Thin lines of steam entwine as they rise towards the ceiling. Hot coffee tickles my throat as my hands feverishly turn page after page. Big and promising letters are joined by an eruption of color. My eyes race in every direction. My brain's appetite for more is overwhelming. It must be that time of the year.
For normal folk August is the peak month for summer fun, but for the consistently uninvited, August is the time of year when Game Informer offers their critique of E3.
This year's E3 promised to be interesting. It was the first E3 where Microsoft and Sony's newly born consoles would take their first wobbly steps in the spotlight; it was also where juggernaut third party developers would parade their big and meaty next gen projects. But wait, aren't I forgetting someone?
Oh, right. Nintendo. It seems as though a lot of people have forgotten about Nintendo lately. Just look at the sales of Wii U (spoiler alert: not good) to see how Nintendo's home console is fairing. With an unclear identity and an overall lack of software, it has been a discouraging year and a half for Big N's baby. This E3 was just as pivotal for Nintendo as it was for Microsoft and Sony. Nintendo would either sink further into uncertainty or resuscitate their ailing console.
Nintendo's quirky digital extravaganza at E3 wound up being warmly received by the online presses and the greasy world of social media. Being a Nintendo fan myself, I was quite thrilled. Finally, some vindication.
Game Informer didn't exactly share the same enthusiasm. Tarnishing Nintendo's most recent E3 press conference, Game Informer marred the show with flat C letter grade. Not bad, but certainly not great. Getting a C suggests a waste of time, like your work doesn't matter--not even putting in the effort to fail spectacularly. This irrelevancy is probably the antithesis of Nintendo's show.
Game Informer slapped a pair of iron boots on all of the cloud-niners by mentioning that, despite Nintendo having a promising lineup of games, the only newly announced game coming out this holiday season is Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. Hm. Well, that would be a fair criticism if the competition was spewing out a ton of newly announced holiday releases. But they're not.
The only newly announced holiday release for Microsoft is a revamped compilation of previously released Halo games, a confirmation for something long since rumored. Sony's holiday doesn't look that much better. After delaying the only interesting game left for Sony this year in The Order: 1886, Sony played it safe and announced another iteration in the Little Big Planet series. Game Informer thought this was okay, however. Captain Toad is fresh and new and the first stand alone game for the high-pitched little troublemaker. Why doesn't that mean more?
Game Informer wondered why there wasn't third party support at Nintendo's presentation. Have they forgotten how the company basically dedicated their Wii U reveal show a few years ago to third party titles? Let's get this out of the way: third party developers abandoned ship. They're not coming back any time soon either. There's no rabbit in the hat to be pulled. It makes more sense for Nintendo to put all of their efforts in first party endeavors to satisfy fans. Directly competing with Microsoft and Sony will only leave Nintendo left with more to salvage.
Game Informer also inquired about the whereabouts of the 3DS. Nintendo spent the majority of 2013 masking their failures of Wii U with the success of the reinvigorated 3DS. They can't afford to do that anymore. The 3DS is in terrific shape right now but Wii U is not. Kudos to Nintendo for finally pulling off the band-aid, exposing the ugly.
To wrap up their E3 coverage, Game Informer does a list of the top fifty playable games. In this year's list, six Wii U games made the list. But none of those games crack the top fifteen, even though Game Informer praised the future lineup from Nintendo.
Both Microsoft and Sony received a C+. Slightly above average. Slightly better than Nintendo. That '+' stings like a swift slap to a cold cheek in January. Just as Nintendo starts to pull the knife from its side, Game Informer twists the handle.
I understand that these reviews are subjective and don't really matter in the grand scheme of things, but why does this Nintendo difference exist? Even the title of their review for Nintendo's event--Nintendo Bounces Back, But Is It Enough?--is a back-handed compliment. Whether fair or not, it simply feels like there is a bias against Nintendo's conference in Game Informer's latest issue. Nintendo has been stumbling with Wii U and when they finally get some buzz around the machine, Game Informer seems eager to fill their grave. Sure, Nintendo may have unwittingly dug it themselves with the Wii U, but that doesn't mean they want any help.
