Support NeoGAF

[Mista]

Nintendo will not host a Nintendo Direct event in June, according to a VentureBeat report.

While the company initially planned to host a Nintendo Direct in June to correspond with E3 2020, it is reportedly telling partner developers plans are off this year due to complications brought about from Japan’s work-from-home order in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Gematsu

No Nintendo Direct planned for June due to work-from-home hurdles

Nintendo is not planning to have a Nintendo Direct in June during the traditional E3 timeframe due to troubles with work-from-home.

venturebeat.com

Update:

According to Eurogamer‘s own sources, Nintendo “has told publishers set to reveal games during its showcase that it needs more development time on its first-party games” as the company adapts to a work-from-home environment. Publishers have reportedly been told not to wait if they would like to make their own announcements individually.

Nintendo will delay its typical E3 Direct broadcast in June

Nintendo's plans for its annual E3 broadcast have been pushed back due to complications arising from the coronavirus pa…

www.eurogamer.net

 

[Michele]

Nintendo will not host a Nintendo Direct event in June, according to a VentureBeat report.

While the company initially planned to host a Nintendo Direct in June to correspond with E3 2020, it is reportedly telling partner developers plans are off this year due to complications brought about from Japan’s work-from-home order in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Gematsu

No Nintendo Direct planned for June due to work-from-home hurdles

Nintendo is not planning to have a Nintendo Direct in June during the traditional E3 timeframe due to troubles with work-from-home.

venturebeat.com

I'm worried this may be what Sabi Wabii was referring to. What if this is true...?

 

[Saruhashi]

I'm worried this may be what Sabi Wabii was referring to. What if this is true...?

Are people really surprised that this might be true?

I mean, with the current situation out there I would be surprised if it's "business as usual" for Nintendo. Especially if games are not complete.

 

[Michele]

Are people really surprised that this might be true?

I mean, with the current situation out there I would be surprised if it's "business as usual" for Nintendo. Especially if games are not complete.

I'd be a little surprised but considering the COVID situation I wouldn't be angry at all. However, I definitely remember what Sabi Wabii said and one of the users replied to him by giving a link to one of the forum posts which had Zippo pointing out there may be no Direct in June.

There might be one in May or something, but that's to see if this rumor is really true after all.

 

[Zannegan]

Are people really surprised that this might be true?

I mean, with the current situation out there I would be surprised if it's "business as usual" for Nintendo. Especially if games are not complete.

Then push back release dates, not the Direct.

Sigh... if there was ever a year when we needed distraction and something to look forward to. I know it's just games, but this week has been solid bad news. Even AC, which is in a really cool setting, is looking like an utter joke IMO. Ugh.

EDIT:

There might be one in May or something, but that's to see if this rumor is really true after all.

Oh, please let this be true.

 

[iamvin22]

I'm worried this may be what Sabi Wabii was referring to. What if this is true...?

You are worried?!? Really

 

[O-N-E]

 

[GamesAreFun]

That's disappointing. Nintendo's first-party games for the Switch have been rather sparse, even prior to the virus outbreak.

 

[Mista]

Are people really surprised that this might be true?

No. Only the fanboys/girl that doesn’t want to accept it.

 

[EndlessFloydian]

Understandable, given the current pandemic. Just please give us the 3D Mario all-star collection by the end of the year.

 

[Vawn]

I'm at a point where I only want go game on my Switch, but there's not a lot coming out.

I'm excited for Xenoblade Chronicles, but after that, there's really nothing coming from Nintendo to look forward to the rest of the year as it stands right now.

 

[Guy_who_thinks_hes_cool]

they could just delay it if that's ok, just for this year..

 

[Vawn]

Understandable, given the current pandemic. Just please give us the 3D Mario all-star collection by the end of the year.

I like how you keep your expectations in check in the first sentence and then do the exact opposite in the second sentence.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

Fuuuuck that, at least lie to me about games being on the way like you always do.

 

[StormCell]

So what about the games they've supposedly been sitting on for a year or longer?? lol

 

[Vawn]

So what about the games they've supposedly been sitting on for a year or longer?? lol

Where'd you hear that?

