E3 2014 will be known as the E3 that was dominated by Nintendo.
Let’s start with Sony and Microsoft. Both did a great job maintaining their audience happy thought their conferences. Neither unveiled too many surprises, but had a steady flow of games and good news to keep the console war interesting. Microsoft kept the FPS community totally enthralled after their news about the upcoming Halo game that features all 4 games and all the multi-player maps. Sony brought out their big guns with Uncharted and Little Big Planet. Both companies also displayed third-party games and how good they will look on their representative systems. Lastly, Grand Theft Auto 5 being released on all platforms was just great news for the gaming community altogether.
But Nintendo delivered the big guns, the big surprises, and came out swinging wildly from the first second on.
With the help of Robot Chicken, an extremely over-excited commentator, a successful Smash Brothers tournament, a cool action sequence featuring Nintendo presidents, and the ability to stretch out the good news over more than just one day, Nintendo single-handedly brought the fight on and pretty much all but guaranteed 2015 domination.They didn't throw any numbers, didn't apologize, didn't preach hope. All they did was hand out new game after new game after new game.
The new (remake) Pokemon games. The Nintendo figures that each carries its own distinctive stats. Smash Brothers WiiU. Smash Brothers 3DS. Pac-Man being in Smash Brothers. The ability to put your character as a fighter in Smash Brothers. Star Fox reveal. Zelda WiiU revealed and displayed (beautifully). New Kirby game. New game featuring Toad. New “X” trailer. 3DS RPG by Level 5 with help from Studio Ghibli. And a few surprising exclusives to round it all out. Nintendo needed software, and it delivered software by the droves. There was an infinite amount of attention given to the fleeting WiiU, and yet focused the second day on the 3DS to even up the love.
Nearly every problem the WiiU has presented over the years had been addressed, dealt with, and countered within the 48 hours of E3 so far. Lack of software? Not anymore. Pointless gamepad? Not anymore. Too much Mario? Not anymore, as not one Mario game was mentioned this year. Not enough indie games? Over a dozen Capcom games for Virtual Console in the upcoming year as well as its rising amount of low-budget games. Not enough new IPs? Well, we have Fantasy Life, Devil’s Third, and Splatoon around the corner. Nintendo managed to calm nearly all the criticism flames by unveiling the most diverse lineup amongst the Big 3 systems.
Some can and will argue that Nintendo had the most to recover amongst the three, as the PS4 is hitting record sales and the XBox One isn’t doing half-bad until you leave the Western Hemisphere. But Nintendo delivered the requirements and took it even farther. Although some will say it’s too little too late after the years of Wii neglect and the abysmal WiiU start, but for those that did indeed have hope this E3 should definitely make you a believer. The WiiU has a long, long way to go, but it is most certainly heading in the right direction.
Nintendo you needed to do something, fast, and you definitely didn’t disappoint.
Now time to make due with all the promises.
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