Nintendo's E3 was a fail. What would you have done instead?

Put yourself in Iwata's shoes. So all the same circumstances apply. Wii U is failing in sales, you have the whole NX/mobile thing announced, etc.

So what would your ideal set of announcements be given the circumstance.The NX will be announced in 2016, so you need to also consider development for that system too (i.e save some big games to be announced for that).

Personally, I think Nintendo should have taken advantage of DLC and HD remakes. This would be easier on development and still gives the fans something to be happy about. So here it goes:

• Open with Star Fox Zero. And make a big deal that Platinum Games is developing it. This is a big deal, and stating this would've generated some hype. I found this omission to be very odd.
• Talk about Splatoon. This is a successful new IP. Show off new DLC and keep the hype going for the game.
• Instead of have a Smash specific Direct, this could've been condensed into a shorter segment in the Digital Event. This would've made it more eventful. Seeing Ryu officially announced would've kept the hype going.
• Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash. This game looked bad in the context of a bad presentation. It's a fine game as filler. and I'm sure it'll be fun.
• Mario Kart 8 DLC pack 3. Everyone loves pack 1 and 2, and if you're running low on content for the Wii U, then this should be a nice quick & easy content filler.
• Super Mario Maker. Be quick about this. We don't need that much more information about it.
• Fire Emblem Fates: Do exactly what you did.
• Fire Emblem x Shin Megami: Do exactly what you did.
• Space Marines/Ball Blast. Announce this game but don't put the Metroid name on it. People wanted a Metroid game, and Nintendo knows that. Announcing a spin-off is just a slap in the face.
• Announce Xenoblade Chronicles X release date. Be quick about it.
• Show off Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water.
• Announce Yoshi's Woolly World release date. Be quick about it.
• Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival. Yes, this game didn't go down well. But that's because of HOW it was announced, as well as the general lackluster presentation surrounding it. Announce this game, but show a board game first, not a Wii U looking Animal Crossing game.
• Yokai Watch. Do exactly what you did.
• Show off Devil's Third.
• Show off Project Treasure.
• Pikmin 3 new DLC pack. They've done this before. I think it would be nice to fill out some content.
• Announce Mario Paper Jam.
• Announce Earth Bound Beginning here. This would've generated a lot of hype. And would've went down a lot better than randomly announcing it at the NWC. They're spreading themselves too thin by announcing things at the NWC or Smash Direct. They don't have much content as it is, so bundle it all up to make it more impactful.
• Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 HD Collection. This would've been a pretty awesome announcement.
• Announce Zelda Hyrule Warriors Legends.
• Triforce Heroes. This looks like a genuinely fun title.
• The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD. I personally don't care that much about this, but I have no doubt that this would've made a lot of people happy. People know that their next big console Zelda game is not being talked about, so instead, give us an older big console Zelda title with a new lick of paint. We also have the spin-off title out of the way (Triforce Heroes), so following up with Zelda TP HD would ensure climactic hype.

What do you think? Would this have gone down well? I know it's not ideal, but given the current circumstance, I think this would've been the best course of action.

What would you have done different?

I would have done it all the same except not do the digital event at all. I would just do the Smash Event, Nintendo World Championships, and then would have done the Nintendo Tree House Club and exposed all the games to the fans. Nintendo was smart by not doing a conference, but they should have skipped their digital event also, people at E3 dont really like that stuff it seems, they want all games and no talking, no developer back stories, no comedy skits, they just want plain ol games. So i would give them just that.

They should have shown some more Zelda at least. A new 3d mario would have been nice but not on the scale of a galaxy, that of course is waiting for the NX. Oh and they should have shown devils third.

I disagree with your HD update recommendations this would not help anything and people wouldnt care.

OP I don't really agree with your solutions, and I doubt they would have made the event go over much better. To be honest, it doesn't sound very much different than what happened.

@juboner: @Ovirew: Surely a Galaxy 1 & 2 HD collection would get people buzzing though? Maybe not I guess.

I would've never even done a digital event since Nintendo seems keen on killing the Wii U and holding out for the NX.
They kicked every Wii U owner in the nuts, basically.

