Topic: The Official RPM E3 2012 Discussion Thread - The Next Generation Begins Here

[Jericho]

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
With the new game announcements
And everyone's prouncement "E3 is HERE!"
It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
It's the fap-faptastic weekend of all
With those company greetings as well as competing,
With charts for you all
It's the fap-faptastic weekend of all

There'll be lots of liveblogging
Sad fanboyish ogling
And games that will make you say "Whoa"
There'll be some disappointment
And people who will vent how
E3 kicked ass long ago

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
There'll be some gamers gloating
And minds will be floating
When all the crowds cheer.
It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

There'll be lots of liveblogging
Sad fanboyish ogling
And games that will make you say "Whoa"
There'll be some disappointment
And people who will vent how
E3 kicked ass long ago

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
There'll be some gamers gloating
And minds will be floating
When all the crowds cheer.
It's The Most Wonderful Time
It's The Most Wonderful Time
It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Lyrics courtesy of RPM's egomaniac parodist Protoman Blues!

Foreword

Another revolution around the sun later and we find ourselves on the cusp of what could be one of the premier E3 events for the new decade. As the current set of consoles begin to enter their twilight, many have begun to wonder what their successors are shaping up to become. With that in mind, the hottest topic for most folks is easily Nintendo's foray into that brave new era of home consoles with the Wii U. As its introduction last year left a lot more questions than answers in the gaming populace's mind, this year, which also happens to be it launch year, has promised to deliver many new revelaitions both big and small as to what makes it tick and why it is worth the attention. Of course with that all being said, there are still two other behemoths with intentions that have yet to be revealed but continue to move forward with haste. Will Microsoft and Sony have a next gen hint or two to drop this year? And what of the current crop of gaming devices and their releases? What new things will there be for us to see? Come and find out with us live.


Finally, we know that for whatever reason, there can be some instances where folks let this season of awesome over hype themselves. This can also lead to really bad calls in judgement. I will only ask that before you think about doing something stupid or potentially stupid, heed this rule:

No flaming, no trolling, no psuedo trolling, no fanboy agendas, and no riling up folks. It'd be best if you all just kept whatever thoughts you had along those lines to yourself.

With that all said, kick back, relax and have fun with the rest of RPM!

White Hot Updates

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Major Presentation Schedules, Live Blogging & Feeds

Schedule of Events

NOTICE: Not specified is a Nintendo Direct for tomorrow at 6PM EST dedicated to the first look at the new Wii U hardware as well as comments and interviews on the system and its philosophies:

We are kicking off #E3 with a special #NintendoDirect on Sunday 6/3 at 3 pm PT/6 pm ET. http://on.fb.me/KYtWD2

Source: Nintendo of America Twitter


Streams
GameTrailers: http://www.gametrailers.com/e3/
GameSpot: http://e3.gamespot.com/live
IGN:  http://www.ign.com/events/e3
YouTube (IGN Partnership): http://www.youtube.com/user/E3
1UP: http://www.1up.com/e3/
G4tv Online: http://www.g4tv.com/e3-2011/
Nintendo: http://e3.nintendo.com/

Also of note, Spike & MTV2 (where applicable) are also streaming the Microsoft and Nintendo presentations live on TV, day and date.

RPM Live Chat: RPM E3 IRC Channel Link (Direct Link for IRC capable programs)

The Laugh Reel

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Links and further updates coming soon!

[Acid]

OH BOY OH BOY OH BOY

IS IT THAT TIME OF THE YEAR AGAIN?

[Protoman Blues]

Oh hey, it IS real soon!

[Solar]

Oh yeah, my second favorite videogame related time of the year 

Too bad I won't be able to watch Microsoft's conference because of work...

[irgpie]

Wow, I can actually catch everything for once. I'll be sure to get on the IRC then if I don't forget. Though, I really ain't expecting much at all this year. Haven't been following much of the rumours or what have you. Recent obsessions got me fixed solely on hope for some info on Thief 4 from Eidos.

EDIT: Wait no. Staying up late screws up my sense of date. I'll miss most of Microsoft's conference. Though, I really haven't cared about them ever, so whateves.

[Police Girl]

Ah, damn. Its already starting on Monday, huh?

I'm probably going to miss it, just like last year and the year before.

[Align]

I think I'll let it wash over me as usual, picking bits out of the stream rather than trying to catch it all at once.

