Danimal: E3 Disaster?

The Electronic Entertainment Expo has come and gone once again. The three major players in the gaming market, Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft, each came with a plan and while they delivered for the most part, the buzz around gaming sites has been less than stellar. Some sites like Penny-Arcade point the finger at all three companies which are trying to appeal to the mass market, especially Nintendo.

Tycho states, “No doubt the proprietors of Ladies’ Home Journal were breathless during Nintendo’s presentation, but those outside of that august body may derive less enjoyment.”

There is a reason why these companies put on these press briefings because they want to get their brand name out into the world. E3 is no longer the gaming extravaganza that it once was and many of those associated with the video game industry is having a hard time adjusting to that fact.

Theirry Nguyen of 1up.com put it best on the 1up show that Nintendo is dead set on this belief of “no gamer left behind.” He said this in referral to the Wii Music game that Nintendo exhibited towards the end of their press briefing and then expressing his discontent for Nintendo not announcing a new Kid Icarus game.

While Nguyen has a very valid point, he simply is an example of one that is going through the growing pains of adjusting to the new video game industry. The press briefings of E3 were directed towards more than the IGNs and 1ups of the world and that is a hard fact to get past. I remember seeing the video of E3 ’04 when Shigeru Miyamoto revealed the new Legend of Zelda game and the reaction was utterly chaotic.

Long gone are the days where hardcore gamers are appeased during the press conferences. It’s truly a sign that while part of the industry is maturing and realizing its place in the world, other parts need to catch up.

The Hardcore gamers are not totally lost and forgotten about, just reprioritized. Thanks to Nintendo and its Wii, there is media coverage of the video game industry that was unexpected five years ago.

When one truly thinks about it, when a media corporation hears about Kid Icarus, their initial reaction will definitely be “What in the world is this?” It is unquestionable that the fans would love an announcement of Kid Icarus on the grand stage, it is simply a pipe dream. The press briefing is the time to show the world market each company’s strengths. Wii Sports and Wii Play were two of the biggest games for the Wii last year, not Super Smash Brothers or Mario Kart. According the the NPD numbers that were posted as of June 2008, all those games had phenomenal numbers in terms of sales. Super Smash Brothers fell off the map within a month and only Mario Kart was able to keep up with Wii Play, Wii Sports and Wii Fit.

Because of this, Nintendo is not going to focus on their old franchises. Nintendo knows where the money is and that is with Wii Music and Wii Sports: Resort.

Does this lack of attention to the hardcore gamers mean that the video game industry is going in the wrong direction? No, the industry is thriving and there is a new generation of gamers that are finding the joys of video games. The Nintendogs, Brain Ages, and Animal Crossings of the industry do not pose an ominous presence in the video game industry, it just simply means that the industry is expanding.

Sony and Microsoft realize this as well and that is why they are jumping on the bandwagon. The hardcore gamers are still going the have Gears of War, Resistance and Fable, but the mass market does not want these intense and immersive experiences. Not everyone is able to hold their attention to massive Role Playing Games, nor are they keen on the competitive nature of First Person Shooters. Most of the people just getting into the industry want an experience where they know they are going to have fun and they are going to walk away from it happy.

This year’s E3 really shows an ignorance that exists within the industry. You may call them purists, but they have to realize that as more ingredients are added to the pot, the less pure it is going to be. This addition means an exciting change in the market and those who write about the industry should see it from all sides. The absolute main objective of Journalism is to provide information to the public that is balanced and not riddled with trivial grievances for the companies not appeasing to the hardcore gamers. Gamers who can truly call themselves gamers know that they’ve been with the industry since the beginning. They can chronicle the high times and the low times of the industry, but just because they have this loyalty, does not mean they garner the absolute adherence to all of their desires by the industry at these press conferences.

One thing I want to say is that something I’ve observed is that the hardcore gamers have always been a niche group. There was a relationship between hardcore gamers and the industry because they both fit in this niche. Ten years ago, they were both the kids in school that weren’t quite popular and because of this they formed this special bond. Something happened to the industry somewhere around their junior year. The industry visited an Abercrombie and Fitch store and got a completely new wardrobe. Now, because of this they find this new popularity and acceptance and the hardcore gamers are having trouble coming to grips with this. While the industry still considers their friendship, the hardcore gamers are still the ugly Betty of the school and they feel as if the industry owes them something.

Author: Daniel Wise