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[prag16]

Anyone that didn't know it was a new console was an idiot.
Especially on GAF where we had known about it for weeks ahead of time.

This... which is why I had thought (even though I wasn't here yet back then) it was safe to assume the vast majority of gaf was not confused.

Unless it was (like the press) feigned confusion to push an agenda. I'd hope it wasn't that either.

 

[Riki]

A lot of the GAFers in those threads also thought that the 360 versions of Wii U third party ports shown looked worse than the 360 versions that they were. Anyone that seriously thought that the Wii U could be some kind of magical controller that would allow Wii to play HD games weren't being attentive.

Seriously, that was the best part.
"That 360 footage looks worse than 360 footage!"

This... which is why I had thought (even though I wasn't here yet back then) it was safe to assume the vast majority of gaf was not confused.

Unless it was (like the press) feigned confusion to push an agenda. I'd hope it wasn't that either.

Of course it's part of an agenda. Otherwise it just becomes sad. No one can be that ignorant.

 

[royalan]

Anyone that didn't know it was a new console was an idiot.
Especially on GAF where we had known about it for weeks ahead of time.

A lot of the GAFers in those threads also thought that the 360 versions of Wii U third party ports shown looked worse than the 360 versions that they were. Anyone that seriously thought that the Wii U could be some kind of magical controller that would allow Wii to play HD games weren't being attentive.

Sure - blame the audience, you have that right. But Nintendo could have also presented their Wii U a lot more clearly that year. Maybe, you know, actually showing a close-up of the console itself in the reveal video.

Confusion doesn't often translate into hype, as Nintendo later learned.

 

[Hatchtag]

Anyone that didn't know it was a new console was an idiot.
Especially on GAF where we had known about it for weeks ahead of time.

I wouldn't have known if I didn't lurk GAF and /v/ back then, and even with that, I wasn't sure. They handled the reveal incredibly piss poorly.

 

[one_kill]

...was Sony's handing it to MS not the most talked about moment from last E3?

No, that would be Titanfall

 

[royalan]

No, that would be Titanfall

LOL - Ok.

 

[Tripon]

No, that would be Titanfall

Oh God, Titanfall. Was E3 the start of the stupid "Have you seen Titanfall" meme?

 

[one_kill]

LOL - Ok.

Could you prove otherwise?

 

[Riki]

I wouldn't have known if I didn't lurk GAF and /v/ back then, and even with that, I wasn't sure. They handled the reveal incredibly piss poorly.

How could you not be sure? They called it a new system. It was running games the Wii could clearly not run. We had known about it being a new system for a while by then.
How was it confusing in the slightest?

 

[prag16]

No, that would be Titanfall

Ah, Titanfall. Another example of press manufactured and perpetuated perception. At least it turned out pretty good in the end by most accounts (if not coming close to the lofty coverage post reveal and prerelease).

 

[ironcreed]

If you truly believe the part of your statement that I bolded, then you're really not disagreeing with me. lol

It does have an impact, and I think Sony with last year's E3 proved that it could have a significant one. Buzz feeds into hype, and hype drives sales. Create enough buzz, you will create sales. This is marketing 101. Sony's bold stance last E3 and the reaction it got was inspiring, and the most talked-about moment from last E3. It was described by a lot of people as a "changing tide." To not think that had anything to do with the PS4's record-breaking sales later that year is just not paying attention.

I never said that it did not add to generating buzz. Of course it helps with that perception. I am merely saying that if your message and reveals are good enough, then you are still going to end up generating buzz based on the content itself. As that is what creates it in the first place and seeing people clapping is not going to make the content any better than what it is. People are still going to get excited and will be generating buzz together online if the content they show is exciting. Just as they would if they were watching the reveals at a press conference.

 

[SparksterMeta0]

Super Smash Bros - Smash-Fest :



New Smash Bros. playable at Best Buy during E3

HELL YEAH!

