badge Arcade!

...that are listed under Animal Crossing, since two of the badges are Isabelle cosplaying as Samus.

...welp...

 

[Dark Cloud]

I'm still hoping for a Zelda U demo as a "sorry you have to wait until 2017 to play this game".

 

[tauroxd]

If its just them playing it, like from stuff we've already seen before, like Link riding on Epona in a forest, and thats it, I'll be really disappointed.

They better have a story trailer.

I want extacly what you don't want and I don't what what you want. It would be shitty to spoil the game showing too much. For me it would be great if they show less story or not story at all and concentrate in the gameplay in a special scenario or scenarios made especifically to show off the game, some sort of demo, like a composite of some things you would see in the game but it is not actually in the game, at least not exactly how you see it in this demo I'm talking about. I think they did something like that that for Skyward Sword but I'm not actually sure.

 

[tim_pkmn89]

Nothing for Mario's big 31st anniversary?

 

[Labrynian Rebel]

Surprise bonus of Zelda: Federations.

That was Triforce Heros for me personally. First Zelda game I didn't buy since Four Swords Adventures.

 

[Kickz]

THis E3 is starting to look reaaaaaaaaaal rough...

PS4K has got to save the party

 

[georly]

THis E3 is starting to look reaaaaaaaaaal rough...

PS4K has got to save the party

I doubt a minor hardware upgrade will be exciting to anyone but the enthusiast. Sony/MS and all the other conferences need good new games and followup-trailers to games they revealed last year (but we've seen next to nothing for).

In a weird way, nintendo has put more pressure on them to do well (for me anyway).

 

[MisterR]

Probably. All indications are that this wasn't their original plan.

It'll look a lot worse if the NX reveal and launch slip further, though (although I don't believe for a second that they're lying about their intent of making the March date; that makes no sense for a publicly traded company).

I don't think they are lying about it. I think they are trying their best to make March 17, but with having nothing to show 9 months out, they will be lucky to make it

 

[Vena]

I don't think they are lying about it. I think they are trying their best to make March 17, but with having nothing to show 9 months out, they will be lucky to make it

They obviously don't have "nothing to show", their plans were set for months. They didn't change them until recently. Hardware and software doesn't just evaporate two months before E3. They have stuff to show, they have chosen (for some reason that we will likely never know) to keep everything hidden for longer.

Something short-term and immediate came up and got in the way of their plans. Maybe its the rumored manufacturing fuck-up, maybe its a problem with time-tables, maybe they found that they can't manufacture enough hardware for the Holidays and had to delay launch (if in 14nm, this would be very probable). If the delays on hardware are the reason, then, ya, they aren't going to show shit until they have a firm date for production known and start their marketing campaign.

Their software excuse is likely partially valid but no way do I believe they skipped the Holidays to gain all of three months because ALL of their software wasn't ready.

 

[Father_Brain]

I don't think they are lying about it. I think they are trying their best to make March 17, but with having nothing to show 9 months out, they will be lucky to make it

I'm more optimistic than you that they'll actually make that date, but in any case, I've seen a fair few people say that they think the date is just a lie to placate investors, and that it has no chance of launching until later in 2017.

Which makes no sense - until last week, Nintendo had never explicitly promised that NX would launch this FY (though it was implicit in Iwata's assurance that this FY would see a return to "Nintendo-like profits," but Kimishima had already backed away from that), so they weren't locked into anything like they were with 3DS. And no publicly traded company wants to be in the position of telling shareholders that they'll fall short of projections (which Nintendo would of course have to do later this year if they're lying), so what would be the gain from that versus being honest upfront?

Simpler and more plausible explanation: They say it's launching in March 2017 because they honestly believe they can make that date, not as part of some nonsensical plan to deceive investors.

 

[udivision]

I doubt a minor hardware upgrade will be exciting to anyone but the enthusiast. Sony/MS and all the other conferences need good new games and followup-trailers to games they revealed last year (but we've seen next to nothing for).

In a weird way, nintendo has put more pressure on them to do well (for me anyway).

In a "what's going on in the industry" kind of way, I'm really interested to see how all of this new hardware stuff turns out. As far as games go, I feel like there could be any number of surprises since it's not just Sony/MS output, but rather Sony/MS/Third Parties.

For Nintendo, sometimes you fall into "Well, X and Y IP game just came out recently, it's been 3 years since Z so maybe... but they wouldn't want to announce A before we have a date for B..." Not that you can predict their software output to a T or anything like that.

This year we don't really have to worry about that since it's just Zelda though, so there's that.

We'll be getting a peek into the future of the gaming industry and how the concept of "generations" is evolving from the Sony/MS conferences, and comparatively there's not much going in Nintendo's.

Zelda is probably the only game from E3 that I'd actually buy and play though... so there's that I guess.

