Since I didn't want to clutter up the E3 Announcements thread with this long ass post, I thought I'd just make my own topic, LIKE A BOSS. Anyway, I'll start with Microsoft. (I promise, no more "NOT ZOE3"'s with this analysis)
As I mentioned, I can always go for more JEEP ACTION, and Microsoft is giving fans of Halo an expansion to Halo 3, and a new Halo game coming out...well whenever. Sexy? Well that depends. JEEP ACTION is JEEP ACTION, but full game price for an expansion? That is a little ballsy I think, but expansion could just be a relative term, and it could actually be somewhat of a new game entirely. If that's the case, then yeah I can see it being worth the price. Regardless, it's Halo, so you know what to expect, and that of course is multiplayer and people playing multiplayer who SHOULDN'T be that [tornado fang]ing good with the Battle Rifle! The Halo: Reach game, as far as I know, has no info other than it's title. So, not much to go on there.
Metal Gear Solid: Rising I really have no interest in. LoL, not because I really want You-Know-What 3, but because I still haven't had a chance to play through the other Metal Gear's yet. Obviously, it should be a huge game for Microsoft, so good for them, and good for the fans of the Metal Gear series. Moving on, The Beatles: Rock Band I am definitely looking forward too. Not that I have Rock Band, or have any room for it in my room. However, a friend of Lou and myself is buying the [tornado fang] out of this game, new instruments and all, so he and his wife will probably give his Rock Band 2 equipment to Lou. When that happens, I get take Lou's hand me down Rock Band 1 equipment and then play the game myself. Well, except the drums. Fuckity [tornado fang], I cannot drum. Plus, it's The Beatles, and the game looks fuckawesome.
More to come of Microsoft in the conclusion...
Now, moving on to Nintendo, the big N immediately caught my oh so Nintendo fanboyish eye with New Super Mario Bros. Wii. I mean, it's got 4 player Co-OP, Playable Toad (2 actually) and the Koopalings. If that doesn't sound [tornado fang]ing awesome to anyone who grew up with classic Mario Bros games since they were young, then boo-urns to you! Fanboyism aside, Lou-igi and I will definitely play through that game. Hell, the only thing that would make it more awesome, and would make Viewtiful Ben JIZZ IN HIS PANTS, would be 4 Player Koop-OP, choosing from the Koopalings!
And if that wasn't enough Mario, they make a sequel to a Mario game that I thought was a fantastic, fantastic game, in Mario Galaxy 2. This time, it has Yoshi and he's ridable, which will perhaps FINALLY get Hypershell to either buy the first Galaxy, and THEN get this. Not to mention it's, according to Kotaku, 90% of new levels. Also, not only was Galaxy a fantastic game, but it had SUCH a beautiful soundtrack, and one of my favorites of this generation. So I can trust that there will be more beautiful orchestral music in this game. Finally, I said it before and I'll say it again...this one BETTER have more Communist Flying Mario in it. IT. BETTER!
More to come of Nintendo in the conclusion...
Next up is Sony. Now, as I posted before, I truly believe Sony demonstrated the most innovative new game there, and that was ModNation Racing. The impression that I got from that game was that it was a fully customizable Mario Kart 64 game, and since Nintendo won't ever make a Mario Kart as good as MK64 (unless they try to copy this game, which they totally [tornado fang]ing should), this is an incredible idea. Customizable Characters. Customizable Karts. Customizable Race Tracks. Online Capability for racing, uploading & downloading of tracks. More future downloadable content for racers, karts, and tracks (perhaps based on games like Street Fighter ala Ryu Sackboy). Honestly, out of every game at E3, this is the one that impressed me the most. I see so much vast vast potential in this game. The only way I can see it being bad is if the karts handle like absolute, utter [parasitic bomb] (one reason I disliked Double Dash). Customization or not, if it handles god awful, then I have no use for a awesome concept I can't play. So here's hoping my E3 #1 Announcement is as good as I want it to be.
