Nintendo’s post E3 presentation…to fit in

Getting the invite in the mail a couple of weeks ago to attend the post E3 press presentation for Nintendo made me feel extremely lucky. The first time LadiesGamers was invited, the first time I got to experience first hand for games that aren’t in the finished stages yet.

I’ll tell you a bit about it later on, but first, I wanted to tell you how this came about. You see, back in 2014 I saw an advert telling mothers how happy their kids would be if they got a 3DS for the holidays.

I couldn’t resist and sent Nintendo in the Netherlands an email: wouldn’t it be a good idea to market the 3DS for the moms themselves too? I got a nice mail in reply, which ended with LadiesGamers getting on the press list. And of course, me getting this press invite.

Sticking out like a sore thumb

I was exited to go, even though I knew I wouldn’t exactly fit in. What I hadn’t counted on that this was a huge understatement: imagine me, 54 years old, in my business clothes as I just got from my work office and a woman on top of that, walking into the reception room. A room full of youngish men in jeans and a T-shirt, trying their hardest not to notice me. Sure there were a few girls, but they  were few.

Although I did try to make some conversation here and there, it ended up in awkward silence. I guess it was hard to find common ground despite a common interest in Nintendo games.

Is the gaming world ready for us older women being just as enthusiastic about games?

Let’s Go Pikachu Hands on

The presentations spanned the gameplay for Let’s Go Pikachu, how the Pokéball controller works, and they went into detail about the new Mario Party game for the Switch.

Let’s Go Pikachu looked good: cute and colourful. I was pleased to see the gym battles return, and the trainer battles still in place to level up. The influence Pokémon Go has on the game is clear when you catch new Pokémon. It works in the same way, with the coloured circles narrowing in and showing when it’s time to throw the ball. The Razz berries, Nanab and Pinap berries are all there too.

What I found particularly helpful is that you see the Pokémon frolicking in the grass, so you can avoid the endless ratata and pidgey battles if you want. The Pokéball was a bit smaller then I expected, but it handles nice and sturdy. As an extra joy con, it will come in very handy.

After the presentation, I saw Queen Bees in action and tried Overcooked 2 myself. It was my first time ever playing Overcooked and the guy playing with me had to be very patient, lol. It did serve it’s purpose, as I’m thinking of looking into the game in future. And of course, there was attention for Super Smash Bros Ultimate.

For now, I was happy to have been a part of it. And I hope that I’ll be invited back for the next event too!