 

[georly]

In a "what's going on in the industry" kind of way, I'm really interested to see how all of this new hardware stuff turns out. As far as games go, I feel like there could be any number of surprises since it's not just Sony/MS output, but rather Sony/MS/Third Parties.

Sure, that's interesting - but if it's the MOST interesting thing out of their conference, they have failed miserably in my eyes. Super disappointing. Curious about what everyone will show this year because I honestly have no clue.

 

[Kickz]

I doubt a minor hardware upgrade will be exciting to anyone but the enthusiast. Sony/MS and all the other conferences need good new games and followup-trailers to games they revealed last year (but we've seen next to nothing for).

In a weird way, nintendo has put more pressure on them to do well (for me anyway).

From where its at now to 4K seems like a huge upgrade, that and add Morpheus hype

Still though super disappointed Nintendo is not giving us anything considering this was supposed to be Year of NX

 

[hydragonwarrior]

Zelda tetris clone?

 

[georly]

From where its at now to 4K seems like a huge upgrade, that and add Morpheus hype

Still though super disappointed Nintendo is not giving us anything considering this was supposed to be Year of NX

Minor as in "not PS5." I'm also pretty sure it's not going to do 4k gaming.

VR/Morpheus is still awkward to demo on stage, I'm not sure how much PSVR stuff i'd expect, or how much will be shown off vs normal games.


And it's still the year of the NX reveal. Just think of Nintendo's E3 as being delayed, just like the NX and zelda are delayed.

Zelda tetris clone?

We already got zelda picross this year

 

[mcmmaster]

Disappointed in this news as a Nintendo fan, guess I'll just 'immerse' myself in the other showings at E3. 3D Zelda entries unfortunately don't do anything for me.

 

[pixelpatch]

Nintendo need to be bold, they'll disappear if Mario / Zelda ever go out of fashion

 

[RagnarokX]

That was Triforce Heros for me personally. First Zelda game I didn't buy since Four Swords Adventures.

Boy did you miss out. TriForce Heroes is a great Zelda game. Amazing puzzles and bosses.

 

[ReyVGM]

If its just them playing it, like from stuff we've already seen before, like Link riding on Epona in a forest, and thats it, I'll be really disappointed.

They better have a story trailer.

If the Xenoblade X treehouse playthrough is any indication, they'll show the opening sequence, map exploration, battles, and probably reach a town or dungeon.

 

[georly]

Boy did you miss out. TriForce Heroes is a great Zelda game. Amazing puzzles and bosses.

Tons of people don't agree with us, unfortunately. I also have 2 zelda fans as brothers, so it was even more amazing. Game was good and really clever in a lot of places. Hope they use some of the ideas for Zelda U.

 

[ReyVGM]

Nintendo need to be bold, they'll disappear if Mario / Zelda ever go out of fashion

I think you overstate the sales of Zelda games. Mario yes, but not Zelda really.

Their real money makers are Pokemon, Mario, Mario Kart, Smash.

 

[Dark Cloud]

Nintendo need to be bold, they'll disappear if Mario / Zelda ever go out of fashion

People have been saying nintendoomed for decades. I think they'll be fine.

 

[Toparaman]

I'm guessing that they'll have multiple kiosks with different demos of Zelda highlighting separate elements, probably timed too so people don't exhaust themselves on the game. Maybe the scenarios on display are tailored specifically for E3.

That's almost certainly what they're doing.

I dunno about you guys, but I might have to take the day off to watch the Treehouse stream. Zelda's my favorite series, and this game is my most anticipated anything ever. I also feel like this is the last non-VR game that I am truly excited for. After this, I'm more than ready for VR to overtake traditional games. Just give me my open-world, super-ambitious HD Zelda first please.

 

[Ansatz]

I'd be worried about them spoiling a large part of the game with so much coverage unless the game has a procedural generation component.

I think I threw up a little bit in my mouth

This E3 has the potential of being a complete disaster for me, seeing how everything depends on a single game. Fuck my life if it's anything like WRPG games.

 

[RagnarokX]

Tons of people don't agree with us, unfortunately. I also have 2 zelda fans as brothers, so it was even more amazing. Game was good and really clever in a lot of places. Hope they use some of the ideas for Zelda U.

I played the game entirely online with a friend and randoms as a third. Not being able to communicate apart from simple icons greatly added to my enjoyment of the game, as trying to get everyone on the same page was a puzzle unto itself. Kinda like Journey except with challenging gameplay. I got more enjoyment figuring stuff out in it than ALBW by a wide margin. I

 

[scamander]

The hyperbole is strong in this thread. Most of it coming from people who apparently can't think straight regarding Nintendo. They just said they will (or are planning to) launch NX in March to their investors. They made, for whatever reason, the DECISION to only show Zelda on E3; even though there are tons of 3DS (and some Wii U) games they could have included as well.

Logical conclusion: They are honestly confident to launch NX in March 2017 and will held their own event, on which the console and the games are revealed.

