A Strong E3 With a Little Disappointment

This year’s E3 was actually a very strong showing overall. With Nintendo finally giving us information about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Microsoft hinting about a new family of XBOX consoles, and a big list of exciting titles coming in the near future including Fallout 76, Cyberpunk 2077The Last of Us Part IIAssassin’s Creed OdysseyDeath Stranding, and Kingdom Hearts III, this year’s show really had something for everyone. Yet, one company managed to underwhelm me (and others) a decent bit: Nintendo.

With this year’s show marking the second E3 since the Nintendo Switch’s release, I expected another strong lineup from the gaming giant. While I’m certainly excited about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Super Mario Party, I can’t help but feel like some big opportunities were missed. What about Metroid Prime 4? What about that super cute Yoshi game that was teased before? What about some more updated ports of successful Wii U titles (I’m looking at you, Super Mario Maker!)?

Yoshi, at least, was absent from this year’s E3 for a reason: it’s apparently being delayed until sometime in 2019.

With Super Mario Odyssey being as successful as it is, I also kind of expected to see an announcement about some future DLC for the game.

To be fair, of course, Nintendo didn’t have to show all of its cards at E3 this year and may have been saving some goodies to announce later on in future months as certain projects get closer to completion. Even so, it’s hard not to feel like their showing this year was a bit empty. Still, as a longtime fan and supporter of the company, I am more than happy with the Nintendo Switch so far and still remain very optimistic about it, and the company’s, future.

Jessica Brown

Retro Games and Technology Editor. She'll beat pretty much every Mega Man game without breaking a sweat.