Nintendo retreats into its shell at E3

[Administrator]

Nintendo's retreat from the very public PR war of the E3 press conferences turned out to be a more literal one than we might have thought. This morning in Los Angeles, the company replaced its traditional stage show first with its Nintendo Direct live stream and then by inviting press to its stand before the show floor opened to play six key Wii U titles and meet their creators.
With giant curtains drawn across the entrances and a crowd heavily populated with Nintendo fans - 3DS consoles flipped open, trading StreetPass hits - there was a reclusive and clubby atmosphere. Charles Martinet was on hand to voice a CG Mario on the screens, name-checking the journalists as they crowded around a small stage. Welcoming us, Nintendo's US boss Reggie Fils-Aime waxed almost poetic as he referred to the desensitising effect of the E3 show floor, where "adjectives, sound effects and quick cuts bleed into each other". Here, safe in Nintendo's bosom, we could play the games and concentrate on what's important. "What matters is how you feel when you play the game," he said.
Nintendo was hunkering down in its bunker, battening down the hatches, preaching to the converted. And it was a sermon we'd heard a few too many times before.
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