Nintendo lucked out this year. Even though hardcore gamers from all over the world eagerly expected something huge from Sony and the PS3, Nintendo's little revolution that could rose up and grasped the E3 crown in its beefy plumber-like fingers. Yet, that's not all what Nintendo managed to do. They managed to accomplish this mighty task on the very last commercial E3.
Commercial.
That's the breaking point. Many would not think much of this, saying that the commercial aspect of a trade show does not affect the outcome of a gaming company. Oh, but it does.
During Nintendo's press conference, Reggie repeatedly told the audience that the only way to form a valid opinion about the Wii would be to try it out for themselves. Many of the snottiest reporters and press didn't believe him; they knew they wouldn't enjoy it. These remarks were completely obliterated as one by one, a reporter came out of the booth with a smile on his face. People noticed. As the days went on, Nintendo's line grew exponentially, harboring a vast number of gamers from all over the gaming spectrum. Even Sony fanboys noticed, who eagerly stood in line for up to 6 hours just to see what all the hubbub was about. No line to ever grace the Electronic Entertainment Expo has reached the 5 hour wait. This was news.
News stations occasionally head over to L.A. and briefly poke their probe around just because E3 is that mainstream. News stations couldn't care less about any other gaming exposition unless there was some secret link between violence and video games hidden in a suspicious booth. Just the fact that a news station will acknowledge E3 is admirable. Well, apparently, the non-gaming press noticed that line and the happy gamers resisting to leave. Now, the news of this amazing technology had gotten pretty much everywhere. The only people who haven't a heard a Wii joke by now are either drifters or 13-year castaways. This is exactly what Nintendo needed. The Wii is no where near graphics intensive; they had to hope that at least one gamer entered and left with a fierce smile that the whole world could see. The rest would fall into place.
Which brings me back to my first point: This miraculous event could not have been possible without the aid of the commercial electronic phenomenon that is E3. Nintendo lucked out.
Do you think that the Wii could have received that much exposure in a hotel room demoed by Miyamoto with a select group of gaming journalists? It's impossible. The big N dodged the downsize bullet. Gamers believe in what Nintendo's trying to push, so releasing successful Wii games throughout the next 5 or 6 years should not prove too difficult if developers set their heart to it.
Well, what's going to happen with the next new generation? Will gamers take it as seriously, or will it be another case of try before you buy? If it's the latter, Nintendo's in hot water until they can find another outlet for releasing crucial game information. Nintendo doesn't attend TGS and Spaceworld has been canceled for a few years.
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