Fans impressed with Nintendo at E3, analysts were not
According to a Famitsu poll, readers were most pleased with Nintendo’s showing at E3 2011. Additionally, fans voted The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword as the most anticipated title from the event. Satoru Iwata took home the award for the person who had the greatest impact at E3.
Although gamers were pleased with Nintendo, one analyst was not. SMBC Nikko Securities analyst Eiji Maeda shared the following comments with Famitsu:
“Nintendo’s stock price plummeted after the Wii U announcement, partly because of 3DS sales falling below expectations. I also think that while the E3 presentation explained the device well, the mainstream press just described it as a ‘tablet controller’ and didn’t make a great effort to push the value of it. It was a lot easier for people to get the impression that Sony was trying hard with the PS Vita, especially on the price.”
Maeda also commented on the show overall:
“I think it was the most interesting E3 in several years. The hardware conferences had a lot of impact, as did the sheer number of third-party titles. The popularity of Capcom’s booth was also something that caught my eye. While they didn’t get the flashy displays of the console titles, there were a lot of private showings held for smartphone and social games, and a great deal of companies are putting a remarkable amount of resources into those markets.”
Game-shop owner Hisako Akitani also provided some commentary, discussing how she was disappointed by the lack of Japanese games at E3:
“Activision and the other Western third parties put on a good show, but my impression was that Japanese publishers weren’t putting in much effort. I’d like to think that they were saving their ‘A’ game for the Tokyo Game Show, but it was still disappointing.”
