Cammie: Nintendo 'disappointed' with E3 performance

by James Ransom-Wiley { Aug 19th 2008 at 3:57PM }

For Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive VP of sales and marketing, July's E3 media briefing was the perfect opportunity to cast a new spell. With most of Wii's casual ownership tuned out (c'mon, you think grandpop was glued to G4?), the press conference should have marked an effort to dazzle Nintendo's wavering "core." Allow the fans a whiff of another classic sequel, and all would have been right in their hearts. Instead, well ... you know what happened.

"I would say the message is we were disappointed with our performance at E3. There were titles like Wario which we think will be really fun titles that we should have showcased," Cammie recently admitted to VGChartz, adding, "We were excited that Mr. Miyamoto made the commitment that Pikmin is coming. It would have been nice if we could have said that on stage." Points for honesty?

Tags: cammie-dunaway, e3-2008

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

samfish @ Aug 19th 2008 4:01PM

The next question would be to ask who the hell green-lighted that debacle of a conference.

Ghen @ Aug 19th 2008 4:11PM

Instead of casual games they should have had pictures of nekkid peach.

just sayin'

TheOverlord#2 (is playing MM1 and Okami) @ Aug 19th 2008 4:16PM

Super Princess Peach 2: Samfish Edition?

Shaq-Fu @ Aug 19th 2008 4:25PM

If samfish made SPP2, it would be the first Nintendo game to get an AO rating

And parents think GTAIV is bad *shudders*

samfish @ Aug 19th 2008 4:25PM

Feeling Peach's vibes would have a whole new meaning!

Zertoss @ Aug 19th 2008 4:26PM

Samfish Edition, you say? I'd hit it.

Shaq-Fu @ Aug 19th 2008 4:58PM

uh oh, samfish. It looks like some early gameplay footage leaked onto the interwebz

http://pimpmario1up.ytmnd.com/

samfish @ Aug 19th 2008 5:14PM

Damned hackers! At least they didn't reveal the new things you can do with her parasol.

mr mobius @ Aug 19th 2008 5:43PM

As long as it'll use touch screen then it'll be awesome...

Brandon @ Aug 19th 2008 4:03PM

I still hate her with a passion.

Erik Stroud @ Aug 19th 2008 4:19PM

I do to, she was over excited about everything. Also, what is so great about WArio? That wouldn't please us, Metroid and Zelda would.

Mr Khan @ Aug 19th 2008 4:32PM

It's been only one year after the last Metroid game, and less than that since the last proper Zelda (the first handheld Zelda to be made by EAD Group 3, the Zelda team)

Why people seem to expect them to announce games from those franchises this year is beyond me, frankly.

Shaq-Fu @ Aug 19th 2008 4:33PM

Question: How is a new Zelda game better than a new Wario game? Is it just your preference in franchises/genres, or is there some pecking order I should know about?

Jack @ Aug 19th 2008 5:13PM

"Also, what is so great about WArio? That wouldn't please us, Metroid and Zelda would."

This comment disturbs me. Even IF they had Metroid and Zelda where the hell would the innovation or orignality be? It would just be like any other E3.

I want something ORIGINAL from Nintendo that isn't waggle ware.

Vcize @ Aug 19th 2008 5:20PM

Mr. Khan, it's probably because they don't have much else (especially 3rd party) to appease the hardcore type.

If AAA 3rd party games were coming out as frequently as they are on the other systems then that wouldn't be the case.

There's a reason xbox owners can go years without hearing about a new Halo and playstation owners can go years without hearing about a new Metal Gear Solid, but Nintendo fans have to hear about a new Zelda/Mario each and every year. There are fewer guaranteed triple A franchises, so the fans are adament about getting their fill of the few franchises that represent that.

OhJustSomeRandomGuy @ Aug 19th 2008 4:05PM

Sorry, but Pikmin (which I'm not really a fan of) and a Wario game you already announced wouldn't have made anyone happier.

You STILL obviously don't get it.

Mr.ESC @ Aug 19th 2008 4:09PM

Bu..but what about Captain Rainbow?

They should start develop a new Star Fox already.

samfish @ Aug 19th 2008 4:22PM

No, it wouldn't have made YOU any happier.
A new Pikmin wouldn't have made the conference AWESOME, but it would have solved the primary problem of 'No New Core Games'.

I see the phrase tossed around a lot with regards to the Nintendo presser..."they still don't get 'it'". At this point, I would LOOOVE to know what 'it' is, too.

Jfk_Aok @ Aug 19th 2008 4:41PM

"It" is quite simple. It is making games/peripherals for more than just making money. "It" is not entirely leaning on hype and demand and your battered fans that will bite at any crappy bait you throw on your hook. "It" is integrity. "It" is not lowest common denominator. Shipping another Pikmin wouldn't fix "it," but at least it will show that they are listening to at least someone.