GAF mop: THEY DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO SHOW. NINTENDO IS DOOMED. NX WILL NEVER LAUNCH WITHIN THIS FISCAL YEAR AND THEY KNOW THAT, BECAUSE THERE ARE NO GAMES. THEY LIED TO THEIR INVESTORS.

There are at least 100 posts within the first 10 pages of this thread that are just as idiotic as the good old "This is HUGE" meme... and I'm not just talking about posts from the usual suspects (Spieler Eins etc). Better be prepared to eat crow.

 

[udivision]

The hyperbole is strong in this thread. Most of it coming from people who apparently can't think straight regarding Nintendo. They just said they will (or are planning to) launch NX in March to their investors. They made, for whatever reason, the DECISION to only show Zelda on E3; even though there are tons of 3DS (and some Wii U) games they could have included as well.

Logical conclusion: They are honestly confident to launch NX in March 2017 and will held their own event, on which the console and the games are revealed.

GAF mop: THEY DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO SHOW. NINTENDO IS DOOMED. NX WILL NEVER LAUNCH WITHIN THIS FISCAL YEAR AND THEY KNOW THAT, BECAUSE THERE ARE NO GAMES. THEY LIED TO THEIR INVESTORS.

There are at least 100 posts within the first 10 pages of this thread that are just as idiotic as the good old "This is HUGE" meme... and I'm not just talking about posts from the usual suspects (Spieler Eins etc). Better be prepared to eat crow.

It's hard for people believe that this is how Nintendo wanted (wants) everything to go down. Missing the holiday window, having E3 only focused on one game, delaying a game twice to the point it ends up in the next generation... It doesn't feel like this was the plan. Or at least, if this is the plan it doesn't seem like a good one. By this time next year... none of the small stuff will really matter. Well, I'm still not sure how well launching in March will go over, but we'll see.

 

[WiiredShawn]

It's hard for people believe that this is how Nintendo wanted (wants) everything to go down. Missing the holiday window, having E3 only focused on one game, delaying a game twice to the point it ends up in the next generation... It doesn't feel like this was the plan. Or at least, if this is the plan it doesn't seem like a good one. By this time next year... none of the small stuff will really matter. Well, I'm still not sure how well launching in March will go over, but we'll see.

To be fair, I'm pretty sure Zelda was planned for NX since 2015, when the first delayed happened. Everything else, though, seems like things got a little off course. Not like we'll ever really know.

 

[scamander]

^
It's pretty obvious their initial plan was to reveal NX and its launch line-up on E3. We don't know why that changed, but it wouldn't have been the initial plan if they had nothing to show.
The Zelda delay on the other hand doesn't mean the game is in development hell, like so many claim. The first delay probably happened, when they decided internally to launch it on NX as well. Second delay is simply to not negatively impact the NX launch by releasing a half year old game that was supposed to be (part of) the driving force.

 

[tauroxd]

Boy did you miss out. TriForce Heroes is a great Zelda game. Amazing puzzles and bosses.

Tons of people don't agree with us, unfortunately. I also have 2 zelda fans as brothers, so it was even more amazing. Game was good and really clever in a lot of places. Hope they use some of the ideas for Zelda U.

I like to play TLOZ on my own, as something that was desing to be done that way, and I like to play them at my own pace. TriForce Heroes doesn't really do that. I know it is set to be played alone, but the games was desing with multiplayer in mind.

 

[A Black Falcon]

The biggest problem with this isn't the delay, or not having a E3 Direct, though those things are both really sad and I'll miss having something to watch from Nintendo at E3 Zelda stream aside, it's that all this speculation about the NX has gotten really old. I, like most people, just want to see what it is already, and we should have learned that at E3... but how long will we have to wait, how many more months before we learn what it really is? It's kind of agonizing...

And yeah, not good for Nintendo, given how Sony and MS should have lots of stuff about their system updates, while Nintendo will have nothing until... who knows when. Maybe it'll all turn out fine in the end for Nintendo, everyone will pay attention to them whenever they do say something after all, but it is a missed opportunity. I think E3 does still matter, even if it's less than before.

On the other hand though Zelda is one of my favorite series, so I'm definitely excited to see much more of the next major Zelda game!

 

[RagnarokX]

I like to play TLOZ on my own, as something that was desing to be done that way, and I like to play them at my own pace. TriForce Heroes doesn't really do that. I know it is set to be played alone, but the games was desing with multiplayer in mind.

I like to play TLOZ on my own and at my own pace. But multiplayer Zelda is its own thing that doesn't replace that and offers its own challenges. Solving puzzles is that much more challenging when you need to coordinate with 2 other people, moreso when your only means of communication are icons. And they're damn good puzzles, too. It's quite an ingenious game because it's multiplayer but I still feel like I solved everything on my own. Think of it as having 2 AIs that you need to make do stuff and part of the fun is figuring out how to give them clues about what you need them to do or figuring out what they want you to do.

