A lot of my friends have been discussing lately who they think might 'win' E3. Now, while 'winning' E3 has been proven to have almost no effect at all on anything, it's still fun to discuss. For me, it's pretty obvious that Nintendo will win E3 for five major reasons that I will detail below. I'd also, as a disclaimer, like to state that I am not in any way a Nintendo 'fanboy', if anything I am a Sony fanboy. I know this, because I own a Vita. So, without further ado here are the five reasons why Nintendo will win E3.
5. They already have a strong lineup for this year:
Some of the biggest news about the Playstation 4 and the Xbox One lately has been: 'Look at all these great games... that you can play in 2015.' Nintendo doesn't really have to worry about that. Their system has been out for a year longer than the others, and it's starting to show. Their internal teams already know how to deal with the system and can deliver on their deadlines. On top of that they can start off the show with the hottest game in the world right now, Mario Kart 8. Not only do those things make investors happy, they show the rest of the gaming world that there is something to play on the Wii U, and what is there is a ton of fun. Games like Pikmin 3, Super Mario 3D World, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, and Windwaker HD, just add on top of the awesomeness that is Mario Kart 8.
The biggest kicker, however, is that they have the biggest exclusive release for this year, Super Smash Bros. The game's release has been hyped for years, it has a large, committed fanbase, and is coming to both of Nintendo's system. This has all the makings of the win, even just announcing the game's release date would be a major win for Nintendo. But I imagine we'll see an online feature set that'll rival what we've seen from Nintendo in Mario Kart 8. On top of that there will be at least one way to acquire new characters, if not more than one. Also coming out later this year is Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, which while they are remakes, are likely to make a bit of a splash at this year's E3.4. They have the most to gain:
This one appears the most cynical, but it's obvious that the Wii U has not sold as well as Nintendo may have liked. On top of that, the amazing momentum that the 3DS had in the previous couple of years has started to cool off. While this might be distressing to investors and many gamers, it also means that Nintendo has the most room for improvement, the most excitement that they can generate from simple things. An announcement of comprehensive facebook integration, would create a bigger splash then Microsoft announcing HBO Go or Sony announcing Watch ESPN support, simply because we don't expect these things from Nintendo.
Nintendo now has the room to announce anything and get a positive reaction. Well, anything other than Wii Music. Nintendo has a plethora of franchises, almost all have dedicated fanbases, but only a few of which sell extraordinarily well. Being in such a poor position at the start of E3 means that announcing a title from any of those franchises will generate a lot of buzz. Currently there are strong rumors that we will see new Metroid and Star Fox games for 3DS, Wii U, or both. There's pretty strong evidence(see above) that we'll see a Mario-platformer with user created levels. Rumors of a Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon port for Wii U and a Majora's Mask remake for 3DS; Gamecube titles for Wii U's Virtual Console, and SNES titles for 3DS' Virtual Console; A potential Pokemon Stadium game for Wii U. Even just a couple of these would create quite a splash at E3, and there's strong evidence behind a handful of them. I for one would love to see a 2.5D Metroid game on 3DS, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
3. ZELDA!:
Arguably Nintendo's biggest franchise to 'hardcore' gamers, Zelda is already promised a significant prescience in Hyrule Warriors. Aonuma has already hinted at the new Zelda game being at this year's E3, and every 'leak' regarding Nintendo's E3 lineup has included the new Zelda game for Wii U. As much as I enjoyed the art style from Skyward Sword, if the new Zelda keeps the art-style from above then it is likely to be a major win for Nintendo. As a designer, I see a lot of potential in a Zelda game using the Wii U's gamepad. The cherry on top for Zelda at E3 could be the inclusion of a Majora's Mask 3D remake for the 3DS, I wouldn't hold my breath for that however. Regardless, the prescience of any new Zelda game is going to be a massive splash.
2. Their new figurine platform/Tentpoles:
The executives at Nintendo are probably kicking themselves in the butt after they refused to negotiate with Activision over Skylander's exclusivity. Certainly it had an effect, with Nintendo including the NFC reader into their gamepad, and the announcement of the new figurine system earlier in the year. The inclusion of the figurines across multiple games leads me to think that there will be at least one new franchise included with this new platform. I think we will also see new Mario Kart and Smash Bros. characters connected to the figurine platform. The inclusion of the platformer across 3DS is sure to give Nintendo plenty of flexibility with the platform and their franchises in the future.
Disney, Sony, Fox, and to some extent Warner Bros have all learned something valuable recently, and that is that well-crafted 'tentpole' franchises are where the real money is. Nintendo has known this for years, and that kind of knowledge puts them in a stronger position then any of the other game companies, simply because they have the most value outside of games. Unlike many gamers, I have no problem with 'tentpole' franchises, provided the quality remains. I tied this bit together with their figurine platform, because I see the platform as a better way for Nintendo to profit off these 'tentpoles' while remaining exclusive. This all points to a new stance by Nintendo to leverage their franchises, which I see as a potentially good, and definitively exciting stance.
1. Miyamoto is coming to E3 to debut a new franchise:
Earlier this year, Shigeru Miyamoto announced that he was coming to E3 with a new franchise in tow. For those that don't know, Miyamoto is the mastermind behind the Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Star Fox, F-Zero, and pretty much 90% of the extremely popular Nintendo franchise. So naturally him announcing a new franchise is certainly going to bring a ton of excitement. The past few times this has happened, there wasn't as much fanfare because games like Wii Music and Wii Fit were announced, both of which didn't have a large effect of 'hardcore' gamers. Although Wii Fit was extremely successful. Nintendo, however, has been trying to appeal to the hardcore gaming audience more recently, but they still don't want to lose the attention of that casual audience. As such, I see it likely that this franchise will be somewhere in the middle, closer to a Pikmin than Wii Music. Or maybe I'm just hoping.
