While last year's E3 was focused on Nintendo's Wii U, this year's event will always be remembered as the year Sony and Microsoft revealed their new consoles to the world.
Nintendo opted to do things a little differently this time round, going for a much smaller Nintendo Direct presentation rather than a loud on-stage press conference. There were fewer fireworks, but it allowed it to get to the point and show off its upcoming titles to the world.
Naturally, this holiday season is going to be a fierce one. Microsoft and Sony will be pushing the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 and many are wondering how Nintendo will compete.
In an interview with CNN, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said Nintendo simply needs to get as many games into the wild as possible so more gamers can begin to understand the value of Wii U itself.
Software sells hardware. The number of hardware selling and the number of people who can experience the unique attractions of the Wii U are going to increase, and thereby the knowledge and the understanding about the Wii U system shall naturally expand.
As for how Nintendo will deal with the competition, it doesn't appear too interested in what they're doing and is focusing on creating experiences that can't be found anywhere but on Wii U:
We just don't care too much about what other companies are doing or are trying to do. Our primary focus is to think about and actually carry out something which other company's hardware can never realise. We are trying to provide consumers gaming experiences that can only be available on Nintendo platforms.
Iwata said those who currently own a Wii U are enjoying their new console, but the challenge is getting those without one to see the system's uniqueness.
What are your thoughts on Nintendo's attitude towards the competition? Let us know in the comment section below.
[source edition.cnn.com]
Comments (49)
This isn't news, nintendo has always done this
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
@2Sang And that is why I love them.
It's one of the reason they are my favourite company: They don't care for trends or whatever is the latest tech frenzy, it's all about games. What some people point as their biggest weakness (being a video game company only) I consider in fact their biggest strength: No distractions, just games. Yes, they do go off the beaten path and try new stuff with various degrees of success, taking a lot more risks than the competition. But in the end it all comes down to games... and damn fine good ones at that.
No news on the summer Wii U update? Makes me wonder when they'll throw the next Nintendo Direct...
Gotta thank them for helping Sega get the Sonic shiz back on track yo
Nintendo has always been the trend setter, not the other way around.
@Fazermint
Hmm do you remember back when everybody moves to optical media when Nintendo stood by cartridges? they may have a complete monopoly of console video gaming if they had care about the direction the industry was going instead of "We'll do our own thing and people will like it whatever we do because we are Nintendo"
@cbkummer I agree. Don't make bigger products to win a contest, do it so that other people enjoy it.
I [heart] Iwata
I have been a Nintendo fan since the NES. I have always bought there product first and always will, but sometimes there stubbornness against change can be somewhat disturbing.
Nintendo could just release Pokemon MMO and outsell pretty much every other console(I assume) If they ever decided to go in this direction, I would probably sell all my organs for it
@Shiryu
"They don't care for trends or whatever is the latest tech frenzy" Like... tablets... or 3D...?
@2Sang @cbkummer @Fazermint @Dev
Nintendo has focused on what its competition is doing. Most of Nintendo's home consoles have been released as a direct response to a competitor who made the first move. If SEGA hadn't released the 16-bit Genesis, Nintendo wouldn't have quickly countered it with their 16-bit SNES. They would have carried on selling the NES for many more years with no rush to upgrade. Even the uniqueness of the DS was a response to the incoming PSP. If the incoming competitor had been just another lightweight that they could swat away with ease, they would have just made a more powerful Game Boy again. All companies are interested in what their competition is doing. Whether it be to counter it like-for-like or to do something different in spite of it (and Nintendo has done both, despite the idea in recent times that it only does the latter).
THIS is the reason why I love Nintendo!
This is why i love each one of nintendos consoles. Each one nintendo has managed to make a unique experience. Each one has something that nothing else did. That is what nintendo has accomplished with each console.
What did I say?! The Wii and DS killed Nintendo.
Now they think they have to be so intuitive and unique. And yet until recently they haven't really cooperated with indie developers, whose games are usually unique.