In spite of that, Sony also has the category for the worst announcement that I thought came out of E3, which is the PSP Go! LoL, sorry Wii Vitality Monitor, but you are a close second. Listen, I love my PSP. I play some great games on it, and from Sony's awesome line up of PSP games, more power to the system. From what I saw, and please correct me if I'm wrong, the PSP Go's ONLY difference with the PSP is that it's $50-$75 dollars more expensive and instead of buying UMD's, you can download the games directly via the PSN. It's nice to offer another PSP option, but Sony, the PSP is not the DS, and the Go! will not be the DSi. The DSi has numerous different playful features, you can trade in your DS to get a DSi to lower the cost more, you still get to play your library of DS games, you lose out on your GBA games, and it's only a matter of $30 between the Lite and the DSi. However, the PSP Go! does not give you that catalog of previous UMD PSP games to play on the new system, therefore you can't trade in your PSP to get a PSP Go! Also, the Go is too similar to the PSP to warrant spending $50-$75 more than just buying a regular PSP3000, which in my opinion, looks more comfortable to play also. Finally, lets not forget the fact that the majority of US PSP users use their system for Hacking purposes. The systems sell, but the games do not. The only way I can really see the PSP Go! selling is if it is easier to hack than the PSP3000. Honestly, I think Sony completely dropped the ball on this one. The one thing I could've seen making the PSP Go worth the extra $50-$75 would be if it's main screen was a touch screen. Despite the plethora of bad "COPYING THE DS TOUCH SCREEN" PR that Sony would get, having a touch screen & stylus and not ever having to slide the system open to navigate the menu, play movies & music, go online & for typing, would have been a huge success for Sony and the PSP Go! Then, you could market it as a better media device option as well, especially with the 16GB of Memory. But they didn't, and thus I think this system will be a huge failure for Sony. I could always be wrong though.
Okay, now for my final conclusion for each three...
Above everything else, I think each company did exactly what they needed to do this year (despite each one's flaws), thus making it a fantastic E3 for every fan of their respective favorite company or system. Microsoft's greatest strength for their system is EASILY X-Box Live, and once again they have further added to it. Granted, as I said, Facebook is not the best of examples, due to it a social site devoted to finding previous high school classmats and stuff like that, which makes little sense to blogging, foruming social outcasts with whom a good portion hated high school and the people they were in class with. However, Twitter is a fantastic move, due to Twitter's future of journalism aspect, not to mention more and more blogs & bloggers starting to use it. Simply put, whether you like it or not, it is the future of Journalism. Also, additions like Live.FM radio & Games On Demand are again, fantastic ideas, just further adding to what is already the best online service available for consoles. The Zune HD market will most likely pick up, as the Zune HD looks sexy, and it's Live service looks great as well, and will continue to grow. They showed a good amount of new games that fans of the 360 will most likely enjoy.
Nintendo did what they needed to do too. This year, more than last year, they really did what their E3 vid slogan said about catering to everyone. They showed a very good variety of games, for both of their audiences. Wii Fit Plus will sell immensely. Wii Sports Resort will sell immensely. Unlike other companies, they don't need to highlight or try and push games to the "casual" market, cause they clearly already own it. That Women Detective Game announcement showed that. My mom would totally love that type of game. Wii Sports Resort looks like just the most basic fun to me, plus the Motion Plus bundle will definitely the sales super high. Above all else, they showed a good amount of new games that the "hardcore" gamers will enjoy. The Metroid Team Ninja game was a fantastically JIZZ IN MY PANTS showcase, the Golden Sun DS game made a LOT of people happy, and there's nothing ever wrong with 2-3 new Mario games. The DSi pics to Facebook thing is also cool, because unlike 360, a lot of DSi owners DO use Facebook, so that's a fun little gift for them (mostly the chicks). Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles looks like it'll be fun for the Wii FF fanbase. Finally, judging by what I read/heard about the new Zelda for Wii, they did the absolute right thing in NOT showing a promo for it during their showcase showdown. If they did, it could've possibly been the Wind Waker/Sony E3 2008 fiasco all over again. Fanboy bias aside, I truly believe Nintendo did indeed cater to everyone this year, not just the gamers who make Nintendo mystically summon Money with Wii Fit sales.
