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[FlynnCL]

Nintendo trying to create hype for E3 game announcements and also connecting with competitive Smash fans for a first time in... ever? And I see negative reactions, from... Nintendo have nothing to announce to "#fail". This place can be tense. Haha.

Efficient trailer after trailer in the form of a huge Direct is something that works wonders. Just because you don't have a crowd of journalists cheering and clapping all the time shouldn't completely ruin what truly matters; the games.

 

[mclem]

Look at IGN's headline for the video:

http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/04/29/nintendo-reveals-its-e3-plans?abthid=535fc85d9cdad9cb2900001a

Nintendo Reveals its E3 Plans Don't Include Live Conference

People are mistaken if they think there isn't a negative perception about not having a live-audience show whether there should be or not is another point entirely.

When does the hype become more important than the product? When did we get so foolish that we automatically paid attention to whoever shouted the loudest?

In a sense, it's similar to the persistent pursuit of AAA - desperation to be noticed above all else, and the notion that you can only compete if you're bigger and noisier than the next guy. There's truth to that - there's a reason why the biggest guns are sticking with that - but there shouldn't be.

 

[InsaneZero]

I think the best comparison would be:

Watching a movie premier at the TCL Chinese Theatre with the stars and press coming, livestreamed
vs
Watching a movie premier at the TCL Chinese Theatre with the stars and press coming, tape-delayed without spoilers

The end result is the same movie you're experiencing but the overall experience of both events are totally different.

Fixed for better accuracy.

 

[AniHawk]

They feel different you have have a live conference in a big hall with lots of people. You know there is a reason why the camera shows the crowd lots of the time during live events. Something like last year's Sony conference where they announce no DRM and price of PS4 won't feel the same if you are watching in a pre-recorded video with announcer just announcing.

There is a reason people get excited at live conference events, even if it's watching at home through livestream. Things like MWC, and apple event where they announce new products like iphone or ipad.

people bringing up sony's no drm thing like it was the best thing ever is a source of endless entertainment for me. 'everyone, we aren't doing anything different...!!!' *pan to crowd of overreacting overreactors* '

Spoiler

okay one thing different paywall now

'

like it gets the attention something that a huge exclusive game would in the console wars world, like call of duty being exclusive to playstation. i'll definitely give them credit for the presentation effort, and having people believe it was a big deal. just like their presentation of indies made it feel like they showed off more indie games than anyone else's show.

anyway, i think one advantage is that you can do more with a scripted nonlive show, and it's something i think nintendo is beginning to understand. and truthfully, presentation is the sort of thing they can learn from sony. so maybe the e3 direct isn't just iwata standing in front of a white-ish background and talking. they can use the space to be odd and fun in ways that wouldn't work in a live show.

 

[Spieler Eins]

Again, isn't that the fault of the Press, not Nintendo? They shouldn't have to kiss ass to have their information reported properly. That "Image" comes from the media coverage, not the information that's being covered.

It shows that Nintendo is still oblivious to even the most blatant mistakes (in marketing, so I'm not hopeful for the actual gaming business either). Why not do a normal E3 showing like everyone else, which also eliminates the chances for the same idiocy from last year?

 

[Meikiyou]

funny, but I still think Nintendo is missing an huge opportunity by not holding an actual E3 event. Again

They will hold, it's called smash bros tournament

 

[DaBoss]

Good points. By then, perhaps Sakurai will have included Battlefield and friends in For Glory mode? Would be really awesome.

Sorry if I sounded aggressive there, I just wanted to get the points emphasized lol.

And yea, that would be awesome, but even if that doesn't happen, maybe the people they invite can tell that to Sakurai and co. Having at least FD and Battlefield would be nice.

 

[javac]

The general image going around was that Nintendo isn't even attending E3.

Again the Nintendo booth was the most well received by people there...you know by THE PRESS. It was one of the most busiest booths... again being used BY THE PRESS. Everyone at home got the information that they needed. The line-up was clear and everyone knew what Nintendo showed. No confusion. You're just talking a load of poop. You think people are stupid?