 

[Terrell]

...was Sony's handing it to MS not the most talked about moment from last E3?

And most of that came in the form of a short pre-recorded video.

 

[The Giant]

I get the feeling that the digital event will be a similar style to the 3DS event at e3 2012.

 

[Hatchtag]

How could you not be sure? They called it a new system. It was running games the Wii could clearly not run. We had known about it being a new system for a while by then.
How was it confusing in the slightest?

NSMBU (Then shown as NSMBMii) and the Wii sports games in the initial reveal did NOT look like they couldn't be on the Wii. Aside from being in HD, they weren't technically impressive.
We knew it was a new system, but they never showed the box and simply showed the gamepad. They also showed off Wii remotes. Until after the conference was over, and some clearing up was done, it was confusing as to if it was a new system, or some sort of expansion on the Wii. You can argue all you want that only stupid people wouldn't realize this, but if you even browsed /v/ or Neogaf or any other gaming website during the conference (hell, go look up threads from around that time on just about any gaming forum), you would clearly see massive confusion.

No, that would be Titanfall

FFXV and KH3 were easily up there with Titanfall, if not above it. That was very, very talked about. I think I even saw some people post on Facebook about it.

 

[RagnarokX]

Sure - blame the audience, you have that right. But Nintendo could have also presented their Wii U a lot more clearly that year. Maybe, you know, actually showing a close-up of the console itself in the reveal video.

Confusion doesn't often translate into hype, as Nintendo later learned.

Well, they gave their audience and the press too much credit and it bit them in the ass. They tried to fix that by spoonfeeding the press last year and directly showing the enthusiast gamer their games but the press obviously didn't like the change because it was cutting them off from potential traffic revenue so they sabotaged the shit out of it ahead of the conference and didn't give it very much coverage/shat on it after. Nintendo had yawn Mario, Mario Kart, Smash Bros, Donkey Kong, but omg did you see that Killzone game?! Mega64, what games are you interested in at this E3? Stop talking about Nintendo! What is Nintendo supposed to do? If they play the press' game the press will misreport shit and make them look bad. If they don't the press will misreport shit and make them look bad.

 

[Hyperactivity]

Nintendo did try this, with their Twilight Princess announcement.

To do this day Miyamoto coming out on stage is considered one of Nintendo's most iconic moments and STILL gets mentioned regularly among enthusiasts.

Can the same be said for any specific moment of a Nintendo Direct? That's not shade--I'm genuinely asking since I don't watch all of them.

Megaman in smash, and everything in their january direct in 2013 that happened at the end (hint: last 10-20 minutes they went insane on the game announcements, and it plus their E3 2013 direct couldve made an AMAZING direct)

Little Mac in smash, and every X and Bayonetta 2 trailer get incredibly hyped as well

 

[AzaK]

You really should listen to me a bit more on this.
I mean, granted, it's just my opinion... but of course gaming press is going to be negative about it, because they are being cut out of the conversation. When you start promoting and talking through 'owned channels,' then you get the traffic. You're basically taking traffic away from press outlets, and letting consumers participate without their lens.

The press hasn't been kind to them for awhile, so this let's the main messaging get out to potential purchases through Nintendo's rose-tinted view. The sad part is, it works, but it mostly has to happen because of the vitriol the media is giving them in the first place. It's a cycle, just look at all the negativity today in what should be a big win for 'core fans,' since they are actively being called to take part in experiencing something that was typically reserved for elite access press.

Sure, but the negative press has come about due to Nintendo's "fuck you" to the press and core gamers in general. This is all a culmination of many years of work by Nintendo to NOT cater to the core gaming crowd. They released an "inferior" console in the Wii, and now Wii U is essentially a generation old with no really defining feature. The Wii and DS saw a market in the family generation and jumped in with both feet, essentially abandoning their core gaming fans who weren't primarily Nintendo fans. The Wii and Wii U lost core Western support and Nintendo dragged their heals on online and other features.

