E3 – thoughts on the ‘Big Three’
So E3 is almost done for another year, and the Electronic Entertainment Expo has seen another great year for games. Now comes that quiet time of reflection when we can sit back and take stock of everything that turned up during the event; what we saw, what we didn’t see, and what to make of it all.
The biggest news obviously was the Press Conferences of the ‘Big Three’. Microsoft pre-empted everyone at E3 when it held the Kinect brand launch a day before E3 even started, but it still had a few surprises in store for its main event the following day. Nintendo gave their strongest showing for a while, with a broad range of titles to appeal to their neglected-feeling ‘core’ gamers and the only truly new hardware of the show (aside from the revamped Xbox 360). Sony’s conference was the longest, but apart from a new Twisted Metal game, ironically had the least new stuff on show.
There’s always a kind of obsession with people arguing over who ‘won’ E3. My stock response is always ‘the gamers,’ but I have to say that Nintendo’s show impressed me the most this year. Why? Simply because of the amount of content on show.
Microsoft
The Microsoft conference had a few eye-openers. We’d seen Kinect before, of course – or Project Natal as it was then- and whilst Kinect Adventures, Joyride and Sports were the predictable minigame compilations, whilst Kinectimals clearly made use of the same technologies that powered the Milo demo last year. All were impressive enough in their own right, but its the voice and gesture-controlled interface that drew my attention; just waving to sign in and simply speaking the name of what you want to do is about as intuitive as interaction can get, and its real Star Trek territory we’re approaching here. Away from Kinect, Bungie’s Halo: Reach demo was awesome, particularly that massive scale orbital combat, though I was more surprised by how enjoyable Call of Duty: Black Ops looked. The new Xbox 360 design was a welcome redesign of the now 5-year old console, and the glossy black and chrome finish does a great job of modernising the device.
Sony
The Sony Conference was almost twice as long as Nintendo’s or Microsoft’s, yet had the least in the way of new stuff. The Killzone 3 showing was strong (that snow was beautiful), and the 3D effect impressive, but we already knew about that, of course, and I’m still not convinced about the merits of 3D on a home television that isn’t the size of a wall. The PlayStation Move showcase did highlight one new game in the form of Sorcery, but despite Sony’s repeated insistence that Move is the only motion device that allows for such precision, we didn’t see anything that hasn’t already been done on the Wii, particularly with Wii MotionPlus. The reveal of a new Twisted Metal- accompanied by a guy dressed as a clown in a mashed-up ice cream truck- was a great stage piece, but the game clearly has a long way to go yet. The most impressive outing actually came from the much-delayed Gran Turismo Forever- sorry, 5- which finally got a November release date but also showed off some impressive new additions- like the dynamic day/night cycle and massive improvements to vehicle damage and handling- finally allowing for cars to flip and roll dramatically. Plus, the Top Gear Test Track – complete with Stig driver- looks sublime. Then Sony went and ruined it all by having a ruddy-faced idiot drag gaming back to the stone age for 10 minutes, trying to celebrate Move as something for the hardcore gamers despite a showing to the contrary, and the big PSP announcement was… a new marketing campaign. Really? We need to announce marketing campaigns now? Shouldn’t it speak for itself?
Nintendo
In contrast, Nintendo’s show was an eye-opener from start to finish. From its Zelda: Skyward Sword opening Nintendo rarely missed a beat; the long-time Nintendo fans got a new Mario game (albeit a sports compilation), brand new Kirby, a new Golden Sun, Metroid: Other M looking superb, and a return to Donkey Kong country. Third parties also put in strong titles like Epic Mickey and GoldenEye 007 – its set to be a good year ahead for Wii games, and theres always the minigame mayhem of Wii Party for more casual players. And that was all before the 3DS. As the only new hardware of the show, it was always going to be the hot topic of discussion, but I don’t think anyone was quite expecting just how much support it has, and quite how big its impact might be. With visuals that look to be on par with the top end PS2 titles, a stunning widescreen, glasses-free 3D display, and the inclusion of an analogue stick, its certainly a snazzy-seeming handheld. But its the games catalogue that is most impressive- with a new Kid Icarus flying the flag for the console, but a lineup including Dead or Alive, Resident Evil Revelations, Metal Gear Solid 3, a new Pilotwings, Ninja Gaiden, Paper Mario and Final Fantasy was always going to impress. Perhaps the best thing about the 3DS hardware isn’t the machine itself, but the games.
The no-shows
So what was missing? There were a few things we had expected / hoped to see at E3 that just didn’t appear. Chief of them all was the PSP2 – Sony’s aging handheld might still get the odd strong release, but its hardware problems are well documented and the PSP Go failed to reignite the market (which is now running pretty much on Monster Hunter alone). A new marketing campaign was Sony’s answer instead, but with Nintendo’s 3DS poised to go on sale before Christmas, its hard to see the PSP making much of an impact this year.
Kinect was present and correct, with final release hardware and a date, but the price remains elusive- and with Sony dropping a $100 price tag for Playstation Move (the bundle with both controllers and the EyeToy camera, at least) pricing is going to be a crucial issue for Microsoft’s peripheral if its going to succeed.
