More of a financial decision.  E3 only recently became relevant again.  E3 2008 was a ghost town (when they had the convention split into multiple locations) but it has improved since then.  If Nintendo can get on the news through the Nintendo Directs then nothing is lost.  If they are completely ignored by the news without any mentioning of their directs or upcoming releases then that wouldn't be a good result.

I never disagreed with that, but that wasn't what you were saying. 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2014/04/29/nintendo-once-again-forgoing-live-stage-show-at-e3-2014/
By avoiding a stage show, it seems like Nintendo may not have all that much to say or show compared to their competition.

Yes it is. I am saying that who Nintendo reaches with their streaming conference isn't the issue of what is being lost by not doing the traditional E3 conference.

From the link Pavolink just shared, Forbes - a business publication - is saying things about Nintendo like:

"From the sound of it, it almost seems like Nintendo has contracted a permanent case of stage fright."

"By avoiding a stage show, it seems like Nintendo may not have all that much to say or show compared to their competition."

"Nintendo having taped presentations half the length of their competitor’s only seems to reinforce the notion that they’re not on the same level any more."

" It used to be a yearly three way slug-fest, but now it’s just Microsoft vs. Sony with Nintendo running the risk of being eclipsed in terms of relevance by someone like Oculus."

And the kicker:

"Nintendo has a lot to prove in an increasingly crowded video game space, one where the Xbox One and PS4 are shattering their predecessor’s records, while the Wii U continues to struggle. Nintendo almost seemed like a non-factor at last year’s E3 with their extremely limited presence and lack of a live presentation. It’s unclear why they thought that was a successful way to present themselves, and why they’re doing more of the same this year."

This sound like good coverage to you? This is in FORBES, mind you - this is likely to be the first thing Forbes readers have heard about Nintendo since the last quarterly earnings call and the slashed stock value.

Good choice?

It doesn't really make a difference for those who don't attend. However, it would probably have benefited them in the sense that game journalists would cover them more instead of just linking a video; It seems like things MS and Sony cover in their presentations get better coverage.

Most people experience E3 through journalists, not through the live stream itself. This is the same for all the audiences, and is not something that just happends to Nintendo, as you were implying.

Quite. The headline seems negative while the content of the article is bashing E3 itself more or less.

We've had this mystified view of E3 for far too long, honestly. It's always been as superficial as it has become, just now more people, more companies, are starting to wake up to that fact.

Exactly. Nintendo believes giving the back to press is good. They should have learned now. Remember the Wii addon? That was the press, not us who watchs the directs.

If they want to sell, they need the press, the same one that hyped the Wii as the next thing to get.

Do you and the rest of the people in this thread seriously think that E3 would have helped the WII U to any significant factor ?