Nintendo uploaded trailers for DKCTF and MK8 and 3D World etc on YouTube, had hands on with IGN and Keighley etc including interviews on Spike and all the game sites were talking about what they showed and everyone was tweeting about it...and yet you think nobody knew they were at fucking E3? Really?

 

[MilkybKid]

That's because people are dumb and don't know how to read.

Some of the media sites really aren't helping with this by click-baiting, big headlines of "Nintendo not having a live conference", and leaving the info about tournaments etc to small sub headings or few lines down in the articles :/

Unfortunately in an age when people only read headlines or the last lines of reviews for scores this sort of stuff happens

[EDIT]

It shows that Nintendo is still oblivious to even the most blatant mistakes (in marketing, so I'm not hopeful for the actual gaming business either). Why not do a normal E3 showing like everyone else, which also eliminates the chances for the same idiocy from last year?

E3 is a press event, they are going to the press event, they are having a tournament , a booth with interview potential etc, and I'm going to hazard a guess the digital thing will be shown on the big screen at the tournament location but I guess that will depend on timings that we don't know yet.

Tbh i think its going to be a E3 showing as the others in everything but name from the sound of it.

 

[ironcreed]

I guess...? Yeah in the end it won't really matter but IMO there's really nothing like a life conference and I'm not exactly a fan of them experimenting with this sort of thing when their home console ain't doing so hot.

I'm honestly surprised at the turnaround I'm suddenly seeing here. Not that they aren't doing some cool shit like the Treehouse stream, but wasn't everyone against this idea last year? Not to mention the stream meltdowns...although they're using Youtube now so that probably won't be a concern this year.

It's exciting because it's obvious that more is going into this than some bland Nintendo Direct with not much to show. I'll be sitting here watching the stage shows of the other two on my PC, just the same as I'll be watching Nintendo's stream. What I get excited about is what is shown, not crowd reactions.

Again, I don't need them to go through the same motions as the other two, with boring ass speeches in between showing the goods. Just impress me with what you have to offer and let substance speak for itself. Seriously, as much as I love watching the stage shows, some of it nearly always puts me to fucking sleep. Drop megatons, drop the mic and be done with it.

 

[Codeblue]

Keighly is salty that he won't get extra money/ratings for Spike.

I saw that video where he tried to get Mega64 to stop talking about Nintendo. That was gross.

"Sony of Microsoft? Pick your allegiance!"

Jesus.

 

[John Harker]

How do you feel about the approach this year?

Well I certainly didn't expect all these digital videos. I thought it was all really well done.

I've been at like ten plus of these e3 events and I think Nintendo is doing the right thing for them. They have decreasingly been getting less share of voice coming out of these conferences so they are bypassing the traditional template and speaking directly to their audience. I said it was smart last year and it's handled even better this year. They are finally embracing content marketing as a strategy with all their Yt integrations the last year and the next step was live streaming and it looks like they are trying it this year.

The best buy integration is super expensive so it must have paid dividends for them last year that they are reupping this year.

As I said previously their booth space was awesome last year so I'm not worried about their show prescense. This is just an attempt for them to better control the conversation directly since media has been so harsh on the
The past two years

 

[Riki]

They will hold, it's called smash bros tournament

And they'll do a conference JUST for the press. Just like last year.
Nintendo did E3 better than any other company. Their problem was the stream quality and content. But the way it was presented was perfect.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

I think it helps for sure making yourself available to the press for hype, etc... but half of the press is shady and/or corrupt that it doesn't bother me that Nintendo is moving to the beat of their own drum.

Also, the last thing I want to see is Keighley asking Reggie what type of shaders are being used in the new Zelda.

 

[Exile20]

Absolutely delightful video, and I couldn't be more excited at the push they're giving Smash Bros. That tournament will no-doubt be incredibly fun to watch.

Also, gonna have to go ahead and take June 10th off of work, gonna have to find a Best Buy that's doing the SSB thing... and the closest one will likely be like an hour away. But that's all right. SSB is worth it.

