E3 is in full swing, and while most people I know were excited for the Xbox and Sony conferences, I waited with anticipation for the Nintendo Direct. I wouldn't call myself a die-hard Nintendo fan, but the types of games I tend to enjoy usually come from them or their consoles. With current rumors and recent teases, I was majorly looking forward to their E3 Direct and finding out just what great things may be coming to us soon. In the end, I was left let down. I joined the Constantly Calibrating crew to do live coverage of the event, which you can watch here if you are so inclined. More of a reader? I gotchu.
The Nintendo Direct Format
While every other major player (no pun intended, but also I'm not sorry) at E3 holds a live event filled with music performances, celebrity appearances, off-the-rails presenters, and in-person screaming fans, Nintendo takes a different approach. Since 2013 they have opted not to hold a live event and instead deliver a pre-recorded presentation that is focused and speaks directly to gamers more than appealing to shareholders. This approach removes a lot of the energy the other companies are able to capitalize on, it makes the news more accessible to those who cannot attend the event while also delivering it in a much more digestible way.
I love me some E3 conferences but holy hell you guys, I do not need to sit through 90 minutes plus of your presentation each. Nintendo's "here's 20 minutes of everything followed by 20 minutes dedicated to our big title of the year" format fits well with their marketing methodology and removes most of the fluff the rest of the conferences have in favor of just...showing you the games. The other conferences are built as much, if not more, for shareholders as they are gamers. The result is the flashy and filler-laden shows we've come to accept as normal that take 3 times as long to deliver the same amount (or less) of information.
Nintendo also has established a wonderful habit of not typically showing you games they can't deliver in the next year. There are exceptions of course, but the overwhelming majority of what they showcase at E3 (and really, any Nintendo Direct) are things that are coming in the next few months. Nothing shown at this Direct has a release date further away than 9 months. How many titles have we seen at other E3 conferences that are next year at best? How long have we been seeing teasers and trailers for other games that are finally upon us? I'm not going to pretend this phenomenon is limited just to games (hey movies, I'm looking at you), but just because it's normal doesn't mean it should be normalized. I will also not pretend that the frequency of Nintendo Directs doesn't have anything to do with it; it's a lot easier to generate hype for an upcoming title with a more timely release of information on it when you have a direct presentation to your audience multiple times a year.
I love me some E3 conferences but holy hell you guys, I do not need to sit through 90 minutes plus of your presentation each. Nintendo's "here's 20 minutes of everything followed by 20 minutes dedicated to our big title of the year" format fits well with their marketing methodology and removes most of the fluff the rest of the conferences have in favor of just...showing you the games. The other conferences are built as much, if not more, for shareholders as they are gamers. The result is the flashy and filler-laden shows we've come to accept as normal that take 3 times as long to deliver the same amount (or less) of information.
Nintendo also has established a wonderful habit of not typically showing you games they can't deliver in the next year. There are exceptions of course, but the overwhelming majority of what they showcase at E3 (and really, any Nintendo Direct) are things that are coming in the next few months. Nothing shown at this Direct has a release date further away than 9 months. How many titles have we seen at other E3 conferences that are next year at best? How long have we been seeing teasers and trailers for other games that are finally upon us? I'm not going to pretend this phenomenon is limited just to games (hey movies, I'm looking at you), but just because it's normal doesn't mean it should be normalized. I will also not pretend that the frequency of Nintendo Directs doesn't have anything to do with it; it's a lot easier to generate hype for an upcoming title with a more timely release of information on it when you have a direct presentation to your audience multiple times a year.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
The focus of this year's E3 Direct was the new Super Smash Bros., which was a slightly surprising move. We all knew a new SSB was on its way thanks to a Direct in March of this year, so we expected some news on it. Choosing that to be the focus game, however, was strange. Smash is a solid franchise, consistently played at slumber parties and tournaments alike with no signs of slowing down. It has a dedicated fanbase, and a new installment was greatly anticipated. It is, however, a technical and limited-interest game at its core. A new Smash is not likely to attract a new audience, simply excite an old one.
While billed as a new game, what we've seen would classify it as a remix at best. It is bringing back every character that has ever been in a SSB title, and likely most (if not all) of the previous stages. It was even said during the Direct that they hope we don't expect to see a lot of new characters because their goal was to bring back all the old ones. Sure, everything has a new layer of polish and it's not completely devoid of new faces (helloooooo Ridley), but for all it's prettier graphics and new match-ups it frankly isn't really a new game.
Don't misunderstand me, I'm glad there's another SSB title coming and I look forward to kicking serious butt in it, but for an event with as large of a presence as E3 choosing to spend the majority of your time talking about a title that caters to long-time fans without presenting anything new to draw in a new audience is an odd choice. That said...what else would they have shown us?
While billed as a new game, what we've seen would classify it as a remix at best. It is bringing back every character that has ever been in a SSB title, and likely most (if not all) of the previous stages. It was even said during the Direct that they hope we don't expect to see a lot of new characters because their goal was to bring back all the old ones. Sure, everything has a new layer of polish and it's not completely devoid of new faces (helloooooo Ridley), but for all it's prettier graphics and new match-ups it frankly isn't really a new game.
Don't misunderstand me, I'm glad there's another SSB title coming and I look forward to kicking serious butt in it, but for an event with as large of a presence as E3 choosing to spend the majority of your time talking about a title that caters to long-time fans without presenting anything new to draw in a new audience is an odd choice. That said...what else would they have shown us?
