E3 2010!!

[df2506]

Hey all,

Its almost E3 time again.

Microsoft is the first press conference out of the gate on June 14. Nintendo and Microsoft are on June 15.

Some pre-E3 thoughts:

Microsoft: I'm sure they'll be talking about Natal a lot this year. We'll probably get a release date. Ign thinks we'll see Natal games too. Other than that Gears of War 3, Fable 3, and Halo Reach should show up.

I'm not sure what else will be there. I admit since I don't have a 360, I haven't been keeping up with Xbox news. Sorry this section is going to be much shorter than the other two sections. Does anybody have any thoughts of Microsoft's E3?

Nintendo: This year Nintendo will be showing off their new system, which is currently called "3DS". We've already told that 3DS is not the final name for it; perhaps we'll get its official name at E3? I have mixed feelings about this new system. First: It wasn't that long ago that I got my DSi. Second: 3D still seems like a big gimmick. Third: Nintendo has tried the whole 3D thing before and failed (*cough*Virtualboy*cough). So what about the mixed feelings?

A part of me is hoping that the 3D is NOT a gimmick. Ya, I know, doesn't seem likely, but I really want Nintendo to come out something that'll be shocking & innovative. I want to see it and go "Yep, I want that!" At the moment, this seems doubtful.

Other things Nintendo will show: the new Legend of Zelda! VERY excited for this one. I hope its great. Also: Metroid: Other M (can't wait), Pikimin (maybe), Golden Sun (likely), Vituality Sensor (what's that all about?), Dragon Quest 9 and...well, hopefully some suprises. I'm trying not to get myself excited for this one. I was excited last year and well, the press conference wasn't that great. Come on Nintendo! Show us the games!!

Sony: LittleBigPlanet 2!! Thats what I'm very excited about for Sony's press conference. I'm sure they'll be showing the Playstation Move and making a big deal out of that. I admit last E3 I found it interesting, but now I starting to want them to prove it to me. It just seems like another Wii-mote. So LittlebigPlanet 2 is what I'm excited over. I'm sure Sony will be showing Killzone 3 (2 was a disappointment imo) and a bunch of other games too.

I'm not really sure what to expect with Sony. Last year, they will be best in show and I think they might be this year (though a big part of me wants it to be Nintendo! Come on guys).

I am very excited for this E3. I think Nintendo has great potential this year, with a new system & especially a new ZELDA. But then again, they had two new Marios and Metroid game last year and it wasn't a great showing. Microsoft could be the suprise winner or it might Sony again.

What do you guys think? What kind of games will we see at this year's E3?

DF2506

[df2506]

E3 UPDATES:

-Tonight at 10pm (central time zone), SPIKE TV will have an E3 Preview show. It'll mostly focus on Playstation 3. They will be showing the new Killzone and a few other games.

-E3 TV Schedule for Next Week (note, the press conferences will be available online too):

This year Microsoft's press conference will NOT be on G4. It'll be on SPIKE TV instead. I think you'll also be able to find it on sites like Gametrailers. Here's the schedule:

Monday: 12:30 (central) till 2:00: Microsoft Press Conference on SPIKE TV.

Monday: 2:00: G4's converage of E3.

Tuesday: 10:30: The Nintendo Press Conference on G4. After that airs, the Sony press Conference will air. G4 will cover E3 for most of the day.

Also Tuesday: Microsoft will have a special half-hour spotlight on Project Natel. It'll be on MTV in the afternoon (around 3 I think. please check your local listenings if interested). It'll re-air on NIK later at night.

Wednesday and Thursday G4 will be showing more converage of E3 also.

The important days are Monday & Tuesday though, for the press conferences! I think there's going to be a lot of cool stuff this year. Yep, I'm getting hyped. I'll probably be disappointed somehow. lol.

-New Animal Crossing for the 3DS?: There is now a rumor that the next Animal Crossing will appear on the 3DS. Nintendo, of course, has made no comment. I really hope this rumor is true! My excitement level for the 3DS has gone up (for now). We'll find out Tuesday!

-Microsoft announces four Natal Demos/games here: xbox360.ign.com/articles/109/1096469p1.html

IMO, ugh. It sounds like a lot of wasted potential. When I first saw Natal I was impressed, but now, more and more, it's looking like a lame Wii rip-off.