Would be awesome if Nintendo gets their best Smash player vs the winner of the tournament. I would pay to see that.

 

[Kriken]

I've been thinking more and since last year, Nintendo has improved their streaming capabilities so that UStream is no longer the main stream you'd need to 'watch' their Nintendo Directs on. Youtube, as well as Twitch should help make the ND more viewable to more people

 

[hwy_61]

That video was stupid as hell. I'm very happy Nintendo is doing shit like this. Time for huge companies to have fun.

 

[Meikiyou]

And they'll do a conference JUST for the press. Just like last year.
Nintendo did E3 better than any other company. Their problem was the stream quality and content. But the way it was presented was perfect.

Can't disagree with this, the conference being recorded eliminates some problems like miyamoto motion plus fail with skyward sword.

 

[MCN]

I just hope they do a better job of the Digital stream than they did last year.

 

[Sandfox]

It shows that Nintendo is still oblivious to even the most blatant mistakes (in marketing, so I'm not hopeful for the actual gaming business either). Why not do a normal E3 showing like everyone else, which also eliminates the chances for the same idiocy from last year?

I'm sure they would rather attempt to fix the mistakes with last year's stream rather than go back to the old method. If the games are interesting and have good trailers they'll draw hype regardless.

 

[Ridley327]

I just hope they do a better job of the Digital stream than they did last year.

Having more streaming options than Ustream is already a massive course correction in that regard.

 

[BY2K]

Everywhere I look it's all "Nintendo won't have a live conference" headlines and shit. Jesus Christ, they fuel on negativity.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

Everywhere I look it's all "Nintendo won't have a live conference" headlines and shit. Jesus Christ, they fuel on negativity.

It's a Snoop Dogg Hype day and age we live in.

 

[perfectchaos007]

No live conference. Wow Nintendo, nothing beats a live traditional E3 conference in terms of press and publicity.

 

[emb]

I wish Nintendo would just do a conference. Watching the stream of a pre-recorded, perfected video just isn't as fun. Knowing that the presenters are going out on stage right now, and can make mistakes, is part of the fun. The Pavlovian feeling I get from staring at the empty Nokia theater on stream as people shuffle in is lost. Nintendo Direct is great, it's just that we get Nintendo Directs every couple of months. E3 should be that little step up, and seeing a live presentation (through a stream, of course) is a piece of what makes it. Even if a streamed Nintendo Direct is functionally equivalent, I still wish they would continue the way it was.

More than that though, it would stop Nintendo e3 threads from always turning into "Nintendo isn't at e3" vs "it's the same as a press conference!" debates. It gets tired and annoying. I want to go back t talking about how Nintendo is doomed and should go third party, and how Mother 4 (exclusive third party title for the Nintendo Sega Phoenix) is going to be a show case and launch the day it's revealed.

 

[DrForester]

"Sony of Microsoft? Pick your allegiance!"

Jesus.

Is that the same guy who tried to say Iwata wasn't at E3, despite giving a booth tour in the Direct?

 

[ohlawd]

Everywhere I look it's all "Nintendo won't have a live conference" headlines and shit. Jesus Christ, they fuel on negativity.

I'm not touching those articles ever but do they at least mention they're doing something different and will still have a presence there?

 

[Social]

I dont care about Smash Bros so there will better be some new games to unveil

 

[Linkhero1]

Everywhere I look it's all "Nintendo won't have a live conference" headlines and shit. Jesus Christ, they fuel on negativity.

Gotta get those clicks somehow, not that the title is true, but it's sad that they're highlighting that over the fact that they will have a Direct.

 

[Blues1990]

Given how problematic last year's live stream was, along with how bonkers it was just to play one of the E3 demos at my local Best Buy, I was hoping that there was an option to just download the demos off the eShop.

 

[anon_mastermind]

Time to board the hype train. New Zelda, a ton of Smash Bros info, and some surprises. Can't wait.

 

[Exile20]

It's truly amazing how you can't criticize Nintendo on NeoGAF without 30 people jumping on you saying you are dumb.