[Hypershell]

The pre-E3 Nintendo Direct just ended.  Even though it was hardware-focused, some pretty nifty stuff was revealed:

-Official controller name is "Wii U Game Pad".  Besides all the crap we already knew (gyroscope, touch screen, sensor bar, camera, NFC, etc; there was an interesting bit using the gyroscope with the screen to catch a fly ball from first person view in Wii Sports Baseball), Nintendo finally discovered "clickable" analogue sticks, and it also works as a universal IR TV remote.  As speculated, the blank square below the D-Pad is the NFC communication point.
-WiiU web browser was shown.  You can open and close a curtain over the TV screen while browsing on the Game Pad, nifty for sharing internet videos in the living room.
-Some manner of art app was demoed on the Game Pad, showing a color drawing of Link (TP style with simpler shading; looked kinda water-colory).
-Last year's Zelda demo surfaced again.  This close to launch when they told us it wouldn't be an actual game?  Hmm...
-Game Pad Pro, a more compact controller without the screen, will also be offered.
-Nintendo's basically making every game on the face of the earth, whether single or multi player, into a social affair with MiiVerse.  In the WiiU's main menu, Miis from yourself, your friends, and people you don't know who just happen to play the same games as you, will cluster around the game icons.  Popular games you don't own may also appear.  At any point you can suspend gameplay and access chat rooms specific to the game you're playing, with your Miis acting as avatars.  You can both type and draw.  Video chatting was also shown while gameplay was suspended.  Also it is possible for comments from people at the same point in the game as you to pop up during gameplay (regardless of when they were playing that point in the game).  In the future, it will be possible to check MiiVerse chats from smart phones and the like.  Game Pad screen was described as a "window" to MiiVerse chats, possibly suggesting the ability to view them during gameplay as well.
-Some NSMBWiiU footage was shown, with Mario only.  Pop-up MiiVerse comments were demonstrated when Mario died, and during the level select map.  Backgrounds had a slanted crystal look reminiscent of Super Mario World, overall with much prettier and more diverse colors than the 2011 demo.

[Police Girl]

The pre-E3 Nintendo Direct just ended.  Even though it was hardware-focused, some pretty nifty stuff was revealed:

-Nintendo's basically making every game on the face of the earth, whether single or multi player, into a social affair with MiiVerse.  In the WiiU's main menu, Miis from yourself, your friends, and people you don't know who just happen to play the same games as you, will cluster around the game icons.  Popular games you don't own may also appear.  At any point you can suspend gameplay and access chat rooms specific to the game you're playing, with your Miis acting as avatars.  You can both type and draw.  Video chatting was also shown while gameplay was suspended.  Also it is possible for comments from people at the same point in the game as you to pop up during gameplay (regardless of when they were playing that point in the game).  In the future, it will be possible to check MiiVerse chats from smart phones and the like.  Game Pad screen was described as a "window" to MiiVerse chats, possibly suggesting the ability to view them during gameplay as well.

I want an option to turn that off. I like playing my games without it having to be broadcast to the world. Its why I don't like facebook, because everything you do on that site is broadcast to everybody who can see it.

[Mirby]

I want an option to turn that off. I like playing my games without it having to be broadcast to the world. Its why I don't like facebook, because everything you do on that site is broadcast to everybody who can see it.

Considering you can set your posts to only display for friends (or only you if you enjoy being forever alone) even on Facebook, I'm sure Nintendo will have a setting to turn it off.

After all, they're not Privacy Settings for nothing.

[Hypershell]

You're also under no obligation to post anything on Facebook that concerns your real life.  I know a few people who only go on it under pseudonyms.

Anyway, I'm quite certain that you can opt out of Miiverse, just as you can opt out of any online service or feature that Nintendo has ever offered.  Nintendo is notoriously strict when it comes to things like privacy and parental controls.

[Mirby]

You're also under no obligation to post anything on Facebook that concerns your real life.  I know a few people who only go on it under pseudonyms.

Anyway, I'm quite certain that you can opt out of Miiverse, just as you can opt out of any online service or feature that Nintendo has ever offered.  Nintendo is notoriously strict when it comes to things like privacy and parental controls.

Exactly my point.

[Acid]

CONSIDER ME EXCITED

[Jericho]

No one's talking about the Microsoft conference in progress?

[Acid]

No one's talking about the Microsoft conference in progress?

Oh well... it's not THAT great.

