270°

Nintendo’s E3 Plans Target The Wrong Audience Again

This morning, Nintendo announced its plans for E3 2014. Like last year, the company has decided not to hold a press conference. It’s doubling down on that approach this time, and won’t even hold a show floor briefing for media.

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gameinformer.com
ritsuka6663664d ago

Damage control of media already begun people.

LOL_WUT3664d ago

Nope, Nintendo is basically appealing to the core Nintendo fans I guess they didn't learn from last year. Failing to garner proper 3rd party support, CEO taking pay cuts and having to revise WiiU sales forecasts for the second time.

Let's be honest here people an E3 conference causes hype and live reactions that you won't get from an enclosed environment like a Nintendo Direct.

Guess they want to keep on being irrelevant. ;)

thehobbyist3664d ago

If they're so irrelevant. Then why did over 100,000 people in the US alone tune in to see the Smash Bros direct live? Answer that question.
And E3 isn't as good as what Nintendo is doing since let's be honest here. Is it better to only allow the press to play your early builds or everyone?
Because what is the handful of press members compared to the THOUSANDS of people who'll go to Best Buy to play the early build of Smash Bros? The answer is nothing.
The community that stands behind Smash Bros will generate a lot more hype when they can play it themselves than Jessica Chobot or Adam Sessler could ever hope to.

yellowgerbil3664d ago

@Hobby
If I was to go to twitch now and start a live feed of 2 puppy's wrestling it would get 100K people.

randomass1713664d ago

@thehobbyist I tuned into the YouTube version of the Smash stream and I remember that one exceeded a couple million viewers, actually. It was interesting to see the number fluctuate. :)

ritsuka6663664d ago (Edited 3664d ago )

I won't doubt Nintendo. Sure every company makes mistakes,but Nintendo is the greatest game company of all time and I believe they can make their gaming strategy successful whatever it is this year during E3 time.

wonderfulmonkeyman3664d ago

Yeah, because the online presentations are never covered with follow-up reports from the media, never watched by non fans, and never generate hype./s
Pull your head out of the media's bum, dude.

N4g_null3664d ago

I'm starting to see n4g is just a place where other websites funnel their bad journalist way Thur click bait. They will get more push back if more people see that they are lieing about what they are posting.

It also makes it easier for the media outfits that are not nintendo fans to get nintendo traffic. It really is sad how they all claim to have had a Nintendo console in the past but hate them now.

If that was the caSe then voice chat and video uploading are in this mariokart and they will be holding a tourney at the damn even for the game while we all get to go to best buy and play their games.

Now if you needed a salesman pitch and some skin shaders or particle effects or fish ai... then maybe you should go to siggraph. If that is all sony and ms have then they are dead to me this year. I want games that I want to play every day, not stories or demos of graphical stuff that is old news.

Also with what is announced they potentially have already won E3 in my eyes. Imagine the glitch fest ps4 and xbone games would be if we could play the alphas.

So what happens if they announced more games!

We know x is coming, smash, zelda, possibly unified accounts.

smoothdude3664d ago

I think that everyone can agree that Nintendo has always done things their way. Whether this has benefited them or not is up for debate, but lets all face it, gaming is all about the games. You buy Nintendo for Nintendo Games, Sony for Sony games, and Xbox for Xbox games.

I for one am super excited about Super Smash Brothers for Wii U, and rest assured I'll end up buying the game, however, if you prefer a different game then as one gamer to the next buy the games that you enjoy.

I do think that Nintendo is missing out by not having a presentation at E3, but obviously they have their reasons for not having one.

Shnazzyone3663d ago (Edited 3663d ago )

Expect Wii U in the number 1 rank when that MK8 bundle drops. You call nintendo out of touch... Nintendo is getting free advertising from the reactions on its nintendo direct. People call it silly... then what have they done? they watched it. It's ingenious really. I expect more silly stuff at e3 and I also see this as a nice turning point for Wii U. MK8 is like Halo level bundle. That is gonna sell like crazy. Wii U, MK8 free additional game, a special edition wiimote that will likely be going for 70 bucks on it's own.

Out of touch? Nintendo is suddenly on the mark.

WiiUsauce3663d ago

Right, they're irrelevant uet you can't stop clicking on Nintendo related articles to comment lol.