I think the press would be talking more positively of Nintendo if Nintendo had have followed the shifts within gaming that have been over the last 10 years or more.

 

[-Horizon-]

I get the feeling that the digital event will be a similar style to the 3DS event at e3 2012.

Remind me what was revealed during that? Was that when Reggie finally told people Fire Emblem was coming after the event was over?

 

[StevieP]

Sure, but the negative press has come about due to Nintendo's "fuck you" to the press and core gamers in general. This is all a culmination of many years of work by Nintendo to NOT cater to the core gaming crowd. They released an "inferior" console in the Wii, and now Wii U is essentially a generation old with no really defining feature. The Wii and DS saw a market in the family generation and jumped in with both feet, essentially abandoning their core gaming fans who weren't primarily Nintendo fans. The Wii and Wii U lost core Western support and Nintendo dragged their heals on online and other features.

I think the press would be talking more positively of Nintendo if Nintendo had have followed the shifts within gaming that have been over the last 10 years or more.

In what world wasn't there a metric shit ton of core oriented software on the Wii?

Some of the best of the generation, in fact.

 

[RagnarokX]

NSMBU (Then shown as NSMBMii) and the Wii sports games in the initial reveal did NOT look like they couldn't be on the Wii. Aside from being in HD, they weren't technically impressive.
We knew it was a new system, but they never showed the box and simply showed the gamepad. They also showed off Wii remotes. Until after the conference was over, and some clearing up was done, it was confusing as to if it was a new system, or some sort of expansion on the Wii. You can argue all you want that only stupid people wouldn't realize this, but if you even browsed /v/ or Neogaf or any other gaming website during the conference (hell, go look up threads from around that time on just about any gaming forum), you would clearly see massive confusion.

The Zelda tech demo was also part of that initial reveal video and should have instantly cleared up any doubts. The 360 port sizzle reel that followed should have cemented that.

 

[royalan]

In what world wasn't there a metric shit ton of core oriented software on the Wii?

Some of the best of the generation, in fact.

...the same world where Nintendo themselves often neglected to promote said software?

 

[one_kill]

...the same world where Nintendo themselves often neglected to promote said software?

Which is the same world where Sony often neglects first party titles so what's your point?

 

[ec0ec0]

Dude, this is nothing new.

Corporations wanting to have complete control of their messaging and brand image is NOTHING new, and before the growth of national journalism and new publications was rather commonplace. Back in the day this was seen as a problem. And why? Because corporations took advantage of it.

sorry OK, its about "balance". But gaf would protect me from this. I will be safe here, right gaf?? Thanks gaf.

 

[Amazeballs]

For me personally, the directs are already pretty hype because the information is hashed out in a clear and concise manner that's easy to digest, but view count for most of the videos aren't inspiring. That makes me wonder if this is more of an issue with reach than it is with hype.

That said, I think it would make sense for Nintendo to do a streaming event during E3 if they're effectively using the event to communicate the existence of their own video information channels. The information from the gaming press isn't doing them any favors, that's for sure. It could be a long term strategy to build mind share or it could just be Nintendo trying to do their own thing again (which I often can't help but admire the for).

 

[Hatchtag]

The Zelda tech demo was also part of that initial reveal video and should have instantly cleared up any doubts. The 360 port sizzle reel that followed should have cemented that.

It looked like a cutscene, which, often times, are pre-rendered and look signfiicantly better than the games they are in. Not to mention, the casual consumer doesn't know all that much about tech specs, and what to expect visually from a new console.
But, once again, a lot of people assumed it was some sort of Wii add on, myself included for a short time. You can say that people shouldn't have assumed that, but they did, and that's largely on Nintendo for not doing a good job revealing the system in a non-confusing way.

 

[Rulp]

Well, they brought Reggie out, so this year better be good. New F-Zero and Star Fox upfront or put Reggie back in his place. It's simply one or the other.

