John
01-10-2011, 08:25 AM
http://www.1up.com/media?id=3871888
Nintendo has been upfront about the difficulties of selling consumers a gaming console with a 3D display that can only be properly seen with the naked eye. Today the company kicked off Nintendo World 2011, a free public showing of the Nintendo 3DS outside Tokyo, giving thousands a first-hand look at the new handheld device.
Given the wild domestic success of the Nintendo DS and the lack of an admission charge, there were surprisingly small crowds at today's event. The above photograph was taken less than a half-hour before the doors opened, yet people at the end of the line were within visual range of the entrance. Contrast that with the Tokyo Game Show (held annually at this same convention center) where early morning visitors spend hours waiting outside.
http://www.1up.com/media?id=3871893
On the show floor, empty stretches of chains reflected the lack of crowds. Of the sixteen playable titles, few saw waits of forty minutes or more. The most popular game by far was The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time with posted wait times of over two hours.
Of course, the lack of crushing mobs was certainly not a negative, simply a statement as to how different Nintendo World felt as opposed to Tokyo Game Show. Whereas TGS is dark, loud and hard to navigate, today's event was bright, relatively quiet and pushing was non-existent. In fact, when the doors opened we were lead down the stairs by staff members who walked in front of us, arms outstretched, asking us not to run towards the booths.
The promotional material on the show floor demonstrated Nintendo's continued push towards a broad audience for the 3DS -- not just established gamer consumers. The five men pictured above are the pop group known as Arashi. They are a fixture in Nintendo's domestic advertising and they are extremely popular musicians/actors/television hosts. Videos shown on a loop at every booth featured all five members picking up a 3DS and marveling at the graphics. These commercials showed absolutely no game footage, just reactions to the console. I expect to see these ads on television very soon.
These game-free ads reflect the overall tone of today's event: the 3DS was the star of the show, more so than any individual title. At each new booth I approached, eager staff members made sure to point out the consoles' basic features -- the 3D slider, the analog nub, etc. One even went so far as to begin by identifying the device's name as if I didn't already know what it was.
Several booths were dedicated to software that will be pre-installed on every 3DS. The above booth was for visitors to play with the 3D camera. Another booth showcased card-based augmented reality games. Yet another featured "Face Shooting," a game where players take a picture of themselves which is then mapped onto a 3D model. These models become animated enemies with blinking eyes and moving mouths for players to shoot down.
Besides these bundled applications, a number of today's playable titles will be available at the system's Japanese launch next month. Nintendo announced eight launch games today on the company's official 3DS website, six of which (Winning Eleven, Ridge Racer, nintendogs + cats, Dynasty Warriors, Super Street Fighter IV, and Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle) were available to play today. Puzzle Bobble was visible but not playable and Combat of Giants Dinosaurs was not shown at all.
Today's Nintendo World was only the first step taken by Nintendo to convince the general public that the 3DS is for real and worth the upgrade from the DS. They might not have shown up in droves, but those who attended seemed genuinely enthusiastic about what they saw here. Even those games which were hands-off demos hidden behind glass (seen above) drew lots of attention from visitors and booth attendants alike. Whether they're willing to drop 25,000 yen next month (approximately $301.10 USD, nearly as much as a PS3 or Xbox here), however, remains to be seen.
Source - 1Up.
Nintendo has been upfront about the difficulties of selling consumers a gaming console with a 3D display that can only be properly seen with the naked eye. Today the company kicked off Nintendo World 2011, a free public showing of the Nintendo 3DS outside Tokyo, giving thousands a first-hand look at the new handheld device.
Given the wild domestic success of the Nintendo DS and the lack of an admission charge, there were surprisingly small crowds at today's event. The above photograph was taken less than a half-hour before the doors opened, yet people at the end of the line were within visual range of the entrance. Contrast that with the Tokyo Game Show (held annually at this same convention center) where early morning visitors spend hours waiting outside.
http://www.1up.com/media?id=3871893
On the show floor, empty stretches of chains reflected the lack of crowds. Of the sixteen playable titles, few saw waits of forty minutes or more. The most popular game by far was The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time with posted wait times of over two hours.
Of course, the lack of crushing mobs was certainly not a negative, simply a statement as to how different Nintendo World felt as opposed to Tokyo Game Show. Whereas TGS is dark, loud and hard to navigate, today's event was bright, relatively quiet and pushing was non-existent. In fact, when the doors opened we were lead down the stairs by staff members who walked in front of us, arms outstretched, asking us not to run towards the booths.
The promotional material on the show floor demonstrated Nintendo's continued push towards a broad audience for the 3DS -- not just established gamer consumers. The five men pictured above are the pop group known as Arashi. They are a fixture in Nintendo's domestic advertising and they are extremely popular musicians/actors/television hosts. Videos shown on a loop at every booth featured all five members picking up a 3DS and marveling at the graphics. These commercials showed absolutely no game footage, just reactions to the console. I expect to see these ads on television very soon.
These game-free ads reflect the overall tone of today's event: the 3DS was the star of the show, more so than any individual title. At each new booth I approached, eager staff members made sure to point out the consoles' basic features -- the 3D slider, the analog nub, etc. One even went so far as to begin by identifying the device's name as if I didn't already know what it was.
Several booths were dedicated to software that will be pre-installed on every 3DS. The above booth was for visitors to play with the 3D camera. Another booth showcased card-based augmented reality games. Yet another featured "Face Shooting," a game where players take a picture of themselves which is then mapped onto a 3D model. These models become animated enemies with blinking eyes and moving mouths for players to shoot down.
Besides these bundled applications, a number of today's playable titles will be available at the system's Japanese launch next month. Nintendo announced eight launch games today on the company's official 3DS website, six of which (Winning Eleven, Ridge Racer, nintendogs + cats, Dynasty Warriors, Super Street Fighter IV, and Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle) were available to play today. Puzzle Bobble was visible but not playable and Combat of Giants Dinosaurs was not shown at all.
Today's Nintendo World was only the first step taken by Nintendo to convince the general public that the 3DS is for real and worth the upgrade from the DS. They might not have shown up in droves, but those who attended seemed genuinely enthusiastic about what they saw here. Even those games which were hands-off demos hidden behind glass (seen above) drew lots of attention from visitors and booth attendants alike. Whether they're willing to drop 25,000 yen next month (approximately $301.10 USD, nearly as much as a PS3 or Xbox here), however, remains to be seen.
Source - 1Up.