Put simply - "It" is quality for quality's sake.
See: Braid.
See: TF2 STILL being updated for free with quality updates.
See: Banjo Kazooie deal
See: Microsoft and Sony constantly competing amongst themselves to keep quality at it's highest levels.

Mario Galaxy had "it." And that was the trick card in nintendo's deck on the wii.

Mr Khan @ Aug 19th 2008 4:53PM

Pikmin would certainly have "it," then, as it's likely being made by one of the EAD teams, and they all do excellent work.

But acting like the other companies have more integrity? Foolishness. Nintendo may be bad, but when you're competitors are Sony and Microsoft of all companies, you'd have to be pretty poor indeed to lack integrity when compared to the two of them

samfish @ Aug 19th 2008 5:05PM

""It" is quite simple. It is making games/peripherals for more than just making money."

Do you think this applies to Nintendo? Are you referring to the balance board? Mario Kart? Those arguably add something to the game, depending on who you ask.

"It" is not entirely leaning on hype and demand and your battered fans that will bite at any crappy bait you throw on your hook."

It's PRETTY misleading and blind-sighted to think Nintendo's FANS are battered, seeing as they're coming off of a new Zelda, Metroid, Mario, Smash, Kart, Fire Emblem and more since the Wii's launch. The 'Casual' players are more battered and starving by a longshot than the core players.

"It" is integrity. "It" is not lowest common denominator."

This applies to Nintendo...how? What have they done that can honestly be considered lowest common denominator?

"Shipping another Pikmin wouldn't fix "it," but at least it will show that they are listening to at least someone."

Again, how are they not listening? They've already released a ton of they biggest games. Voice chat is coming. They've said a storage solution is in the works. You're asking for an unrealistic output from them for the core side of things, especially when that core output already dwarfs the casual output.

"Put simply - "It" is quality for quality's sake.
See: Braid.
See: TF2 STILL being updated for free with quality updates.
See: Banjo Kazooie deal
See: Microsoft and Sony constantly competing amongst themselves to keep quality at it's highest levels.

Mario Galaxy had "it." And that was the trick card in nintendo's deck on the wii."

Are you REALLY trying to say Nintendo's games aren't quality? REALLY?? Do you have any idea what you're saying? Nintendo is KNOWN for their absolute top notch quality. It's what got them through the N64 and Gamecube years almost single-handedly!

Shaq-Fu @ Aug 19th 2008 5:05PM

"It" is not entirely leaning on hype and demand and your battered fans that will bite at any crappy bait you throw on your hook."

sup, HALO3 and GOW2?

"See: Braid."

Bah, that's nothing more than a Mario clone :D

"See: Banjo Kazooie deal"

Did Microsoft/Rare say that they were updating the graphics? Cause B&K didn't age well at all

Markez @ Aug 19th 2008 5:22PM

Ah gad people stop saying "it". "it" is bothering me. That's what "it" is.

FALCONPUNCH! @ Sep 1st 2008 6:12PM

Suffice to say is one of the words the Knights of Ni cannot hear!

Shadow El @ Aug 19th 2008 5:39PM

"B&K didn't age well at all"

Leave the internet and never return, even after 10 years, I still love that game and its sequel.

And will still be getting it on XBLA simply because of Stop 'n' Swop. Because after ten years, we're finally getting THAT, too.

A new Banjo game has always been the reason I was going to buy an Xbox 360. Sure, it might be sub-par, but if it enhances the original masterpiece that was Banjo-Kazooie, I'm in.

[/rantaboutachildren'sgame]

Shaq-Fu @ Aug 19th 2008 8:09PM

I was talking graffics wise. The gameplay is still good

(01) @ Aug 20th 2008 12:29AM

@ Jfk_Aok "See: Microsoft and Sony constantly competing amongst themselves to keep quality at it's highest levels." You have to be kidding, right? You mean by seeing how many shades of brown they can shove into a FPS? Don't get me wrong, both systems have good games, but "quality at it's highest"? give me a break.

Kizzle @ Aug 19th 2008 4:05PM

We still hate you, Cammie. Retire immediately, for the good of your company.

MV @ Aug 19th 2008 4:07PM

What's up with her constant references about "smiles"?

Mr.ESC @ Aug 19th 2008 4:13PM

Like Disney Nintendo injects all their employees with Dopamine.

The comment she said in Gametrailers was pretty much “F*ck off you are not our main market anymore” but in a happy way.

phobic99 @ Aug 19th 2008 4:22PM

She mentioned something about bringing more smiles to more faces when she was speaking at the E3 conference. Utterly terrible.