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 3663d ago
3-4-53664d ago

* How are we getting our XB1 & PS4 news ?

FROM websites on the internet, and people reporting it on the Internet !

How many people are actually going to be at E3 ?
- vs How many other people there are out there potentially buying games post E3.

This is literally a non issue.

Gamers both want more differences, yet complain when something is different.

Magicite3663d ago

say what you wanna say, but this time Nintendo must bring out all the big and small guns they have got. Core audience isn't enough, you must appeal to different types and layers now.

Retroman3663d ago (Edited 3663d ago )

and this why i have not bought wii U yet. how long you think zelda,mario,metroid, donky kong,smash bros. games will keep you busy???

Nintendo have boat load SNES titles they could re-establish on wii-U if not hope they will for Nintendo fusion console.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3663d ago
Ausbo3664d ago

Not having a conference is a big mistake. They should have learned from their bad 2013

-Foxtrot3664d ago

I think what people fail to realise is how much E3 has become more known over the years. Announcing something at E3 is better then announcing it on a Nintendo Direct.

You would have way more exposure on the stage, where you'll have an audience full of tons of different media teams live tweeting updates as soon as they have spoken on stage.

The majority of people watching these directs are already people who have a Wii U. Now that would be fine if you had a HUGE install base and you wern't really bothered about numbers but Nintendo are not in that position.

To not give the Wii U an E3 show, especially when you have Zelda which will most likely be announced is ridiculous. I feel like they aren't really trying with the Wii U to get the word out about it if they can't even be arsed to do a traditional E3 show, the one thing a year all eyes are on.

DryBoneKoopa853664d ago

@Foxtrot: Wouldn't it still be considered Nintendo fans only watching a Nintendo E3 press conference anyways?

It's not like the Sony or Microsoft camp are going to tune in and see what Nintendo games are coming out if they had no interest in Nintendo's home console in the first place. If you need evidence just look here on N4G. Not 1 Nintendo article makes it to the top banner for hottest trending news on the site.

I don't think there getting any less exposure by doing a direct/digital event. The same people would tune in for a Nintendo Direct that were going to watch a Nintendo E3 Press conference. Only difference is the press is not their to relay the news to the world first.

Its not like E3 is aired on national television and anyone can just click on the channel and watch.

You also act like if they were to show off Zelda U on stage its going to magically change peoples minds that keep saying Nintendo keeps rehashing the same games.

Lets be honest, the Media is p*** because their going to get less traffic to there sites for not breaking the news first. This is just a case of entitled "journalist" making a fuss over Nintendo cutting them out of the loop.

These are also all the same "Journalist" who keep reporting how Nintendo is DOOMED or How Nintendo is not in touch with their fans. No matter what Nintendo does their damned if you do and damned if you don't. It's been this way since 1985.

SilentNegotiator3664d ago

@DryBoneKoopa85

If the press isn't delivering the news, it doesn't reach as many people. Even if they don't typically become top news, we get a lot more articles about Nintendo's E3 announcements when they do a traditional press conference. When they do directs, we only get a few.

DryBoneKoopa853664d ago

@SilentNegotiator: I have to disagree because isn't it the same journalist that are aware that Nintendo are doing a Direct/Digital Event? They still get to report the very same news.

Also, who is it going to reach out to more? The casual audience? From what journalist and arm chair journalist keep saying is that market has moved on. Nintendo can't rely on that market.

You think our parents are going to go and find a Nintendo E3 press conference to watch? No they could care less. The only people Nintendo is reaching out to these days are gamers. That's it! There is no secret audience out there that is watching E3.

The Media can still do their jobs and report on additional information like inside stuff with the developers on what made them choose the things they chose for such and such tittle's.

I find it funny how everyone says Nintendo is stuck in the 90's but yet their getting flamed for doing something new and different. I think its time to move on and accept the fact you don't NEED E3 anymore to get some giant gaming news. You can now say everything you need to say in this day and age right from the comfort of your own home/office.

randomass1713664d ago

The thing is all the big news outlets will report on both the Direct and the conventional E3 stage shows. Besides, Nintendo's presence on the show floor will still be there. I don't think it's about the information reaching people. It will get out there for those who read game news sites no matter what. And as I've said before, with a digital event and a Smash tournament and other things one their plate, I honestly don't see how you could fit it all into a single hour anyway. They could do both, everyone's right about that. But I don't think it will matter significantly in the long term.