 

[jhmtehgamr20xx]

Lol holy shit. Either they're trolling everyone or they just don't give a fuck anymore about the video game business.

Good luck to NX; it'll need it. A lot.

The hyperbole is strong in this thread. Most of it coming from people who apparently can't think straight regarding Nintendo. They just said they will (or are planning to) launch NX in March to their investors. They made, for whatever reason, the DECISION to only show Zelda on E3; even though there are tons of 3DS (and some Wii U) games they could have included as well.

Logical conclusion: They are honestly confident to launch NX in March 2017 and will held their own event, on which the console and the games are revealed.

GAF mop: THEY DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO SHOW. NINTENDO IS DOOMED. NX WILL NEVER LAUNCH WITHIN THIS FISCAL YEAR AND THEY KNOW THAT, BECAUSE THERE ARE NO GAMES. THEY LIED TO THEIR INVESTORS.

There are at least 100 posts within the first 10 pages of this thread that are just as idiotic as the good old "This is HUGE" meme... and I'm not just talking about posts from the usual suspects (Spieler Eins etc). Better be prepared to eat crow.

So they're fucking up 2016 on purpose? OK then. Yeah I'm not buying that. They're going full hermit mode when they need to be getting the word out there. Not a good look, no matter how you cut it.

I can sleep happy knowing I won't be eating crow anytime soon.

Nobody seems to remember that it's Metroid's 30th Anniversary this year.

Yeah, I don't even think Nintendo remembers

 

[sfried]

Lol holy shit. Either they're trolling everyone or they just don't give a fuck anymore about the video game business.

Good luck to NX; it'll need it. A lot.

So they're fucking up 2016 on purpose? OK then. Yeah I'm not buying that. They're going full hermit mode when they need to be getting the word out there. Not a good look, no matter how you cut it.

I can sleep happy knowing I won't be eating crow anytime soon.

Yeah, I don't even think Nintendo remembers

I think the big company shakeup Iwata left in his wake had left such a big impression that the restructuring is occuring in a much bigger scope than we imagined it, resulting in them missing deadlines and hedging their bets on next year's reveal.

As far as trolling everyone, it is quite a possibility that they were outright lying by saying they won't present NX news @ E3. It's unlikely, but not outside the realm of possibility.

 

[Pokemaniac]

Lol holy shit. Either they're trolling everyone or they just don't give a fuck anymore about the video game business.

Good luck to NX; it'll need it. A lot.

So they're fucking up 2016 on purpose? OK then. Yeah I'm not buying that. They're going full hermit mode when they need to be getting the word out there. Not a good look, no matter how you cut it.

I can sleep happy knowing I won't be eating crow anytime soon.

Yeah, I don't even think Nintendo remembers

They're definitely not doing this on purpose, but it's clear they're being forced to do this by some sort of screw up.

 

[Dark Cloud]

I was hoping for another Mega64 video since the last two were funny.

 

[AdventureRacing]

I think you overstate the sales of Zelda games. Mario yes, but not Zelda really.

Their real money makers are Pokemon, Mario, Mario Kart, Smash.

Animal crossing would be up there with their biggest franchise.

 

[axisofweevils]

As far as trolling everyone, it is quite a possibility that they were outright lying by saying they won't present NX news @ E3. It's unlikely, but not outside the realm of possibility.

I don't think this is the case. This kinda thinking is similar to how a lot people believed that Nintendo still would surprise us last E3 by showing Zelda, despite them saying they wouldn't.

 

[EatChildren]

I don't think telling investors the NX won't be present at E3 is wise if the opposite is true. They might say nothing, but when money is concerned if Nintendo says it's not there, it's not there.

I'd say the entire situation is just a perfect storm for Nintendo. In the negative sense, or at least when it comes to preparation. The Wii U failure would have forced their hand to move into new technology, and transfer over software, very quickly. A lot of scrambling, so issues there alongside the typical teething every company goes through during a hardware transition. Nintendo's hand has been forced, in that respect, and I'm guessing earlier than they would have hoped. Iwata croaking would have left a huge dint too, no matter how prepared he was (and I'm guessing his preparations were incredibly thorough), as losing a very hands-on CEO during a transition can't avoid an upset in efficiency.

I feel Nintendo probably wants to make the NX reveal right. Hit the hardest they can. They can't predict how it will go down, and the Wii U would have been perceived as a far weaker impact than desired. And dumb mistakes made with the Wii U have probably (hopefully) settled in. You can't half bake the reveal, especially if it's due early next year. Thus any lull in software development and hardware stability, from new titles looking and playing their best, to transitioning in-development Wii U games to a presentable format on the NX, are going to leave a negative impression if they shown too early or absent from a scheduled reveal. Whether or not Nintendo is having issues on the hardware and software front is impossible to know (and it's entirely possible that they are having issues), but there's valid reasons with either answer for delaying the entire reveal until an exclusive event later in the year. An event where the hardware can be shown off in full, and a proper software showcase can sell the product for a release only a handful of months later.