Sheppy (of the Fidlious Clan of Wong) @ Aug 19th 2008 11:23PM

Thank you Mr. Esc... you seem to be the only one who caught this. Frankly, I think it's an NOA clusterfuck in general. The company has always been clueless but they haven't been market leader in a long time so they know fuck all of what they're doing there (example, not only was Wario and Rhythm Heaven completely missing from their press conference... both were missing from the showroom floor and only available in their private booth which was invite only).

I mean, hell... you want examples?

The day after the E3 backlash, Itawa apologized to the core gamers. NOJ apologized... He said their feelings of disappointment should not be ignored.

Reggie? After saying "what's not hardcore about animal crossing" went on to further push the notion that E3 isn't the place to show off to gamers. Wait, WHAT?!? What the fuck kind of peace pipe has this meat man been smoking on? Let's go over this well... a vast majority of the press gathered at that event was gaming press. The industry folks their from retail side of things were... game buyers for stores, mostly hardcore gamercentric outlets. The companies represented there was... core game developers. Frankly, Nintendo saying E3 isn't for game announcements is like saying a KKK meeting is a wonderful place to deliver an MLK speech.

Cammie? Start out defensive. "This is how I am." Curiously doesn't understand why gamers weren't happy while pointing at Wii Music and Wii Resort. Constantly prattled on about how her kids are sooo proud of her working at Nintendo (a big step up from Doritos). And then, when asked what to say to the core gamers, rather than mention two very hot Nintendo titles (Wario and Rhythm Heaven), went on to say "Keep playing smash brothers, keep playing mario kart." Hell, evidence of ineptitude? During an E3 interview, in their booth, one person asked what that Rhythm Heaven game was about (note: the machine was apparently very close to her) and she answered with a "We're focusing on our own software rather than our competitors." And NOW she's apologizing? But wait, the FULL interview includes nuggets like how she adoooores Brain Training and Zelda is tooooo hard.

Dirty @ Aug 19th 2008 4:08PM

I just always picture her wearing mom pants.

She might be good for the company, but she should probably not do the press conference. it was like watching a train wreck

Mr Khan @ Aug 19th 2008 4:33PM

Aye. Even if she wasn't totally clueless, she's still just a bad speaker altogether.

cuso26 @ Aug 19th 2008 4:43PM

http://www.hulu.com/watch/10333/saturday-night-live-mom-jeans

With Cammy cameo!

Jack of No Trades 85 @ Aug 19th 2008 4:11PM

lol

Waqman @ Aug 19th 2008 4:13PM

I'm surprised she didn't mention "Puppies are cute".

Matias @ Aug 19th 2008 4:16PM

Tsk Tsk Tsk, So much potential and sadly nothing more than disappointment. Better luck next time...

deaftly @ Aug 19th 2008 4:17PM

New commenting system?!?

Duke @ Aug 19th 2008 4:51PM

They just changed the entry box. Your messages still vanish and reappear like they have for a while.

The_Punisher @ Aug 19th 2008 4:20PM

A new comment system, no wai!?!?!

(What, it's more interesting than her :) )

mr mobius @ Aug 19th 2008 4:24PM

At least she acknowledges it. Now get out of my sight and go organise a new Spaceworld (if I remember right, that's the name) as an apology where you WILL show screenshots or video of a new Zelda or Mario game.

GO! NOW WOMAN!

Phil @ Aug 19th 2008 4:57PM

Well you know, that and have miyamoto retract the statement concerning Zelda's difficulty.

I'm sorry, but if there's one game that needs to be kept sacred, it's that. All Zelda games, in my opinion, have either had a steady climb in difficulty in the past, or a jump from easy to hard over the period of a couple dungeons. Twilight Princess... NEVER really got hard. It just had long dungeons.

I think maybe Nintendo should try and take a page from their own franchise, pokemon, and make the two games again. Make an action and combat oriented game like Oracle of Seasons and then a Puzzle/Difficulty oriented game like Oracle of Ages.

Except apply it in a new format. Make an easy, more guiding kind of game and then make one where it's open, complex and gives you more freedom.

samfish @ Aug 19th 2008 5:25PM

I don't want Zelda games to be difficult in the "oops, you're dead!" sense. It takes too much of a commitment to start over as it is when you die.
I think that games like Zelda and Okami SHOULD be easy because they want you to go through the game and experience it. We should get away from the idea that you have to potentially die in a game. I agree that TP could have been a little harder, if only to make you fear that you're about to die, but still...

That said, a ramping up of the puzzle difficulty in Zelda would be much appreciated.