With E3 2013 less than a month away and after re-watching last year’s press conferences (mostly to get them off my DVR), let’s recap the claims that were made by each of the Big Three companies (plus EA and Ubisoft) and see how they did almost one year later! Five conferences will be reviewed for not their content quality, but the truthfulness of the claims that were made, between now and Episode 135 of SMYN. Up next is Nintendo at E3 2012, after the break!
CLAIM: Wii U will have Netflix, Hulu Plus, YouTube, and Amazon Video apps. More information will be revealed at a later date.
RESULT: True. They were all eventually dispersed at later dates after launch, but the apps are now all available to download for free.
CLAIM: Wii U hardware will support two Gamepads, but software that has this feature still has yet to be made.
RESULT: To be determined. Perhaps we will hear more information on these kinds of games at this year’s E3, but there have been no dual-Gamepad-supported games to date.
CLAIM: Players will eventually be able to join Miiverse from 3DS, PCs, and smartphones.
RESULT: Shaky. The web platform for Miiverse launched on April 24, 2012. However, there has been no word on the development of the 3DS version or the smartphone app.
CLAIM: New Super Mario Bros 2 will be released on August 19, 2012.
RESULT: True. The game met this launch date exactly.
CLAIM: Paper Mario: Sticker Star will be released in Holiday 2012.
RESULT: True. Paper Mario: Sticker Star launched on November 11, 2012.
CLAIM: Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon will be released in Holiday 2012.
RESULT: WRONG! The game was delayed, as it launched on March 24, 2013.
CLAIM: LEGO City Undercover has a portable version in the works that is a completely different game.
RESULT: True. The game became known as LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins and it launched on April 21st, 2013 – just over a month after the Wii U LEGO City game.
ADDITIONAL TOPICS with no outright claims: Pikmin 3, New Super Mario Bros U, Batman: Arkham City – Armored Edition, Scribblenauts Unlimited, Wii Fit U, SiNG, LEGO City Undercover, Just Dance 4, ZombiU, Nintendo Land
CONCLUSION:
True: 4
To be determined: 1
Shaky: 1
Wrong: 1
It’s pretty crazy how few claims were actually made during this conference, isn’t it? When we didn’t get a release date, release price, launch lineup, or anything like that for the Wii U during E3 (later in a Nintendo Direct), there wasn’t too much to actually cover. Talking about games and just saying that they’ll happen isn’t claiming too much. When it comes to games like Pikmin 3 and Wii Fit U, which were originally supposed to be in the “launch lineup,” those are still not released to this day. Even then, to still be shaky or wrong on the very few claims you make really hurts this specific grade. That said, maybe it’s for the best that Nintendo isn’t doing a big press conference at the show this year…
CLAIM GRADE: D+
What would you give Nintendo?
