Topic: Is Nintendo going to show mostly just casual games at E3 2009?

The best thing that could happen would be:

1) For them to reveal Wii Fit +
2) Several big first party releases, like Star Fox, Kid Icarus, and F-Zero
3) A teaser for Zelda Wii.

Appease both casual and hardcore = win.

It wouldn't change anything, because same whiners would be now complaining "where's Earthbound / Kirby / put your favorite franchise here".

I doubt it will be mostly casual games, but something is bound to be announced along those lines. After the uproar from last year though, they can't NOT just show casual stuff for risk of losing their whole core audience.

If they don't showcase the next zelda wii game or spirit tracks I can't see E3 being much of a success for Nintendo

The "core" audience who got butthurt about last E3 is far, far more smaller than they think, and think that they are more important than they actually are. Majority of people are very happy with their purchase, and the console itself will be remembered so fondly as NES in 20 years.

Yeah, but if they don't satisfy those people at E3 this year, I can quite easily see a lot of Wii's going up on ebay within hours of Nintendo's conference. Well, maybe not (since The Conduit is due soon), but they will be pushing a lot of people over the edge. And don't tell me that the core audience is really small - because that's crazy talk. Look at all the people on this forum. Now think about the percentage of those who are casual gamers (maybe 1% - if that)... and that's only on Nintendo Life! My point stands, and if Nintendo don't give the core gamers what we want, there's gonna be trouble, especially since the casual market is spending less and less than before.

I am a hardcore gamer. Been with nintendo since N64/Gameboy and every console since (bar GCN, long story!).

I actually like the casual games as well though! Anybody with me on this one?

Hahaha, comedy gold. See, this is exactly why I want a repeat. The melodrama and rage-shaking-tears is the kind of nerd-breakdown I love. All filled with self-importance and overblowing of issues.

I have a question though. If the 'hardcore' are so large and important and make up such a huge portion of Wii owners.. Then whose fault is it again that 'hardcore games' allegedly don't sell well (see: have far more likelyhood to sell fine and be successful than on other systems, but not selling millions = barely sold rite)? Because the internet sure loves to claim it's Nintendo gamers who are the problem.

edit: Oh, and can't forget, I would LOVE to see the source on how 'casual gamers' are spending less.

Core games on the Wii do do relatively well, just not as well as many people would have hoped, since the crowd has been leaving the Wii due to events such as Nintendo's disappointing E3 last year, which lead them to believe that there was nothing good due to be released.

Ever heard of the economic downturn, my friend? Also, the casual gamers have now begun to realise the difference between a quality game and shovelware, so they're being a bit more cautious with their money.

Also, don't make this into a flame war, my friend

Amen. Gaming enthusiasts have always been very small part of the team. Even on PS2, which was supposedly haven for "hardcore gamers", most games that these people deem "killer-apps" sold million or two at max. Many didn't ever breach even 300 000 in sales. And that was on console that had userbase of 140 million. The problem with these discussions is that people can't put sales into perspective, as majority of them have followed sales only for two years or less.

They don't. So far more than 330 million pieces of software have been bought for Wii. This means that typical Wii owner has 6.3 games or so, and even if we remove Wii Play and Wii Fit from equation, attach rate is still around 6.0. This is darn good attach rate for console which userbase still grows by more than 700 000 units each month. For comparsion, PS2 had sold only 228 million during its first 30 months.

Since they're expanding the show a bit this year I think we can expect something like F-Zero or Star Fox, but obviously most their show will be geared towards their target market right now which is the Wii Fit/Sports-playing crowd. Third parties will probably have some stuff to show off though. I expect Ubisoft to play up Red Steel 2 quite a bit.

Which doesn't mean anything. Right now video games are THE most viable, and economical form of entertainment. Perspective and critical thinking here is vital, because we have to remember that recessions and downturns is when disrupters become successes. Pinball machines, the advent of video games themselves, Atari.. All of these did great business during economic downtimes. There's no proof or correlation that the economy will turn new/relapsed gamers away from their new delight. In fact, it's just the opposite, they'll be more likely to spend money on what gets them the most entertainment for their dollar, which sure as heck won't be movies, I can tell you that much.

Also, the casual gamers have now begun to realise the difference between a quality game and shovelware, so they're being a bit more cautious with their money.

They always knew the difference, better than most hardcore in fact. Because the consumer defines what 'quality' is, not the creator, the journalist, or the 'hardcore' of an industry. After all.. Who are the ones more likely to let reviewers and scores control their purchases?

I have very little to add to this conversation, but I can't pass up a comment about Earthbound. While I do agree that people tend to whine about any franchise they like if it hasn't had a release in just a year, but Earthbound is a huge exception. We've waited over a decade for a sequel, and now that it's finally done, it's not being localized. We've also not had the original (EB Zero) ever localized. Europe hasn't gotten any form of the game ever. And worst of all, Earthbound was announced for VC when the VC was first announced. So we are super long overdue. I don't care what legal problems there are -- I want the game they promised for VC.

OK, so that's your daily Earthbound lesson.