When Nintendo revealed that a Nintendo Live event was coming to Australia, I was keen to check it out, when they said it was in Sydney, I was slightly less keen. However I went, I saw and I enjoyed myself, but there were some issues with the show, so I thought why not explain what worked for me, what didn’t work and how I think they can improve for next time.

The Good

The Venue

Ok, while I dislike that it was in Sydney, the actual space that Nintendo Live 2024 Sydney took place in was decent. The entry hall was spaced out enough that even waiting in the line to get in, didn’t mean I was stuck on top of other people. Once the start time did come around, the amount of space around the hall was surprising, as that is not normally how these sort of events usually go.

A giant red wall featuring the Nintendo logo was the big divider between the entry hall and the show floor and walking around it led you into a giant space devoid of obstructions. Most times at conventions, the main entry point leads to a walkway, so having the wall was different, but it meant that the crowd was forced to divide, which diverted folks into different areas. Having the booths essentially on the walls around the place was also clever, as it meant that there was a clear space for where people could go.

The Booths

Now again, at other conventions, a booth is usually packed with folks, and here it was slightly less so. There were times when the Super Mario Bros. Wonder booth felt crowded, but in comparison the Mario Dojo felt near empty. I also liked that they didn’t force a heap of consoles into every space, just to fill it, they had plenty in each but never at the expense of taking away space for people to actually move around.

Some of the booths having dedicated meeting space was also great, seeing both corners of the Super Mario Bros. Wonder booth have a space for Mario and Luigi, but also Princess Peach was great. The Kirby meeting space was themed perfectly and a giant Kirby hanging from the ceiling was outstanding as well.

I also feel that seeing some of the art and figures was incredible, with Nintendo confirming that some of the items were made up just for the show. The giant Kirby in the air was great, but I also loved the Link and Zelda figures from Tears of the Kingdom, however I have to give props to whoever thought a giant Splatoon amiibo was the best option for that space.

The Store

Ok, there is a good and bad to this group, so let us start with the good. The store not being overflowing with goods was, well good. As folks went in, they were given a pamphlet that gave a run down on the goods offered, folks just needed to take that to the register to buy. While one side was packed with goods you can get in most retail stores, like games, Joy-Con and Switch consoles, the other side were exclusives.

There was a lot of plush figures that could be obtained at the store, some of them I have seen in Japan at the official Nintendo stores, but they have never been here. Even comparing what was at Nintendo Live 2024 Sydney with what is sold by Nintendo Australia on the local webstore, there was no overlap. Pikmin fans could get plush of a number of the characters, the local store has a few pins of them, so it was good to see the range.

Of course, there was also some event specific merchandise, which was great to see, I myself picked up the hoodie, cap and mug, the latter of which was printed correctly. Nintendo keeping folks out of the store was good, in theory, as it meant you could walk through and look at the Korok plush, without being shoved around by someone trying to look at a K.K. Slider plush. But there is a dark side to the store…

The Bad

The Store

While there was good, see above, there was also bad and the bad for many will have outweighed the good. The stores major problem, there was simply not enough space to have everyone who wanted to shop, get access into it. Part of this is due to the timeslot system that Nintendo were using for the event, but the other part was that they just failed to realise how popular it was going to be. As I said above, half of the items that people could buy were available elsewhere, but the plush and event exclusive merchandise were just that, exclusive.

This meant that people were lining up to get a ticket, so they could then line up to get into the store during their return time. Now ideally the system would work fine, but with a decent range of never before sold here items and a lot of people wanting to buy them, it was going to be chaos at the best of times. By the time I left on Day One, which was around 1pm, Nintendo advised that they were out of allocations for shop times for the remainder of the day, which meant those still waiting to get into the event, never had a chance.

The Lines

Oh god the lines, where to start here. When Day One opened at 10am, the lines were barely there, however when 12pm rolled around, and the second wave of attendees entered, the lines quickly formed. Each booth with games had varying lengths to their lines, the Mario Dojo had a decent line, but Kirby and Princess Peach: Showtime! had very small lines in comparison. The line for folks to meet Charles Martinet was very lengthy, but also only opened 15 minutes before each meet and greet time, meaning folks were loitering around it to get in.

If there was one line that people wanted to be in, it was for the store and boy was it a line. I was talking with a mate and we were just at the edge of the big Nintendo sign, there was nothing for people to do there, so it was out of the way. Then out of nowhere a massive group of people came around from behind the Zelda booth into that space, and we were both flabbergasted at the mob we found ourselves surrounded by. But then the crowd didn’t disperse, in fact they just stayed there. The reason why, they were forming a new line in order to get into the store.

A Nintendo rep passed by and we made the comment about the big group being the store line and pointed out that it was actually wrapping around the place and they were shocked, not more than 5 minutes later, there was an announcement that the queue for the store time slots, was being moved back into the entry hall, as it was too big for the main hall. The lines for the character meet and greets were busy, most being capped soon after they opened and with only 20-minute sessions, there were a number of folks who missed out.

No food or drink

Ok, no matter the convention, concert, museum or public event, there is always food and drink. Sometimes the offerings are slim, sometimes they are plentiful, but they are present, not so at Nintendo Live 2024 Sydney. There were reports online about people finding water later in the day, but the cups for it and the water itself, were going very quickly. But if you wanted to get a bite to eat, you had no options inside the venue.