Plus Nintendo isn't the only major distributor who doesn't really give a fuck about E3 these days. Yes, all eyes are on E3. But in a modern connected world it's hard to give a fuck in the grand scheme of things. E3 is in some ways a bit redundant, and if a company has the money, showmanship, and product, huge reveals that leave a big impact on potential customers can be done entirely at another time. Rockstar don't care. Bethesda generally don't care. Sony has done similar. Microsoft too. Yes, people will whine and moan that Nintendo gave up, lost E3, or whatever else. But all of that will be forgotten and rendered meaningless in an instant should an exclusive event later this year blow socks off. Hypothetically, an October or November event comes along, huge exclusive press event, and the NX looks fantastic with an extremely impressive showcase of software, you can guarantee it'll be all over websites, tech mags, and so on and nobody will be going "oh but they weren't at E3 remember that so the NX actually sucks and nintendo is doomed".

Worry when/if the end-of-year event gets delayed into 2017, or it's a stinker when the time comes.

 

[KingWool]

I don't think telling investors the NX won't be present at E3 is wise if the opposite is true. They might say nothing, but when money is concerned if Nintendo says it's not there, it's not there.

I'd say the entire situation is just a perfect storm for Nintendo. In the negative sense, or at least when it comes to preparation. The Wii U failure would have forced their hand to move into new technology, and transfer over software, very quickly. A lot of scrambling, so issues there alongside the typical teething every company goes through during a hardware transition. Nintendo's hand has been forced, in that respect, and I'm guessing earlier than they would have hoped. Iwata croaking would have left a huge dint too, no matter how prepared he was (and I'm guessing his preparations were incredibly thorough), as losing a very hands-on CEO during a transition can't avoid an upset in efficiency.

I feel Nintendo probably wants to make the NX reveal right. Hit the hardest they can. They can't predict how it will go down, and the Wii U would have been perceived as a far weaker impact than desired. And dumb mistakes made with the Wii U have probably (hopefully) settled in. You can't half bake the reveal, especially if it's due early next year. Thus any lull in software development and hardware stability, from new titles looking and playing their best, to transitioning in-development Wii U games to a presentable format on the NX, are going to leave a negative impression if they shown too early or absent from a scheduled reveal. Whether or not Nintendo is having issues on the hardware and software front is impossible to know (and it's entirely possible that they are having issues), but there's valid reasons with either answer for delaying the entire reveal until an exclusive event later in the year. An event where the hardware can be shown off in full, and a proper software showcase can sell the product for a release only a handful of months later.

Plus Nintendo isn't the only major distributor who doesn't really give a fuck about E3 these days. Yes, all eyes are on E3. But in a modern connected world it's hard to give a fuck in the grand scheme of things. E3 is in some ways a bit redundant, and if a company has the money, showmanship, and product, huge reveals that leave a big impact on potential customers can be done entirely at another time. Rockstar don't care. Bethesda generally don't care. Sony has done similar. Microsoft too. Yes, people will whine and moan that Nintendo gave up, lost E3, or whatever else. But all of that will be forgotten and rendered meaningless in an instant should an exclusive event later this year blow socks off. Hypothetically, an October or November event comes along, huge exclusive press event, and the NX looks fantastic with an extremely impressive showcase of software, you can guarantee it'll be all over websites, tech mags, and so on and nobody will be going "oh but they weren't at E3 remember that so the NX actually sucks and nintendo is doomed".

Worry when/if the end-of-year event gets delayed into 2017, or it's a stinker when the time comes.

I agree with what you're saying, but they could still show case all their 3DS and few Wii U games at E3 too. Not doing so doesn't make any sense

 

[Kintaro]

I like Zelda and all, but tuey are only going to be showing one game at an event where we could see PS4 Neo, Xbox One+ (dunno actual name), PSVR, other VR, tons of VR titles, The Last Guardian. Horizon, huge holiday titles, For Honor, new announcements, big conferences with new IP and more. Sony alone will show more games at their conference than Nintendo could dream of having at NX launch.

While they sit there with Zelda and just Zelda.

Lord help them if its disappointing. Last Guardian alone could make it look bad, let alone Horizon.

This will be a bad look unless Zelda is the greatest game ever.

 

[QaaQer]

I agree with what you're saying, but they could still show case all their 3DS and few Wii U games at E3 too. Not doing so doesn't make any sense

.

I cannot fathom how having a giant software drought, ignoring fans, and giving your retail partners no reason to care about your entire home console product line is seen as no big deal. E3 is emblematic; it is not, in and of itself, the issue.

* * *

Here is my take the situation:

1)The Wii U is a Vita level failure, and just like with how Sony handled the Vita, they probably shit-canned a bunch of stuff because the ROI was too low, hence zero new wii u product.