I grew up with and love Nintendo. I'm going to call them out when they do something stupid.

MAINSTREAM media counts. Of course all of the gaming websites are going to cover what Nintendo is doing. What Nintendo needs is the regular news media of the world to cover them.

Having a small booth and an online stream that only Nintendo fans are going to care about isn't helping them any. They need a big presence and a statement where the mainstream news takes notice and talks about them in a positive light, not a footnote.

Small booth? Who said that? The only difference between Sony/MS and Nintendo is that they will have no live conference. They are making up for it by having a tournament and playable demos for people who can't go to E3 to play the games.

Why should I care about a live press conference when I can watch a stream then go down to Best Buy and play the games at E3? That is for better than some live issue ridden, slow, boring conference. Then looking at the press play game horribly that I want to play myself?

 

[Kansoku]

And why would that change this year? A conference would be better for everyone, even gamers. Can't wait to compare TP 2004 reactions with stoic Iwata showing random Zelda clips in front of a white wall...

Honestly? To me the latter is so much better, since I'll be streaming anyways. It won't have as much crap in between, it will be Iwata, direct feed game video with clean audio, Iwata, game, Iwata, game, Reggie, game, etc. It's skipping the crap I don't care about, the crap that's necessary for a good live press conference.

 

[axisofweevils]

The general image going around was that Nintendo isn't even attending E3.

And when they were at E3, the press feigned confusion that the Wii U was just a Wii upgrade - even though Nintendo had officially announced they'd unveil the Wii successor and rumours had been flying around about the new system for months.

TLR - Whatever Nintendo do, the press have proved they'll act dumb.

 

[Currygan]

They will hold, it's called smash bros tournament

they need to fuel as much exposure, publicity and press as they can, and only E3 can give them that, Directs and SSB tournaments are not nearly enough

 

[Kissenkopf]

No one cares if there is a live audience or not if the trailers for the games are fantastic. Who re-warches an press conference after its done? The only thing you care about are the trailers and nothing more.
And even with an audience you couldnt recreate something like the Zelda reveal from 2004.

 

[Spieler Eins]

I'm sure they would rather attempt to fix the mistakes with last year's stream rather than go back to the old method. If the games are interesting and have good trailers they'll draw hype regardless.

I think it's safe to assume that the new announcements themselves won't be particularly strong (Now that Smash really is the christmas title and most of the Januray 13 Direct has still to come out over the next years) and certainly not strong enough to help their already bad image. The perception of the WiiU is as bad as ever and they certainly aren't helping themselves by being the awkward cheapskates compared to their competitors at the biggest event of their industry. Doing a normal E3 is the least they should do and the format also allows for much better hype building. Some Zelda orchestra in a prerecorded stream would be pretty fucking lame for example.

 

[The_Lump]

It shows that Nintendo is still oblivious to even the most blatant mistakes (in marketing, so I'm not hopeful for the actual gaming business either). Why not do a normal E3 showing like everyone else, which also eliminates the chances for the same idiocy from last year?

I don't see the mistake, sorry.

In my view its forward thinking. The world is moving quickly towards consumers accessing information much more directly than before. Large pressers are becoming an uneccesary expense. Maybe it will backfire in these first few years with the press feeling a bit butt hurt, but again I see that as a failing of gaming journalism rather than of Nintendo. I don't think that is a reason to take a step back.

They've openly stated they are looking to "build" on last years offering, so I would assume some of the more fundamental problems will be ironed out (stream quality & availability, lack of surprises).

 

[big_erk]

What corner are they hiding in that only allows for Nintendo fans to see what they're doing? Their online presentations are available for everyone to watch, on websites that don't require Nintendo hardware to view.

Exactly, only a very tiny percentage of people will actually be able to attend E3, and an even smaller number would get into any live conference. Everyone else would have to stream it anyways. So what is so different with the way they are doing it. In my mind they can concentrate more on making an awesome presentation that if they did it live. How many recent pressers were marred by technical difficulties? We still don't know the format the event will take. There may still be live elements to it and Nintendo looks to be at E3 in force.

