Nintendo's off-kilter approach to the generation game just let it storm E3

Nintendo's always marched to its own beat - it's what makes the company so fascinating, and just as often so frustrating. Sometimes that approach falters, sometimes it soars, and this week's E3 was a prime example of the latter. As the rest of the industry attempted the awkward - arguably impossible - balancing act of trying to put on a show while maintaining a holding pattern as Sony and Microsoft's next-generation consoles wait on the horizon, Nintendo delivered a breathless presentation that played to all of its strengths. Oh, and it delivered news of a Breath of the Wild sequel, too, which helped.

A funny thing happened when Nintendo decided to take a sideways step away from the generational arms race as it doubled down on doing things its own way - at first with the phenomenon that was the Wii, then with faltering Wii U and most recently, with a bit more success, with the Switch. There was a perception that Nintendo would forever be playing catch-up, receiving hand-me-downs in the shape of substandard ports and with games that were far from the technical cutting edge. Often it's felt that way - as anyone who endured the fallow years for the Wii U will attest - but really, over the years, the opposite has been the case.

And so, as publishers behind E3 showcases faltered by reeling out successions of cinematics in grand, expensive LA theatres, Nintendo did what it does best. A 45 minute online presentation, bustling with announcements and gameplay, and all with one incredible sting in the tail. I'd say it was all killer no filler, though that's not quite true - but when the filler is a brief skit introducing new Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser and playfully riffing off his improbable surname, it's probably allowed.

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