Here's another article on Natal: xbox360.ign.com/articles/109/1096419p1.html

Its sounding a lot less interesting. Still, I watch Microsoft's confence on Monday and see if there's anything suprising...

Anyway, I'm most excited about Nintendo's press conference, than Sonys, and last Microsofts.

DF2506

[df2506]

Today the Natal's true was revealed. Its called Kinect.

IMO, Natal is a better name, BUT Kinect is not as bad a name as Wii (although I have gotten use to the name Wii. still like Revolution better though).

Here's the Game Informer article: gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/06/13/microsoft-natal-is-now-kinect-first-games-revealed.aspx

UPDATE edit: Name & games confirmed here (name was revealed & games shown at a Microsoft event tonight):

xbox360.ign.com/articles/109/1096884p1.html

As for the games, I have one word for them: UGH.

More detail: Just a bunch of Shovelware. We've seen games like them before on the Wii & the DS. Nothing new here at all. Natal, imo, was pretty impressive when it was first announced (especially MILO ), but now it appears that Microsoft is just doing WII HD.

Now, I'm not talking as someone who doesn't like Microsoft. I like them. I do want to see Kinect work, but these intial "games" just have FAIL written all over them. Why do we need the Kinect? We already the Wii for these types of games. I do not think moving around your hands real fast (controller-less gaming) is going to pull in the new audience Microsoft wants without some cool games with great graphics to back them up. People will see these games and think "Haven't we already seen this?"

Very disappointed so far with Kinect. I think Microsoft will have a major failure on their hands here.

Not anymore news for Microsoft yet. Tomorrow will be the day for Microsoft news. I'll be watching the press conference and some of the G4 stuff. I'll post more here, well, if one of you doesn't post the information first. lol.

Oh ya, btw, where are you guys & gals? Feeling very lonely in this thread.

What are you all looking forward to for this E3?

DF2506

[Norfy the Walrus]

I wasn't impressed with Natal the moment I saw it. It looked like a glorified Wii back when they first showed it off. I havn't seen the new coverage for it. Might tomorrow.

[df2506]

Today I saw the Microsoft Press Conference.

The Conference started off very strong with an excellent looking Call of Duty: Black Ops. I thought the helicopter sequence was especially cool.

After that, Microsoft showed off Metal Gear Rising, Gears of War 3, Fable 3, and Halo Reach.

The graphics looked great on Metal Gear Rising, but its a bit too bloody for my tastes. The game didn't really scream Metal Gear either (more like Devil May Cry Meets Metal Gear with lots of blood). I'll probably skip the game if it comes to the PS3.

I wasn't a big fan of Gears of War 1. I thought it was OK, but not great. Never did play Gears of War 2.

I have to say that I was impressed by the Gears of War 3 graphics & gameplay. Looked very good.

Fable 3 looked even better though! WOW. The graphics were stunning and the new gameplay looks good. It should be a fun game. (makes me wish I still had a 360. lol).

As for Halo Reach, I was impressed by how much was going on doing the first-person sequence, but graphics wise it looked like previous Halos. Although, my jaw dropped when the gameplay went into outerspace and showed off, VERY briefly, SPACESHIP COMBAT! *drools*

So yes, even though I no longer have a 360, I was geeking out over these very cool Xbox games.

And then...Microsoft started talking about the Kinect. At first, they showed how it worked with the menus & I thought that was neat. I also liked the idea of saying "Xbox Pause" and etc. Neat.

But after that, they showed the "games". The first one was a Nintendogs ripoff, expect with a Cat. Sure, the graphics were good & it was neat the animal was so life like, but you know, we've seen this before.

Next was a Sports game. Different from Wii sports, but the same type of idea. More work with your body too. Did not look fun imo. Another game, Wii Adventures...er...I mean Adventures looked familar too.

Joyride, the former Avatar racing game last year (not sure if you still can use Avatars) now uses Kinect. Looks like a lame Mario Kart ripoff. Nowhere as fast as Mario Kart (or even Modnation Racers).

The Dance game they showed off after that was scary, but it was neat that the system could read movements so well. It was reading the movements of three people at once too. Freaky.