 

[Lionel Richie]

 

[MisterBrimstone]

How hard would it be to hype up Switch 2, some Indies and MP4?

Just give some game logos and the console patent, we eat that shit up.

 

[GamesAreFun]

So what about the games they've supposedly been sitting on for a year or longer?? lol

Pikmin 4 was almost finished in 2015, it's releasing any day now...

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Too busy to do digital shows?

who knew Japan was on such total lockdown, it even includes banning video streaming.

lol

 

[Zannegan]

Too busy to do digital shows?

who knew Japan was on such total lockdown, it even includes banning video streaming.

lol

From what I've seen, it's more of a cultural thing. They have a pretty rigid corporate culture here, so there could be a lot of difficulty switching to an all-new work format. Plus, it's just hard to be as productive working from home (in certain industries). What you can do yourself, you can just get on with in your PJs, which is great. But any time you need to communicate with a coworker or worse a team, it's a pain.

Still, I don't see why it would be so difficult for a team to cut together a bunch of trailers. Cut out the recorded live portions and have Miis host the dang thing for all I care.

 

[GamesAreFun]

From what I've seen, it's more of a cultural thing. They have a pretty rigid corporate culture here, so there could be a lot of difficulty switching to an all-new work format. Plus, it's just hard to be as productive working from home (in certain industries). What you can do yourself, you can just get on with in your PJs, which is great. But any time you need to communicate with a coworker or worse a team, it's a pain.

Yes, Japan has advanced technology but in other ways a very old-fashioned working culture, at least from what I've read: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/business/japan-coronavirus-telework.html

 

[iconmaster]

The holiday could be rough for Nintendo, but probably not just for them.

Indies have a big opportunity to fill the gap here.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

From what I've seen, it's more of a cultural thing. They have a pretty rigid corporate culture here, so there could be a lot of difficulty switching to an all-new work format. Plus, it's just hard to be as productive working from home (in certain industries). What you can do yourself, you can just get on with in your PJs, which is great. But any time you need to communicate with a coworker or worse a team, it's a pain.

Still, I don't see why it would be so difficult for a team to cut together a bunch of trailers. Cut out the recorded live portions and have Miis host the dang thing for all I care.

I don't see why it's that hard. Nintendo has been doing Directs for what? 5 years? A bunch of clips, a few people talk, that's a wrap. If they don't want to show their face because they are at home, nobody is going to care. Just speak over whichever video is being shown. It doesn't even half to be a live show. Just pre-record everything.

Since COVID made everyone work from home, we have weekly conference calls with the whole office (150+ people). The CEO and VPs all chime in with their talking points. Its not hard. It's actually harder to do because there aren't videos to show where everyone just watches a clip. The speakers on our meetings are always talking and live.

 

[baphomet]

It's hard to imagine someone so disconnected from reality they think that pushing back a video game teaser is some sort of big issue that's going to cause floodgates of concern from people.

 

[Moogle11]

I like how you keep your expectations in check in the first sentence and then do the exact opposite in the second sentence.

I think the 3D Mario game collection is still pretty likely to release this year assuming that it was in the plans and not just empty rumor. Has to be easier for them to get that out this year with COVID delaying thing than to have BOTW2, Metroid Prime 4 or some other new game ready. It's a lot less work (though still a lot) to remaster and tweak games than developing new games.

They have to get something with broad appeal out for the fall/holidays in any case, even if COVID is still fucking things up and physical copies are scarcer than usual. Switch sales would probably take a holiday dive if they don't have one of their main franchises out and Sony and MS still launch their next gen consoles. Of course, that's all up in the air if there's a worse second wave in fall as some predict.

 

[StormCell]

Where'd you hear that?

Various places, including here. Examples: Metroid Prime Trilogy, and I think some other Mario port/remake like Galaxy 1 & 2. They've supposedly been holding ports back for gap filling, and I see a potentially huge gap, so I'm thinking it's time for some ports.

 

[Vawn]

I think the 3D Mario game collection is still pretty likely to release this year assuming that it was in the plans and not just empty rumor. Has to be easier for them to get that out this year with COVID delaying thing than to have BOTW2, Metroid Prime 4 or some other new game ready. It's a lot less work (though still a lot) to remaster and tweak games than developing new games.