Everything Else
The first half of the Direct showed us a montage of a slew of games that are all coming to the Switch, which at first sounds great. Lots of new titles, all coming in the next few weeks/months, perfect! The Switch desperately needs to expand its catalog, so it's a shame that the majority of the titles it announced are just ports from other platforms (and even one from their own). The incredibly small number of new and first party titles is disappointing, and a bad omen for the future of the Switch. It is a great console, but over a year and two E3's later we should not still be hungry for titles (and even just news on coming titles).
It isn't surprising we didn't see any news on Metroid Prime 4. Disappointing, but not surprising. Simply seeing a title card last year did not instill any confidence there'd be more to show this year, but a girl can dream. This seems to be following the Breath of the Wild pattern, which would hopefully mean next year is a giant MP4 party. Also in the disappointing-but-not-surprising category? Pikmin 4 and a new Animal Crossing. The rumor mills have been hard at work on those two for a while (with Pikmin 4 initially being mentioned by Miyamoto way back in July 2015), but with no official word on them there was no real reason to think they'd suddenly drop those titles on us.
What was surprising was the lack of Yoshi. Last year we saw a solid chunk of gameplay for a new Yoshi title, and normal practice would say that amount of gameplay should have led to a showcasing this year with a release date of either 2018 or early 2019. Instead? Nothing. Nadda. Not even a whisper. A break from convention is worrisome for the status of that game, which is a shame because it looked heckin adorable.
It isn't surprising we didn't see any news on Metroid Prime 4. Disappointing, but not surprising. Simply seeing a title card last year did not instill any confidence there'd be more to show this year, but a girl can dream. This seems to be following the Breath of the Wild pattern, which would hopefully mean next year is a giant MP4 party. Also in the disappointing-but-not-surprising category? Pikmin 4 and a new Animal Crossing. The rumor mills have been hard at work on those two for a while (with Pikmin 4 initially being mentioned by Miyamoto way back in July 2015), but with no official word on them there was no real reason to think they'd suddenly drop those titles on us.
What was surprising was the lack of Yoshi. Last year we saw a solid chunk of gameplay for a new Yoshi title, and normal practice would say that amount of gameplay should have led to a showcasing this year with a release date of either 2018 or early 2019. Instead? Nothing. Nadda. Not even a whisper. A break from convention is worrisome for the status of that game, which is a shame because it looked heckin adorable.
It wasn't all old or bad news, though. In the "totally a surprise" corner we have Daemon X Machina, an anime-esque mech combat game full of explosions. Nothing beyond a 2019 release date and "things blow up" is known about this title for now, but at least it's something brand new. In "new but not out of the ordinary" news we have a new mainline Fire Emblem game coming, as well as a new Mario Party that gets rid of that dumb "everyone's in this together" car from the last one. Pokemon Let's Go Eevee/Pikachu were able to get a bit of love, along with DLC for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and a fresh demo for Octopath Traveler. Overcooked 2 was announced for the first time here as well, though if it only releases on Switch I will eat my sock.
Final Thoughts
This E3 seems to drive home a point I have long tried to make about Nintendo. They still haven't learned the right lessons from their missteps in the Wii era, and they're still trying to figure out how to chase down and woo what is today's modern gamer while reattracting their old audience. The result is that we aren't seeing any real first party titles and aren't seeing good utilization of the functionality they built into the Switch. Being able to take old favorites on the go is not enough of a selling point to expand their market share.
Nintendo has recognized they have lost their edge and are trying to find it, and it's obvious they are looking to what has been successful for other game houses. That's why we're getting ports of already successful titles that would never have been found in the Nintendo library before and getting games that follow closely in the footsteps of other successes that go outside of their typical formats. My favorite example: Breath of the Wild, a game that is the result of Nintendo recognizing something as being popular and sacrificing their formula in favor of following that one. BotW was a good game, but it wasn't a good Zelda game, and I will fight that point to the death.
The unintentional upside to the Switch's still limited library is that it provides a fantastic opportunity for indie developers. A smaller catalog means more people who are casually browsing for new things to play are more likely to see your game than they will on other currently available platforms (especially Steam). I certainly hope this doesn't remain the case, for the sake of the system, but for now I am glad any indie's who are able to put the effort in to creating a Switch version of their game will get more visibility.
I am looking forward to the new Mario Party and to SSBU, but as a hold out who has yet to buy a Switch I am finding little motivation to go out and purchase one just yet.
Nintendo has recognized they have lost their edge and are trying to find it, and it's obvious they are looking to what has been successful for other game houses. That's why we're getting ports of already successful titles that would never have been found in the Nintendo library before and getting games that follow closely in the footsteps of other successes that go outside of their typical formats. My favorite example: Breath of the Wild, a game that is the result of Nintendo recognizing something as being popular and sacrificing their formula in favor of following that one. BotW was a good game, but it wasn't a good Zelda game, and I will fight that point to the death.
The unintentional upside to the Switch's still limited library is that it provides a fantastic opportunity for indie developers. A smaller catalog means more people who are casually browsing for new things to play are more likely to see your game than they will on other currently available platforms (especially Steam). I certainly hope this doesn't remain the case, for the sake of the system, but for now I am glad any indie's who are able to put the effort in to creating a Switch version of their game will get more visibility.
I am looking forward to the new Mario Party and to SSBU, but as a hold out who has yet to buy a Switch I am finding little motivation to go out and purchase one just yet.
RSS Feed