For the first time since the annual industry conference started in 1995, Nintendo will not be holding a major press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) this year, instead "working to establish a new presentation style for E3."
Nintendo announced the surprising change in its promotional plans via an investor presentation by Nintendo President Satoru Iwata overnight. Rather than holding a major E3 press event to appeal to different audiences around the world, Iwata says Nintendo is "planning to host a few smaller events that are specifically focused on our software lineup for the US market" for this year's show, one for American distributors and another for the Western press. Iwata also cryptically mentioned that Nintendo is "continuing to investigate ways to deliver information about our games directly to our home audience around the time of E3," suggesting that it might be planning some sort of video presentation directly to consumers via the Web (or the Wii U) during the show.
While Nintendo will still be showing off new Wii U and 3DS titles on the E3 show floor, the move represents a significant change in marketing tactics for the major console maker. It would be like Apple deciding to announce the next major revision to iOS not with a worldwide developer-focused keynote address, but by simply setting up a booth at Mobile World Congress and inviting the press and select developers to try it out during a cocktail hour.
"At E3 this year, we are not planning to launch new hardware, and our main activity at E3 will be to announce and have people experience our software," Iwata's statement continues. "Many people are certainly very interested in learning more about the Wii U titles that we are going to announce. We will use E3 as an ideal opportunity to talk in detail mainly about the Wii U titles that we are going to launch this year, and we also plan to make it possible for visitors to try the games immediately. As a brand new challenge, we are working to establish a new presentation style for E3."
Previous Nintendo press conferences have given the gaming industry a number of iconic moments, from Shigeru Miyamoto introducing Twilight Princess in a Link costume and conducting a Wii symphony to Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime telling us about his ass-kicking abilities and body readiness.
What does this mean?
There are a few ways to read Nintendo's surprising decision. The friendliest interpretation for Nintendo is that the company is simply adjusting to a new media world in which planned events like E3 are no longer the most effective way to connect with gamers.
Back in the day, having a splashy E3 press conference was the best way to ensure mentions not only in the major gaming magazines, but also in newspapers, TV shows, and general interest magazines around the world. Today, it's easy to make announcements to Internet-enabled gamers and the press directly with customized video presentations throughout the year, so there's less need to waste money with a flashy spectacle tied in to E3. In his statement, Iwata even made special mention of the Nintendo Direct video presentations and their ability to present different information to different audiences on Nintendo's own schedule.
This interpretation gels somewhat with the unorthodox promotional activities of the other major hardware makers this year. While the PS3 was officially unveiled at E3 2006, Sony didn't wait for its E3 press conference to unveil the PlayStation 4; it got out ahead of things by staging its own February event, drawing tons of focused coverage during what's usually a slow time in the gaming calendar.
Microsoft is also planning to jump the gun on E3, unveiling the successor to the Xbox 360 weeks, rather than days, before the big show starts. It's still not clear whether Microsoft will be following that reveal event with an E3 press conference of its own just 20 or so days later, but even if it does, the company's biggest gaming announcements this year will not be coming on E3's schedule.
Nintendo's move could also be seen as something of a tactical retreat in the face of what is sure to be deafening hype for the new consoles being promoted by Sony and Microsoft at this year's E3. Trying to compete with the no-doubt massive announcements from those two companies by spending 90 minutes talking about titles for the well-known Wii U might be a bit like trying to shout into a hurricane.
This interpretation doesn't exactly speak well to the Wii U's potential to improve on its disappointing sales performance thus far, though. If Nintendo is really afraid that Sony and Microsoft's new systems are going to suck all the oxygen away from whatever major software announcements it has up its sleeve at E3, then something similar could well happen this holiday season, when the year-old Wii U goes up against its new, high-powered hardware competition. If that comes to pass, the Wii U could find itself in the same position as the Sega Dreamcast did when it was overshadowed by the PlayStation 2 just a year after its 1999 release.
One thing's for sure: you can't win an award for "most disappointing E3 press conference" if you don't have a press conference at all. Then again, you can't really win for "most surprising E3 press conference" that way, either.
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