Perhaps if Game Informer steps back and takes Nintendo's conference for what it is, rather than what it isn't, they wouldn't be so quick to toss another shovel of dirt. Maybe then they can see the Nintendo difference in a positive light.
For normal folk August is the peak month for summer fun, but for the consistently uninvited, August is the time of year when Game Informer offers their critique of E3.
This year's E3 promised to be interesting. It was the first E3 where Microsoft and Sony's newly born consoles would take their first wobbly steps in the spotlight; it was also where juggernaut third party developers would parade their big and meaty next gen projects. But wait, aren't I forgetting someone?
Oh, right. Nintendo. It seems as though a lot of people have forgotten about Nintendo lately. Just look at the sales of Wii U (spoiler alert: not good) to see how Nintendo's home console is fairing. With an unclear identity and an overall lack of software, it has been a discouraging year and a half for Big N's baby. This E3 was just as pivotal for Nintendo as it was for Microsoft and Sony. Nintendo would either sink further into uncertainty or resuscitate their ailing console.
Nintendo's quirky digital extravaganza at E3 wound up being warmly received by the online presses and the greasy world of social media. Being a Nintendo fan myself, I was quite thrilled. Finally, some vindication.
Game Informer didn't exactly share the same enthusiasm. Tarnishing Nintendo's most recent E3 press conference, Game Informer marred the show with flat C letter grade. Not bad, but certainly not great. Getting a C suggests a waste of time, like your work doesn't matter--not even putting in the effort to fail spectacularly. This irrelevancy is probably the antithesis of Nintendo's show.
Game Informer slapped a pair of iron boots on all of the cloud-niners by mentioning that, despite Nintendo having a promising lineup of games, the only newly announced game coming out this holiday season is Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. Hm. Well, that would be a fair criticism if the competition was spewing out a ton of newly announced holiday releases. But they're not.
The only newly announced holiday release for Microsoft is a revamped compilation of previously released Halo games, a confirmation for something long since rumored. Sony's holiday doesn't look that much better. After delaying the only interesting game left for Sony this year in The Order: 1886, Sony played it safe and announced another iteration in the Little Big Planet series. Game Informer thought this was okay, however. Captain Toad is fresh and new and the first stand alone game for the high-pitched little troublemaker. Why doesn't that mean more?
Game Informer wondered why there wasn't third party support at Nintendo's presentation. Have they forgotten how the company basically dedicated their Wii U reveal show a few years ago to third party titles? Let's get this out of the way: third party developers abandoned ship. They're not coming back any time soon either. There's no rabbit in the hat to be pulled. It makes more sense for Nintendo to put all of their efforts in first party endeavors to satisfy fans. Directly competing with Microsoft and Sony will only leave Nintendo left with more to salvage.
Game Informer also inquired about the whereabouts of the 3DS. Nintendo spent the majority of 2013 masking their failures of Wii U with the success of the reinvigorated 3DS. They can't afford to do that anymore. The 3DS is in terrific shape right now but Wii U is not. Kudos to Nintendo for finally pulling off the band-aid, exposing the ugly.
To wrap up their E3 coverage, Game Informer does a list of the top fifty playable games. In this year's list, six Wii U games made the list. But none of those games crack the top fifteen, even though Game Informer praised the future lineup from Nintendo.
Both Microsoft and Sony received a C+. Slightly above average. Slightly better than Nintendo. That '+' stings like a swift slap to a cold cheek in January. Just as Nintendo starts to pull the knife from its side, Game Informer twists the handle.
I understand that these reviews are subjective and don't really matter in the grand scheme of things, but why does this Nintendo difference exist? Even the title of their review for Nintendo's event--Nintendo Bounces Back, But Is It Enough?--is a back-handed compliment. Whether fair or not, it simply feels like there is a bias against Nintendo's conference in Game Informer's latest issue. Nintendo has been stumbling with Wii U and when they finally get some buzz around the machine, Game Informer seems eager to fill their grave. Sure, Nintendo may have unwittingly dug it themselves with the Wii U, but that doesn't mean they want any help.
Perhaps if Game Informer steps back and takes Nintendo's conference for what it is, rather than what it isn't, they wouldn't be so quick to toss another shovel of dirt. Maybe then they can see the Nintendo difference in a positive light.
