Gonna have to disagree with the OP, the ones I have seen have been awkward and also plagued by a lack of truly exciting news. Part of the problem is their attempts at dangling carrots before the Directs, hyping up incoming announcements, we shall never forget Cranky.

I respect that Iwata is probably the only gaming industry icon that presents anything in such an intimate form but the execution is a bit clumsy, the format seems awkward and there simply isn't enough meat to pack into the Directs, at a yearly electronics and/or gaming convention, it's different since there are so many different players on the scene to show their stuff, no one company on its own is likely to have enough gunpowder to make big blasts several times a year.

It seems like a very Japanese idea to me, and it also appears not to be having the desired effect, given that the desired effect is more exposure and subsequently increased sales. It's not what the doctor ordered and Nintendo still needs to solve the Western market puzzle.

So essentially your position is that Nintendo Directs, which were created because Nintendo believed (with ample supporting evidence) that the press was distorting, misreporting, or otherwise slanting what Nintendo presented at its conferences, are bad because they cause the press to be less positive to Nintendo. In other words, because it annoys a press which already generally poo-poos Nintendo. Is that an accurate summary?

Can you point me please where did I say ND are bad? Because the only thing I remember is talking about how a ND cannot replace a live conference. Not that they shouldn't exist for the rest of the year. I honestly don't remember.

And to solve a problem, flee is not the solution. Nintendo is a victim from their own actions. Press doesn't treat them like poo just because.

I know. But if they want to stay away from press then they should be ready to counterattack, because what we saw with Wii U can happen once again.

While these criticisms are true to a varying degree, they aren't unique to the Nintendo Direct medium.  There is just as much potential if not more at a live conference when everything and anything can go wrong.  I would agree that E3 generates more hype amongst the gaming community for sure but all that really leads to is untempered and unrealistic expectations, this is true for the directs but I feel like it isn't as bad.  

The most memorable moments last year from the traditional conference seem to be the mechanical faults, dead air, a pissing contest and Square Enix rebranding a game.

My opinion is that I want games info not PR or a corporate pissing contest so on that basis alone, these directs are a prefered medium for me.

So even when Nintendo make their own announcement show to avoid being shamed by the media and internet in general; they end up getting outide influences hyping their announcments, thus ending up being trolled once more when they don't deliver on those promises they never made?

Regardless; it doesn't change my opinion on the Directs themselves, it's not the grandest idea they've had, in my honest opinion.

The word "bad" is used in the context of the conversation, i.e. that having a Direct is worse than a live conference because the poor press will be unhappy that Nintendo's opened up their exclusive clubhouse. If you need, I can spend the rest of this conversation being so pedantic as to make every link completely explicit and utterly unmistakeable, but unlike some folks on this site I know you don't need me to do that, and that you're merely trying to deflect the course of this conversation away from my point.

As for your last point, you're correct. The press treats them like they do because Nintendo is arguably the publisher who least panders to the press. Is that supposed to be a bad thing? Their solution is to cut out the middleman and come straight to us instead of the press, including by being the only company that lets the public see exactly what the press does, when the press does, in the same format as the press does, and by being the only company that lets the public play its E3 demos and thus judge for themselves rather than making them dependent on press impressions of same. Your alternative is continued press pandering.

So all that said, what support do you have for the statement that doing a Nintendo Direct instead of a live conference will lead to only Nintendo fans hearing about Nintendo's E3?

The only reason people like E3 conferences so much is because in the past there was hardly any gaming news or info sent out. It was the one time of the year were Sony/Nintendo/ect went and spend an hour talking about purely games and its future releases (well not purely games, bs figures too)

that age is past. We know practically everything that is shown at a conference. At best we get a trailer for an unanounced game to be released in 2-3 years. Conferences are not what they once where. With how the internet and everything is these days we get our gaming news/rumors/info/leaks/ect every single day.

It's kind of like gaming magazines. They are outdated and pointless. Why wait once a month for news that could be a month old. Conferences are as special anymore. I don't get why people hype them so much. All your going to see is an updated trailer for some games ALREADY known and maybe a tease for a game with no release date in site.

Also I love how biased gaming sites are towards conferences for Nintendo. Say Nintendo shows a trailer for a new game. The media wants to know a million answers. When is release date, how many secret chracters, which control style, ect. ect ect. When any other company shows a trailer, all there is, is hype. People excited about the game. No questsions ever asked. Just this game will rule, hype train, ect.

I can sort of understand it cause lets be honest, most non-nintendo games have zero surprises. You see a trailer you know what the game is. You know how its going to control, ect. There is no need for questions. Where as Nintendo is trying new things all the time, that people wonder. But shouldn't that be a diss on the other companies and not Nintendo? Why do they get bashed for trying new things or being unpredictable. Hell Call of Duty is shown and the only question ever asked is "what time period" That is sadly more questions than many other games get. Well besides the FPS/resolution questions.

I love how this direct with massive info and 30+ minutes of content/footage will probably have less threads made about it than if a game is announced to be 720/30 or 1080/60.

Sad gaming world.

This. The last few Direct's have been absolutely amazing. Sure, i was going to get Mario Kart and most likely Smash too. Tomodachi Life direct though, sealed the deal on another one. It would be so hard to market or advertise that kind of game with a small trailer or blog post. 

I can point at sales and then ask you what proof do you have that a ND reach a wider audience than a live conference. But it doesn't matter, time will tell who is right and who is wrong.