While it’s easy for some writers to harshly criticize Nintendo for not showing certain core franchises to the press, the simple fact is, they were first and foremost, REALLY showing off the Wii U and new 3DS titles to what I call “pure” Nintendo fans, not jaded games journalists. As the company has been reaching outside standard media channels through their official site for a while now, it’s clear to me what’s happening. Quite simply, they want to show consumers who already (and only) have a Nintendo console in the household (or have interest in owning one) that they’re being looked out for in terms of getting them many of the most popular core third-party titles already on (or coming to) the competition. If you think about it, Sony and Microsoft do the same thing in catering solely to their fans in the exact same manner (as they do EVERY E3), touting their systems and services as the “best” for their respective target audiences.

If you know me (or read the title of this blog), you’ve probably figured out that I’m against this sort of system bias, so I’ve found this quite a dumb way to do things for ages. Still, business is business, so the “console wars” march onward…

Of course, most games journalists who are multi-console owners don’t seem to see through this nonsense and also never seem to put themselves into the shoes of gamers who are indeed current or potential loyal fanboys and girls of a particular console who WILL in fact, be interested in paying for and fully enjoying games they haven’t (even if they’ve been on a console they don’t current own or have no interest in owning). That said, like all the other press conferences, there were deathly dull moments that featured games I wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole. However, I also know that these were the popular titles that sold supremely well on the Wii and Nintendo is very wisely reaching out to those families and gamers that bought into the console, assuring them that they’re getting an even better experience on the Wii U this time out.

Still, I’m a tiny bit worried about Nintendo’s online strategy, as I’m a Wii owner that doesn’t use the online content at all (and don’t care about my Mii). Which means that I’m sure not keen on the whole Miiverse social thing at all. Granted, I’m probably in the minority on this again, but at least I respect Nintendo in doing what it does (despite the somewhat creaky pace at which they’re heading into the online space while Microsoft and Sony have embraced it full force for over a decade). I’m wondering if part of this is has to do with concerns about security, as from what I can recall. there haven’t been any major security breaches in Nintendo’s online services like the PSN debacle or the rampant theft of Xbox Live accounts that Microsoft has been shoving under the rug for a while.

At the end of the day, all that matters to ME is that the Wii U launches with enough core and casual titles that I can have a choice of what to play and not be trapped into yet another forgettable lineup full of half-completed glorified tech demos or forced-in multiplayer that tries to hide a too short single player element. From what I’m seeing, it looks as if Nintendo’s target audience and hardcore gamers who only want a Nintendo console will indeed be enjoying some great third party titles at or around the same time as PS3 and Xbox 360 owners, while first-party games will be more geared to those who expect a more casual experience.

As for the key franchises such as Zelda, Metroid, Super Smash Bros. and so forth and so on? Well, I’m absolutely sure they’re in the works and hell, Nintendo is smart enough to have (and keep) a few surprises stocked up for the months AFTER the Wii U hits stores. Dropping every in-development game all at once might be a good thing for the games press, but I think this is a case where holding a few aces until we least expect them might be the better move just to keep us editor-types guessing. Remember what happened when Kid Icarus: Uprising was revealed when it wasn’t even ready to show? This is probably why Nintendo is playing it closer to the vest with any new games that aren’t far past the planning stages.

On the other hand, maybe there’s a solution here. Perhaps the industry as a whole needs to be a bit more transparent in terms of revealing info while also educating gamers on how long it takes to get a game made. If not, it’ll be one of those cases where Nintendo ends up holding TWO conferences at E3. One for the press that shows us in-dev works so we can accurately report certain games are on the way and a second for consumers who just want to see more games of any type, don’t give a hoot about a console being “better” than another and don’t mind waiting a bit longer for those bigger first-party experiences.