The purpose of this post isn't to say I hated Nintendo's E3. As a matter of fact, I actually liked what they did as a whole. However, what they did during their Digital Event could have been better. It wasn't blow me
away good however it wasn't their worst E3 ever. It was mediocre and
safe. A disappointment but not the worst of the show. This post is to talk about the problems with Nintendo's E3 showing. Plain and simple. With that, let's get into it.
Much of what we saw is what we already new was coming. There were games that we already knew were coming that weren't shown either, despite much of what they shown having a 2016 label. There was too much going on for 3DS and not enough going on for Wii U. There was also too much talking when they could have filled that with more trailers. They have big news to talk about such as the new online and rewards platform with DeNA but failed to mention it. They could have used a price drop and a console redesign for Wii U with more storage and a smaller, more energy efficient Gamepad but failed to do so. They SHOULD have announced the smaller NEW 3DS with the face plates for the Americas but didn't. Also their biggest surprises happened before their digital event, not during (Ryu in Smash and Earthbound Begins). Let's talk individual games.
The problem with Star Fox comes from many different angles. While it's very awesome to see the gameplay for this game, the gameplay shown comes at a time where there's many other games in space. Its competition at the show is Star Citizen, Eve Valkyrie, No Man's Sky, and Elite Dangerous but there's also a ton of other competition that wasn't in the show. Heck, even Kid Icarus Uprising is competition.
What they shown for the game however fails to meet those bars set, not just by other games, but their own games.What people were wanting from this game were one of 3 things: an open ended space game set in the Star Fox Universe, a classic Star Fox style game with 4-player local and online coop, or a very large expansion on the Star Fox Assault style with battles playing out similar to Star Wars Battlefront. What they shown is none of those. Instead we get a Star Fox 64 like experience, which isn't bad however it's not evolved enough for modern times. They're not including any form of online multiplayer, despite this universe being perfect for that, yet they're trying to position this game as the game to have. Heck, even Kid Icarus Uprising has online going for it.
Star Fox Zero, visually, isn't the worst looking game, but for a game that isn't open-ended, it's far from ideal, especially on Wii U. Currently on Wii U, we're seeing games like Xenoblade Chronicles X, Fast Racing Neo, Mario Kart 8, Smash Bros, etc. that all blow this out of the water visually yet have more going on. Of course, I understand that this game you traverse land quickly but Star Fox Zero isn't a large open game and it isn't multiplayer. This means they're most likely spending too many resources on the Gamepad integration which isn't good for a game like this in the first place. Everything we've heard about how this game plays is that the controls don't feel good and the cockpit view actually detracts from the experience. The reasoning to put this in over coop and better visuals makes no sense.
Metroid Prime: Federation Force is the type of game the 3DS doesn't have in its library and actually could use. A cooperative first person shooter. However, it's not the game Nintendo needs. Nintendo needed a Wii U Metroid Prime at this E3 to get people out buying the Wii U and to really showcase what the Wii U Gamepad can do. Instead of using Metroid for showing off the Gamepad, they decided to use Star Fox, which is doing the opposite of helping. It's hurting Star Fox, it's hurting Metroid, it's hurting the Wii U, and it's hurting Nintendo.
To take it a step further, Metroid Prime: Federation Force doesn't play like a Metroid game. It plays much more like a straight up FPS. This is a given considering that its a spinoff and you're not playing as Samus. Considering the state of Nintendo however, the timing for this game is bad. It would be alright if they had the Wii U Metroid Prime there but this is doing more harm to Nintendo then good.
If you're going to come out with Metroid right now, it should either be a legitimate Metroid game or a legitimate Metroid Prime game, not a spinoff. Neither system have seen one and the fact they're putting this out before a real Metroid game has enraged the fanbase. Again, doing a game like this isn't horrible but the timing of this insanely bad. It's like giving somebody a piece of cheap store bought cake while they're watching their grandma die. Nice gesture, wrong timing. People were upset about Metroid Other M..... what makes you think making this would be a good idea AFTER the fallout of Metroid Other M, WHILE THE WII U IS STRUGGLING?!?!?!?
Again, this is the wrong game, on the wrong system, at the wrong time. It could be an interesting game but right now, Wii U, not 3DS, needs Paper Mario. Yet here we are, 3 years later, no Paper Mario. 3DS however has already received both a Paper Mario Game and a Mario & Luigi game. I understand 3DS needs games too but they're also getting other games already. This game isn't a game 3DS needs, it isn't a game Nintendo needs, and it isn't a game gamers need. Paper Mario Wii U is what's needed.
It doesn't look horrible and it will definitely find its crowd but it's more Persona then either SMT and Fire Emblem. People were expecting something more Fire Emblem related and what we got is something like Metroid Prime: Federation Force. It's only Fire Emblem in name. It's not something that's going to grab much of the Fire Emblem crowd and will only appeal to a very specific group of people.
