There were several titles talked about such as the ever-popular Smash Brothers and Pokemon, as well as a personal favorite of mine - Mario Kart 8. I am sure Super Mario World 3D will sell, but both myself and my family? We have always been more partial to the 2D Mario adventures. That said, the newest Smash Brothers looks very entertaining - what a roster!
There were some titles that the console with share such as Batman, Watch Dogs and Dues Ex - but you can get these on other, probably more powerful systems if you want them badly enough. Or in the case of Deus Ex - you can have it a year ago. It is sort of my issue with Diablo III as a PlayStation 4 title - why wait an extra year and change for it when most people who want to play it already have? That is not motivation in buying a PlayStation 4, nor are the above non-exclusives a reason to buy a Wii U. Bayonetta was a guilty pleasure of mine and if I had a Wii U I would want to play the sequel.
It is great to see some third party support, and games like Sonic and Shin Megami are definitely exciting - but I just do not see enough star power in the games announced to make the Wii U a must-have. More Pokemon, more Zelda, some Metroid, Kid Icarus and more... well, big Nintendo titles. I do not think that all of the Wii U fans have lost faith, but I do not think this presentation did much to instill faith in those who have not yet gone in that direction - especially given the strong showings by Sony and Microsoft last night.
Nintendo had set my expectations fairly low by not having a conference, but instead of surpassing them - they more or less met them. I am still excited about some of the upcoming 3DS titles coming out over the next few months, but the Wii U just... is not making that compelling case to me just yet - and I wish it had. I am not one of those viewing doom and gloom for the Wii U - but I guess I was just hoping for a little... more.
You know, I'm kind of thankful Nintendo opted out of doing a big press conference at E3 this year -- I've been getting the feeling that the convention's become too reliant on excess (and awkwardness) and getting further away from doing what they should be doing. Which is, obviously, showing the games. So if Nintendo opts out again next year, I wouldn't mind. As long as they keep tossing out these informational videos, it's hard to complain.
ReplyDeleteThat said -- and it hurts me to say this -- Nintendo's showing this year seemed a little...well, I wouldn't call it underwhelming, but it was remarkably adequate in a time where an explosive reveal/info would give them better prospects. Don't get me wrong, Smash Bros. U has me hyped in a way that no game has been able to for a while (even more thank Kingdom Hearts 3, because I'm a sucker for that franchise). And considering the videos the Big N's put out in the past detailing all the games they've got in the pipeline, it's just a matter of being patient. The big stuff is coming, that much is clear.
I'd say Nintendo screwed up this time around...but really, what else could they have done? They're working on game after game after game, and they're getting support from awesome companies like Atlus and Platinum Games. Even if they announced a price drop, I wonder if that's enough; they probably will somewhere down the line, but in terms of a "quick fix" I'm drawing a blank.
I'm willing to wait. Problem is, I wonder how many others -- company, consumer or otherwise -- have as much patience.
"Or in the case of Deus Ex - you can have it a year ago."
ReplyDeleteI just saw a tweet that said the Wii U version of Deus Ex is releasing on the PS3/360 as well? There wasn't a link/source, so not sure on it. Wouldn't be surprised by it though.
Nintendo's problem I think? They had announced basically every single game before E3, and they had few surprises. Sure, Donkey Kong is great, I love the platforming genre...BUT, I wasn't really excited by it. I was literally thinking, "Is this the 'Year of Donkey Kong'"?
I mean, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D just released on the 3DS, now he's getting his own Wii U platforming title, that isn't DLC to another game?
If Donkey Kong is what Retro has been working on (or, will be for nearly 2 years) since they helped with Mario Kart 7, I can't say I'm impressed. I don't doubt it will look good, play great, and be fun. It's just not what I was looking for.
Speaking of Super Smash Bros. and the roster though, did you see this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBoL1Ic9uWw&feature=share&list=PL2JiZAV5BmDU_nJylD2zvyHvgFm9Ot8Nr
One of the few things to actually make me LOL from E3 today.
Agreed - I don't necessarily feel they screwed up, and honestly? I kind of understand their approach. Anything they did this year was going to have a really hard time standing out against the spectacle of the big Xbox One and PS4 shows. They played it safe with very few surprises. I guess I was just sort of personally hoping for a few more of those surprises.
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by!
I hadn't seen the Wii Fit trainer until my son came running in my room last night and was like: You have got to see this - come look at the computer in the den - and then he showed it to me. Yeah, I laughed quite hard at that one.
ReplyDeleteAnd similar to what I said to Voltech44's post - I agree with what you said. There were no real surprises. I have no real problem with Nintendo ceding the spotlight to Sony and Microsoft this year - they were not going to compete against those console reveals. But - it just felt too safe - no real big surprises at a show where I thought a few more big-time game reveals really could have helped them gain a bit more momentum.
Thanks for the comment!