[Satoryu]

Yeah, there wasn't anything there for me. No games they showed were up my alley. The interconnectivity between 360 and smartphones and the like was probably the most intriguing, but I'm still not sure what it can really do. It seems more of Microsoft playing catch up to the other guys with device interaction, Nintendo having the WiiU and Sony having PS3 to PSVita connectivity.

[Karai]

Also it is possible for comments from people at the same point in the game as you to pop up during gameplay (regardless of when they were playing that point in the game).

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

[Protoman Blues]

So I just read about Microsoft's showing for E3. Sounds pretty terrible.

[Kieran]

Why should that be surprising?  The last two or three E3s were also complete and utter disappointments.  (Although from everybody, not just Microsoft.)

[Protoman Blues]

Why should that be surprising?  The last two or three E3s were also complete and utter disappointments.  (Although from everybody, not just Microsoft.)

I'm not really surprised. Until they release a new 360 or some other type of device, Microsoft will always be at a disadvantage. I still don't think the majority of the gaming community cares about Kinect in any sort of way. The smart glass thing was sort of interesting, but keeping your smart phone and tablet next to you while gaming and then using it as a controller sounds tedious. It's clearly an attempt to delve into Wii U controller territory, but fails since we still don't know everything the Wii U controller can do. We should tomorrow, which is why Nintendo probably has the most excitement going into their conf. New system, new controller, possible new awesome Nintendo games, and so on. I'm not sure what Sony can offer besides games and more PS3-PSVita connectivity, which is still interesting. A price drop on the Vita would be exciting. Since Microsoft showed me nothing, my big hope for Sony is the same hope I have every year, which of course is a ZOE3 trailer of awesomicity.

Also, while watching G4 for just a bit, I really forgot how much that station hates Nintendo. Or at least Morgan Webb.

[Kieran]

Well, you probably won't be getting a trailer for ZoE3 any time soon, but at the very least you know it's in the works.

As for Sony, there's really very little they could announce at this point that would really get anybody excited.  I doubt they'd drop the price on the Vita this soon... although I might be wrong.  I'll also be happier with Nintendo once they actually release system specs for the WiiU instead of being all vague about its capabilities.

[Protoman Blues]

I know NOTHING until I see a trailer and a release date!   

And I honestly agree. I don't think Sony will really have anything that exciting either. Since Nintendo pretty much has the floor, I think we'll see a lot of Wii U system and controller info this E3. I think it will be the majority of their conference.

[ViperAcidZX]

Wrecketeer (forgive me for the mispelling of the title) = Microsoft's attempt at Angry Birds?

So far, the new South Park game has won my interest out of today's Microsoft showing. I'm with Protoman Blues on the Xbox Smartglass because since I'm skeptical of how is this going to compete with WiiU when the console's still new to us. Then again, I don't have Window Phone 7, nor a Windows 8 tablet, I'm still want to cling to Windows 7 PC, and I'm sure as not planning on getting Kinect anytime soon (unless Crimson Dragon has no controller support, but even then it's spliting hairs and money).

[Solar]

Man, Microsoft's conference was pretty boring honestly, and I missed all of EA's, but thankfully I didn't care about that one anyways. Let's see what Ubisoft does.

I'm not really surprised. Until they release a new 360 or some other type of device, Microsoft will always be at a disadvantage. I still don't think the majority of the gaming community cares about Kinect in any sort of way. The smart glass thing was sort of interesting, but keeping your smart phone and tablet next to you while gaming and then using it as a controller sounds tedious. It's clearly an attempt to delve into Wii U controller territory, but fails since we still don't know everything the Wii U controller can do. We should tomorrow, which is why Nintendo probably has the most excitement going into their conf. New system, new controller, possible new awesome Nintendo games, and so on. I'm not sure what Sony can offer besides games and more PS3-PSVita connectivity, which is still interesting. A price drop on the Vita would be exciting. Since Microsoft showed me nothing, my big hope for Sony is the same hope I have every year, which of course is a ZOE3 trailer of awesomicity.

Also, while watching G4 for just a bit, I really forgot how much that station hates Nintendo. Or at least Morgan Webb.

Yeah, the tablet/smartphone thing HAS to be in response to Wii U. It's smart of them that it doesn't necessarily require you to buy a new accesory or something though.

Also, I think you'll be waiting at least one more year for that ZoE trailer seeing how it's just a concept at this point Some ZoE HD at the conference would be nice though.

[Acid]

Well Ubisoft is putting the WiiU to extremely good use with that Rayman game.