Nintendo lays out E3 plans
3DS could be relegated to Treehouse segments as Spotlight video and show floor booth will focus on 2017 Switch games
Nintendo today unveiled its plans for next month's Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. As expected, the proceedings will be focused heavily on the Switch and its upcoming lineup of games, most notably Super Mario Odyssey.
The company will kick off its E3 events with a pre-recorded Nintendo Spotlight video, as it has chosen to do for several years now. That video will be streamed at 9 a.m. Pacific on Tuesday, June 13, and will feature Super Mario Odyssey "and other Nintendo Switch games, with a focus on games launching in 2017." The Spotlight presentation will lead immediately into Treehouse: Live at E3, a series of deeper looks at specific games that runs throughout the show.
Interestingly, Nintendo specified that Treehouse would feature games for both the Switch and the 3DS line of handhelds, while the Nintendo Spotlight video was only said to feature Nintendo Switch titles. The Nintendo E3 show floor booth may be similarly devoid of 3DS, as the company only promised "show attendees will be among some of the first people in the world to get their hands on Super Mario Odyssey, as well as other games for Nintendo Switch."
Two ancillary events are also Switch-focused. June 13 will see the company hold a Splatoon 2 tournament live-streamed from the E3 show floor, followed by an ARMS tournament the next day.
While the 3DS may be taking a backseat to the Switch at this year's E3, Nintendo executives have repeatedly said that the company plans to run the Switch and 3DS lines in parallel. Speaking to investors after the company's earnings report late last month, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima said, "We do not think that they compete directly in terms of price point or playstyle."