Nintendo E3 2017: Company Won't Hold Event Press Conference This Year

E3 2017 is coming up soon, but for yet another year, don’t expect a major presence from Nintendo. In Nintendo’s investor briefing, the company confirmed it chose not to hold a conference at E3 this year.

“Again this year, we will not be hosting a large-scale press conference for institutional investors, analysts and the media,” Nintendo said. “Nintendo of America will present further information on our plans at a later date.”

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While Nintendo won’t do a major press event, it doesn’t mean the company will be completely absent from E3. Splatoon 2, Arms and Super Mario Odyssey are among the Nintendo Switch’s major upcoming titles and both are expected to be at E3 2017.

Instead, Nintendo will likely follow the playbook it’s used for past major announcements and post Nintendo Direct-style livestreams that fans can directly view. Earlier this month, Nintendo used Nintendo Direct to debut early looks at games like Splatoon 2.

Nintendo hasn’t held a traditional major press event at E3 since 2012, but it’s not necessarily alone in this regard. Other major companies like Microsoft and EA have increasingly launched their own events that are either before E3 or running outside of the industry event, making E3 a less vital part of the industry press cycle than it’s been in the past. However, Nintendo is still an outlier in its low-key approach to E3 week — it’s clear the company thinks directly showing its content to fans on its streams has a higher payoff than the typical press conference event.

For now, though, Nintendo looks to be comfortable with its approach and marketing for its current flagship console. In a briefing Thursday, Nintendo confirmed current sales numbers for the Switch and its software lineup. In its first month, the Switch sold 2.74 million units and launch title The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wind moved a slightly higher 2.76 million units. Nintendo has set similarly lofty goals for the upcoming fiscal year, hoping to move an additional 10 million Switch consoles in sales.

The Switch also isn’t expected to be the only major highlight from Nintendo this summer. Nintendo announced Friday the Nintendo 2DS XL, a rebooted version of the original Nintendo 2DS handheld console. The upgraded console features a control stick, Amiibo support and compatibility with Nintendo 3DS titles. Nintendo will release the 2DS XL July 28 and the portable console will retail for $149.99.

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E3 2017 is expected to include a slate of major announcements from other publishers and companies. Microsoft will give its first major public reveal for its upcoming Xbox One reboot Project Scorpio. Internally, Project Scorpio will be anchored around improved specifications that’ll allow for games that can natively in 4K. While Microsoft previously gave a technical breakdown to analysts Digital Foundry, the company’s E3 event is expected to include details like launch games and a formal release date. As for Sony, the company hasn’t tipped its hand for what it wants to showcase this year, but possible areas of focus could include the PlayStation VR virtual reality headset.