2)Nintendo aims for very high margins on any investments they make; there is no easy money in home consoles anymore. Hence, their next home console will be nothing more than an adjunct to their next gen handheld and mobile offerings.

3)E3 isn't a great place to showcase mobile and handheld offerings.

4)Customer satisfaction is low on Nintendo's list of priorities, with home console customers at the bottom of the Totem.

5)The 800k estimate of wiiu sales in fy2017 means they have abandoned retail for the wiiu this year. I guess they don't care about non-handheld retailers much either.

= 2016 Nintendo e3

Will the wiiu strategy have long term consequences? Did their late life wii strategy?

 

[DriftingSpirit]

I like Zelda and all, but tuey are only going to be showing one game at an event where we could see PS4 Neo, Xbox One+ (dunno actual name), PSVR, other VR, tons of VR titles, The Last Guardian. Horizon, huge holiday titles, For Honor, new announcements, big conferences with new IP and more. Sony alone will show more games at their conference than Nintendo could dream of having at NX launch.

While they sit there with Zelda and just Zelda.

Lord help them if its disappointing. Last Guardian alone could make it look bad, let alone Horizon.

This will be a bad look unless Zelda is the greatest game ever.

Yeah, I was thinking it just puts even more pressure on Zelda. Even if it is grand, it will still be overshadowed by the loads of games and announcements from everyone else. As you said, it will have to come off as something absolutely astounding.

A tricky situation Nintendo has found themselves in.

 

[jhmtehgamr20xx]

I don't think telling investors the NX won't be present at E3 is wise if the opposite is true. They might say nothing, but when money is concerned if Nintendo says it's not there, it's not there.

I'd say the entire situation is just a perfect storm for Nintendo. In the negative sense, or at least when it comes to preparation. The Wii U failure would have forced their hand to move into new technology, and transfer over software, very quickly. A lot of scrambling, so issues there alongside the typical teething every company goes through during a hardware transition. Nintendo's hand has been forced, in that respect, and I'm guessing earlier than they would have hoped. Iwata croaking would have left a huge dint too, no matter how prepared he was (and I'm guessing his preparations were incredibly thorough), as losing a very hands-on CEO during a transition can't avoid an upset in efficiency.

I feel Nintendo probably wants to make the NX reveal right. Hit the hardest they can. They can't predict how it will go down, and the Wii U would have been perceived as a far weaker impact than desired. And dumb mistakes made with the Wii U have probably (hopefully) settled in. You can't half bake the reveal, especially if it's due early next year. Thus any lull in software development and hardware stability, from new titles looking and playing their best, to transitioning in-development Wii U games to a presentable format on the NX, are going to leave a negative impression if they shown too early or absent from a scheduled reveal. Whether or not Nintendo is having issues on the hardware and software front is impossible to know (and it's entirely possible that they are having issues), but there's valid reasons with either answer for delaying the entire reveal until an exclusive event later in the year. An event where the hardware can be shown off in full, and a proper software showcase can sell the product for a release only a handful of months later.

Plus Nintendo isn't the only major distributor who doesn't really give a fuck about E3 these days. Yes, all eyes are on E3. But in a modern connected world it's hard to give a fuck in the grand scheme of things. E3 is in some ways a bit redundant, and if a company has the money, showmanship, and product, huge reveals that leave a big impact on potential customers can be done entirely at another time. Rockstar don't care. Bethesda generally don't care. Sony has done similar. Microsoft too. Yes, people will whine and moan that Nintendo gave up, lost E3, or whatever else. But all of that will be forgotten and rendered meaningless in an instant should an exclusive event later this year blow socks off. Hypothetically, an October or November event comes along, huge exclusive press event, and the NX looks fantastic with an extremely impressive showcase of software, you can guarantee it'll be all over websites, tech mags, and so on and nobody will be going "oh but they weren't at E3 remember that so the NX actually sucks and nintendo is doomed".

Worry when/if the end-of-year event gets delayed into 2017, or it's a stinker when the time comes.

These are good points but the way I see it is this: when has a console maker ever had a full-fledged lineup and everything ready to go at the time of an E3? People know E3 is for in-progress work and a lot of console reveals there have been the shell design, sometimes not even with the full/proper innards. Games running off of dev kits or simulations on PCs is nothing new, and is a common practice. The only time when a console may have possibly been ready at the time of an E3 was the Saturn, and that definitely wasn't ready in both sufficient quantity of hardware or software.

My worry is that unlike w/ that example, Nintendo messes up by being too late out of the gate, not just in terms of release (supposing the "around March" date gets pushed back), but in terms of building up hype. Yes society is a bit different than it used to be and thanks to stuff like Twitter things are crunched up more in terms of bigger-yet-shorter bubbles of hype. Even so, that didn't stop Sony from a 10-month gradual hype build for PS4 that ended up being a resounding success. In some ways what Nintendo's doing is actually way more old-school, the sort of strategy you'd employ if game magazines were still the one and only source for news.