Also, why do they think they have so few exclusives? Because companies know of their limited hardware.
Don't get me wrong: I'd marry my 3DS if I could. But it's still somewhat-humble hardware. And while the WiiU has better graphic capability. It's still the least powerful of the three current-gen consoles.
Although you do get to actually OWN your game. I'm lookin' at you Microsoft.
the day nintendo is just another player on the market without its personality will be the day i replace my gaming/games collecting hobby/passion with a new one.
and i'm glad to see that won't be in the near future.
Where Sony can't get the Vita in the hands of people because of the PS3, Nintendo has the same problem in reverse. The 3DS has everything, almost, that the Wii U has, other than HD and a couple other things, so what's the selling point, Miiverse? TVii?
@ferthepoet No one wants a monopoly in console video gaming, not even Nintendo which is why they don't care about the competition. Nintendo could kill Playstation and Xbox if they wanted to but they won't do that because competition is healthy for the gaming industry
This is why I love Nintendo and I don't understand the need for 3rd party support from companies like ubisoft and EA they have great support for games that are made for their console w101 and x both look more entertaining than AC's last couple if games and sports games....
This is good and bad in my eyes.
I like that Nintendo has its own identity but there are certain things that their competitors offer that I would like to see them do(account system, achievements, etc).
@Haxonberik
Its not even summer yet.
@MAN1AC Is really June not summer? We dont really have seasons in the middle of South America, so...
I love Nintendo. I love their hardware and their games. If Nintendo left the hardware business, it would be a bigger blow than the day Sega went software only. That was a sad day indeed.
@ferthepoet worth mentioning, that was the most piracy rich way of selling games and made Sony next to no money, Nintendo had 0% piracy during that time, that's why Nintendo make money when companies like Sony consistently lose money on consoles. Intelligent use of technology makes a profit, no prizes for using something first if you fail to profit from it!
People forget that there are more factors to being a good company that making kids think your 'better than the rest'!
The way they keep losing their grip on the industries they used to dominate makes me worry they lack the brains to thrive in modern times
I don't even play my Wii U once a week, so how does he know if we are enjoying our console? My GF hasn't played it in over a month and my friend that has one also never turns it on.
There are no games that can pull us away from PC games that we have been playing instead. Wii U so far is a huge disappointment. They need to release a lot of good games before the others launch or they will be left behind.
This is why I'm a fanboy. Their philosophy absolutely drives detractors crazy too, which is also enjoyable if you can get past all the negative press they get from it.
Good. While I'm not gonna deny this idea has its disadvantages (see: Wii's online capabilities), considering the amount of games pathetically trying to be CoD level popular just by appealing to CoD fans, it's nice to see a company that does not care about that.
@Dev
The only unfortunate thing is that Nintendo does at times miss the boat on certain tech/ideas that they could use really well. That said, I agree that I love that Nintendo is actually just a gaming company that STILL does things their way (not some huge we-do-everything company that looks to kill the smaller guys like Sega and Atari). Sony or Microsoft could go under and easily be replaced by some other huge corp. like Apple or Samsung who'd also just make similar tech. Nintendo, with Sega gone, can't ever truly be replaced in the gaming equation.
The media should understand this, another major company also likes to "think differently".
Go Nintendo! Keep doing what you're doin' and keep fightin' the good fight!
This is why I love Nintendo. They don't care that their console isn't a super-expensive powerhouse, all they care about is that their console is providing an experience not available anywhere else. I love how dedicated they are to making their games. After watching the E3 videos, you can see how dedicated Miyamoto is to Pikmin 3, and you can see how dedicated Hideki Kono is to Mario Kart 8, and you can see how dedicated Koichi Hayashida is to Super Mario 3D World. They simply don't care about the competition. They only care about their fans and pleasing them by making fantastic games. That's why Nintendo is a fantastic company.