Again, while the game isn't a bad looking game, it's not what the Wii U needed. Wii U NEEDS Fire Emblem. Whether that's a cross over or an actual game, it needs that Fire Emblem style of gameplay. Again, this is a huge oversight. It's nice to have but not the best timing.
Again and again and again. I'm sure this game would have found an audience but this IS NOT the game Wii U needs at this time. Why the crap are they putting this out? Wii U needs a REAL Animal Crossing. NOT A PARTY GAME! A game like this is okay to put out after the fact BUT it's not the game to put out RIGHT NOW. This isn't going to get people excited for Wii U, it's just ticking Nintendo fans off and making people uninterested in your platform.
Mario Party literally just came out too. The fact that your using the Amiibos again and doing exactly what you did with Mario Party is just... bad. This was horrible timing.
Nintendo had other games to talk about and show in the Digital Event but they didn't. Fast Racing Neo WOULD have helped the Digital Event but it wasn't shown. Project Treasure WOULD have helped the Digital Event but it wasn't shown. Devil's Third WOULD have helped the Digital Event but it wasn't shown. Fatal Frame WOULD have helped the Digital Event but it wasn't shown. Pokken Tournament WOULD have helped the Digital Event but it wasn't shown. Legend of Legacy WOULD have helped the Digital Event but it wasn't shown. Bravely Default 2 WOULD have helped the Digital Event but it wasn't shown.
Another major issue is the fact they announced these new changes and said in the direct that they're transitioning but didn't talk about this at all. We need to see these online changes, but they didn't show them to us. This was the time to talk about it. This is when everybody is listening. This is when you can get people outside looking in to get on board with your products. To add to that, the NX is on the way but the system is still at $300. This is the time to do a major price drop.
Also, where was Dragon Quest? I understand that's Square's stuff but Nintendo should make a deal with Square Enix to get it here. Fans want it. It would sell. Unlike the much of the stuff shown in the Digital Event. Also, yes I understand, Nintendo had other events but if they saved Ryu in Smash announcement, Mother 1 announcement, and indie game E3 demos announcement for the Digital Event that would have helped.
I think NOA did what they could with what Nintendo of Japan gave them. But ultimately, they couldn't do much because the hand they were given was bad from the start.
Again, overall, I didn't hate their E3 but it could have been put together better and they could have shown better stuff. They didn't though and they needed to. This is really why so many people are upset. Not because what they shown was horrible. It's because they had expectations that weren't met on many fronts.
Much of what we saw is what we already new was coming. There were games that we already knew were coming that weren't shown either, despite much of what they shown having a 2016 label. There was too much going on for 3DS and not enough going on for Wii U. There was also too much talking when they could have filled that with more trailers. They have big news to talk about such as the new online and rewards platform with DeNA but failed to mention it. They could have used a price drop and a console redesign for Wii U with more storage and a smaller, more energy efficient Gamepad but failed to do so. They SHOULD have announced the smaller NEW 3DS with the face plates for the Americas but didn't. Also their biggest surprises happened before their digital event, not during (Ryu in Smash and Earthbound Begins). Let's talk individual games.
Star Fox Zero
The problem with Star Fox comes from many different angles. While it's very awesome to see the gameplay for this game, the gameplay shown comes at a time where there's many other games in space. Its competition at the show is Star Citizen, Eve Valkyrie, No Man's Sky, and Elite Dangerous but there's also a ton of other competition that wasn't in the show. Heck, even Kid Icarus Uprising is competition.
What they shown for the game however fails to meet those bars set, not just by other games, but their own games.What people were wanting from this game were one of 3 things: an open ended space game set in the Star Fox Universe, a classic Star Fox style game with 4-player local and online coop, or a very large expansion on the Star Fox Assault style with battles playing out similar to Star Wars Battlefront. What they shown is none of those. Instead we get a Star Fox 64 like experience, which isn't bad however it's not evolved enough for modern times. They're not including any form of online multiplayer, despite this universe being perfect for that, yet they're trying to position this game as the game to have. Heck, even Kid Icarus Uprising has online going for it.
Star Fox Zero, visually, isn't the worst looking game, but for a game that isn't open-ended, it's far from ideal, especially on Wii U. Currently on Wii U, we're seeing games like Xenoblade Chronicles X, Fast Racing Neo, Mario Kart 8, Smash Bros, etc. that all blow this out of the water visually yet have more going on. Of course, I understand that this game you traverse land quickly but Star Fox Zero isn't a large open game and it isn't multiplayer. This means they're most likely spending too many resources on the Gamepad integration which isn't good for a game like this in the first place. Everything we've heard about how this game plays is that the controls don't feel good and the cockpit view actually detracts from the experience. The reasoning to put this in over coop and better visuals makes no sense.
