In case you didn’t watch the VGX gaming showcase on Spike last week, or you’ve been living under a rock since then, Nintendo took up airtime during the entire show to announce a new playable character in the upcoming Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for Wii U.
Before we get into the meat of my problem here, I feel I have to clear the air for any new readers who aren’t familiar with my stance concerning Nintendo on CraveOnline or in my other writing. Put plainly: I like the company. I like their products, characters, franchises and hardware. I’m a fan. I want them, like Sony and Microsoft, to succeed. I firmly believe that having three great console manufacturers is really good for consumers.
This is not an opportunity for me to spell death for Nintendo.
It is, however, a place for me to kindly ponder, “what the hell were they thinking?”
The International Spotlight
Whether you like VGX or Spike doesn’t really matter. The truth is, this is gaming’s biggest televised event. Unlike E3, Spike’s annual show is the only time when companies have a guaranteed spot on television. It’s a cable channel, sure, but the show is viewed by millions on TV and on the internet.
It’s one of gaming’s largest annual spotlights, and it’s a time when a lot of companies have taken a chance to show amazing stuff.
Why is it, then, that Nintendo elected to show off a single character in an upcoming platformer that likely won’t move too many consoles? The Wii U is in dire straits right now as far as sales are concerned, as much as I love the little machine. They need amazing marketing to show potential owners that there’s good fun to be had.
Nintendo gets in front of the world on television next to the likes of Tomb Raider, The Division, Game of Thrones, The Witcher 3, Borderlands, Quantum Break, No Man’s Sky and more, and they decide that the way they’ll get noticed is through showing off Cranky Kong.
Cranky Kong.
You have the world’s attention, you’re going to sit in direct competition with everything else unveiled, and you announce a playable character that will only be exciting for folks who already love your brand and own your console. Why?
The Disconnect
If you gathered 100 VGX viewers in a room and asked them what they thought Nintendo should have shown off, I guarantee the vast majority would have said one of three things: Smash Bros., Mario Kart or Zelda.
We get upset that Nintendo relies on these franchises so much, but we’re not the typical audience for the VGX show. We’re Nintendo Direct viewers, we’re blog readers, we’re forum users. We represent a small slice of the potential commercial body that Nintendo needs to attract.
There’s a disconnect between us and the marketplace, and Nintendo went after the niche crowd with their biggest stage presence in a long, long time.
There’s a misunderstanding at work here. Cranky Kong is a great addition for Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. I can’t wait to play as the curmudgeonly bastard.
The problem? The majority of VGX viewers don’t give a shit. And his unveiling during that rock block of awkward conversation and better trailers should have been spent on Smash Bros., X, Mario Kart 8 or the upcoming Zelda for Wii U. Why not dominate the talk of the show in a positive fashion by showing some Smash gameplay and announcing someone like Captain Falcon?
I’m frustrated because I think, right now, the Wii U has the biggest value and best games between the three new consoles. Nintendo, however, continues to squander their opportunities to attract more users to the machine. It’s so strange, isn’t it?