Nintendo is making the same mistake they did back in 2011, at least regarding their home consoles. Just going completely under the radar, and in this case banking on one single game (Zelda) to keep them in the spotlight. But gaming hasn't been that way since 1996. They're banking all of the initial attention for NX (and any attention for Wii U) to rest on Zelda, but no matter how fantastic the game is...it's still Zelda. It's still just one game. Why not use E3 as a chance to showcase some of the variety that'll (hopefully) be present on the system? No one is asking for finished games, just some proof that they exist. Better yet, use E3 as an opportunity to reveal the system's look and the controller, and get that out of the way. Then you can use the rest of the time to focus on the games, which are what really count.

If it's true about those AMD rumors, I honestly don't see how that suddenly prevents them from having anything to show at E3 for NX. It's not like they've been building the games on final hardware all this time, or that they'd even need finished hardware to run demos for them at an event. Using chip production issues as an excuse for more or less skipping the most reputable trade show event of the year for any chance of building more presence and hype for your upcoming console just screams to me that the entire NX project got started on later than it should have, including software development. Which would mean that they've been behind this entire time.

Granted I'm sure they had to do a lot to fix the 3DS (and they've succeeded there, perhaps at the mercy of sacrificing Wii U many could argue), but if they knew they could only save one of the two platforms and already made that choice years ago, why would they not have began hardware and software development of NX earlier? We're now about 10 months out from the supposed launch; surely there'd be some games in playable state and ready for demoing right? And I'm not talking about 3rd party software that can say "also on NX" but will likely be demoing the PC or PS4 versions at the show; I mean Nintendo's own games!

And about Iwata's passing; yes, that would likely have had an impact of course, but nothing causing what we're seeing right now. They should have had a contingency plan in place, and I'm sure other upper board members were told by him a while ago he had cancer. They should have been going about this NX project in a way that wasn't so reliant on Iwata being around. A way of going about it that should have allowed for the most minimum hit so that they could continue on towards their goal in a very timely fashion. To me that's another mistake on their part.

This entire situation is just turning out to be a giant clusterfuck.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Nobody seems to remember that it's Metroid's 30th Anniversary this year.

If it's any consolation they kinda forgot about it's 20th and 25th anniversary in favor of Zelda as well.

If they only show Zelda E3 I feel it will be very disappointing.

 

[AdanVC]

The good thing about not showing NX at E3 is that we're probably going to have a major Nintendo event later in the year wich could be the same if not bigger than E3 and they would have all the spotlights just for them wich could do wonders if they make it work properly. I just hope they don't wait till december to do so.

 

[Dark Cloud]

The good thing about not showing NX at E3 is that we're probably going to have a major Nintendo event later in the year wich could be the same if not bigger than E3 and they would have all the spotlights just for them wich could do wonders if they make it work properly. I just hope they don't wait till december to do so.

It feels like they're setting up for a big event. Also, it would be crazy to wait until December. October to December makes no sense. July to September makes the most sense.

 

[MuchoMalo]

Plus Nintendo isn't the only major distributor who doesn't really give a fuck about E3 these days. Yes, all eyes are on E3. But in a modern connected world it's hard to give a fuck in the grand scheme of things. E3 is in some ways a bit redundant, and if a company has the money, showmanship, and product, huge reveals that leave a big impact on potential customers can be done entirely at another time. Rockstar don't care. Bethesda generally don't care. Sony has done similar. Microsoft too. Yes, people will whine and moan that Nintendo gave up, lost E3, or whatever else. But all of that will be forgotten and rendered meaningless in an instant should an exclusive event later this year blow socks off. Hypothetically, an October or November event comes along, huge exclusive press event, and the NX looks fantastic with an extremely impressive showcase of software, you can guarantee it'll be all over websites, tech mags, and so on and nobody will be going "oh but they weren't at E3 remember that so the NX actually sucks and nintendo is doomed".

Worry when/if the end-of-year event gets delayed into 2017, or it's a stinker when the time comes.

This is such a huge point that people don't seem to get. E3 isn't irrelevant, but it's not the end-all-be-all either. It's the CES of gaming. It's a place where it's easy to get media attention, but bigger companies don't need it to get attention, much like how Apple, Samsung, HTC, LG, Google and many others don't need CES to get their mobile devices the attention they need. If NX's reveal is good, it'll get attention no matter when it is.