• Open with Star Fox Zero and highlight the fact that Platinum Games is working on it.
• Have an indie sizzle reel with all upcoming indie games coming to the platform, omit Fast Racing Neo from the reel.
• Present the trailer for Fast Racing Neo
• Announce Call of Duty: Black Ops III
• Quickly go over the Mario Maker and present the boxed version
• Announce Hyrule Warriors Legends
• Announce Gamecube games for the eShop for $15USD each - starting with Mario Sunshine, Twilight Princess, Super Smash Brothers Melee, and Eternal Darkness
• Talk about unified accounts and the successor to Club Nintendo
• Quickly talk about Mario Tennis
• Present Fire Emblem Fates
• Show the SMT X FE trailer, but in english(or at least subtitles)
• Show a trailer and the release date for Wooly World
• Show a trailer and the release date for Xenoblade
• Show a new trailer and release date for Devil's Third
• Show Yokai Watch
• Show a new, AAA project for the Wii U
• Show a new trailer for Zelda Wii U

Some crossover with yours.

BAH...doesn't matter. We got what we got. An interim E3 because everything good they're working on they cannot show. Namely the NX and it's launch titles and games.

@YearoftheSnake5: Forgot about the indies. Yeah they should've high-lighted those. I mean, they even got a sale on with a lot of indie games. They could've had that in the conference too.

Announce NX and show prototypes of the controller. Announce a 2016 launch window. This alone wins E3.

Not to mention Indie developers are among Nintendo's biggest supporters at the moment. With all AAA 3rd party support having abandoned the platform, it would have been a good gesture toward those who continue to bring their games to Wii U.

What´s done is done and nothing is going to change that, Nintendo brass doesn´t visit places like Gamespot to "check the pulse" of it´s customer base.

sunshine > galaxy

(side note: does anyone else think Fire Emblem x Shin Megami looks like garbage?)

@l0rd_magikarp: I don't really know what to think of it. It looks like a pretty game, but I don't 'get' it.

Easy question to answer. Show new footage of Zelda. Even if it was a simple 30 second video. Something to excite current Wii U owners and those thinking about purchasing a Wii U. If Zelda was shown, there'd be far less negativity from the fan base. Nintendo and companies making games for the Wii U should not have made comments about the next console. Especially the fact Metroid will not be on the Wii U. If a Zelda video was shown for the Wii U, I believe Nintendo fans would be quite happy right now. I know I would be.

Just looks so odd to me, and fire emblem always seems to be shafted... They need to do a story line trailer of some sorts, every time they show a trailer I feel like I dont know what it is until the end...

I really don´t understand why Zelda is mentioned over and over again, pardon me but for me anything Zelda/Pokemon related is an immediate turn down when it comes to Nintendo, on the other hand, Yoshi´s Wooly World trailer looks just awesome.

@raugutcon: Zelda is mentioned over and over again because it is one of the big reasons to buy a Nintendo console. If it wasn't for Zelda, Mario and Metroid, I'd probably have no interests in Nintendo. I grew up playing those games. Many of the kid games, type I play w/ my children, can be found on other systems. Sure, I would've missed out on Hyrule Warriors, Mario Kart 8, Super Mario 3D, etc...., but those are not the games that definitively sell Nintendo. It all comes down to Zelda, Mario and Metroid. This is why people keep on mentioning Zelda.

Based on the knowledge of bad Wii U sales, a few things come to mind such as a Super Mario compilation for the 30th, possibly some DLC for older franchises like Pikmin or Captain Toad, how about something where people can get hard to find amiibo directly from Nintendo, news on what's going to happen with the transformation of Club Nintendo, etc..,

Do you mean the show or the course of the company?

I mean they had nothing to work with, everything they showed was lackluster.

I would go back and push the NX more and retire the Wii U.

Keeping the worst console ever in the company's history hurt Nintendo badly. The 3DS is hurting too but they're stuck there.

This should have been all about the 3DS and the NX, no Wii U at all. That cancer doesn't need to be brought up.

The answer for Nintendo has always been painfully simple. Games. Show games. Show AAA games. The 3DS had the exact same problem as the Wii U, then Nintendo started releasing game after game after game. The 3DS, coupled with a well timed price drop, sold, and continues to sell.

