Yesterday, it was reported that Nintendo would be scaling down from a large E3 press conference and focus solely on smaller events during the week of LA-based video game convention. Nintendo of America’s Senior Director of Corporate Communications Charlie Scibetta was able to clarify what the company plans to do in the wake of this jaw dropping announcement.
“As you’ve already seen, a lot of news about Nintendo games and services that traditionally would be held until E3 is being delivered this year through Nintendo Directs, and various press events. This approach will continue between now and E3. No matter where you are in the world, you’ll be fully informed. We look forward to continuing to provide you with Nintendo news and content in ways you haven’t before experienced. Beyond the news that will be communicated through Nintendo Direct videos in the run up to E3, at the show itself we’re hosting two smaller events on Tuesday morning before the LACC opens instead of just our traditional one event. A media event and a partner presentation will both occur that morning. While the audiences will be different between the two events, both will occur on the Tuesday morning of E3 (June 11) which is the date and time period the public has come to expect for Nintendo to deliver E3 news.
At the Nokia theater we’ll meet with business partners (retailers, publishers, analysts, etc.) from the NOA territory and discuss our plans for driving the business and providing tailored information that this group finds useful to their operations. Nintendo has done these same type of business meetings at past E3 shows, but has not in the past few years. This year we are returning to that business partner meeting format. New this year at our booth in the LACC, prior to the show opening, we’ll invite a small group of media to play our games. We will have a strong line-up of beloved franchise experiences available for immediate hands-on play. We are continuing to consider exciting new ways to bring the news of our games and information directly to the players at home during the E3 timeframe, and will have more to say about that at a later date.”
So, Nintendo will in fact be present at this year’s E3 2013 convention, but will be finding new ways to present and unveil new software for the coming year. E3 is and has always been a media frenzy for each of the Big 3 console makers to dish out their respective products. Nintendo dumbing down their presentation in favor of more Nintendo Directs could work to an extent, but are they worried about what they have lined up? With Wii U sales lagging and the console’s momentum all but gone, software will be the key to grab consumers attention. Is this the right move, or is something more afoot within the company? Discuss in the comments below.
