Nintendo Direct@E3 2013

[weallmissedme1]

So I just went over to the old place and we came across the new Nintendo Direct video. It was FREAKING AWESOME. We were shrieking in excitement so loud the NEIGHBORS probably heard us. The first thing that made us whale was Super Mario 3D World. Expanding on the foundation of Super Mario 3D Land and adding HD graphics, this looks like a blast to play! And each character has their own abilities. Next was Mario Kart 8, which showcased anti gravity and stunning graphics. It also talked about the new online capabilities. This game launches spring of next year . Still amazing though. We also got a look at third party titles, which was awesome. Bayonetta 2 looked better and better. Another rad game that caught my eye was Mutant Mudds deluxe. As a RABID fan of the 3DS game, this is enough to excite me. We also got a look at Wii party, which was pretty cool. But the two best looking games were the best out there. First we got Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze. This game features a rotating dynamic camera, making the action look cooler. The graphics were also great, you can see strands of DK's fur. And DIXIE KONG IS BACK. [Explitive] YEAH MOTHER [Explitive]! Next we saw the new smash bros game. It looked amazing, and best of all, MEGA MAN HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE ROSTER!!!!!!!! I can't wait for all of these great games. All they need is a small price drop and Nintendo owns christmas this year!!!!! Nintendo deserves and applaud for delivering on Nintendo direct, can't wait to see the E3 conference. This and the awesome 3DS titles coming out gives Nintendo another breath of fresh air. Nintendo CLEARLY has a head start in this race.

[BanjoPickles1]

It's been awhile since I posted, though I've frequented the site for the always-excellent reviews. I just wanted to chime in here, for what I see as an ever-growing problem with the Nintendo faithful:

Though I am, by no means, intending on being critical of the OP's position, I must say that him/her and I must have watched a completely different E3/Nintendo Direct. What I saw today is the modern-day Nintendo at their absolute worst. Sequels and remakes, with nary a surprise in sight. I have always been a huge supporter of the Big N, but they seem to be playing things increasingly safe. With Microsoft, who would have seen a new Killer Instinct coming (well, apart from the recent revelation that they trademarked the name), or the big reveal of Kingdom Hearts III? Who would have guessed that Sony would have priced the PS4 at $400, just $50 above the current price of the higher-end Wii U? There was something about Sony's presentation that reminded me of why I used to love tuning in to watch Nintendo's presentation: the element of surprise!

For the first time in my life, I regret buying a Nintendo console. I bought my Wii U on launch and, aside from the freshness of the initial two weeks, it has largely collected dust. I watched as games were cancelled, delayed, moved to multiple platforms, etc. Why do I bring all of this up? Well, Nintendo briefly touched upon third party support during their presentation, and it seemed to me a desperate act of trying to convince people that third party titles are, in fact, still relevant. I started worrying weeks ago, upon the announcement that EA would severely scale back on Wii U development. The last time they pulled this was on the Dreamcast, and history showed how well that (excellent) system performed.

To me, it's a little depressing that all it takes is a new Mario, Zelda, or Smash Brothers to make a fanbase happy. Nintendo seems to be taking the latter-day Disney approach of mining their legacy rather than expanding upon it. While I have always loved Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and the like, I miss the times when Nintendo created wholly new experiences that didn't exclusively involve taking risks with the ways we control the games.

Anyway, that's my rant. With the exception of X, which was done by Monolith Soft, I didn't see anything that excited me.

[darkrage61]

agreed, say what you will about Microsoft's policies, but you can't say they didn't deliver on the games as promised during they're conference, the X-One exclusives can easily sell the console.  Nintendo on the other hand is looking like they're going to get left behind in third place, it's been almost a year since the Wii U launched and there's still not enough good looking games that really make me want to buy one, the games announced at the conference looked good, but none of them blew me away like Quantum Break, Dead Rising 3 or Sunset Overdrive did, Sony admittedly had some good looking games at their conference as well, nothing mind-shattering, but i'd definitely buy a PS4 before I bought a Wii U.

[Rev1]

I'm going to buy the Wii U for Smash and only for Smash. Everything else is just gravy. I still play more Super Smash Bros Brawl then any other game from the current (previous?) generation. Arg, looks so good. I was a little thrown off by the cell shading before. I wonder if the game will switch the style between different stages or something... Interesting.

[snakeboy1]

First of all, I will say that there were several games shown today that I will probably like quite a bit.  Super Mario 3D World looks terrific.  Can't wait for Mario Kart 8.  If the new DK Country game is as good as the one on Wii, I'll be all over it.  I'm also very interested in the next Wii Fit and the Art Academy game...

But I will agree with Banjo that it's a little disappointed that there really wasn't any unexpected surprises.  I wanted something totally unexpected and it didn't happen.  Oh well.