Sony, above Microsoft & Nintendo, definitely did EXACTLY what they were suppose to do, and that was to actually give people a reason to spend $400 on the damn obelisk. They. Showed. GAMES. Their presentation was an orgy of games, both for the PSP & PS3. Not just games mind you, but beautiful looking games and not just pictures of games and empty promises. Despite my thinking the PSP Go! will fail, that doesn't mean they didn't show some [tornado fang]ing awesome looking PSP games. I mean, you saw my opinion on ModNation Racing, but the trailers of The Last Guardian & God of War 3 made me want to go and buy the previous two games of both franchises. MAG looks to be very interesting, despite my wanting to see more than the most basic of Call Of Duty 4 style FPS combat. Uncharted 2 looks fun too. More Final Fantasy XIII goodness will make people happy, and I'm sure the Final Fantasy XIV showcase, despite possibly upsetting the same FF fans who have NO desire to play XI, still gave the PS3 an exclusive EASY seller for their system, if it runs well. LoL, and if Leonardo Da Vinci's inventions helping Assassin's didn't make you laugh, then shame on your sense of humor! I said it long ago, that the PS3 does not warrant $400 for it's current game line up. Now, albeit slowly, it's starting to, and that's exactly what Sony needs to do. Mind you, I'm still unsure if people will plop down $400 for these games, but it's a LEAP in the right direction.
Each company definitely had its flaws though. I'll get Nintendo out of the way, as my flaw with Sony & Microsoft are combined. Nintendo's flaw was that they didn't quite show enough. Granted, gamers are a greedy, unsatisfiable lot this generation, but either way Nintendo needs to show more. Case in point, the Wii Vitality Monitor. This was clearly a shameful presentation, and not for the WTF reason people think. Iwata gives this very grand speech, and then shows the Vitality Monitor, another in a long list of Wiicessories. The problem with this though, is that they didn't give a purpose to it, outside of monitoring your heart pressure. If you want to use it for exercise purposes, show it with Wii Fit Plus. Some think that it could be used with Horror games, or something like that. Maybe the new Trauma Center for the Wii. However, no real application for it was shown at all, and business wise, that is terrible for showcasing a new product. Show this thing has potential, has growth, and has an actual purpose to it. Maybe then gamers won't be so upset at you. Granted, they will anyway, but still give us some sign of potential. As I said, this will be the face of what gamers perceive to be the problem with Nintendo. So yeah, Nintendo really needed to show people more. Show more Zelda: Spirit Tracks, a game you know people will shell out money for. Like with anime, you need to showcase your money make glory story with action & gameplay, not just with dialog.
Now onto Sony & Microsoft, and if you guess why I'm combining my flaw with them, yep that's right, it's the Waggle part of their presentation. Keep in mind, I do think that they both looked pretty interesting, but both Sony & Microsoft are underestimating their fanbase. The majority of both Sony & Microsoft's fanbase DO. NOT. CARE. ABOUT. MOTION. CONTROLLERS. despite how nice it may look. They are trying to jump onto or grab a piece of the market that Nintendo now owns, lock stock & barrel. The Wii is specifically catered to this market. It doesn't matter that the Wiimote may or may not be as nice as Natal or Sony's Motion Controls, because the Wii is built upon the Wiimote. Their games are built upon it. Whether you like it or not, it was a gamble that completely payed off for them. Natal & the Sony Motion Controller will most likely only have select games built upon each, but not their entire library. Really, all Sony & Microsoft are giving are accessories & attachments to their system that their primary fans do not care about, and the "casual" fans won't care about, because they own a Wii already. From what it looks like too, not cheap attachments either. I mean, Sony's Motion Controller required 2 Wands & an Eye Toy. That CAN'T be cheap. As I said above, a PSP Go! Touch Screen would have been a much better investment of money than this for Sony, much like the Zune HD was a great investment of money for Microsoft. Business wise, it may seem like a good move, but Sony & Microsoft have to understand that Nintendo owns the Motion Controller market of this console generation. The "casual" gamers will not jump to your system for motion controls, and the "hardcore" gamers pretty much want nothing to do with the damn thing at all. Sony & Microsoft did what they needed to do in showcasing the strengths for each of their consoles. The only thing Project: Natal & Sony Motion Control did was absolutely prove that Nintendo's innovation was right on the [tornado fang]ing money. Literally. Also, Sony...do yourself a favor next time, and DO NOT broadcast that your PS2 sales are as strong or stronger than your PS3 sales. New system wise, it's not something to be proud of. I thought the Latin America sales numbers were pretty funny too.
In closing (if any of you actually read through the damn thing), I do think that this was a fantastic E3 for all fans. Each company played to their strengths and brought something new, fun, and surprising to the table. That's all you can really ask for, especially in this age of instant information. As a gamer, I'm very happy with this E3 and with each company's presentation. As an arrogant prick, [tornado fang] I'm glad I own all three systems and didn't pay a [tornado fang]ing dime for them!
Also, Lou will be stealing this.