The Associated Press says so.
After two years of shrinking Wii sales, Nintendo will fully raise the curtain on the Wii’s successor at the gaming industry’s annual convention in downtown Los Angeles this week. Nintendo Co. has remained silent about just what the doodad will do, but gamers are anticipating features like high-definition graphics and touchscreen controllers.
“What’s interesting about it is that it’s a platform that seems much more oriented to the core gamer, in terms of its capabilities and specifications,” said Ken Levine.
I’m not sure Nintendo will dominate the conference like they did in 2006 with a playable Wii. But depending on what Project Cafe looks like after being unveiled Tuesday morning, it’s certainly possible.
What do you think? How big will Nintendo’s showing be this year compared to past years?
electricfuture
I think it’s very important for Nintendo to have a strong showing this year. If software-wise they don’t deliver this year, they have to do it with promising info. They may not be able to get people as excited with Cafe as they did with the Wii, but the end product may be better which is what really matters.
Also Nintendo really needs to focus on showing that the 3DS isn’t DOA, with a strong showing of game demos. I want to get a 3DS, but I really have no reason to right now.
Harrison
It all depends on how well Nintendo balances the immediate need for 3DS software with the the remaining remnants of what the Wii can put out. Obviously, Project Cafe will be center stage, but will this be a year where the hardware is overshadowed by the software? My thoughts say that in order for Nintendo to “dominate” this year’s E3 is to take advantage of being the last of the big three to have their press conference. With the PSN debacle still fresh in our minds and Microsoft still without a true AAA Kinect title, this seems to be the prime opportunity for Nintendo to strike.
Now, only one question remains: Can they replicate what they swooned with the gaming media with the 3DS last year? It’s possible. As stubborn as Nintendo can be with the current trends in the gaming industry, they still know how to correct mistakes and make amends with their fanbase.
For lack of a better word, it will be interesting to see what Nintendo showcases. With more to be revealed from Zelda: Skyward Sword and a bevy of titles that we’re unbeknownst of, I think it’s gonna take more than the current staple of Nintendo franchises to “win” E3. As excited as I am for the reveal of Project Cafe, it needs to knock the socks off those who despise or neglect the Big N.
Personally, Nintendo may have something more up their sleeves. Considering I’ve been a fan of them for the majority of my gaming life, it wouldn’t surprise.
P.S. – Also, pretty much anything from Retro is bound to garner some bonus points. 🙂
cowmanodoom
They just released the 3DS and they are going to announce their new system. I think they have a lot going for them right now, so I think it will probably be a pretty interesting E3.
Brett
I think this game drought we’re in right now for the 3DS and the Wii is the calm before the storm. Obviously some bad marketing and scheduling choices at Nintendo have caused it, but I think the Big N is poised to storm the show.
Frankly, I think they need to. I don’t believe the casual market can expand any further than the Wii has taken it as far as home consoles go and I believe Nintendo knows this. They’re caught between the casual and hardcore markets. The hardcore lean more towards the HD consoles and PC’s right now, and the casuals seem to have reached the Wii saturation point and are now exploring more mobile routes. The only company I see right now capable of expanding the casual sector would be Apple if they decided to get into gaming hardware. I know that may sound ridiculous, but they are the only ones who could take advantage of the ubiquity of iphones and ipads and have them play some kind of role in home console gaming- and I think that people who are interested in casual games and who own apple products would gobble that up.
That said, I think that Project Café will probably wow everyone at E3 and steal the show, provided it contains the innovation Nintendo is known for. However, if they really want to turn people who have left their products for the 360 and PS3, or just generally recapture the hardcore market, I think the strategy lies elsewhere than just a powerful system with a new touchscreen embedded controller. If that is all that Ninty brings to the table, it may still win best of show, but the large groups of gamers who are disenfranchised may just see the new controller as a gimmick, and pass on the higher specs in favor of a larger library on the current HD consoles knowing that when their successors come out, they will probably be more powerful than Café. In order to garner 3rd parties, Café needs to be a breeze to develop for as well as create a sense of confidence in it. I also think Nintendo needs to present a revolutionary new take at online gaming in order to woo the (non-Nintendo fan) hardcore gamers away from the Xbox 360 and PS3. I don’t mean a Nintendo equivalent of Xbox Live- I mean something completely fresh and undeniably superior. They need to disrupt once again and create a new sector of the market because the existing market is closing in around them. If they can pull that off, and get everyone to believe that they are committed to it- then they may stand a chance. Otherwise, and I’m sad to say it, I think the Café will be headed towards GameCube territory- and by that I mean a first-rate system, with great first party content, but in third place.
Akira
Fo sho I mean short of Sony giving every one an ngp, pen15 if you ask me, or microSOFT bringing the 180 out.
Kaherka
I think they have to go after the hardcore gamer, because the iPhone & facebook is going to win the casual gamer, hands down.
Mattiac
Yes, Nintendo will dominate E3 this year! 😀
GameCollector44
Let me put it this way…Nintendo has never gone first at the E3 before…they must have something truly amazing up their sleeves to change that pattern.
Mohan
I think they might, but it’s hard to tell. Hardware always gets more attention that software, that’s why we has so many third parties release trailers last Thursday.
Cory
Unless I’m totally blind Nintendo isn’t going first this year either; doesn’t M$ have that honor?
monkat
@Cory
Nintendo always goes last.
Anyway, yeah, I think Nintendo will “win”, only because they have two new consoles, with a mindset of getting a ton of big-name franchises and developers to pour as much as they can into them–not to mention the possible announcements of the Wii games we’ve been waiting a long long time for them to announce (Xenoblade, Last Story, Pandora’s Tower), not to mention DQX as a trump card.
Zadoc Paet
I’ve been waiting for a controller like this since Dreamcast, and that was over ten years ago.
POLL: Is Nintendo’s touch screen Project Cafe controller a better innovation than the Wii motion controller?
Vote: http://www.wepolls.com/r/326324
deepthought
alright let’s see your cards Nintendo! I am not going to care about a touch pad any more than I cared about a heartbeat sensor or balance board. I’d like to see some power, some real internet support, and some conventional (ie non-motion) controls. Mostly, this shouldn’t be Wii2.5… this needs to be the next generation. considering that I am planning on buying a new computer to run BF3 at the highest settings… youve got a high bar to impress me. It’s doable though, and I’ll be pumped for this console if you pull this off.
EdEN
Shrinking sales? Sure. Once you’re at the top it’s very hard to go even further… but let’s not forget Nintendo WON this generation as there’s no chance in hell of either MS or Sony reaching the total number of Wii consoles worldwide when even now MS is only outselling Wii by 200-350k a month at most.
InvisibleMan
I doubt it: it is true that the Wii sold well, but Nintendo is about to leave Wii behind for the new console… Once that happens, consumers will have to pick out of THREE HD consoles, and in that area Microsoft and Sony are way ahead of Nintendo.
Also, Microsoft is opening to innovation way faster than Nintendo… Remember all those amateur developers doing experiments with the Wii controller? They started doing the same with Kinect soon after it came out. But, in contrast with Nintendo, which discourages that kind of experimentation with their products, this is what Microsoft is doing with Kinect:
http://www.ign.com/videos/2011/06/06/e3-2011-kinect-fun-labs-demo
See what I mean? By opening the doors to experimentation, MS will soon deliver an exclusive gameplay experience much faster than Nintendo ever did… unless Nintendo follows suit.