[Atarifever1]

Jim Sterling put it an A for Sony, C for Nintendo, and for being embarrassed in front of the whole world, an F for Microsoft.  I'd agree, but I think I'd put Nintendo around C- or D+.  I think it might be sad for me that I was more excited for the Animal Crossing Villager in Smash Bros. than for Megaman.  But come on!  He has pitfalls! 

Nintendo needed to surprise me, and they didn't.  However, a lot of people are missing the most important Nintendo conference: The Sony one.

Hear me out:

If Sony had said "$349, Nintendo would have to immediately price drop, A LOT.  If they had said $500, suddenly the Wii U is the only non-$500 next gen system, and that further confuses the customer, as they already don't understand the Wii U is an upgrade.  At $150 below either of the competitors, it becomes confusing trying to shake the perception with casual gamers that it isn't a new system.  $399 from Sony gives them room for price drops if they want, the lowest point, but a price close enough to Sony that now the One looks overpriced, while PS4 and Wii U look similarly priced.  Crisis one averted.

Nintendo is in trouble attracting third parties.  Imagine, if you will, a world where Sony did the Microsoft DRM thing.  Suddenly, not just low consoles sales would keep publishers off Wii U.  No, suddenly Nintendo is also the only company allowing for the hated ownership of your own game.  "Stamp them out" the publishers say "for they alone stand in our way!"  Now, however, publishers have only the XBone doing that, and they really, really can't afford to not release on the Sony system, budgets being what they are.  This means they have no more incentive to avoid Nintendo than Nintendo's sales deserve.  If Nintendo can pick up sales, third parties might as well support them, as they get esssentailly the same deal from Sony too.

Finally, Sony announced Sony now charges for online multiplayer.  I think, given what PS+ already offers, that is actually a good thing.  It's a good deal, and it means online players will pay for the infrastructure they use.  It's fair.  This leaves Nintendo with a small price advantage however that they can use to their advantage.  Their games are free to play online, so they don't have to compete on online services, which they aren't ready to do.  Having everyone else charging for the service gives them breathing room again to not have to fix it just yet, although they should, and could.  As an aside: Nintendo should do a Nintendo+ subscription.  if anyone ever should, it is them.  They could charge like $60 a year and just roll out the Nintendo developed back catalogue for NES, SNES, N64, and Gamecube for "free" overtime, and it would be the best value in gaming.  They should do it, like right now. 

So all in all, Sony did nothing to hurt Nintendo directly, and a few things that help them a little. That's actually the most important part of E3 for Nintendo.  Know what the mood was probably like at Nintendo after the Sony conference?  You know in movies about NASA how partway into the movie some technical difficulty comes up that might kill everyone on the shuttle or something?  Then they try to solve it back here, work through it, hold their breath, and then it actually works.  The bigger problems aren't over, but the immediate one is handled and they bought some time so the guys at mission control clap a bit, shake hands, and wipe their brows.  That was what it was like for Nintendo last night. They didn't win anything, but the problem of the moment was solved, and they might still land this thing safely. 

Mark my words, if Sony had said $500, with DRM and always online, Nintendo would have been in a lot of trouble.  So would Sony ($500 is still too much, but it would also have really confused the market for Nintendo) and the DRM stuff would have killed the Wii U with publishers.

[weallmissedme1]

Every new game in a Nintendo franchise feels fresh. Familiar, yet fresh. Nintendo games tend to make you enjoy the little things. Plus, it looks like Nintendo will be getting all of the best multiplatform games. And they have BEST exclusives. So if you're getting all of the greatest games that are on the other systems and amazing exclusives, what the hell are you whining about? You're just trying to jump on the bandwagon that says "Nintendos for casuals and kiddies har har har". It'll do fine. The PS4 and Wii U will have a close match. Xbone is going to Xbone the consumer and will most likely fail. It's going to do fine people. Remember when everyone said the same thing about the 3DS the first year or so? They ate their words.

[Segatarious1]

The funniest thing is Retro making a new DKCR - Wait what - we are waiting for this???? lol! I am shjocked it was not a FPS, I wanted a creative one!

But X looks awesome Monoloth has just replaced what ppl expected out of Retro. I will buy day one

Pikmin 3 looks great, finally coming out!

New Mario for WiiU looks great, 4 player simul, new powerups, return of SMB2 characters.

Mario Kart WiiU looked aces, really fantastic.

Dont care abnout Zelda remake, too much money for a game I own

Ducktales looks fantastic, this is max I pay for remake.

Wonderful 101 looks good, I will buy it used maybe

Luigi U is tempting, I want the retail version...

Smash Brothers - who cares?

Maybe get Wii Party, I wanted a Wii Sports Sequel - is that so wrong?

3DS - new Zelda looks fabulous, Yoshi Island looks very solid, Sonic lookd good but I would rather have it on WiiU....

Great show Nintendo! They have a ton of software coming out, I want to skip Skylanders and Disney Infinity too much money for those worlds...