The ideal press conference would be like this:

1. Open with Starfox.

2. Montage of 2015 Wii U titles.

3. Go through the 3DS announcements.

4. Megaton, new 3D Mario.

5. Zelda Trailer.

6. Fake end conference....

7. Bam, Metroid Trailer - 2016.

The Wii U lives.

@sonic_spark: To be fair the 3DS goes thru droughts also. Of course its a lot cheaper to produce games for, but even still, they only get like 1 game each month. From what i can see, Wii U has a better lineup than 3DS for 2015 in my opinion.

I was perplexed by why they didn't show off fatal frame during the DE.

People were sayings it's because it's not kid friendly and they're Nintendo so that's why... makes sense I guess.

However, they might have to consider changing their image a bit if they wanna be more competitive. I feel like they've been becoming more and more kid focused the last 2 gens and they're isolating more and more gamers that don't fit this market by doing so.

Yeah I gotta say, it just might have been a better idea to go all the way and just talk about the NX and their plans with DeNa on the mobile front. Either way Wii-U owners are gonna feel shafted, but you might as well shaft them all of the way to prove that you've got a future planned for your company.

It also has to do with it not being a good seller. Fatal Frame has a very small cult following, all the games sell like garbage. Check out all the publishers who have tried to help this franchise out.

Tecmo

Wanadoo

Microsoft Game Studios

Ubisoft

Take-Two Interactive

Nintendo

I think its actually the complete opposite, Nintendo makes more competitive games now then ever. The online competitive games they got are epic and bout unmatched in this industry.

Wait, when did we start talking about competitive gaming? I was talking about fatal frame and their child friendly image.

Btw epic online gaming has been apart of this industry for well over a decade. Nintendo is just NOW starting to catch up to it with a few of their franchises but they still have a waaaaaays to go when it comes to online features and functionality, both key aspects of facilitating online competitive communities.

@kenakuma: My bad, i miss read your comment, i thought you stated Nintendo should do more competitive games instead of kid games. Also, Nintendo doesnt really make kids games, this is a myth, you show me the kids who rock Donkey Kong, that game is one of the hardest games ever. Zelda is no kids game, Mario sure as heck aint no kids game, you have to read to much in them. Fire Emblem?, hells no, kids dont have time for that. People just think Nintendo are for kids, they been thinking this since N64, its one of Nintendos downfalls, cause parents listen to these people who have no clue about the games so they end up buying games that their kids cant play.

I was talking about Mario Kart 8 is the most competitive online racing game.

Smash Bros is the most competitive online fighting games.

Splatoon is one of the most competitive online shooter games.

Doesn't matter that adults play Nintendo games or how "difficult" the games are. Nintendo heavily markets the majority of their products to kids when compared to the competition. Clearly kids are a major target audience for them and therefore, a big part of their image.

And as someone who's been playing fighting games heavily most of my life (including being an avid SF4 player to this day since it's release) I would definitely contend that Smash is NOT the most competitive fighting game being played on and offline. Heck, most people would argue that it isn't even a fighting game to begin with. However, that's a whole other conversation.

"Smash Bros is the most competitive online fighting games." I think you may have meant to say "one of the most competitive" there. If you did then I'd agree.

And while I don't dabble too much in shooters I HIGHLY doubt splatoon is even close to having online communities as big as games like battlefield, call of duty, team fortress, ect.

I don't disagree that their franchises are getting more competitive and active online these days, they just still have a long ways to go as far as online features and functionality to help grew their online communities. Nintendo is still lacking on the online front. The fact that the new Star Fox won't have online connectivity for its multiplayer mode is just ridiculous given that it's 2015 now and it's a major home console release for the system. Heck, even the DS Star Fox back in the day had online multiplayer for its battle mode. smh

@kenakuma: No i meant what i said, Smash is the biggest and most competitive. Have you never been to their tournaments, it will put Street Fighter to shame. Smash Melee is bigger than any Street Fighter game could ever dream and that game is ancient. They also give away the most money in their tournaments because of how big they are, they can afford to.

Its true Nintendo does make some kids games, but majority of Nintendo games are not for kids, they are to young to do the stuff. You can call their games for kids all you want, but Nintendo makes some of the most skill dependent games on the market. I think you are confusing kids with teens, but thats ok.

