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Wii U and everyone we know

E3 – the Electronic Entertainment Expo – is a massive annual Los Angeles video game trade show/mecca, full of lights, noise, screens for unreleased titles and corporate bravado.

The corner of a Best Buy at Bay and Dundas has video games too. But they’re all retail titles – already released, available for anyone to just go and buy. But one screen, tucked away in a nook so other shoppers could maneuver the rest of the store, let the public get a taste of four unreleased Wii U games. One June 12, 50-odd gamers milled through the aisles. Like most people, they couldn’t make it to real deal. This is their E3, courtesy of Nintendo’s experiment, a series of capsules across North America.

One gamer, Michael, is impressed with Nintendo’s spread. “I’m happy I came here,” he says. “I’m happy they included Canada. I wish more big companies would.”

Michael had been to E3 before. He’s wearing an E3 shirt dated 2011. That was the same year he lost his job. Michael hasn’t been back since. He’d like to go back, but he wouldn’t be surprised if E3 is eventually “phased out.”

This was an odd year for E3. It should have been one of its biggest. Sony and Microsoft have new consoles coming out, but both made their live dramatic announcements ahead of the expo. Tradition usually dictates that E3 will usually roll out the red carpet for massive revelations. Instead, the two console titans had E3 keynotes, but only to clarify details of their new hardware – the PS4 and Xbox One, respectively.

Nintendo had no keynote as this year’s expo. They had a booth, but all of their announcements were delivered via Nintendo Direct, a monthly video podcast. The E3 podcast revealed new games, but all from routine franchises: Mario, Donkey Kong Country, Mario Kart, that kind of stuff. Their biggest surprise was that – wait for it – Mega Man will appear in the new Super Smash Bros.

The very next day, gamers nationwide could give those just unsheathed games a quick spin.

All four titles, Super Mario 3D World, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Mario Kart 8 and the previously announced Wind Waker HD, were demoed on one TV. Players had to reserve a spot early, booking a slot sometime between 4 and 8pm.

Super Mario 3D World was the hot item, being the most different from any game in its series. Or maybe it was just because one of cartoon plumber’s new power-ups is a kitty-cat costume.

Like E3, Nintendo seems to be receding, constantly battling uphill to preserve their public persona. Unlike E3, Nintendo seems to be on the upswing.

Certainly, the Wii U appears in trouble. The scheduled release slate is a wasteland. Major publishers EA and Ubisoft have shown troubling confidence in the console. The only third party putting any muscle into new exclusive games is Nintendo’s old time rival, Sega. Over half a year since its release, there’s confusion within the public regarding whether the Wii U is another console, or if it even exists at all.

There was concern over Nintendo’s 3DS. The handheld system had strong initial sales. Then things got wobbly. Then a screeching halt of games. Fans wonder if the handheld could tough it out. Which it did. A significant price cut, a bolstered follow-up in the 3DS XL, and an injection of a new Mario Kart, Luigi’s Mansion, Paper Mario, Super Mario 3D Land and the mad cult creating Animal Crossing, dashed concerns for the 3DS’ future.

They may be the safest possible additions, but a new Mario Kart, Super Mario, Super Smash Bros., hell even Pikmin, means the Wii U gives a home to games people will desperately find themselves wanting to play. They’re routine, but no more routine than Halo 5 or God of War XVII or whatever Microsoft and Sony are offering.

The flash and glamour of E3 doesn’t entirely reflect with how today’s players consume their hype. E3 is still fine-tuned for a world of funnelled gaming news, where fans only got peep holes through magazine spreads, glancing at Tony Hawk and rappers du jour rubbing elbows with programmers and the buxom woman staffed to entice people to booths.

Now everything’s streamed and mocked in real time by bloggers and tweeters. Other events like Penny Arcade Expo, Game Developers Conference, Tokyo Game Show and Gamescom additionally nibble at E3s ankle, giving publishers plenty of places to drop bombshells.

Nintendo, also facing a crisis, seems to have decided that bringing their new roster of games directly to those wearing Super Mario shirts is sounder use of their resources than paying musicians to embarrass themselves on stage.

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