Nintendo is heading to E3 this year with only a handful of games, primarily focusing its efforts on showcasing the upcoming The Legend of Zelda for Wii U. With such a limited roster, what does the company need to do at E3 2016 to keep gamers interested? Here's what our editors think Nintendo needs to do to win the hearts of gamers at E3 2016.
What do you think Nintendo needs to do to win E3 2016? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to check out our other round-ups asking the same question for Sony and Microsoft.
Deliver Serious Surprises | Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Nintendo has said it won’t talk about the NX during E3 2016, which is a bummer for fans. But Nintendo does have some of the biggest and most beloved franchises in all of gaming, as well as some of the smartest and most creative designers in this business. It would be unwise to bet against Nintendo. While we won’t hear about the NX version of 2017’s Legend of Zelda, Nintendo has promised an extended demo for the Wii U edition. Despite being announced years ago, we still don’t know much about this game. That’s all set to change at E3, and Nintendo is more than capable of blowing us away.
Show NX | Alexa Ray Corriea, Editor
Show us the NX, in some form. What is it? What does it run on? We are more than a year out from the initial NX rumormongering and we still have no idea what Nintendo's next piece of hardware is, or how it works. Developers who are hopeful to develop for NX can't begin because they don't know what they're working with. So far we know of one game that will absolutely launch on it: the new Zelda. And with the new Zelda showing at this E3 (finally) it's a great time for Nintendo to show off the capabilities of its new hardware.
Outline a Plan for Stronger Third-Party Support | Scott Butterworth, Editor
With a new console somewhere on the hazy horizon, we’ve already heard rumblings from developers that Nintendo is yet to provide firm specs for its new machine despite encouraging studios to start developing games for the mysterious NX. If there’s any merit to these rumors whatsoever, Nintendo needs to course correct immediately and publicly. I’ve enjoyed plenty of first-party Nintendo titles in recent years, but the company’s had essentially zero big third-party successes. If Nintendo hopes to keep pace with Sony and Microsoft--both of whom have secured plenty of high-profile third-party exclusives--Nintendo needs to use the NX as an opportunity to let gamers (and developers) know they’re serious about providing a variety of worthwhile experiences, not just new Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon games every so often.
Announce a New Nintendo IP | Alex Newhouse, Editorial Intern
We know Nintendo can make a good Mario game. We know Nintendo can make a good Zelda game. We've seen good Kirby games and Donkey Kong games. It's been making those same series for decades. Nintendo showed last year that it does have the capacity to make really good new IPs with Splatoon, but we still get so many Mario, Kirby, and Zelda games. Let's see another new property, maybe even with new characters that could show up in future Super Smash Bros. games. Nintendo can only bank on nostalgia for those old properties so much. Nintendo doesn't necessarily need third-party support to win this year's E3. What it does need is something unique and quintessentially Nintendo to capture the attention of Nintendo fans and newcomers alike.
Announce Its Movie Partnership Deal | Tamoor Hussain, News Editor
In May Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima said the company was “speaking with a number of partners” and close to finalising a movie deal. E3 would be the perfect opportunity to announce the details of this deal and--if you permit us to dream a little--we’d love it to be with Studio Ghibli or Pixar.
Nintendo has said it’s first movie project is likely to be animated (their last live-action effort didn’t go down too well). Imagine a Legend of Zelda movie from the Ghibli, which is known for its beautiful animation work and heartfelt stories.
Better still, give us a Wario movie from Pixar. Yes, Wario, a hilariously villainous anti-hero that Pixar can endear the movie-going audiences to. Everyone expects Mario or Legend of Zelda, but imagine if they gave us a comedy about Wario stealing Mario’s coin stash. Waah.