I don't know why people were surprised by the lackluster conference. Nintendo has had a pattern to their conferences in recent years, one good year, one bad year--rinse and repeat. This pattern will continue until they get some worthwhile 3rd party support to help carry the load. The reality is Nintendo cant produce a ton of games themselves, so basically its every other year where they will have enough games on the horizon to have a big show featuring ONLY first/second party games i.e. last year. Next year, the show will be much better as it will feature Zelda playable more than likely, the NX big reveal and perhaps its first wave of games being shown. The following year may get a pass as it will likely be the launch year for NX and be the first time all the games are playable. After that, it will depend on whether or not the system gets any 3rd party support.

They had nothing to work with, but that's why it's interesting to put us in Iwata's shoes.

I'm not sure about your solution. Yes, keeping the Wii U is hurting Nintendo, but at the same, if you bring the NX out too early then you'll get the Wii U all over again - a game drought. I think it's smarter to ride the cancer out, and build up a stronger line up for the NX next year and start with a bang.

Yes I actually have been to their tournaments. Most of the fighting game tournaments I enter host smash as well. You know what I'll actually gonna post some numbers rather than just arguing who you "think" has a bigger scene.

http://www.eventhubs.com/news/2014/jul/01/evo-2014-breaks-records-registrations-full-rundown-numbers-all-games/

That link has the turnout per game for the biggest fighting game tournmanet of 2014. EVO

Smash is just under 1,000 while SF4 almost hit 2,000.

Street Fighter is freaking HUGE with a community that spans the entire planet. People fly from all over the world to play street fighter at evo as well as other big tournaments. I think you're severely misinformed as to how big street fighter is and I think it's because you're a Nintendo gamer mainly and a main Street Fighter game hasn't graced a Nintendo console in decades. Same with other Fighters such a Mortal Kombat, Guilty Gear, Injustice, Marvel, KOF, ect. Nintendo consoles are by far the worst to own if you're a fighting game player. You miss out on 90% of the fighting games released.

So no smash doesn't put street fighter to shame. Not even close. And your use of Melee as an example kinda goes against an earlier point you made. If Melee is still the most competitive Nintendo game out there, given how old it is, then doesn't that mean that Nintendo is actually making LESS competitive games these days compared to what they used to make since nothing Nintendo has made has topped it yet competitively?!!

Oh and here's the money pots for last years EVO since you think Smash gives away the most money for their tournaments:

http://www.eventhubs.com/news/2014/jul/02/estimated-prize-payouts-evo-2014s-main-games-breakdowns-top-8-winners/

Smash is about 20 Grand behind SF4 in its payout. I really think you know very little about the street fighter scene at all...

@kenakuma: I was kinda thinking about sales wise, that Smash was bigger than Street Fighter, they have humongous tournaments and all. Its super big as you have even realized.

But ive been looking at numbers in sales and its pretty dang close.

And no, i just meant that Smash 64 is big, Smash Melee is big, Brawl is big, and Smash Bros Wii U is probably bout to be even bigger in the tournaments

Also you are correct, i dont know much about the Street Fighter scene, im a Smash, Tekken Tag, and Tatsunoko vs Capcom fan. And yes Nintendo does get Guilty Gear. Although i didnt care for it.

I accept defeat on that one though, i thought Smash did epic for 2015, but i might have been mistaken.

im assuming nintendo do have the following in progress of course.

I would have shown a few more games coming later in 2016 (including zelda). i would have given, maybe, 10 mins to games coming between Q2 2016 and Q1 2017...just to show that there is more to come.

i would still have led with starfox...since its the biggest game in my more immediate roster (not that big though).

i then would have focused on expanding existing titles on the wiiu rather than new games. so new tracks for mario kart (even going as far as fixing battle mode. proper battle arenas and such like), new stuff for smash, new stuff past august for splatoon (including more SP and MP stuff), more stages for mario world, more stuff for pikmin 3 (new compaign and such like).

releasing new titles is an expensive business and the wiiu sales are not reacting to new title releases. expanding existing titles costs less and, imho, would offer more bang per buck in terms of player reaction and revenue. at this stage i (as nintendo) would rather have sales for smash, MK8 and so on ticking over with the DLC selling nicely to existing and new customers rather than building new games from the ground up (which just takes too much time).

it would also be an E3 with starfox, pikmin, smash, MK and mario platformer. that gets filed under a pretty good E3 for nintendo.

i also would have made it clear the release schedule for the wiiu and 3DS for the next 12 months at the end (even just a simple slide)....just to show that although there wasnt a lot new announced for 2015 there are still games coming...like xenoblade.

in fairness i think nintendo did the best with showing what they had. they just didnt have a very good deck to play this year at E3. the scope was clear (next 12 months) and they just wont have a lot of unknown stuff ready this year.