 

[Subtervotion]

While I would rather have a live conference, I'll gladly accept the digital event if its as good as the Smash Direct from April.

 

[Hero of Legend]

Nintendo needs to replace the live conference proper (not saying they should have in the first place), as in, make the digital event grand, as they would on stage.

When you think about it, the stage only matters to the people in the live audience.

We're seeing it the same way otherwise, what we missed last year was the splendor, who says that can't be replicated?

The fact this is (so far) not called a Direct shows that this isn't EXACTLY like last year, I think they're going to change it up and do something bigger but just not live on stage.

Also of vast importance, STREAM QUALITY! I think Nintendo learned not to reply on what was it, USTREAM? They're using YouTube and I think Twitch for more recent showings, but will this maybe be shown on TV? Does digital imply they won't also attempt to show this on TV? Also what about livestreams on major sites like Spike and GT?

 

[Effect]

Everywhere I look it's all "Nintendo won't have a live conference" headlines and shit. Jesus Christ, they fuel on negativity.

All they're doing as well is just confirming for Nintendo that they made the right decision in going with Nintendo Directs and the new E3 plans in attempts to directly control their message even more. Yet these gaming sites don't seem to understand that. They couldn't just announce the plays. They had to zero in on the lack of a live show as if it really is a negative which it isn't.

 

[fredrancour]

Would people who don't care about Nintendo at all really be more likely to watch a stream of a press conference than a prerecorded show? I figured they'd be equally likely to skip both.

 

[Teknoman]

How about some E3 demos? Havent had "a taste of the future" since that one E3 with XBL demos like Lost Planet 1.

 

[Sandfox]

they need to fuel as much exposure, publicity and press as they can, and only E3 can give them that, Directs and SSB tournaments are not nearly enough

They're going to be at E3 and last year they had a conference just for the press.

I think it's safe to assume that the new announcements themselves won't be particularly strong (Now that Smash really is the christmas title and most of the Januray 13 Direct has still to come out over the next years) and certainly not strong enough to help their already bad image. The perception of the WiiU is as bad as ever and they certainly aren't helping themselves by being the awkward cheapskates compared to their competitors at the biggest event of their industry. Doing a normal E3 is the least they should do and the format also allows for much better hype building. Some Zelda orchestra in a prerecorded stream would be pretty fucking lame for example.

If you're expecting them tohave poor announcements then the conference wouldn't be well received or build any hype either way.

 

[1000 Branches]

Haha, amazing hype manufacturing. Go all in, Ninty!

 

[DrForester]

It's truly amazing how you can't criticize Nintendo on NeoGAF without 30 people jumping on you saying you are dumb.

I grew up with and love Nintendo. I'm going to call them out when they do something stupid.

MAINSTREAM media counts. Of course all of the gaming websites are going to cover what Nintendo is doing. What Nintendo needs is the regular news media of the world to cover them.

Having a small booth and an online stream that only Nintendo fans are going to care about isn't helping them any. They need a big presence and a statement where the mainstream news takes notice and talks about them in a positive light, not a footnote.

Didn't Nintendo have the largest booth last year?

 

[DJIzana]

Just bring on some new game announcements. Actual EPIC ones enough to break GAF

Spoiler

or my heart

and that's all I'll care about. If they're showing off games they showed at last years E3... then at least have some release dates to go with them. This applies to every other company out there too, please! =)

 

[Graphics Horse]

Didn't Nintendo have the largest booth last year?

Small booth compared to a giant theatre, I guess.

 

[HUELEN10]

Would people who don't care about Nintendo at all really be more likely to watch a stream of a press conference than a prerecorded show? I figured they'd be equally likely to skip both.

Maybe they're being smart. Having a ton of people buy their console (which makes them lose money according to that informed poster with the celebs avatar, don't remember his or her name) and not enough games would bleed to company. A smart thing to do is conservatively grow consoles sales, and ramp up software attach rates. At least, that is one thing they might be going for. Let's face it, it's Nintendo fans that watch stuff like directs.