Iwata: We know our E3 briefing wasn’t good, still trying to improve

Without a doubt, Nintendo’s E3 2009 media briefing saw a rather large change over the year before. Hardcore gaming had a larger focus with announcements such as Golden Sun DS, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Super Mario Galaxy 2, and Metroid: Other M. However, there were still a number of issues that were present at the conference. Specifically, the overall presentation was unorganized and dull.

Satoru Iwata seems to agree that there is room for improvement, though. Iwata was asked about Nintendo’s perception of their latest conference at the first quarter financial results briefing and said he understands that it is important “to look into finding a better way to demonstrate the products’ appeal better.”

“As for the media briefing at E3, of course we had many internal discussions after that. Honestly speaking, none of us at Nintendo thought that our presentation at E3 was as good as it could have been. It is apparent that we could not fully convey the charm of our products. In the past, Wii Sports and Wii Fit were naturally able to convey their appeal on stage since it was something no one had ever seen or imagined before. People seemed to capture the appeal of Wii Sports instantly and although there was some initial confusion with Wii Fit, its appeal did get through to the audience afterwards. This year, however, with the New Super Mario Bros. Wii, four people lined up with Wii Remotes was not a scene that no one had ever seen. Those who actually had the chance to play understood how the game would change with four people playing simultaneously, but we could not address that fun sentiment at the media briefing. Now we strongly feel that we need to look into finding a better way to demonstrate the products’ appeal better at E3 in these times where more people are watching it online via web cast not only in the U.S. but all around the world, than the number of audience who actually watch it in the theatre. In that sense, we learned many lessons from this year’s E3 show. After the media briefing, we had a domestic trade briefing in Japan. There we disclosed the black Wii console and red Nintendo DSi, which made a big buzz among game fans. It is also an important lesson for next year.”