Like this had to be said! I really see no point in Nintendo trying to compete head on with Sony (Microsoft will probably be near DOA) since the gamers that gravitate towards Sony and Microsoft will probably never give Nintendo a chance. Better to just make a market of your own that keeps gaming nice and simple. Can't wait for the game flood!
its good to see iwata do mainstream media to get the truth out. it would only take a dummy to care about what another dummy is doing when both dummies are doing the same thing. good way of throwing it in their face nintendo!
I am not agree with this attitude. For me this is a little arrogant when saying that you don't need anyone to create something great.
Good ideas in video games don't come exclusively from Nintendo. It is good to see what other do and invent, to have external influence from other and mix it with our own ideas. In example, cross buy is a really great concept, used by Apple, Android, Steam, Sony, ... Why can't I buy a VC game on my 3ds and play it on my Wii U?
I own a Wii U, but, sorry to say that, I don't enjoy it anymore since Christmas. Since January I discovered Walking Dead, Ninokuni, Uncharted 3 on my ps3, and The Last of Us seems incredible. What did I played on Wii U since Christmas? Oh yes, Super Metroid. Does this game really need a 350€ console to be played?
I like Nintendo. I bought all their console since the SNES, but I am still waiting for the announcement of a big hit for my Wii U, and didn't see one during this E3. Mario Kart? Mario 3D? Wind waker HD? Donkey Kong? I already heard about these names for 20 years.
For the love of god make a Pokemon MMORPG for wii u that allows cross play with 3DS and they would rule the world.....absolutely rule.
They've always taken this approach..it's simple focus on the gaming experience and dominate off that alone. Now they got into the HD era and it's over for everyone else. Remember nintendon't follow trends,they set them. Take notes don't and Microsoft!
I mean sony
I don't see Microsoft competing with Wii U. At all. They've more or less killed off every supporter they've had with their asinine decisions - especially now that the Xbox One is only going to work in 21 states of the US when it launches, with all states being supported by 2015. So, I see the main competition being between Nintendo and Sony this holiday season.
Nintendo does its own thing, it doesn't try to "compete". This is what I've been trying to tell everybody.
that is why i love nintendo, they are not focussing on others, but on what can THEY bring for their costumers.
@Andremario
"nintendon't follow trends" What about tablets and 3D? Also, the Wii U has a fair amount of focus on non-gaming stuff as well (Netflix, Tvii, Web browser, etc.) It doesn't just focus on the gaming experience (which I'm assuming was a dig at the other console makers).
Nintendo has always been creating high quality games, it was my first console with the NES... and i love Nintendo... now that the system has power to play 3D games also just makes me love Nintendo even more...
Nintendo is high quality gaming with the green attitude... and they should also sell the wii u on that... that it is a gaming console with the environment in mind.
ps4 and xbox one both have the "second screen" ability. all the wii u can do right now is play my mario game and not much else. also about 99% of the time i use off screen play, now how am i supposed to do that when the game wants me to hold my gamepad to the screen? how many have already almost dropped the thing doing that?
Never came close to dropping it in those instances bud. Not even once. Maybe you are just a little clumsy? It has falle. Out of my hand about as much as any other controller in my life. On another note though, maybe you are just plain doing it wrong sir? Because I have doing much more than playing Mario on it. Especially since I don't even own Mario for it. Well lookie there, it does do more than play Mario & the other canned responses regarding Nintendo games.
@Raliator
Would be a day one buy for me! I'd probably by two copies I'd be so excited
Get N or Get Out. That was the motto for a reason!
@haywired: The 3d was theirs first on a portable console to use first. They may not have invented the concept of 3d but they perfected it first. As far as the gamepad I'm assuming you're referring to it's another example of taking an established concept and perfecting it for gaming purposes. No one entity can be solely original. Everyone get's some motivation from somewhere. It's the same with how sony and Microsoft ended up with motion control after nintendo did.
@sonicriders This.
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