Why Nintendo “Won” E3 2010
Welcome to the third in our multi-part series on E3 2010, and who the “winner” is. One writer will take each company, and argue why they “won” the show. In the words of a great man (well, a man, at any rate): “We may or may not feel that they won on all levels, however it is our job to convince you that they won based on the foundation of our piece.” Couldn’t be bothered to say it better myself.
My job, obviously, is to argue that Nintendo “won” E3 2010. Not only have Nintendo conquered the minds of the casual market, but they appear to have won back the minds of the hardcore market, too. How have they managed this? Well, they did so by putting on the best E3 press conference that I’ve seen in many years.
It wasn’t perfect- there were some low points. Perhaps touting the new Wii GoldenEye game as a proper successor to the N64 version was a bit misguided, given that the new one looks absolutely dreadful (in terms of recreating the original). However, I can’t hold this against Nintendo themselves, just whoever decided the content of the conference. Absolutely everything that Nintendo are involved with this year is already looking fantastic. Whatever your criteria for the “winner” of E3 are, surely the quality of the games is number one.
They began with a brand new Zelda title for Wii. One that looks even better than Wind Waker, and with the style of Ocarina of Time. A new Zelda is grounds enough to declare that they’ve pulled it out of the bag, but the fact that they’ve not only made what is probably the best looking Zelda game ever, but appear to have fixed the major problems with Twilight Princess’ controls, is just icing on an already delicious and fulfilling cake. Miyamoto explaining the game and then appearing on stage to show it off? It reduced me back to the state of wonder I fell into when he first wielded that sword and shield on stage.
By this point I was already ready to accept Nintendo back as my favourite thing in the world, but there was so much more to come. Kirby’s Epic Yarn was shown off, and gamers like me went crazy. It has an art style capable of creating joy where there was only misery, and gameplay that looks like a cross between Paper Mario and Kirby: Canvas Curse on the DS. Anyone who even looked at Kirby back in the day is already looking forward to this game, I’m sure of it. Obviously I’ve not had a chance to play it, but if I was going on the trailer alone, Kirby’s Epic Yarn would be the game of the show.
Not content with winning us over with adorable Kirby games and new Zelda titles, Nintendo then began to hit us over and over again with great-looking Wii titles. I felt like the N64 kid at Christmas when I saw the new Donkey Kong Country game- the SNES original was one of the best games on the system, and I’m sure than if this one is even half as good as that, it’ll be mind-blowing. We already knew about Metroid: Other M, but the trailer showing first-person and 2.5D platforming has made me look forward to a game I had no interest in; for the first time for a long time, Nintendo have managed to ignite a lost cause in me. For me, this shows that Nintendo have done better than the other companies, who floundered about failing to make me interested in stuff I already had an interest in.
Mario Sports Mix was shown as well, and the Mario Sports track record is not to be sniffed at- I don’t think this one will disappoint. As a party game it’ll be a lot of fun. Speaking of parties, Wii Party was also announced. I think a lot of people have let it slip under the radar, but think of it like this: it’s Mario Party, but you can play it with your family. Just because it uses Miis does not mean it should be brushed aside as a casual game; I genuinely think that it will be a hit with both types of gamer (as will the new Professor Layton game, which still looks brilliant).
Of course, the real star of Nintendo’s show was the 3DS. It looks like a DS, but it’s a whole new bit of handheld hardware. Nintendo were the only company to reveal a new console this year, and I think that’s definitely grounds to grant them the “winner” crown, but the 3DS deserves much more than that. Not only does it display 3D images without those stupid glasses, but the support for the system is phenomenal. Kid Icarus returning, an Ocarina of Time remake, Metal Gear, Saint’s Row, DJ Hero, a Harmonix Music game, and loads more games from huge franchises are all coming to the 3DS. For a console to have such widespread support at this point is brilliant for gamers, and is just another reason why Nintendo have “won” this year’s E3.
The crux of this argument is essentially that Nintendo have announced a huge volume of stuff that I, and many others like me, really do want to play. Not just a lot of stuff, or a few things that I really want- but a lot of stuff that I really want. What more could you want from E3? If the point is to get us excited about games, then Nintendo have clearly “won”. I haven’t been this excited about a console release since the original DS released for the first time, and Nintendo have recaptured that excitement with the 3DS and the lineup of games. If I haven’t convinced you yet, just remember that Nintendo have also created the best gaming advertisement in a very, very long time.
