Nintendo Won: My Thoughts on (And Analysis Of) E3 2014

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Well, E3 is over. I thought it was pretty good, or as good as an E3 can be. Personally, I’ve grown a little weary of it. I’ve never actually been to an E3 in my lifetime, but the bombast and capitalistic nature of what I’ve seen of it on TV just kind of bores me now. It’s like if someone were to ask me if I wanted to watch “The Avengers” for the 20th time. Not really, I’ve seen it before, yeah I like it, oh OK, whatever.

Now, just like every year, everyone is debating about who won E3. Some people say Nintendo, some say Microsoft, some say Sony, and some say nobody. I’d have to go with Nintendo, but Sony and Microsoft both held solid conferences. I was happy to see Dragon Age: Inquisition, Rise of the Tomb Raider, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and Halo 5: Guardians  make an appearance at Microsoft’s shindig, and I was happy to see Bloodborne, No Man’s Sky, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Batman: Arkham Knight, and Far Cry 4 at Sony’s. Nintendo pulled me in with Bayonetta 2, Super Smash Bros., Xenoblade Chronicles X, and Yoshi’s Woolly World, but what really made me heavily favor Nintendo in the end was their absolute determination to sell the Wii U and the announcement of a new Zelda for the Wii U.

Nintendo’s Digital Event was only 47 minutes long as opposed to Microsoft’s conference being one and a half hours and Sony’s being one hour and 48 minutes. But in those 47 minutes Nintendo convinced me to lay down the cash for a Wii U very soon, which I hadn’t previously planned to do for a while, and I do believe other people feel the same way. The Nintendo Digital Event was 47 minutes of the essence of what makes video games great. I’m looking forward to purchasing a Nintendo console again now, and I hope their efforts prove to be fruitful.

However, some people still weren’t convinced, criticizing Nintendo for promoting games that won’t release until next year. Here’s some fun facts: Out of all the Nintendo games showcased, 58 percent will release this year and 42 percent in 2015. Sony? 47 percent this year and 53 percent in 2015. Microsoft? 62 percent this year and 38 percent in 2015. Microsoft wins that particular numbers game, but what I also learned from those statistics is that the criticism directed at Nintendo just isn’t very valid.

Now, Nintendo did only unveil 12 games as opposed to Microsoft’s 39 and Sony’s 42, but 89 percent of the Nintendo Digital Event was devoted to talking about those games. Nintendo also got the advantage of having 100 percent of the games they presented being exclusives while Sony has to share with Microsoft (and PC in some cases) and vice versa. As far as game types go, well, I’ll just say that 17 percent of Nintendo’s reveals were shooters while Microsoft and Sony were both just about split down the middle in that regard.

So with my soon-to-be-purchased Wii U sitting next to my Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Wii, Xbox 360, Nintendo 64, and 3DS, I think I’ll be pretty content for a while. E3 as an event doesn’t really do anything for me anymore, but the games certainly do. I just hope next year I get a bit more stuff that caters more to my interests. I can’t really describe what those interests are because I’m an odd human being, but I know it when I see it. Here’s to the future of video gaming, E3 or no E3, and here’s to Nintendo for turning me into a supporter again. Reggie Fils-A-Yay!