Metroid Prime: Federation Force
Metroid Prime: Federation Force is the type of game the 3DS doesn't have in its library and actually could use. A cooperative first person shooter. However, it's not the game Nintendo needs. Nintendo needed a Wii U Metroid Prime at this E3 to get people out buying the Wii U and to really showcase what the Wii U Gamepad can do. Instead of using Metroid for showing off the Gamepad, they decided to use Star Fox, which is doing the opposite of helping. It's hurting Star Fox, it's hurting Metroid, it's hurting the Wii U, and it's hurting Nintendo.
To take it a step further, Metroid Prime: Federation Force doesn't play like a Metroid game. It plays much more like a straight up FPS. This is a given considering that its a spinoff and you're not playing as Samus. Considering the state of Nintendo however, the timing for this game is bad. It would be alright if they had the Wii U Metroid Prime there but this is doing more harm to Nintendo then good.
If you're going to come out with Metroid right now, it should either be a legitimate Metroid game or a legitimate Metroid Prime game, not a spinoff. Neither system have seen one and the fact they're putting this out before a real Metroid game has enraged the fanbase. Again, doing a game like this isn't horrible but the timing of this insanely bad. It's like giving somebody a piece of cheap store bought cake while they're watching their grandma die. Nice gesture, wrong timing. People were upset about Metroid Other M..... what makes you think making this would be a good idea AFTER the fallout of Metroid Other M, WHILE THE WII U IS STRUGGLING?!?!?!?
Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
Again, this is the wrong game, on the wrong system, at the wrong time. It could be an interesting game but right now, Wii U, not 3DS, needs Paper Mario. Yet here we are, 3 years later, no Paper Mario. 3DS however has already received both a Paper Mario Game and a Mario & Luigi game. I understand 3DS needs games too but they're also getting other games already. This game isn't a game 3DS needs, it isn't a game Nintendo needs, and it isn't a game gamers need. Paper Mario Wii U is what's needed.
SMT X Fire Emblem
It doesn't look horrible and it will definitely find its crowd but it's more Persona then either SMT and Fire Emblem. People were expecting something more Fire Emblem related and what we got is something like Metroid Prime: Federation Force. It's only Fire Emblem in name. It's not something that's going to grab much of the Fire Emblem crowd and will only appeal to a very specific group of people.
Again, while the game isn't a bad looking game, it's not what the Wii U needed. Wii U NEEDS Fire Emblem. Whether that's a cross over or an actual game, it needs that Fire Emblem style of gameplay. Again, this is a huge oversight. It's nice to have but not the best timing.
Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival
Again and again and again. I'm sure this game would have found an audience but this IS NOT the game Wii U needs at this time. Why the crap are they putting this out? Wii U needs a REAL Animal Crossing. NOT A PARTY GAME! A game like this is okay to put out after the fact BUT it's not the game to put out RIGHT NOW. This isn't going to get people excited for Wii U, it's just ticking Nintendo fans off and making people uninterested in your platform.
Mario Party literally just came out too. The fact that your using the Amiibos again and doing exactly what you did with Mario Party is just... bad. This was horrible timing.
Other things
Nintendo had other games to talk about and show in the Digital Event but they didn't. Fast Racing Neo WOULD have helped the Digital Event but it wasn't shown. Project Treasure WOULD have helped the Digital Event but it wasn't shown. Devil's Third WOULD have helped the Digital Event but it wasn't shown. Fatal Frame WOULD have helped the Digital Event but it wasn't shown. Pokken Tournament WOULD have helped the Digital Event but it wasn't shown. Legend of Legacy WOULD have helped the Digital Event but it wasn't shown. Bravely Default 2 WOULD have helped the Digital Event but it wasn't shown.
Another major issue is the fact they announced these new changes and said in the direct that they're transitioning but didn't talk about this at all. We need to see these online changes, but they didn't show them to us. This was the time to talk about it. This is when everybody is listening. This is when you can get people outside looking in to get on board with your products. To add to that, the NX is on the way but the system is still at $300. This is the time to do a major price drop.
Also, where was Dragon Quest? I understand that's Square's stuff but Nintendo should make a deal with Square Enix to get it here. Fans want it. It would sell. Unlike the much of the stuff shown in the Digital Event. Also, yes I understand, Nintendo had other events but if they saved Ryu in Smash announcement, Mother 1 announcement, and indie game E3 demos announcement for the Digital Event that would have helped.
I think NOA did what they could with what Nintendo of Japan gave them. But ultimately, they couldn't do much because the hand they were given was bad from the start.
Again, overall, I didn't hate their E3 but it could have been put together better and they could have shown better stuff. They didn't though and they needed to. This is really why so many people are upset. Not because what they shown was horrible. It's because they had expectations that weren't met on many fronts.
