E3 Press Conference Vs. Nintendo Directs

[Hero-of-Time]

MP4 would be excessive. It was so clear the team ran out of ideas by the end of MP3 (a game that closed the story shut, too). Asking for more Metroid truly is lacking imagination, and it is unrealistic thinking they would go back to the franchise so soon, especially after they publicly said they wanted to let Metroid rest (at least I remember them saying something along those lines).

 

Also, "inflated numbers"? What kind of excuse is that? If it makes Top 10 in a console, it makes Top 10 in a console. Next you're going to tell me that the sales of the GTA and Dragon Quest franchises are inflated due to being released on popular systems.

 

Finally, "hindsight"? I've held this opinion since before the game was announced I laughed when I saw it.

 

So, we can't have another Metroid game because the trilogy finished? How about another story within the Metroid universe? Lacking imagination? Ok, then lets develop another 2D platformer! YAY!

 

Of course the numbers were out of wack. Yes, it sold a crazy amount but this was due to the expanded audience. I'm not arguing that these don't numbers count, i'm stating that Nintendo thought that these numbers were repeatable, which they clearly weren't because that audience had sodded off elsewhere, hence why decided to launch the Wii U with "New" Super Mario Bros and get another Donkey Kong out the door.

 

Also, I wasn't on about your hindsight, I have no idea what the hell your stance on this stuff is. I was on about Nintendo. Had they seen that the expanded audience had moved on ( like most of us on here had already figured out ) I don't think they would have given us DKC and would have went a different route.

Edited April 10, 2014 by Hero-of-Time

[Daft]

Yeah, totally not laying people off

 

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-layoffs-hit-driveclub-killzone-and-the-playroom-developers/1100-6418519/

 

Yes, Sony's rating got reduced, but that's only because they did some really drastic stuff. Stop losing context in your posts.

 

My issue wasn't that Sony are laying people off but that they 'were doing it like crazy'. Look up what 'hyperbole' means. Seriously, at this point I'm wondering if you even have basic comprehension.

 

Yeah, and so what if Sony's chance of bankruptcy got reduced? So you were using old statistic to justify your wayward point? Suddenly that's okay? How about we use some other up-to-date stats.... Hey! Look at this! Nintendo have a 75% chance of going bankrupt in the next two years. So how accurate do you think that is? Or is it that prediction only accurate when it suits what you're saying?

[Hogge]

Problem is that Metroid games don't sell well on successful consoles, let alone on flailing ones. That's why it's unlikely we'll hear it.

 

Well, that depends on your definition of "not selling well". The Metroid game that sold the worst was Prime Trilogy, which sold 650 000 copies which was strangely on one of their most succesful consoles. The game that sold the best was the original Metroid Prime, at nearly 3 milion on Nintendo's at the time least succesful console. Thus it seems very certain that it'll earn back its budget and then some.

 

 

I see a new 3D Metroid as a potential system seller. Not as a single, silver bullet that will solve the Wii U's problems, but a brick in the puzzle. Nintendo need to bring out a whole bunch of bricks to acheive the picture they want.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Problem is that Metroid games don't sell well on successful consoles, let alone on flailing ones. That's why it's unlikely we'll hear it.

 

That's a bit of a defeatist way of going about it. What about actually using games like Metroid to entice back the core gamers that Nintendo have lost? It may not sell well as much as New Super Mario Bros. but there is still an audience out there who want to play these games.

 

Other M reportedly sold about 1.2million units.

Metroid Prime about 2.82.

Prime 2 about 1.3

Prime 3 about 1.7

Super Metroid about 1.4

Metroid Fusion 1.2

 

For something that apparently doesn't sell, I wouldn't call those bad figures at all. There is clearly a market out there. Like I said, it would go some way to winning back the core gamer because Nintendo have lost them.

[Goron_3]

There is a difference between 'a game that sells consoles' and a 'game that sells well', which I think some people, particularly Serebii, seem to be confused about.

 

Metroid may not sell as well as a game like Donkey Kong, but it will sure as hell sell systems (remember when Prime launched?) because not only do they tend to get incredible reviews, they appeal to a different market of gamers.

 

Why did NSMB and Donkey Kong sell so well on the Wii? Because they were the next game to get for most of that audience, who played games like Mario Kart, Wii Sports and Wii Fit on the thing. I remember working in retail at the time and for most people it was an automatic purchase. Would people buy a console for those games? Hell no. Why would you go out of your way to buy a Wii (or Wii U for that matter) for Donkey Kong if you didn't buy it for all the other platformers the system had?

 

There is a huge amount of gamers out there waiting to buy a Wii U but are just waiting for a game to justify the purchase. Another platformer won't do the trick, but a game like Metroid might just.

 

Regarding Donkey Kong on Wii U, I think it was quite clear that Nintendo's strategy for the Wii U was simply to release all the big Wii games but this time in HD, but clearly that didn't work as that market has moved on. People buy consoles for those so called 'core' games...Games like Metroid, Zelda etc. Games like NSMB and Donkey Kong are just a nice bonus and keep us playing the console.

[Hogge]

I completely agree with Goron.

 

What I would love to see is an E3 that's chock full of console sellers. Games of every conceivable genre and art style so there's a bit of everything.

