With this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo fast approaching, the time has come for us to make a few predictions about what we expect to see and what we hope will be announced in Los Angeles during the most important time of the year for the video game industry.
Here are some of our predictions for what Nintendo will show during their E3 Nintendo Direct:
Tony Polanco – Executive Editor
Nintendo is once again shutting out the larger gaming world by not holding a proper conference this year (notice the title of this predictions compared to the last two?). The company will once again hold a Nintendo Direct that’ll be tailored for their hardcore fanbase but which will do next to nothing to motivate non-Nintendo devotees to buy a Wii U or 3DS.
We’ll see some first party titles for the Wii U and the 3DS. We all know Nintendo and third parties are like oil and water so I don’t expect to see anything major on this end. A few odd indie games here or there, but nothing significant. They’ll also talk about Amiibos since that seems to be a big cash cow for them for whatever reason.
This will be yet another echo-chamber presentation from Nintendo. The faithful will froth at the mouth and claim the company had the best showing of E3 (as they always do). The rest of the gaming community will not be impressed… if they even bothered to tune into the streaming event, that is.
Stephanie Burdo – Contributing Editor
Nintendo is a wild card. Just when you think you have their motives pinned, you are proven wrong. As an overall discreet business entity, it’s hard to correctly predict what their next move will be. The safest bet would be that Nintendo will provide further coverage of their new The Legend of Zelda game, with an actual release date and platform details.
Some speculate that Nintendo will be announcing a new platform titled “NX.” An announcement for NX would certainly surprise me (and would not make much sense). Considering the five year gap between the Wii and Wii U, along with the recent release of their New Nintendo 3DS XL, I doubt they will announce a new platform since their current hardware is still fresh on the market. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata also stated this past May: “We do not plan on talking specifics about the the NX until 2016.”
Charles Singletary – Contributing Editor
Nintendo made the right call by focusing on their core audience. Them not selling as much as Sony or Microsoft is only seen as failure in the eyes of naive fanboys, because Nintendo has the strongest first party library this generation thus far. Also, The Big Three conversation is never truly who’s winning or losing. It’s who’s winning the most.
Nintendo will debut a lengthy Star Fox gameplay reveal, tease a new Metroid title, and possibly promote some indie titles that have reached Wii U stretch goals.
Nintendo will announce the top three characters that were voted on to be added to Smash Bros. and give release dates on their debut. They’ll also announce DLC for Splatoon, incorporating first party licensing into it. (Splatoon has the potential to be another staple multi-player experience for their console).
Dana Abercrombie – Content Writer
Expect to See:
You get an Amiibo….EVERYONE GETS AN AMIIBO! Amiibos are the cocaine of life and there’s no stopping them. While Nintendo’s mishandling of these figures has resulted in some people paying hundreds of dollars on Ebay, or in my case, knocking down children, the toys (or whatever they really are) will be pimped at E3. I see more Amiibo cards coming for more games.
Since I’m speaking of Amiibos, can we get an Amiibo-centered game, please? I would love to see a justifiable reason for all my Amiibo hoarding. Something similar to Disney Infinity and Skylanders. This is a perfect way to sell even more, by putting all the waves into ONE game… heck even a minigame. Or just maybe in the form of NintendoLand 2.
Smash Bros. will get new characters. Nintendo already asked fans to fill out ballots of which characters they would want, so I’m expecting Nintendo to announce the winners. I ‘m seeing three new additions: Mario Kart 8. Splatoon and Pikmin. Having characters from these games included would be nice.
Surprise to See:
I’m broke… or “temporarily out funds.” What better way for Nintendo to show it cares about everyone’s wallets then with a price drop for the Wii U? Despite my LOVE for the system, it doesn’t seem like many people are showing the same love. We need a reason to buy the system, aside from the Amiibos. It would be a great way for people to take notice of the console.