I think the "Collection" part is being optimistic. This is Nintendo. I'd imagine each game to be sold for $30 to $60 each depending on how much has been changed.

If they were coming this year, I'd think that would have been enough, along with third-party stuff, to keep them from canceling the Direct.

 

[StormCell]

I don't see why it's that hard. Nintendo has been doing Directs for what? 5 years? A bunch of clips, a few people talk, that's a wrap. If they don't want to show their face because they are at home, nobody is going to care. Just speak over whichever video is being shown. It doesn't even half to be a live show. Just pre-record everything.

Since COVID made everyone work from home, we have weekly conference calls with the whole office (150+ people). The CEO and VPs all chime in with their talking points. Its not hard. It's actually harder to do because there aren't videos to show where everyone just watches a clip. The speakers on our meetings are always talking and live.

I'm in full agreement with you and know that others will likely disagree. I made the switch to working from home in the fall of 2017, and despite a few hiccups along the way I feel I've only become more efficient. Now the whole team is remote, and I think we are just cooking along remotely.

 

[Vawn]

Various places, including here. Examples: Metroid Prime Trilogy, and I think some other Mario port/remake like Galaxy 1 & 2. They've supposedly been holding ports back for gap filling, and I see a potentially huge gap, so I'm thinking it's time for some ports.

Ah, Metroid Prime Trilogy could actually exist in a near finished state. But it's release would be linked, in some way, to how far MP4 is off.

 

[StormCell]

Ah, Metroid Prime Trilogy could actually exist in a near finished state. But it's release would be linked, in some way, to how far MP4 is off.

Both sentences are pure speculation on our part, but the bolded, I feel, is the ideal scenario, right? We would like to think that the trilogy is the ideal way to kick things off 6-12 months ahead of MP4, but at this point does it really make a whole lot of difference whether trilogy is 12 months or 24 months ahead of MP4? We're talking about Nintendo not having anything for the fall and holiday seasons. At least Trilogy feels like a headliner in as much as a new Super Mario All-Stars collection does.

 

[Vawn]

Both sentences are pure speculation on our part, but the bolded, I feel, is the ideal scenario, right? We would like to think that the trilogy is the ideal way to kick things off 6-12 months ahead of MP4, but at this point does it really make a whole lot of difference whether trilogy is 12 months or 24 months ahead of MP4? We're talking about Nintendo not having anything for the fall and holiday seasons. At least Trilogy feels like a headliner in as much as a new Super Mario All-Stars collection does.

You'd think they have to have something. But Nintendo could release a new Smash character and 6 new bugs to catch in Animal Crossing, and that would be considered a success to some.

I love Switch, but I need new games.

 

[Relativ9]

I'm worried this may be what Sabi Wabii was referring to. What if this is true...?

Honestly I'd be much more worried that this isn't what he was referring to, cause if it's just this than you know...that's not such a big deal as he making it out to be.

 

[StormCell]

Honestly I'd be much more worried that this isn't what he was referring to, cause if it's just this than you know...that's not such a big deal as he making it out to be.

Is there a link to this Sabi Wabii? I feel like I missed something.

 

[GV82]

Understandable, would hope we may get something in September if we are lucky.

Even if it’s DIY style! Lets go back to the 70’s Star Wars Trailer style for ESB where they cobbled together nothing but concept art hand drawings.

How cool was this trailer?



Even if the end product looked nothing like it. They could pretend it’s presented from the world of Paper Mario & Friends, do it as a comedy bit.

We did after all get Boss Logic create a piece of digital Art for Assassins Creed from scratch in 7 hours yesterday, by Sept they could potentially have enough, plus Logos to do a mini Direct at least.


If they can’t though that's fair & will wait.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I'm in full agreement with you and know that others will likely disagree. I made the switch to working from home in the fall of 2017, and despite a few hiccups along the way I feel I've only become more efficient. Now the whole team is remote, and I think we are just cooking along remotely.

I'm definitely a work at office guy. This corona thing making all of us work at home for a month is so foreign to me. But everyone is getting used to it, SKyping and stuff like that.