N4g_null3664d ago

Dry bones is right. Yet i already went to gdc and a few other events. I'll go to best buy just to see if best buy is using this opportunity.

The gaming press might actually be the reason why gaming is stagnant. They are causing more wars than joy. It's time sony does what nintendo is doing or risk getting just out spent by Microsoft. Imagine if ms went all in and brought porn stars on stage lol to play their games. What if they actually shot part of their game at E3 with a red camera... then put it into a game live. None of that would be real gaming but it would be easier for none gamers to write about it.

The question now is which media outlets have real gamers in them? It's starting to seem like we got a lot of casual gamers making our news. Some games are not even reviewed because they can't be beaten.

Mine craft was big without the need for online gaming media.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 3664d ago
gaffyh3664d ago

Who is disagreeing?? Disagreeing doesn't make it not true fanboys!

Nevers0ft3664d ago

I am... They moved the presentation from a live one to an online one, that's all (will you be present at E3 or watching the presentations online, like the overwhelming majority of us?) On top of that they're hiring the hall next door for a Smash Bros competition, having the usual E3 show floor presence AND touring best Buy with demo units. I'd argue that they're doing *more* for E3 than the other console manufacturers (as far as we know).

And I know I'm going to be accused of "fanboyism" or damage control but, does me owning a PS4 as well help mitigate that?

I'm not saying the Nintendo approach is better, but it works... As demonstrated by the omnipresence of articles regarding today's MK8 Nintendo Direct - it's not exactly gone unnoticed by the gaming media!

thehobbyist3664d ago

It does when the "truth" is subject to opinion itself. Making it not even eligible to be truth in the first place.

gaffyh3664d ago (Edited 3664d ago )

@Nevers0ft - Your logic is flawed. Ausbo is correct for so many reasons:

1. Last year's "Nintendo Direct" at E3 was terrible!
2. The fact that the other conferences are live means there is instant accountability, meaning the companies have to do their best or they will be slated at the conference itself. Which means you have better announcements when it is live! PROOF: MS $499 XB1, PS4 $399
3. Mainstream press are at E3, from all over the world. If you don't show up to it, all the focus is on your competitors. Even if people think the media is being biased, Nintendo need good press. Doing a non-live show is not the way to go about it.
4. Live shows also mean that we can see things running, and most of the time you can tell whether it is a video or a real gameplay demo. Which means third parties as well as first parties have to make sure their games are presentable. In a non-live environment, EVERYTHING is bullshots.
5. Nintendo Direct PREACHES TO THE CHOIR! Nintendo fans will watch it, and hardly anyone else.

"As demonstrated by the omnipresence of articles regarding today's MK8 Nintendo Direct - it's not exactly gone unnoticed by the gaming media!" - WHERE??? I can't see anything about this on N4G. It proves that these announcements just get overtaken because there is no hype.

I want Nintendo to do well, which is why they need to have a live conference at E3 and bring it. The stage should be used to announce massive games like Zelda, but everyone making excuses for them is not going to help them at all!

Nevers0ft3664d ago

gaffyh... Year after year we see memes of retarded stuff happening at live events. We see cringe-worthy presentations and outright bullshots presented as in-game footage. I agree that last years E3 presentation wasn't great, but that doesn't mean the whole concept is flawed. The Nintendo Direct has taken quite a "weird" and quirky turn as well recently so hopefully this years presentation(s) won't be quite as painful.

As for today's MK8 direct being all over the gaming press... It is, go look :)

I'm not making excuses, I really don't see Nintendo making the presentation a pre-recorded online one as being that big of a deal :/

randomass1713664d ago

I don't know, a more controlled environment, especially when Nintendo is showing unfinished games, will lead to less incidents like when Miyamoto tried to demo Skyward Sword. That actually had my friends believing Skyward Sword would be as broken as it looked in the demo. Online presentations like the Nintendo Directs are more effective to showcase new game information, I think. Having both would be nice, but I'm honestly happy to just get the direct. I keep myself up to date with all things gaming, so the news will reach me no matter what.

N4g_null3664d ago

Gaffyh have you ever bought a car just by looking at a press conference? What about a house?

