Nintendo has announced that it has no plans to run a press conference this year at the E3 expo, despite it being one of the biggest public outings for gaming firms this year. This is counter to the usual trend of a Tuesday showing off of new Nintendo hardware and games.

The reasoning behind this is likely to be that ultimately, Nintendo is going to be overshadowed by its competitors Microsoft and Sony, which will be showing off the next-generation Xbox and PS4 respectively. This doesn't say much for Nintendo's confidence though.

However it will be running a couple of smaller events at the expo, showing off some new games that are coming out in the near future. Unlike usual though, Sotoru Iwata will not be presenting them.

“At the E3 show this year, we are planning to host a few smaller events that are specifically focused on our software lineup for the U.S. marke,” he said. “There will be one closed event for American distributors, and we will hold another closed hands-on experience event, for mainly the Western gaming media.”

E3's influence has waned a little over the past few years, but it remains one of the highest profile gaming expos around

Part of the reasoning behind this move is likely to be cost cutting as well, which was obviously going to be a factor in the announcement, since it came over during a call with investors. Considering Nintendo's recent poor sales record as well, cost saving measures are something Iwata will no doubt have been keen to emphasise.

KitGuru Says: Interesting move by Nintendo, but perhaps a smart one. Even if it has a big game announcement to make at E3, it won't be able to beat out new hardware showings by Microsoft and Sony. 

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