One thing I totally understand now which I've now done like people who are used to working from home is scheduling. When you work from hom you don't have to tie yourself down to a 9-5 sked. If I skimp out on some hours, but do some work in my spare time at 10 pm at night, why do people care? As long as work is done and I'm there for online meetings on time, why be tied down to 9-5 hours?

I totally get it now.

But I do miss interacting with coworkers in person. And some things are just way better in person instead of conf calling or sharing a screen and hoping everyone follows along and can hear. A conf call I was on today was a pain because someone had this annoying echo and nobody bothered trying to figure out who it was.

 

[StormCell]

I'm definitely a work at office guy. This corona thing making all of us work at home for a month is so foreign to me. But everyone is getting used to it, SKyping and stuff like that.

One thing I totally understand now which I've now done like people who are used to working from home is scheduling. When you work from hom you don't have to tie yourself down to a 9-5 sked. If I skimp out on some hours, but do some work in my spare time at 10 pm at night, why do people care? As long as work is done and I'm there for online meetings on time, why be tied down to 9-5 hours?

I totally get it now.

But I do miss interacting with coworkers in person. And some things are just way better in person instead of conf calling or sharing a screen and hoping everyone follows along and can hear. A conf call I was on today was a pain because someone had this annoying echo and nobody bothered trying to figure out who it was.

I think what you're enjoying is a concept of "core working hours" that working remotely sort of naturally brings about. I'm a huge proponent of the "core hours" work schedule where everyone comes to agreement on a block of 4-5 hours of the day where everyone is generally expected to be available in the office (or at home over video conferencing). When you choose to do the rest of your work is entirely up to, and if you're the type who can get it all done during core hours, then great. For me, it loosened the chains of having to drive into work an hour earlier than rush hour and basically trying to draw up my schedule to escape traffic. With the core work hour schedule, you never worry about traffic again.

 

[StormCell]

Okay, so I finally had 5 minutes to read that Venture beat while not attending/hosting meetings. OMG... I found the quoted to be incredibly informative about Nintendo, Japan, and the Japanese market...

The issue is that while many people outside of Japan view the country as on the cutting edge of technology, this isn’t the case will all aspects of its business culture. In a story in The Washington Post, reporter Simon Denyer explains that many IT departments and corporate strategies haven’t changed in Japan since the 1990s. Companies still regularly use fax to send documents, and they have “little awareness of cloud computing or video conferencing tools.”


But that tech aversion extends beyond the workplace and into people’s homes. As Yuri Kageyama writes for the AP, “many Japanese lack the basic tools needed to work from home.” This includes personal computers, but often people don’t even have Wi-Fi.

I'm beginning to really understand why they don't place a high priority on the net features. Their executives are typically senior members of the company who've been around for decades, and these are the dudes who most likely don't even have internet at home. I'm sure the gamers in Japan have some of the fastest internet connections, but this article leads me to believe that a lot of homes over there don't make internet a priority to have (or may even have it, but only the kids use it). Just fascinating.

The rest of the article doesn't lean too heavily on the notion that Nintendo won't have games ready for later this year, and it also doesn't rule out that Nintendo will find a way to make a high quality Direct video without having to go to a studio. Seems like there's still a lot up in the air.

 

[Zannegan]

I'm beginning to really understand why they don't place a high priority on the net features. Their executives are typically senior members of the company who've been around for decades, and these are the dudes who most likely don't even have internet at home. I'm sure the gamers in Japan have some of the fastest internet connections, but this article leads me to believe that a lot of homes over there don't make internet a priority to have (or may even have it, but only the kids use it). Just fascinating.

A lot of Japanese people have mobile wifi rather than a dedicated home connection, which is like a dummy smartphone mashed up with a wifi router. And most people just use their phones for internet access, not necessarily laptops and computers. I'm sure the Nintendo board members do have some form of internet at home, so I don't really think that's the issue.

The fact is, Japan is just different, sometimes for no discernible reason. For example, they are largely a cash-based society. You rarely see someone pay for their groceries or a cab with a credit/depit card. At the same time though, they have pre-paid train passes which people fill up with cash and then use for all kinds of small purchases, and gift cards are a big thing. It's not like people don't have credit cards either, they do, but for whatever reason cash is still king here.