Did watch dogs and battlefield 4 not teach you a damn thing? Why aren't sony and ms at best buy letting real people play their games in uncontrolled environments? Remember all of that power that never showed up in game on the ps3? Remember all the games demoed on pcs with ps3 and Xbox controllers. Do you even know what a host controller terminal is?

Yet you stand by these flawed ways of accountability when they haven't stopped gamers from supporting and wasting gamers money.

The media was suppose to spread new not make up their own. The headline is the wiiu an add on comes to mind. This was even tweeted during the conference. All Media ran with it and funnel that Message.

This potential has hurt gaming. The ps4 and xbone are collecting dust and the very games that spearhead those systems where empty hype of horribly broken or worst yet possible on lesser systems which asks, what is the point of being barely better if no games can use it.

micx3664d ago

If you're not going to E3 personaly, it's same. You'll watch a livestream either way.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 3664d ago
lilbroRx3664d ago (Edited 3664d ago )

No having a conference that targets media outlets who have shown nothing but disdain for Nintendo while attacking them over anything they can find, and instead targeting customers and fans directly is a big mistake?

I'll have to disagree.

The media is full of biased fanboys who have grown entitled from all of the press privelegaes and the belief that they have some kind of power in the gaming world. Nintendo is showing them that they don't have power over them.

SilentNegotiator3664d ago (Edited 3664d ago )

I didn't know that people could have VICARIOUS grandeur delusions.

Nintendo has been criticized for making so many bad moves in the last couple years. They're hardly unique in that regard. We get the doom articles from what the media considers to be doing the worst, no matter what manufacturer.

There's no conspiracy against Nintendo.

Ilovetheps53664d ago

And thankfully, we won't have to sit through the financial portions of the E3 presentation. Do people really enjoy hearing the financial portion for the first 20 minutes of a presentation? I know I don't. That's why I appreciate the way Nintendo does it. It's one piece of information after another. It's made for the gamers, not the investors. The investor portion is separate.

SpiralTear3664d ago (Edited 3664d ago )

@SilentNegotiator

"We get the doom articles from what the media considers to be doing the worst, no matter what manufacturer."

We get doom articles from everyone everywhere. The current trifecta of doom bait is Wii U, Xbox One, and Vita. You cannot tell me that all three of those are doing "the worst." If something's not first place, that doesn't mean it's doing "the worst."

Also, it has nothing to do with "who's doing the worst" because the people who write these doom articles don't understand the whole situation. You cannot tell me that every single doom article about Nintendo has been right just because Nintendo's not the frontrunner. If you read any of those articles, you'd understand that.

Ol_G3664d ago

I think this is the main reason Nintendo is doing this
The western media are on a mission to destroy Nintendo it seems
and articles like these are just proving their point
They can't do anything right with these people so why try at all just do your own thing

randomass1713664d ago

@SilentNegotiator I don't think anyone disagrees Nintendo has made mistakes, but I've seen more than a few lies and exaggerations thrown Nintendo's way as a result. And lot of it is for attention. Wii U was widely believed to be weaker than the Xbox 360 for a time for goodness sake. Lies against a struggling product are lies regardless.

SilentNegotiator3664d ago (Edited 3664d ago )

" We get doom articles from everyone everywhere. The current trifecta of doom bait is Wii U, Xbox One, and Vita. You cannot tell me that all three of those are doing "the worst." If something's not first place, that doesn't mean it's doing "the worst." "

It's all about perception. Vita IS doing the worst, no question. Wii U is selling the slowest of the three consoles and Xbone has sold the least amount of units so far and are slowing production because they flooded the market like MS always seems to do (like when there were millions of Surfaces sitting on store shelves and stock rooms).

Journalists are going to come to conclusions from those facts, including "conclusions" that get hits. But again, Nintendo is far from unique in that regard; there is no conspiracy that certain fanboys are trying to argue exists against Nintendo.

@randomass171
You've missed my point. It has nothing to do with lies being acceptable. It's about the silly idea that what Nintendo is going through is unique in terms of conditions. Fanboys are trying to make it out as a conspiracy and it is not.

