Why is Iwata using E3 2011 as a market test?

I am convinced the purpose of unveiling Project Cafe, and make it playable, at E3 2011 is to create a ‘market test’. There is absolutely no reason to make Project Cafe ‘playable’ when it is not going to be released in over a year. Unless. Unless you were using E3 as a market test.

Iwata has done this before. After E3 2010, he saw the interest in the 3DS and decided to jack up the price.

But why is Iwata using E3 as a market test? The people who attend E3, God love you, are ‘not’ the mass market. The people who show up at E3 are game developers (not mass market), industry press and mainstream media (not mass market), and various marketers and suits (also not mass market). At E3 2010, while there was interest in the 3DS, it was more that people just wanted to check it out. It didn’t mean there was a huge market hunger for it.

Using E3 as a market test is inappropriate and will only create fuzzy data. E3 attendees have never represented the masses. And after E3 2006, E3 was changed to make it harder for the public to attend. For example, someone like myself would be unable to attend E3 2011. And even if I did show up, Nintendo would unleash ninjas to remove me.

If Iwata wants to do a market test, why not go to where the masses are at? Nintendo could even make a mini-business out of it. They could say, “Pay a quarter and you will be able to get a play at this new system.” People would line up. Nintendo might even make some money. “That sounds like an arcade, Mr. Malstrom!” remarks the reader. Oh reader! You have seen through my devious scheme! But seriously, there are much better ways to do a market test than E3.

There is no reason to make a game console playable more than a year before it releases unless you were unsure about the product.