 

[royalan]

Which is the same world where Sony often neglects first party titles so what's your point?

...is Sony the one with the problem convincing people that their consoles get core-oriented software?

 

[Tripon]

...is Sony the one with the problem convincing people that their consoles get core-oriented software?

Have you seen what the Vita gets?

 

[royalan]

Have you seen what the Vita gets?

We're talking consoles. The Vita is irrelevant to this discussion.

 

[rpmurphy]

...is Sony the one with the problem convincing people that their consoles get core-oriented software?

Sony took a long time to be able to shake off the "no games" label last generation with the PS3 and PSP, and still has that problem with the Vita.

 

[royalan]

Sony took a long time to be able to shake off the "no games" label last generation with the PS3 and PSP, and still has that problem with the Vita.

Thanks for filling me in on how things were early last gen.

 

[cafemomo]

Have you seen what the Vita gets?

nothing but chinese cartoons and 3 year old indie games

still better than most

 

[Hatchtag]

Have you seen what the Vita gets?

In my opinion, better games than the Wii U.
But, defending Nintendo's flagship console, the home console of a company that is almost exclusively a video game company, has made 6 different home consoles (7 if you count virtual boy, but let's not), and relies largely on the income of them, by comparing it to Sony's second shot at a handheld that is a very small fraction of their income, shows how badly the Wii U is doing.

 

[one_kill]

We're talking consoles. The Vita is irrelevant to this discussion.

Why is it irrelevant? We're talking about press conferences.

 

[Winterfang]

That was a very amusing video.

 

[rpmurphy]

Thanks for filling me in on how things were early last gen.

You're welcome. Nintendo is sure in a difficult place with the press currently, but it's not something that they can't get out of. If Sony can do it with poor 1st party support and piggybacking on the 360's success, the bar to please the press is sure pretty low.

 

[royalan]

You're welcome. Nintendo is sure in a difficult place with the press currently, but it's not something that they can't get out of. If Sony can do it with poor 1st party support and piggybacking on the 360's success, the bar to please the press is sure pretty low.

No, I agree, and as critical as I am of Nintendo I DON'T yet think they're past the point of no return (although they're getting close).

I just don't think Nintendo is going to change their fortunes by making their messaging more insular. You said it yourself: Sony pulled itself out of the hole by piggybacking on the 360. Well, what Nintendo's doing now is like if Sony hadn't done that and instead spammed Ratchet and Clank games.

 

[Tom Nook Sawyer]

But, once again, a lot of people assumed it was some sort of Wii add on, myself included for a short time. You can say that people shouldn't have assumed that, but they did, and that's largely on Nintendo for not doing a good job revealing the system in a non-confusing way.

Indeed. It doesn't matter if the demo "should have" cleared up anything. The fact is that it didn't for a lot of people, and that's the problem. (it also assumes that everyone watched the entire hour, which I imagine many didn't)

At the least, I imagine Nintendo's learned a lot since then.

 

[LegendofLex]

NSMBU (Then shown as NSMBMii) and the Wii sports games in the initial reveal did NOT look like they couldn't be on the Wii. Aside from being in HD, they weren't technically impressive.

I would argue that, outside of multi-platform ports, nothing that's come out on Wii U really looks like it couldn't have been done on Wii (outside of being HD resolution).

I mean, sure, on closer inspection there's lots of stuff going on with Pikmin 3 and Mario 3D World. But even those games don't look very distinct from what was on Wii.

All those recycled Wii-engine games (NSMB, DKC, MH3, etc.) aren't helping.

 

[Boss Doggie]

I don't get the "you won't see people losing collective shit" argument.

They still lose their collective shit, only this time it's in incoherent posts rather than people making terrible faces and screaming.

 

[rpmurphy]

No, I agree, and as critical as I am of Nintendo I DON'T yet think they're past the point of no return (although they're getting close).

