Although I understand the reasoning for their approach, I think ultimately it was a failure, they came off looking as if they were trying to hide from the competition. Like they weren’t worthy of sitting toe to toe with Microsoft and Sony, it led to a negative perception from the wider gaming community.

They looked weak, but If they would have taken center stage, I don’t think it would have gone badly at all,………..sure, Sony and Microsoft would have captured the top headlines with their console launches, but Nintendo also had the best game lineup during E3 2013, bottom line.

Iwata needs to grow a pair sometimes, stop bowing to me and telling me your sorry! In 2014, for sure, it would behoove Nintendo to take center stage again, bring forth the surprises and the hype, and don’t ruin it with a Nintendo Direct that appears at the same time or before the show………E3 has a huge impact with the press, Nintendo Direct’s are aimed at Nintendo’s core audience, stop it Nintendo!

Failure IMO.

Though, I think a staged conference with the same layout and content would have been a failure as well. They need to get better at doing exciting trailers etc..

It may have a minimal impact as far as taking the stage, but a failure? No, as long as they didn’t unveil Wii Music U………..but it still would have been much better than the kiosk at E3, Nintendo Direct approach.

I agree with the trailers, Super Mario 3D World is the ultimate example of that, reaction to the first trailer (disappointment) compared to the last, lengthy trailer (this is legit, uber polished 3D Mario game).

I would have considered it a failure staged or not. It's still the exact same content, only difference would be reggie standing on a stage talking sales numbers and other unnecessary stuff as well.

I prefer a conference to a Nintendo Direct, but the most important part of it all will always be the content and how it's presented.

The point of that E3 was if the attendants were going to bother at all with nintendo then demo stations where they would actually "Play. The. Games." would be the main offering instead of sitting around watching a stage and complaining about how the Wii U didn't look or sound next gen.

Did attendants report more on their gameplay of nintendo games instead of a stage presentation? Yes. So it achieved Nintendo's goals. That's a success.

I think the vibe that I got outside of Nintendo publications is that Nintendo was playing it safe because, for the lack of a better answer, they felt intimidated by the current situation = Wii U’s lack of sales / appeal, VS Sony and Microsoft showcasing new consoles.

No need for derision

Common consensus says to me, at least, that if a product is doing badly, you want to sell it as much as possible, to get it’s name out there, and say “hey, this is what we got”………going up on stage would have done a better job of that than a N Direct and a booth in back.

Well, IMO.

I like that Iwata try's to establish a connection with his core audience, but yup, I'm sick of his, "Please forgive us".

If they let Iwata go this year, while I wish him the best, and it's never cool when someone loses their job (although I think Iwata doesn't have to worry about living on the streets regardless), it may prove to be a positive step for Nintendo.

Hearing from Reggie during event interviews , I don't think this is the case. It might be the case for people who think in terms of console wars. I can tell you that the point really was that the press' time was better spent playing the games on the show floor than sitting in an auditorium like setting and not interacting.

Thats nice and all, but the majority of the press didn’t see it as that…….

Sony and Microsoft had their large booth setups for kiosk / and games as well.