On the other hand, all eyes are on E3. This means that a bad, rushed reveal to get out in time for E3 will be noticed and will be extremely damaging. That's the issue we're seeing here. Only showing one game for E3 makes it seem that it's because that's all they have to show, resulting in bad press. All eyes are on Nintendo right now, but they have nothing to show those eyes. That's why, again, I think they should have skipped E3. That little bit of mystery would have looked better. At the very least, they should have a small NX teaser to make sure that people are thinking about it. They made it far too obvious that they screwed up and now there's more riding on the reveal than there would normally be. In other words, E3 isn't big because of how important it is; it's important because of how big it is. A lot of people are watching, so you have to look good if you're going to be there. Nintendo doesn't look good right now, so they shouldn't have been there at all. If they were to announce that they will no longer attend any E3, after the initial shock it would hurt E3's viewership more than it would hurt Nintendo. That's the reason why we're starting to see some companies move away from it, and why some never attended at all. Having their own events gives them more control over their own messages and announcements, while arbitrarily adhering to E3's schedule means that, if they don't have everything just right at the right time, it hurts them. Why should a company perfectly capable of displaying their own marketing message on their own schedule risk screwing it up in order to meet deadlines set by other people. It's not really fair when you think about it.

Note that I'm not defending Nintendo's actions; they have definitely made a mistake. I'm not saying that E3 is irrelevant either. I'm just saying that a lot of people need to actually look at why it's relevant and what would really happen if it suddenly disappeared.

 

[robertsan21]

This is going to be GOTY 2017 isnt it?

I cant wait and I will pick up a NX for this game.

 

[MuchoMalo]

These are good points but the way I see it is this: when has a console maker ever had a full-fledged lineup and everything ready to go at the time of an E3? People know E3 is for in-progress work and a lot of console reveals there have been the shell design, sometimes not even with the full/proper innards. Games running off of dev kits or simulations on PCs is nothing new, and is a common practice. The only time when a console may have possibly been ready at the time of an E3 was the Saturn, and that definitely wasn't ready in both sufficient quantity of hardware or software.

My worry is that unlike w/ that example, Nintendo messes up by being too late out of the gate, not just in terms of release (supposing the "around March" date gets pushed back), but in terms of building up hype. Yes society is a bit different than it used to be and thanks to stuff like Twitter things are crunched up more in terms of bigger-yet-shorter bubbles of hype. Even so, that didn't stop Sony from a 10-month gradual hype build for PS4 that ended up being a resounding success. In some ways what Nintendo's doing is actually way more old-school, the sort of strategy you'd employ if game magazines were still the one and only source for news.

Nintendo is making the same mistake they did back in 2011, at least regarding their home consoles. Just going completely under the radar, and in this case banking on one single game (Zelda) to keep them in the spotlight. But gaming hasn't been that way since 1996. They're banking all of the initial attention for NX (and any attention for Wii U) to rest on Zelda, but no matter how fantastic the game is...it's still Zelda. It's still just one game. Why not use E3 as a chance to showcase some of the variety that'll (hopefully) be present on the system? No one is asking for finished games, just some proof that they exist. Better yet, use E3 as an opportunity to reveal the system's look and the controller, and get that out of the way. Then you can use the rest of the time to focus on the games, which are what really count.

If it's true about those AMD rumors, I honestly don't see how that suddenly prevents them from having anything to show at E3 for NX. It's not like they've been building the games on final hardware all this time, or that they'd even need finished hardware to run demos for them at an event. Using chip production issues as an excuse for more or less skipping the most reputable trade show event of the year for any chance of building more presence and hype for your upcoming console just screams to me that the entire NX project got started on later than it should have, including software development. Which would mean that they've been behind this entire time.

Granted I'm sure they had to do a lot to fix the 3DS (and they've succeeded there, perhaps at the mercy of sacrificing Wii U many could argue), but if they knew they could only save one of the two platforms and already made that choice years ago, why would they not have began hardware and software development of NX earlier? We're now about 10 months out from the supposed launch; surely there'd be some games in playable state and ready for demoing right? And I'm not talking about 3rd party software that can say "also on NX" but will likely be demoing the PC or PS4 versions at the show; I mean Nintendo's own games!

And about Iwata's passing; yes, that would likely have had an impact of course, but nothing causing what we're seeing right now. They should have had a contingency plan in place, and I'm sure other upper board members were told by him a while ago he had cancer. They should have been going about this NX project in a way that wasn't so reliant on Iwata being around. A way of going about it that should have allowed for the most minimum hit so that they could continue on towards their goal in a very timely fashion. To me that's another mistake on their part.

This entire situation is just turning out to be a giant clusterfuck.

The reason that this is happening is because they think that Wii U flopped due to sending the wrong message from the start, ant they feel that, ultimately, a lackluster or incomplete reveal will hurt them more than this.

Unfortunately, the real mistake was talking about it last year. They were screwed from the second that happened. Expectations are too high again due to too much time allowed for speculation, so it's going to be disappointment. There's nothing they can do to prevent that at this point, other than exceeding general expectations. Sony and MS have raised/will raise those expectations with their new hardware, though, so unless Nintendo planned ahead to compete with those there's nothing they can do to make the reveal perfect.

However, none of those mistakes are really affected by E3 itself other than the fact that the existence of E3 has hurt them.