Nintendo Console | 7 Things Nintendo Must Do To Win E3

June 1, 2011 – 2:01 am

It’s a company that comes to the show with a highly profitable console already on the table, a young handheld packing revolutionary tech and the promise of a brand new console to be unveiled in mere days.

Exciting? Yes, but there’s still a lot of work to be done on Nintendo’s part. Here’s what we need to see if we are to crown the Mario maker, king of E3:

PROJECT CAF: SOFTWARE AND SERIOUS TECH
Obviously the headline attraction of the Nintendo circus this year will be its new console, currently codenamed ‘Project Caf’.

We won’t try and anticipate the implications of the name – there probably aren’t any – because we already know a fair bit about the machine and it sounds like an attempt to net both the hardcore audience once more.

But it also comes with a controller that seems to feature every possible secondary function ever conceived by a human brain which, actually, could point towards the casual gamer just as much as the core.

An high resolution screen with touchscreen functionality, a front-facing camera and the ability to be used as a Wii sensor bar are all rumoured.

We’re all for packing tech into bits of plastic but not without good reason. Project Caf has to rely on much more than gameplay gimmicks. Specifically it needs all the usual franchise favourites and (for once, Nintendo) strong third-party support.

The current-gen tech spec should help attract the latter a bit more successfully this time around and, as for the rest, we’ll be sold on software not more cameras.

FIRST PARTY GEMS FOR 3DS
The third point in Nintendo’s hardware triangle is, of course, the 3DS. The handheld hasn’t seen the sales that were expected and it comes down to the simple fact that it doesn’t have the games to match its impressive 3D graphics.

The machine is just lacking the handful of big hitters it needed to draw people in. You can’t sell a 3D game through the cold pane of a 2D TV so the title and the content has to do all the work.

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The 3DS needs Mario, for example, it needs Zelda, Metroid, Donkey Kong and all the other massive Nintendo mascots that draw people in. There’s still time, the 3DS is by no means a lost cause and, since the tech can be really special, it wouldn’t take too much to snatch it from the brink.

And – as always – it needs some quality third-party support. It’s always been Nintendo’s Achilles heel and if it can wow us with titles from other development houses it would represent a real win for the company generally not just the 3DS.

SUPER MARIO GALAXY 3

Since we’ve mentioned Mario, we think the little plumber could make all the difference for not only the 3DS but Project Caf. Basically we want to see Super Mario Galaxy 3 at E3 – certainly for Ninty’s brand new console and news of a 3DS version wouldn’t go amiss either.

We’ve tipped Agent for Sony, we think Microsoft can score big with some GTA V exclusivity and Super Mario Galaxy 3 is the Nintendo equivalent.

Having it at E3 in any form will make the Nintendo conference a memorable one regardless of what else happens, announcing it for Project Caf will get the hardcore on board in an instant.

WORLDWIDE RELEASES
While we’re on the subject of software, Nintendo needs to pull up its red and white socks when it comes to release schedules.

The ideal is to have the biggest releases unleashed worldwide simultaneously but, more generally, speaking we’d just like to see the gap between releases in different territories shortened.

From a purely selfish point of view it’s frustrating waiting for the next great Nintendo game knowing that it’s being played on foreign shores, but we also can’t see how such widely scattered releases can help Nintendo either.

The Wii is notoriously easy to hack, and the games easy to pirate, which can only become more tempting to those willing to knock-off overseas releases when their own version is a mere dot on the horizon.

CONTINUED WII SUPPORT
While it may not be the most coveted console by the core gamer, we can’t ignore the success the Nintendo Wii has had in terms of effortlessly strolling into households everywhere.

As always, the power of a piece of hardware ultimately comes down to its software and so the announcement of a strong set of titles targeting the more casual Nintendo fans could do wonders for the Wii.

It should also please the hardcore Nintendo fan looking forward to Project Caf. If Nintendo shows continued commitment to the Wii, we can rest assured that the new console will be given a clear run at the core instead of being forced to straddle two separate polar opposites with conflicting needs.

WIIWARE: SORT IT OUT

We’re also falling out of love with the Wii Library, DSi and WiiWare. It’s increasingly becoming a warehouse of sub-par ports and colour variations on the diary app.

Don’t get us wrong, when Nintendo puts out some strong DSiWare, or if you can wade through enough chaff to get to the best WiiWare material, it’s really good stuff that’s well worth having.

Unfortunately the gems are buried in the muck, so Nintendo needs to take a harsher line on what gets through quality control and what’s booted into the ‘No thanks’ pile.

As far as E3 is concerned though, some quality first party WiiWare titles are definitely on our list.

INNOVATE
This is the general one that applies to everything from Project Caf to the plastic cups speakers sip from during presentations.

If we were to speculate that the PS4 and Xbox 720 will be the same pad-controlled consoles we’ve come to expect for every generation, we probably wouldn’t be too far from the mark. Ask someone what they expect from the next Nintendo console, though and they would be well within their rights to list any crazy contraption.

We won’t be able to tell whether the Project Caf controller is going to be enough to call it Nintendo’s next great innovation but, even if it is, the creative juices have to spread further.

Games, services, strategies; everything has to have that little tint of genius to it if only because Nintendo has set its own standards pretty high already.

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