With the E3 2013 right around the corner scheduled for June 11, much of the spotlight has been centered upon the age-old rivalry between Microsoft and Sony, and their respective Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles. A once staple in the formerly three-way competition, Nintendo has actually shouldered away from the limelight amid dismal sales of its own Wii and Wii U consoles. Instead of over-hyped showcases as intended for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, Nintendo will opt for an under the radar press conference at its booth prior to the E3 opening.
So what can we expect from the house that Mario built? Hopefully a little more than they’re letting on. The big area Nintendo appears bent on improving is with internal software and a line of games, rather than attempting all-in-one entertainment hubs like the Xbox One or upcoming PS4.
According to CNet, “Nintendo lined up an impressive list of third-party launch titles for the Wii U last year, but neglected to stock up on AAA-exclusive games.” Things aren’t boding as well this year as Electronic Arts (EA), one of the largest gaming publishers in the world, announced in may that it has no plans to develop games for Nintendo’s consoles due to its terrible sales numbers.
As of now, The Wii U only really carries Nintendo Land and New Super Mario Bros. U though the gaming company is planning a new line of games for its conference. Predictions include franchise fan-favorite like Super Smash Bros., an new addition to the Mario Kart series, and a remastered version of the classic GameCube Zelda game Wind Waker.
There’s been no mention yet of software updates coming to Wii U, though from the fact that Nintendo is only holding a minor news conference to Microsoft’s and Sony’s showcases, it seems very little under the hood will change.
Opting not to go the route of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 has already put Nintendo behind the curve in terms of all-around entertainment. In order to survive and possibly etch a nice market for itself to settle into, Nintendo needs to stick with what it does best, making classic games with classic characters for classic storylines. Obviously they should keep updating their software buy constantly reinventing themselves and their consoles isn’t really an option anymore. Sales are terrible for the Wii U but in many respects a console is only as good as the games that perform on it, so with good games may come better sales and the opportunity for better software as well as hardware.
E3 is scheduled to begin on June 11 in Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Convention Center, though the likes of Microsoft, Sony, EA, and Ubisoft will all be holding conferences on June 10.
