Opinion: Nintendo and it’s E3 2013 Secret Weapon
There’s under two months remaining until Nintendo will front up to E3 with it’s back against the wall with other new consoles being revealed and discussed. Nintendo always performs at it’s best when it’s threatened and there is one secret weapon that’s been very quiet for a couple years. Something that could really bring the Wii U back from it’s testing launch period and that’s Retro Studios.
While we are discuss about what Nintendo may reveal at this year’s E3 let’s talk about Retro Studios and how quiet they have been for a while now. Even when the Wii U was released there was no talk about and no discussion about what games they were working on. It could likely be that a new Metroid game will be dropped as the surprise at E3 this year as they haven’t played their cards yet but I’m expecting more than this. Something along the lines of a new mature IP that will help shape the future of the Wii U.
Let Nintendo themselves work on the young gamers and old while Retro Studios could focus on the older audience that had moved away to Microsoft or Sony during the Wii’s period. We could explore the idea of a new Donkey Kong Country game for the Wii U or entertain the unlikely case that are helping out Nintendo in the next Legend of Zelda title. It’s surprising that no one’s been thinking about what Retro is up to but I think we might be in for a surprise and it could be one of the big drawcards that Nintendo will use to turn the attention away from the PS4 and the incoming Microsoft console.
For Nintendo it is likely they will show off a playable version of Mario Kart Wii U edition and possibly a playable version of a new Mario 3D. I’m not sure where Mario will go this time if it could be a Super Mario Galaxy 3 or returning to the grassroots of the Mushroom Kingdom. Of course the questioning of when do we see Super Smash Bros is on everyone’s lips and I think we might see a trailer for the game but the release date will be sometime in 2014. With both Mario Kart and Mario 3D on the way, the Wii U sales will increase aka the 3DS when it had it’s patchy release period. Also expecting to make a appearance would be Yoshi’s Epic Yarn. It looks beautiful and could be the best Yoshi game in years.
Retro’s last game was released in November 2010. They’ve been working on something for a while.
There will be more discussion and videos of Pokemon Rumble U, showing off the NCF features and will be a bigger hit than Skylanders if the game itself is solid enough. Pikmin 3 which seems to be the most delayed game in Nintendo’s history passing that of Skyward Sword should have a release date and it could be very soon after E3. It has to be released this year and as soon as possible. It’s had enough time to be made and the Wii U does need some aid in the first party section in waiting for Mario to come in with his two titles.
For the 3DS there should be discussion about Pokemon X and Y – drumming up the fact that this latest edition in Pokemon could be the one we have been waiting for in a long time. I also wonder if a new Pokemon Stadium title could be in the works or something we haven’t seen to that would make use of the connection between the 3DS and the Wii U.
Nintendo will discuss about the success of the eShop on both the Wii U and the 3DS. It has been one of the shining lights for them as small developers have released some amazing titles in Nano Assault Neo and Toki Tori 2. Third party support as we know is always a tough section for Nintendo and there will be discussions about that as well however I’m not sure what Nintendo is planning for this.
There’s still plenty of areas that we don’t know about what Nintendo has in store and that’s always the exciting part about E3. in May there will be the rumors and discussion posted online and that’s when we know the event is truly moving towards a reveal of a game or a console at E3. We are never one hundred sure about what will be revealed at the E3 show and I personally can’t wait to what Nintendo and the others in Microsoft and Sony will be showing off. It’s going to be a cracker of a event.
As much as I love Metroid, im not sure if it has that mass appeal.
I really think that a Super Mario Sunshine 2 is possible for the Wii U. It could include new action and island in an open world experience (like you can do missions and rome around). This game would also be more of a success that the first. Nintendo would be able to add online multiplayer, 2-player battles and a crap load of DLC like islands, F.L.U.D.S (the jetpacks) and more. The game would never die out in popularity.
E3 will be all about smash bros for wii u. It’s the console mover, it will be there. Sales need a boost, that is the franchise to do it. As well as that, Mario kart u seems a possibility a well for the same reason.Zelda, metroid and a Mario sports or party game are all possible as well IMO.
The bottom line here though, is third-party support means more in this current than ever before, so in the next it’ll likely be the single most important thing. Especially with open-source platforms on the horizon alongside the likes of PS4 and “Durango”.
As a Retro Studios fan, anything they touch does turn to gold, but that gold isn’t rich enough to drive sales up or move consoles. The only “secret weapon” Nintendo could unleash at E3 would have to be a consistent and tight release schedule with big Ninty franchises bolstering the Wii U stable throughout the rest of this year while the other two consoles drown out theirs in the lead up to the next-gen hardware releases. They also need those important third-parties working on games in the same period and beyond. If this doesn’t happen, their backs aren’t going to be just against the wall, they’re going to smooshed into them 🙁
IGN just reported that Nintendo won’t hold an E3 press conference in 2013. Could actually be a smart move from PR standpoint