It was pointless. Today's May 17 Nintendo Direct was pointless. We were supposed to learn about all of the exciting games we'll be playing on our 3DS and Wii U consoles. Instead, we got a September release date (not even Summer) for The Wonderful 101, yet another brief update on Pikmin 3 and Animal Crossing: New Leaf, and some Sega eShop titles.
It was lackluster. There wasn't enough exciting information to justify having this Nintendo Direct. They could've just waited until right before E3, using the Nintendo Direct that'll undoubtedly feature whatever big announcements Nintendo has in-store. People want new Zelda game updates. They want to know when a new Super Smash Bros. is coming. They want concrete information about the hard-hitting titles they love. Now, it looks like Nintendo has little to offer through the summer outside of Pikmin 3.
When Nintendo announced that they would forego big press conferences in favor of smaller events and the Nintendo Directs, it placed a lot of pressure on these frequent briefings. They need to replace the excitement that an E3 press conference creates. They need to push sales of the Wii U, which could desperately use the help. Did today's Nintendo Direct do that? No.
The only announcement worth anything came at the end, when president of Nintendo America Reggie Fils-Aime announced a partnership between Best Buy and Nintendo that would have the games playable for consumers at over 100 Best Buy stores across North America. Still, that could've been announced right before E3, as no locations or titles were announced.
Like I said, today was pointless; it just put a bad taste in everyone's mouth.
If you disagree, let us know what you liked about today's Nintendo Direct. If you didn't like it, let us know what you think could make them better.
You can follow Senior Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ. He likes talking sports, video games, movies, and the stupidity of celebrities. Email at [email protected]
