Nintendo President apologizes for lackluster E3

By Pete Betcher by Jul 23rd, '08 at 1:58am CST

With the show in Los Angeles just wrapping up last week, it didn’t take long for a formal apology from the Nintendo camp to surface. In an interview with Forbes, Nintendo’s Satoru Iwata went on record to try and win back the core gamers that were left with a bad taste in their mouth:

If there is any perception that Nintendo is ignoring the core gamers, it’s a misunderstanding and we really want to get rid of that misunderstanding by any means… We are sorry about [the E3] media briefings, specifically for those who were expecting to see Nintendo show something about Super Mario or Legend of Zelda. However, the fact of the matter is the so-called ‘big titles’ need a long, long development period. … We really didn’t think this year’s E3 media briefing was the time to do so.

I completely agree with not showing a game until it is ready, but even a short clip or a screen shot or a logo would have sufficed. It is reassuring that somewhere, some form of a “hardcore” title is being worked on by Nintendo. Why is the world so cruel?

IGN Wii

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About the Author: Pete Betcher

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  • 9th_Sage

    Well…how many companies would have apologized for this anyway? lol

  • matthew

    They aren’t sorry.

  • Dogbert99

    Well, we just aren’t important to Nintendo anymore. I suppose my Wii won’t be seeing too much use in the future then.

    Well, at least my PS3 and Xbox 360 still care about me.

  • lutherjw

    No, they’re not sorry, and that’s not the reason for not showing any core games.

    Wario Land: Shake It is coming out in a couple of months, and was even playable on the show floor. Obviously, it’s ready to be shown. Yet, there wasn’t even a MENTION of it during the press conference.

    WTF Nintendo.

  • drktrpr1

    I’m glad to have gotten a 360 last month.

  • Cameron09

    I guess games with substance aren’t their main focus at the moment.

    epic fail.

  • Captain N

    After reading some of the comments left here by so-called “Nintendo fans”…..you know what? I don’t want to be called a Nintendo fan anymore. I don’t even want to be known as a gamer. It’s far too embarrassing to be associated even by proxy with the likes of the whiny, self-absorbed bitches leaving comments here.

    “I’m glad to have gotten a 360 last month.”

    Yes, because God forbid you give Nintendo the benefit of the doubt when they say they’re working on new Zeldas, Marios, Pikmin, Animal Crossing, Punch Out, and so on…

    Why don’t you just enjoy all the good first party titles that Nintendo has been putting out for the Wii for the last 21 months AND your goddamn 360, because with or without your support Nintendo WILL continue to release new—-God I hate this word—-”hardcore” titles.

    “I guess games with substance aren’t their main focus at the moment.

    epic fail.”

    Another hardcore gamer too proud to be seen having fun with so-called “casual” games. I’ve been playing video games since the 80′s, kid. I should by all means be considered a “hardcore” gamer. But there’s a difference between people like me and people like you.
    People like me don’t complain when Nintendo releases simpler titles because we know that “substance”—which to you must mean graphics, online deathmatch modes, and unlockable content—isn’t everything.

    “They aren’t sorry.”

    Do they have anything to be sorry for?! E3 is for the investors, not the gamers! It is NOT a gamer-oriented expo….never has been, and never will be! If they didn’t have anything to show off, it doesn’t mean they aren’t working on anything. Nintendo never had anything to apologize for, and I’m actually quite disgusted with Iwata for even bowing to all the whining and complaining their so called “fanbase” is doing!

    ”

    Well, we just aren’t important to Nintendo anymore. I suppose my Wii won’t be seeing too much use in the future then.

    Well, at least my PS3 and Xbox 360 still care about me.”

    Your PS3 is at serious risk of losing the console race, and your 360 is desperately trying to mimic the Wii. You will continue to use the Wii, and mark my words you feel like a goddamned ass when you see the awesome shit that Nintendo is going to release next year. I have never seen someone so sickeningly ungrateful, so self-absored as to think that even a trade show that is aimed at pleasing investors should bow to your every whim

    I use to read The Tanooki because it was a nicer, sarcasm free version of Kotaku. The editors weren’t cynical or jaded, and didn’t mock Nintendo’s every move. Now it looks like times are changing and even Christian is hopping aboard the “hardcore” bandwagon and introducing childish words such as “waggle” into his posts. I really liked the Tanooki when it was a serious Nintendo site run by serious Nintendo fans, but when even this group of editors has to stop and complain about Nintendo’s lack of offerings at E3 (despite the fact that really DID have some good games—Animal Crossing, Wii Sports Resorts–and new peripherals–Wii Speak and Wii Motion Plus! Why are people so quick to dismiss Nintendo—to whine, complain, bitch about the silliest of things while Nintendo has never been more succesful? As a Nintendo devotee, I’m HAAPY for them! I’m HAPPY that I’ll get great new games like Wii Sports Resort, Animal Crossing Wii, Pikmin, and the new Punch Out!

    Shouldn’t you be?

  • Nintendude

    well said, Captain N, well said…