There is no way to say it, but this is a big mistake, more so as it was never disclosed that there would be no way of getting anything once inside. I had heard people asking if it was possible to re-enter the event, if they left to get some food and they were told it was unlikely if the crowds were not dying down. None of this would have been an issue if there were things to buy or taps for water, but sadly there was not and a heads up would have made this an avoidable problem.

No seats

Much like the lack of food and drink, there were no seats to be found around the venue. Ok, there were technically benches within the Nintendo Switch Sports booth, but they were not for sitting as everyone who went into it was told. I myself and quite a number of others just made do with some floor, which is a common thing at events, but seats are also common. Most seats are tied to food and drink locations, so maybe that is why they had no seats, but even without that source of seating, Nintendo could have done more.

There were some booths that seemed to have an excess of space and while it may not have provided a lot of seating, adjusting the booth sizes could have helped out. I myself am used to be on my feet for hours at a time, local and international events have given me that training, but even I like to sit down, so I can only imagine how someone with young kids would have handled it.

No expansion beyond the popular Nintendo made games

Ok, this one is a bit of a weird one, but there was a nothing beyond a small number of Nintendo made games, which you might say makes sense given it is Nintendo Live but hear me out. We have seen other Nintendo Live events have offerings like concerts, and the Seattle based one had Lego to enjoy, Mario themed Lego of course, but still it was Lego.

It seems that if this was meant to be a celebration of all things Nintendo, then it should have offered up more things, not just the same games most of the events have had. If you look at the first Nintendo Live from Tokyo 2022, Seatle in 2023 and Hong Kong in 2023, they all have the same games, Nintendo Switch Sports, Legend of Zelda, Splatoon 3 and so on. Of course, some events had slightly different offerings, Tokyo 2022 had Detective Pikachu whereas Seattle 2023 had Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, but the vast majority was the same.

Couple the lack of outside Nintendo additions, like the Lego, our event lacked titles like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but there were countless missing series as well. Now of course, it wouldn’t be possible to have every Nintendo IP present, but adding one or two exclusive ones would have been great, I would have adored a Metroid section and I am sure people would have gone bananas for a Donkey Kong section.

What can they do going forward?

The Store

If Nintendo host another Nintendo Live here in Australia, or anywhere really, what I would love to see is a digital Nintendo Store. Access would be provided to your Nintendo Account, as each attendee requires one to enter the event, that would then let you buy what you wanted online and have it shipped to your home. Given every region Nintendo operates in, has an online store of some form, it wouldn’t be that difficult to implement and even if they did a separate store, it should still be fine.

If Nintendo don’t want to do that, and instead want to keep it to a in-person store, then they need to get people in and out faster. No more 30-minute wanders around the store, don’t hide the offerings until people enter it and more importantly, drop the time requirement. If someone wants to spend 2 hours waiting in a line to enter the store, let them, it may seem strange to some, but for others that is time well spent.

Another option for Nintendo is to split the store out from the show floor, maybe treat it like a theme park ride and you must exit through the gift shop. It would make for a great ending experience, you played some games, took some photos and now you are going to buy your merch and leave. No matter what form the store takes in the next event, it has to be simpler than what we got at Nintendo Live 2024 Sydney.

The games

As a celebration of Nintendo, there needs to be more than the same games at every Nintendo Live event. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Zelda, Mario and Kirby, but if the game is out for people to buy, why would I bother playing it at the event. This is not me stating that Nintendo Live must offer up previews at new games, but rather the game they do offer, should offer something.

They also need to bring in 3rd party games, Just Dance may be a Ubisoft title, but the series started on Wii and still manages to be more popular on Switch than elsewhere. Offering up space to 3rd party developers or even a small selection of indie studios to highlight their efforts on Switch or whatever console is next, would just embrace the idea of Nintendo being a place to play good games, not just Nintendo games.

Timing

As someone who spends a lot of time in theme parks, I am very used to the idea of a return time, being able to access a ride or show at a set time, means that I can enjoy other things while I wait for my turn. For Nintendo Live, the idea of staggered entry times makes sense, however as people were not leaving after a few hours, likely due to the stage and store, it makes it hard to keep letting people in.

What I would suggest is that people be given only a few hours in the space. I know it seems harsh to say you only get 4 hours or whatever it is but kicking out people who have been there since opening and just hanging out, would make it easier for those still waiting for their time to come. Making the store part of the exit would also see people happy to leave, rather than just killing time on the show floor.

Food and drink

This is something you either have to offer or tell people it won’t be there. If you decide to offer it, then you should have fun with it, instead of just hot chips make them themed to something, Pokey for example. Instead of a basic desert, theme it to a Thwomp or Fizzlit or if you just want basic burgers, make the buns red or green.

I did enjoy my time at Nintendo Live 2024 Sydney, it was fun to see familiar faces there, but more importantly, it was fun to enjoy all things Nintendo. Given this was the first time our local branch of Nintendo ever put on a big show like this, there were always going to be growing pains, I just hope that they get the chance to do another and can come back stronger than before.

Did you go? What did you like or dislike about the event?