We’ve gotten another concrete hint about Nintendo’s E3 2015 plans: According to Nintendolife, the company’s recent investor presentation revealed that the focus of this year’s expo will remain firmly on the Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS, not on anything newfangled like mobile games or the Nintendo NX. Nope, this year is all about the games on traditional systems. It’s not a surprise, but it’s good to get reassurance.
Nintendo NX E3 2015: Not Happening!
We know very little about the Nintendo NX, Nintendo’s forthcoming next-gen console, as of yet. We don’t even know if it’s a console, really—it could be a handheld or, more likely, the first-ever hybrid of the two. But we do know that it’s not coming out this year… and it won’t even be announced this year. No, despite all the doom and gloom that arose in the wake of the Zelda Wii U delay, the Wii U is still in the prime of its life. Even if not that many games are coming out this year, at least not ones that have been announced so far, the Wii U is barely even in middle age yet.
As a result, I expect the major focus of E3 2015 will be on the Wii U in particular, not the Nintendo 3DS. The Wii U finally has a reasonable install base, but it still needs more love and attention than the 3DS, which continues to do very well. Specifically, Nintendo really needs to announce some games for the Wii U—and they will. Mario Galaxy 3. Probably Metroid Wii U. Who knows what else?
Based on the translations of the investor Q&A that Nintendolife tracked down, Nintendo’s new mobile games partnership with DeNA won’t be a big deal at E3 this year either. Those games are still a little ways off, and the first is expected later in 2015. But Nintendo won’t push it at E3. No—this year, as ever, E3 is about games, handhelds, and consoles, and that’s just where Nintendo’s focus continues to lie.