Here we go, the countdown continues as we take another stop on the road to the 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo. On this edition I’ll cover Nintendo. What do I want to see? What do I expect out of Nintendo’s keynote? Well, let’s take a look at what Nintendo has going for it.
Nintendo is in a tough spot this year. Losing $946 million for their fiscal year, Nintendo has tried to keep the Wii from losing sales, and boosted 3DS sales by a price drop, and at last year’s E3 announced a new console in the Wii U. Now with a new console on the horizon, and the 3DS picking up steam, Nintendo has a lot on it’s plate this year. Will the Wii U make an impact on the console market? Can Nintendo finally win back the “core” gamers that the Wii lost?
What I Want To See
Last year, Nintendo showed off the Wii U and promised third party support and aimed at the core audience. I for one would love to see what they have in store. I want to see the games aimed toward the “core” gamer. If Nintendo is truly serious about turning it’s image around, let’s see some games I want to play. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt to have a strong launch lineup for the Wii U. I can only hope they learned their lesson from the 3DS.
Staying on the Wii U, I want to see them show off what the console can do. I want to see just how powerful this console really is. I want to know everything I need to know about it at the keynote. I would hate for them to just show off demos, and give a launch of “holiday 2012″. I want a price and official launch date. Breaking all that news at the conference would be a good way to get people excited about the Wii U.
I also want to Nintendo to show off, in some way, the online capabilities of the Wii U. Showing off some of the features such as Netflix, DLC, downloadable games, and of course, online play would go a long way to show that Nintendo is finally stepping up it’s presence in the online gaming world. They’re also going to need some exclusive applications and/or games for their online network. And when I say “games”, I don’t mean the classics such as the first Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda games, although I fully expect them to be available.
Lastly, I would like to see if Nintendo works ties the 3DS and Wii U together similar to the way the Vita and Playstation 3 work together. It’s highly doubtful, simply because they’re both very different systems. Still, it would be nice to see if that does indeed happen, and maybe they can sell a few more of each console that way.
Predictions
I fully expect Nintendo to show off a some more 3DS titles, and the launch titles for the Wii U. With the Wii U, I fully expect more Nintendo developed software, such as a new Mario title. I think they’re going to show off more than their fair share of in house developed games. Mario might be their big launch title simply because I believe a Zelda game was showcased last year.
Expect the Wii U controller to be heavily showcased during gameplay. I think the controller is going to get a lot more attention than the console itself. It’s almost going to be like an extended cut or live demonstration of the Wii U announcement trailer. So let’s hope this goes smoothly this year, and hopefully the audience turns off their wireless devices.
Being that they now have four consoles out on the market, I highly doubt the DS is going to get any kind of airtime, but it would be strange to see if the Wii doesn’t get any. The Wii U could have a “Holiday” release, so from now until then, I would expect them to show off the Wii’s last major titles.
Summary
Nintendo has a ton of anticipation behind them. I firmly believe they can come back to the prominence they once had. Moving beyond the stereotypes of the Wii, might be another thing altogether. It seems Nintendo is trying to have it’s cake, and eat it too. It looks like Nintendo is going after the core audience that felt abandoned by the Wii, and keep that casual audience by keeping the “Wii” name.
Nintendo has a great opportunity ahead of them, but it’s really up to them as to how they seize that opportunity to recapture their audience, and gain new fans. As someone who grew up on the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, I am rooting for them to amaze me again.
So there we have it gamers. Tell us what your own thoughts and predictions, and stay tuned to New Gamer Nation because we will have recaps off all the conferences, our thoughts, opinions, and who knows what else we have in store. Get ready nation, E3 is coming.