I would blame Nintendo's difficulty in working effectively from home more on corporate culture. There's that face-to-face work culture mentioned in the article. Also, in many companies here, the expectation is that you will stay at work until your immediate superior leaves, period. If that's how you think of business, imagine how big of a mindset change you are going to need to do working from home.

 

[Mista]

Update

According to Eurogamer‘s own sources, Nintendo “has told publishers set to reveal games during its showcase that it needs more development time on its first-party games” as the company adapts to a work-from-home environment. Publishers have reportedly been told not to wait if they would like to make their own announcements individually.

Nintendo will delay its typical E3 Direct broadcast in June

Nintendo's plans for its annual E3 broadcast have been pushed back due to complications arising from the coronavirus pa…

www.eurogamer.net

 

[Thurible]

Update

According to Eurogamer‘s own sources, Nintendo “has told publishers set to reveal games during its showcase that it needs more development time on its first-party games” as the company adapts to a work-from-home environment. Publishers have reportedly been told not to wait if they would like to make their own announcements individually.

Nintendo will delay its typical E3 Direct broadcast in June

Nintendo's plans for its annual E3 broadcast have been pushed back due to complications arising from the coronavirus pa…

www.eurogamer.net

So Nintendo will likely not show it's games off next month, but 3rd parties might?

 

[mortal]

Well that's ironic. Figured the whole direct format would be ideal in a lockdown scenario, even Sony and Microsoft are adopting it for their updates.

 

[GodofWhimsy]

How hard would it be to hype up Switch 2, some Indies and MP4?

Just give some game logos and the console patent, we eat that shit up.

Sometimes I'd prefer a logo over a dishonest cinematic trailer featuring a slowed down dramatic cover of "Never Gonna Give You Up". Seems more transparent and less like a marketing ploy to hype up the same morons who fall for the same shit EVERY SINGLE TIME.

 

[Fake]

I really expecting Mario 64 video... Not third party.

 

[Tell_men]

Nintendo. Work from home.

Konami. Workers trapped inside and told its for their own safety.

 

[The Cartographer]

Nintendo. Work from home.

Konami. Workers trapped inside and told its for their own safety.

The Konami's underground dungeon where all its developers are locked in is the safest place in all of Japan.

 

[Frogman_676]

that's a bit disappointing, as i love the E3 festivities each year. On the bright side, perhaps they will showcase a smaller direct in May...(so sooner)

 

[Vawn]

that's a bit disappointing, as i love the E3 festivities each year. On the bright side, perhaps they will showcase a smaller direct in May...(so sooner)

I wouldn't expect them to cancel a June Direct because they don't have anything to show because of COVID, only to have a Direct a month earlier.

They already did a Mini anyway.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

I wouldn't expect them to cancel a June Direct because they don't have anything to show because of COVID, only to have a Direct a month earlier.

They already did a Mini anyway.

Which, if we're being honest, was shit. Like, the excuse after the Mini was "you shouldn't expect anything from a Mini!" and now the narrative is "but they just did a Mini!"

There hasn't been anything of note out of Nintendo since, what... October? I remember when we thought that Nintendo converging their resources to focus on Switch instead of two separate systems would alleviate the droughts, but this might genuinely be the worst they've ever been in that regard.

 

[Lionel Richie]

Well that's ironic. Figured the whole direct format would be ideal in a lockdown scenario, even Sony and Microsoft are adopting it for their updates.

I'm a Nintendo shill so feel free to disregard me and maybe it's my corporation defense logic kicking in, but I honestly think this is due to them being a japanese company. I know Sony is technically japanese as well, but that's in name only, in reality that's a western company. Maybe it's a cultural thing like they can't come together and actually organize this thing unless it's in person, with the same applying to game development in some level.

They just released one of their best selling titles of all time, one that's on the way to outselling fucking Mario Kart 8. This is prime time to strike it while it's hot and this doesn't feel like Nintendo getting complacent. Nintendo getting complacent would be Kirby Star Allies 2 for holiday title. This feels like something went legit wrong.