Dunban673664d ago

Do people here not realize that both MSFT and Sony Press conferences are streamed live too? They are doing both- giving a live presentation and giving the rest of the world a chance to watch it via live stream-
Ill bet anyone there will be higher web traffic watching MSFT and Sony presentations than watching the Nintendo direct

Why can t Nintendo do both? What are they hiding from besides the competion

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 3664d ago
truechainz3664d ago (Edited 3664d ago )

What do you mean the conference clearly is irrelevant seeing as how they had consecutive E3 live conferences to unveil the Wii U and it didn't help sales so everyone acting like a conference is going to help them doesn't really have any reason to believe that. All that matters is the content. E3 is going to do Nintendo's marketing for them regardless of if they do it live or through a stream so this topic is really pointless to discuss.

micx3664d ago

Depends on how you see it.

Knushwood Butt3664d ago

Maybe they are remembering their 2008 effort!

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 3664d ago
NYC_Gamer3664d ago

I hope Nintendo will learn from all these mistakes and come back stronger on the next release of consoles

SpiralTear3664d ago

I don't really consider this one a "mistake" personally, but I'll agree with your over-arching message. It would be really cool to see a stronger, more improved console from Nintendo next time. I can't argue against that.

josephayal3664d ago

Nintendo is making a ton of mistakes

BattleN3664d ago

There improving hell there giving me a free game with Mario Kart 8 purchase and Reggie actually kill someone in the Mega 64 video small but I like it!

Knightshade3664d ago

I was at the show floor pre-e3 thing they did last year. Let's be honest, it wasn't all that fantastic. We got access to the games they had on the floor about an hour before everyone else. I think they have the right idea - they are targeting the people who buy their games, not the press who cover them. We'll still get our coverage, it just won't be "liveblogged" from the event. Lame.

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80°

Game Developers Have Begun Confirming Nintendo Switch 2 Support

Game developers have already started to confirm that they will support the Nintendo Switch 2 with their future titles.

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twistedvoxel.com
80°

How Many More Victims, Like Garry's Mod, Will Nintendo's Hurtful Crusade Create?

Hanzala from eXputer: "As Nintendo takes out 20 years' worth of stuff from Garry's Mod, I watch in shock, thinking why it continues to hurt and discourage its fans."

RiseNShine7d ago (Edited 7d ago )

The irony that some of the most disgusting business practices come from companies like Disney or Nintendo, i can't even begin to understand what terrible damage was Garrys Mod making to Nintendo bottom line, imho they're getting pretty nervous about where they're heading in the future, handhelds are no longer something exclusive to Nintendo, from Steam Deck to many others, now you can play the latest games and pay a fraction of the price on Steam sales, so it's up to their exclusives, which just on their own would make hard to justify purchasing a closed overpriced hardware with outrageous price policies (Super Mario Odyssey is still 60 euro 6 years later!), and as a home console they're always underperforming compared to Sony or Xbox.

gold_drake7d ago (Edited 7d ago )

i cam guarantee you, that their exclusives alone is what drives switch sales. they sell in the 10s of millions of copies.

nintendo created their franchises to be sort of nostalgia driven, exclusive only on nintendo.

people will always buy the pkmn games as they always bring in new younger fans amd is family friendly

mario kart, the same thing, mario games in general.

zelda games are system sellers. animal crossing for the casual gamers.

nintendo doesnt need third vame devs essentially. they made sure with the switch and the limitations that they looked more to pc ps and xbox.

its sad, but nintendo is more than fine with what they're doing. they positioned themselves to appeal to the more casual gamers.

but to your point, im not sure why they're doing this rly.

Inverno7d ago

Look at how they handled Nintendo games being streamed or uploaded on YouTube in the past. They killed Yuzu and Citra even when they had nothing to do with ToTK being leaked, not to mention it was basically unplayable on emulation the week it was leaked. Smash Bros tournament, that was fairly recent. They shut down their online services without any care for purchases made. I bought a switch after skipping their last 2 consoles and handhelds but I don't plan on buying anything Nintendo in the future. They take things to the extremes, they legitimately hate their fans. They're honestly right up there with the likes of Acti, EA, and Ubi, only difference is that they disguise themselves as being family friendly all the while being shady.

80°

Nintendo's Massacre Of The 3DS And Wii U Is Finally Complete, Regrettably

Hanzala from eXputer: "The cruel hammer of Nintendo has fallen. Farewell, 3DS and Wii U, you surely brightened my life and many others; you won't be forgotten."