Shhh… if you listen closely, you can hear the calming sounds of galloping. Epona, is that you? Yes I know The Legend of Zelda is not making an appearance, but how great would it be if that wasn’t the case? I would still like to be surprised with a new trailer or heck, the sounds of Navi saying “hey” at the end of the presentation. We need some Zelda.
Jakejames Lugo – Associate Editor
Nintendo has a lot of work to do, despite having some interesting games revealed during their Micro-Direct presentation before E3. The Wii U is not doing as well as Nintendo had hoped for, and that is a real problem in a world where the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are making huge waves on the market. Going into the event, Nintendo needs to showcase more exclusive titles on the same level as Splatoon that will give gamers reasons to purchase a Wii U.
Games like Mario Maker are a step in the right direction, despite being another Mario title. Mario Maker offers gamers the power to shape and reshape what it is like to play through a Mario platformer with their own take, and that’s something Nintendo will need to keep their flagship mascot fresh and interesting. You can’t really find that enough on the competition right now.
One big issue Nintendo needs to address is the absence of The Legend of Zelda Wii U title at E3. This is a very big deal because not only is Zelda Wii U an important game to the Wii U’s library, very few other games without Mario in their title can fill such a void.
One of last year’s neat surprises was the announcement of a new Star Fox game for Wii U, an announcement that got a lot of people talking. This game absolutely needs to be shown at Nintendo’s Digital Event in some solid form, whether playable or a trailer. This is the best time to not only revitalize the series, but also spotlight another big reason for gamers to own a Wii U system. Zelda Wii U is still a long time away from being released, so Star Fox may be just the thing to keep everyone satisfied until then.
Nintendo’s other problems come from the absence of any third-party developer support. None of the upcoming year’s biggest and most anticipated third-party games are looking to release on the Wii U. So Nintendo themselves will have to pull their own weight in validating their console by providing a diversity of titles for the Wii U. It’s definitely high-time for Nintendo to go deep within their vault and pull from their dormant IPs for their developers to make more games that you can only see on their platforms. People have been begging for a new Metroid, a new F-Zero, and even another iteration of Punch-Out. If Nintendo can show anything like this during their Digital Event, they will certainly pull themselves in the right direction.
That just leaves the 3DS, a handheld that has been doing pretty good for a while now. Yet, with the New 3DS finally out on the market, gamers are having a hard time finding a reason to own the latest model. The only game out now to only be playable on New 3DS is Xenoblade Chronicles 3D, which despite being a very solid game, is not a reason to purchase some new hardware.
There needs to be more fantastic titles that can take advantage of the new 3DS model and are established IPs that people will flock to stores to buy a New 3DS. Perhaps a brand new Pokemon game that expands upon the fresh ideas from both Pokemon X and Pokemon Y that can only be done on New 3DS? Or maybe even a new 2.5D styled Metroid game that people have wanted to see for a long time. How about that? The point is that these are names that will get people spending more money on more Nintendo hardware, and that’s something Nintendo needs now more than ever.
Anthony Nash – News Editor
Who Knows?: Honestly, that’s what I’m left asking about this presentation. Nintendo is always hit or miss, and as predictable as some other companies may be, you never really know what Nintendo is going to bring to the party. Star Fox will 100% be present, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Animal Crossing made a guest appearance as well. Other than that, expect a lot of handheld talk, as Nintendo has a ton of strong titles coming to the 3DS.
Amiibo Mania: Don’t be shocked if Nintendo announces even more Amiibos for fans to go crazy over. The miniature figures have been printing money for the company, and we are due for some more Waves.
Ain’t No Party Like A FIRST Party: While we often talk about winning and losing an E3 right after every conference is done, all of that is generally heavily based on opinions. What is not up for discussion, however, is Nintendo’s strength when it comes to first party titles. They easily corner the market when it comes to quality games in that sense, and I would hope that they shock the world by announcing some more titles.
***
These are some of our thoughts, but what do you guys think Nintendo will show during their Direct? Make sure to let us know in the comments below.
