I think Nintendo won E3. That's no secret. Opinions are opinions are opinions, but what I DON'T think is that they absolutely smoked Sony and Microsoft. I think Nintendo had a B+ presentation, Microsoft had a B, and Sony had a B-. None were outstanding. The point is, they all have room for improvement, but since I care most about Nintendo, I'll discuss ten things Nintendo can do to have an even better E3 next year.
1. Stick with the Digital Event format.
If nothing else, what the Digital Event proves is that a digital format works. After the last E3, I wanted Nintendo to return to the Press Conference format. After this one, I don't. Above anything else, it was the most entertaining E3 "press conference" not only this year, but of any E3 I'd ever seen. Nintendo was self aware, and there was asolutely no awkwardness. Sometimes the best improvement is to not change. Keep it digital.
2. Show the Digital Event at E3 on a big screen in the Nokia Theatre for the press and host a separate stream with the live audience reaction.
No matter how stupid I think it is, people like to hear other people get excited about something. This way, they'd get that. It's pretty self explanitory.
3. Copy Sony. Air the Digital Event in select theatres for fans.
Allow Nintendo fans to watch the Digital Event live with an audience of other Nintendo fans.
4. Reveal every game you reveal at E3 at the Digital Event.
Don't save game reveals for afterwords. It deflated the reveal of everything. The Treehouse Coverage is perfect. Don't use it to reveal games. Use it to reveal gameplay. Don't reveal games at round tables. None of that.
5. Don't spend more than five minutes on any one game.
Especially when most of those five minutes consist of the developer talking about how great the game is with no gameplay being shown. I'm looking at you Aonuma. And Yarn Yoshi. And Amiibo. And Splatoon. Just show the games and move on. Honestly, even 5 minutes is too long in most cases. Bigger games?Longer reveal. Yarn Yoshi? Shorter reveal.
6. Keep the skits. But change it each year.
I loved the Robot Chicken skits. They broke up the game reveals in a meaningful way that didn't feel intrucive and never overstayed their welcome. That being said, don't use Robot Chicken next year. Not because they weren't entertaining, they were awesome, but they could really overstay they're welcome if it's the same people every year. Choose another group next year and another after that. Keep it fresh.
7. DON'T SHOW CGI/CUTSCENES WITHOUT GAMEPLAY. EVER.
Just don't do it. Not once. Not with Zelda U. Not with XenoCron X. Not with anything else. Not ever. I don't care if it's all "in engine." It cheapens the reveal. I'll just come right out and say it: the Zelda reveal pissed me off. It was shit. We waited a year to watch Aonuma talk for a minute with a white background, Link stand in grass for a minute while Aonuma talked some more, and then watch a 45 second cutscene that confused us about Link's gender. It wasn't a good reveal and Zelda deserves better. Every video game deserves better. You want to show cutscenes? Fine. Show gameplay too. If your trailer doesn't consist of at least 50% gameplay, it's not ready for E3. Don't promise it. Don't show it.
Same with XenoChron X. Because there was no gameplay shown, people thought the graphics where downgraded. Then we saw 40 minutes of treehouse footage and it was awesome. Don't do that to yourselfs. You want a cinematic trailer? Fine. 50/50. Show gameplay and show it first at the Digital Event. The 2013 reveal of XenoChron X was perfect. How do you fuck that up? Don't do it again. Gameplay or bust.
8. Don't ignore the 3DS.
This isn't about the 3DS specifically. Don't mainly focus on one platform. Either represent them equally, or hold a separate Digital Event for both. Last year they did the same thing to the Wii U. I don't care if the Wii U is struggling. Nintendo treated the 3DS like a second class citizen this E3. They treated it the way Sony treats the Vita. I own two consoles, not one. I want games for two platforms, not one. I don't care how you do it, just don't do it again. Pokemon is not enough. Next year, bring the games for both consoles.
9. Keep the Treehouse Livestream for expanding on what was shown in the Digital Event.
That may sound redundant, but it isn't. The Treehouse Livestream was awesome and one of the best things about Nintendo's E3, but it was flawed. First, it revealed games that weren't at the Digital Event. Because of this, many people simply didn't see these games, and their reveals were less impactful. Second, the livestream wasn't transparent. We didn't know what would be shown until it was shown. That was not the right way to do it. Release a schedule of what will be shown at the Treehouse at the end of the Digital Event with the times. Allow people to tune in and know what they're tuning into. Spread out the more major games throughout the three days so that more people tune in every day. Reveal something new about the game not shown in their Digital Direct each time it's played, no matter how small. Seeing the Bayonetta 2 mech was awesome. Small things like that do wonders.
The crew was awesome too. They felt like normal gamers. They were awkward, and uncomfortable, and excited, and passionate and that was charming to watch. It was the opposite of corperate, and it made the whole Treehouse event worth it just to see these gamers so excited to finally talk about games they'd been working in in secret for months. It was authentic and that's good.
10. Don't end the Digital Event on a wimper.
The Digital Event started fantastic. The Robot Chicken bit was great. The Reggie vs. Iwate bit was great. Then the middle was okay. Not ending it with Zelda was a mistake. Then they ended it by revealing a character everyone already knew about from Smash, and showing a blurry image of an Alpha-stage Star Fox game while Miyamoto talked about I don't care. Worst reveal. Ever. Terrible ending to a fantastic start. Start big. Have something big in the middle. End it big. Have all the fluff in the middle.
Here's how I would have done it. I wouldn't have revealed Pokemon OR AS last month. I'd have revealed it at E3. Start the Digital Direct exactly the same. Continue as normal. Don't reveal Zelda U yet. Reveal Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire for the first time. Continue as normal. Take out the Miyamoto and Palutena bit entirely. After the Splatoon reveal, the screen fades to black. New challenger approaching. Show the Red, Blue, and Yellow trailer. Then show Zelda.
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If Nintendo does everything I listed, they'll have a home run E3 next year that'll make this year look like a warm up.