They could've easily turned that failure into a success with a fairly small amount of money:

1) Made an actual Metroid game instead of that crap unrelated thing they've come up with.

2) Announced an HD remaster of Mario Sunshine.

3) Show some more Zelda footage.

4) Announced a western release for DQ8 on 3DS (translation already available, very little money needed)

Simple and would've completely changed the tone and energy of their digital event. There were just too many mini-game type items and not enough big impressive projects.

I really do not see how Nintendo on this year's E3 is considered a failure. While there were games that I expected to be announced, there were some I was caught by surprise (a Mario & Luigi/Paper Mario crossover). Attendees did line up for the games and I heard there were long lines.

I like all these ideas except for the remakes.

It is what Nintendo has not done that needs to be the future of the company. Revisiting old content that was released recently in the past and is currently on VC does not make the Wii U epic drought fest any better.

Nintendo should always glorify its past, but slapping a new paint of coat on old games is not going to bring a new diverse crowd to the Nintendo hardware front.

Given their current conference, I can only imagine that they're intending to release the NX fairly soon. Because of this, they don't intend on bringing a new diverse crowd to the Wii U. Hence why remakes are okay in this circumstance. The Wii U is soon over, but they still need to fill the rest of its life with some games. Wind Waker HD actually sold a lot of copies, so this tells me that fans like HD remakes of awesome standard definition games. If not a Galaxy bundle, then at least a Sunshine HD or something along these lines. Whatever it is, I think HD remakes for the Wii U would've been the cheapest, most exciting and viable option to ride out the rest of the Wii U's life.

I understand your reasoning on this matter, but even if the Wii U is soon to be dead, this recycled mentality that has taken the overall industry by force will carry on this mentality that Nintendo generally has been sparse on what they offer.

Remakes or small games, heck pretty much anything in addition to what they already showed would have improved their E3 show. There was a lack of content. They spent too much time on games we knew well enough about.

Remakes are still a hefty project. A new game on a smaller scale would at least be more relevant.

If Nintendo's best course of action is to just tread water then remakes would be an answer. Capcom is doing it. New IPs or at least new games to old smaller franchises would be a reminder of the next iteration that could be on NX.

On a sidebar trugs: What did you think of SF0?

Zelda Wind Waker took 6 months to make. I think it is definitely do-able in a short time. As for SF0, I'll answer that in the new thread you just made :P

Maybe elaborate on how the NX will communicate with the 3DS and Wii U.

True but that is still energy that can be put into acquiring an interesting indie project. An exclusive indie project could bring in a new crowd to Nintendo. A remake is just going to appeal to Nintendo fans who are nostalgic for a game they have already bought or software they did not originally buy.

Yeah but let's face it, everyone who owns a Wii U are only Nintendo fans (and Nintendo are obviously giving up on Wii U soon, so they're not going to target any other audiences). Indie games won't generate the same kind of hype as a AAA remake - and the lack of hype was the main issue with Nintendo's Digital Event.

The WWHD remake was an exception, I dont think sunshine or any other GC game would translate so well to HD as it did.

I wouldn't have done much differently, in terms of new games. Because if I was in charge, I would be focusing on making sure the NX would be a great platform.

Basically I would've done what Trugs said, then add fast neo in there as well.

Remasters would've helped lessen the blow, yeah.

Star Fox would have won me over had it actually looked better than a GameCube game, and their demonstration level wasn't just a remake of the first game's. The new Mario RPG should have been on the Wii U. Metroid in its current state never should have happened. Animal Crossing in its current state never should have happened.

I'd also like to have heard that Fil-Aime and Iwata were canned and replaced by people who knew what they were doing.