Are E3’s days numbered? It’s a question people have been posing for years, but speculation has ramped up following Sony’s announcement that they won’t be attending the show in 2019. Nintendo has a bit of a mixed relationship with E3 – they were the first major company to eschew the traditional pre-E3 press conference in favor of a pre-taped show, but they still maintain a large presence on the show floor. So, what are The Big N’s feelings about the future of E3?
Well, according to Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, E3 is, and will remain, and important event for the company…
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“E3, those five days, is the opportunity for the world to find out what’s new for video games as entertainment. And during that time, we generate more engagement than […] CES or Comic-Con, or other big entertainment events. People tune in to find out what’s new and to have first playable experiences for our industry. That’s why E3 is important to Nintendo.
Our mentality has been to constantly innovate what we do at E3. We’ve innovated in how we utilize our booth space, to create a little piece of Hyrule or to create a little piece of the environment in Super Mario Odyssey, as examples. We innovate in how we deliver our messaging, whether it was the big stage productions or whether it’s the Direct communications that we do today. […] For us it’s a very effective opportunity to deliver our message, and therefore it’s a bit of a no-brainer for us to participate.”
Nintendo always has the best-attended booth on the E3 show floor, and it seems like they enjoy coming up with their unique setups, so yeah, it makes sense for them to keep attending. And I have a feeling Sony no-showing in 2019 is just them taking a breather – E3 isn’t done for just yet, but perhaps some changes are in store.
E3 2019 is scheduled to take place from June 11 to 13.