[drahkon]

 

Nintendo needs to back at E3.

 

If they have games (e.g. Zelda HD, a new Metroid) to announce (which many people assume they have), do it! I want them to do it, the whole world wants them to do it.

 

Make a 20 minute press conference and announce new games left and right; maybe talk about future plans for 5 minutes;

have one or two longer directs ready to talk more about these games and other games that have already been announced;

start a blog to provide regular bits of information about anything coming to the WiiU/3DS and let it serve as a place for people to discuss things and for developers to bring their products to gamers.

 

It's not rocket science.

[Ganepark32]

Definitely of the opinion that Nintendo need to go back to doing a conference at E3 as opposed to just putting down a Direct.

 

It pissed the gaming press of something special from what I remember of those who attended E3 last year and it was why there was little talk of Nintendo despite them being on the show floor.

 

I can understand to a degree why they chose to do a Direct last year, so as to not get lost in the new console announcements, etc., but they did end up getting lost amongst everything else being announced and to some, it seemed cowardly and like an admittance that they couldn't compete with what not only Sony and Microsoft brought but even the third parties who put on conferences. Hell, I have more good memories of EA's E3 conference (but then they could have simply only shown that trailer for Mirror's Edge and I'd have been ecstatic) than I do of Nintendo's Direct so what does that say about their showing when even one of the most hated publishers (although I do think a lot of the hate is misplaced) can give us more memorable moments than one of the industry's "top guns".

 

The problem with their Direct last year was a lack of surprises and a lack of third party titles. Yes, the game lineup from Nintendo themselves wasn't bad but we knew about pretty much all of the games beforehand. And this latter point is something that's clearly going to continue going forward due to a lack of communication from Nintendo to third parties both before the Wii U launched and even now, and is something which would be extremely more evident in a conference setting.

 

But even without them, they really need to put on a conference that brings in the non-gaming press to help drum up interest and coverage on a wider range of outlets beyond your typical IGN, Gametrailers, etc. (and even they were more focused elsewhere due to the lack of conference).

 

Dreading to see what Nintendo do this year. As I mentioned, the lack of third party support means they sure as hell better bring their AAA game (or at least some big third party titles) otherwise they're gonna look ridiculous if they go with a conference.

[Debug Mode]

 

I thought I would be safe to drink a glass of water whilst reading this thread, I nearly choked you genius bastard haha

[Jonnas]

But why would a new Metroid be out of the question, I just don't get that either? It's a long-running Nintendo franchise and certainly has a place with the core gamers. A Metroid game is exactly the sort of thing that the Wii U needs.

 

So, we can't have another Metroid game because the trilogy finished? How about another story within the Metroid universe? Lacking imagination? Ok, then lets develop another 2D platformer! YAY!

 

Ok, I'm clearly being misinterpreted, here. I am not opposed to Metroid. They could be making Yet Another M, or maybe another team could be making a Metroid game, that would be good.

 

What I think is that Retro Studios making a 4th Metroid game is a waste. They had their jab at the franchise three times, now. MP3's main theme was the pointer controls because that's what they had left. They did everything they wanted to do with it already (and, again, they have said this), so let Prime rest instead of releasing uninspired sequels just to sell (yes, Resident Evil, I'm looking at you).

 

Was Donkey Kong 2 a better choice? Maybe yes and maybe no, but at least they clearly still had inspiration for that franchise (and if I understand correctly, they now moved onto something else).

 

At this stage, expecting Metroid Prime 4 is like expecting Super Mario Sunshine 2. Possible? Yes. Likely? No.

 

Of course the numbers were out of wack. Yes, it sold a crazy amount but this was due to the expanded audience. I'm not arguing that these don't numbers count, i'm stating that Nintendo thought that these numbers were repeatable, which they clearly weren't because that audience had sodded off elsewhere, hence why decided to launch the Wii U with "New" Super Mario Bros and get another Donkey Kong out the door.

 

Also, I wasn't on about your hindsight, I have no idea what the hell your stance on this stuff is. I was on about Nintendo. Had they seen that the expanded audience had moved on ( like most of us on here had already figured out ) I don't think they would have given us DKC and would have went a different route.

 

Well, my apologies, then. Fair points, except... it was Retro Studios who chose to do Donkey Kong 2. That would've come out the door regardless of how much Nintendo expected it to sell (but Nintendo definitely has responsibility on what their games end up becoming, true enough).

[Ashley]

I think what would be ideal is an E3 conference to unleash everything that will cover the journalism/business side (not saying focus on this, but rather by doing this those bases will be covered) and then a different direct every day to go into each of the games in more detail for the fans.

[Josh64]

They really need a conference, not only is a conference more fun and exciting (not exactly important in the long run, but very important for getting people hyped about Nintendo games) but it also shows them to a bigger audience. I really think the Nintendo Direct last year was terrible - not because of the games delivered, there were some quality titles in there, but the hype around it.

 

Microsoft and Sony had these big presentations, flashy lights, we had Iwata infront of a wall speaking, in what was weirdly out of character, without much passion/emotion/his usual quirkyness.

 

It actually felt like Nintendo had to quickly produce a video on a shoe-string budget or something.