Nintendo E3 2013 Booth

Heading into E3 2014, it feels like no greater focus or pressure is on Nintendo. With widely publicized financial troubles, and two straight years of disappointing E3 presentations, the company is poised to make a splash at this year's event.

Of course, the integral puzzle piece for Nintendo's success will be a presentation that consists of widely diverse and equally exciting game announcements. The known quantities like Super Smash Bros. and a Wii U version of Zelda will likely take top billing at the show, but it will be the surprises that prove whether Nintendo is ready to meet their troubles head-on.

To that point, we bring news of a mysterious image from Nintendo's still-in-progress E3 2014 booth that may have just tipped the company's plans for next week's event. The image in question highlights just a portion of the company's booth, but features a banner for something called Mario Maker — a game that, to this point, has yet to be officially announced by Nintendo.

Mario Maker Leaked Image Nintendo E3 Booth

So what exactly is Mario Maker? Well, that isn't entirely clear. It also isn't entirely clear if the image (via Nintendo Enthusiast) is legitimate, but that certainly looks like a Nintendo booth, complete with Super Smash Bros. fighters The Villager and Pikachu.

What we can glean from the banner itself is that Mario Maker appears to be one of the latest in a burgeoning genre: the game creation title. Headlined by titles like Minecraft, Project Spark, and Disney Infinity, this growing genre puts players in the role of developer, giving them tools to create any and every experience. Provided they have the imagination, that is.

A game that lets players create their own 2D side-scrolling Mario levels sounds promising, and would be an unexpected announcement from Nintendo. But is it the shot in the arm the company needs for an upswing? Probably not, but we're intrigued all the same.

Yet again, Nintendo is skipping out on holding a formal E3 press conference and instead opted for an in-booth meeting as well as a live stream presentation. Look for confirmation of Mario Maker (or maybe not?) at either of those events on Tuesday June 10th.

What do you think Mario Maker is? Do you think creation games are the next big things?

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Source: Nintendo Enthusiast

Follow Anthony on Twitter @ANTaormina for all things E3 2014.