I just don't think Nintendo is going to change their fortunes by making their messaging more insular. You said it yourself: Sony pulled itself out of the hole by piggybacking on the 360. Well, what Nintendo's doing now is like if Sony hadn't done that and instead spammed Ratchet and Clank games.

Yeah, and I think it's been discussed a lot in other times and places about the direction of the market for consoles and the whole idea of where Nintendo fits (or doesn't fit) into the picture. The whole shift over to going after the wider non-gaming market definitely brought them success for that short period, but their inability to maintain consumer interest long-term was a strong signal that they needed to re-assess what their priorities should be; in the recent years, they've reduced down the quantity and scope for games like Wii Sports/Fit, and have gone back to more game-y software, some of which helped them get put back on the map (Fire Emblem, Animal Crossing, Bravely Default). But whether it would be wise to double down on it and spend their focus there, I don't know if there is a clear answer as if it is really worth the effort. I don't think they know either and maybe it's part of the reason why they're keeping it lower key and lower cost for the time being.

 

[Solid SOAP]

I don't think that Nintendo will pull them selves out of any hole, per say, but I think that given the popularity of Smash, Mario Kart, Zelda, and whatever else they have in store this year will certainly get the Wii U some sort of legitimate recognition from the general public. Mario Kart Wii sold 35 million copies, Brawl sold 10+ million and Melee is still played to this day, that audience simply can't just go away.

 

[Tom Nook Sawyer]

I don't think that Nintendo will pull them selves out of any hole, per say, but I think that given the popularity of Smash, Mario Kart, Zelda, and whatever else they have in store this year will certainly get the Wii U some sort of legitimate recognition from the general public. Mario Kart Wii sold 35 million copies, Brawl sold 10+ million and Melee is still played to this day, that audience simply can't just go away.

While I agree, it has been 6-years since both of those games. A lot can, and has, changed since then. I'm just hoping it hasn't been *that* drastic, but time will tell very soon

 

[ShockingAlberto]

We talk about the Twilight Princess moment, but not the Skyward Sword one where Miyamoto's live demo having tons of wireless interference basically set an awful tone for that game's perception from the reveal?

I mean

If they botch a reveal like that in a pre-recorded video, as well, then yeah, that's pretty fucking dumb

 

[javac]

If they botch a reveal like that in a pre-recorded video, as well, then yeah, that's pretty fucking dumb

What if they run out of VHS tapes?

 

[Marlowe89]

I don't get the "you won't see people losing collective shit" argument.

They still lose their collective shit, only this time it's in incoherent posts rather than people making terrible faces and screaming.

This. It's the fucking Twitter era, anyone who is remotely familiar with the internet (and they'll have to be if they plan on watching an online stream) will be getting plentiful dosages of collective hype and excitement. The argument that a Direct-like feed is incapable of generating roughly the same buzz as its on-stage competition is completely speculative at best and downright silly at worst.

 

[Striek]

Better to announce this now than have people disappointed closer to E3.

Its basically the same thing they did last year except their fans who didn't like it last year have now accepted it. It was kind've expected, its highly unlikely they have many surprises in store to boast about in a live press conference.

Its a little less sad for them this way.

 

[StreetsAhead]

its highly unlikely they have many surprises in store to boast about in a live press conference.

What is your reasoning here?

 

[Boss Doggie]

Also I noticed that when asked about the pros of a live conference that a streamed one didn't have, arguments tend to be ignorant (like apparently last year's direct didn't get coverage), or go off tangent and suddenly sales are involved. What the hell.

Better to announce this now than have people disappointed closer to E3.

Its basically the same thing they did last year except their fans who didn't like it last year have now accepted it. It was kind've expected, its highly unlikely they have many surprises in store to boast about in a live press conference.

Its a little less sad for them this way.

Looks like someone missed the video.

Also the only bad reception last year was the poor streaming, which they seem to have fixed, hopefully.