Microsoft showed off their video chat without a headset via Kinect during the whole Kinect thing. They also showed off ESPN on 360 (not into Sports so I could carless). No Hulu as some people thought. That would have been neat.

A trailer for a Star Wars Kinect game was shown, but no actual gameplay so we have no idea how it works. It is not a launch title either (big mistake Microsoft)

Oh and Ubisoft showed off a Fitness game for the Kinect (reminded me a lot of Wii Fit) and Forza using Kinect was shown off. The graphics were good on Forza. Lots of detail.

Kinect tech seems impressive, but the games lined up for launch look awful. I think Kinect is going to be a wait & see type of thing. Kinect could flop badly for Microsoft.

Oh and mysteriously, no price for Kinect was mentioned. Hmmm.

So the Kinect part of the conference was rather lame & I'm sure a lot of the reporters/industry people/etc there were falling asleep (I almost was).

Microsoft did end their show well though. They revealed the new SLIM 360. Its 250 GB with Built In Wifi. Awesome. System looked very sleek and nice. *drools* Oh and the lucky reporters/etc there got the new system...FOR FREE. *jealous*

(btw, the new Slim 360 is shipping now and will be at retailers soon for $299. Too bad I am way broke. lol)

Overall, the Microsoft press conference was a mixed bag. Some great hardcore games announced, lame Kinect games, and the cool new Slim 360. Oh and no suprises at all. Even the Slim 360 has been rumored for awhile now.

I suspect that Nintendo & Sony will do better at their E3. Both of them appear to have a lot of suprises in store for their fans. I'm VERY excited for tomorrow.

DF2506

[df2506]

WOW! WOW! WOW! Sorry for the caps, but I am just shocked AND amazed by Nintendo this year. Previous years, Microsoft & Sony were about games and Nintendo was mostly about the casual audience. This year it was reversed with Microsoft & Sony being about the casual audience (mostly) and NINTENDO being about the games.

First off, they showed the awesome looking new Legend of Zelda game. Its called Skyward Sword. Its sort of cel-shaded, but stays with the older Link. Not as cel-shaded as Wind Waker, but its enough to make you think of older Link games like A Link to the Past. Very bright and different from Twilight Princess. Very cool though.

After that we got to see games like Donkey Kong Country Returns for the Wii, Kirby Epic Yarn, Epic Mickey, Goldeneye, and Mario Sports Mix. All very cool Wii titles.

The only mis-step was Wii Party (and Just Dance). Thats the typical Wii casual game. Other than that, wow.

If that wasn't enough though, the 3DS was shown and so was Kid Icarus for the 3DS. The graphics for Kid Icarus looked like a really good looking Wii game.

Nintendo's E3 showing was great! Amazing even.

Then...after the show...online...Nintendo revealed that they are doing: Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Pilotwings, Star Fox 64, Paper Mario...for the 3DS!

Yes, Nintendo had so many games that they couldn't even show all of them at their press conference.

Oh and btw, Capcom has revealed a stunning Resident Evill for the 3DS ( ds.ign.com/articles/109/1097998p1.html )
and Konami has revealed Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D
( media.ds.ign.com/media/077/077733/imgs_1.html )


Oh wait, there's something else. A title that was discovered on the web, that Nintendo didn't reveal...Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the 3DS. The graphics are much sharper and its going to have 3D. It looks great!
( ds.ign.com/articles/109/1098192p1.html )

There are a lot of pictures for these games on Ign, Nintendo Life, and elsewhere. Yes, I'll have to post more links soon. lol. So excited. 3DS is going to be awesome! Even if you don't like the idea of the 3D, just turn it off. Cause the graphics on this new portable look amazing and the games sound great.

As for Sony, I have to say that their E3 was OK. I would put them at #2.

Best announcement was Portal 2. It looks amazing.

LittleBigPlanet 2 looks awesome. And the new Twisted Metal looks like a lot of fun.

I have to say that the best moment though was Kevin Butler giving his very inspiring speech. Cool moment!

Anyway, you'll notice I told more about Nintendo. Just HAD too. They did the best at E3. Great time to be a Nintendo fan!

DF2506

[Office Ninja]

I will agree about Nintendo ruling the show, but overall I think this E3 is kind of disappointing.

[df2506]

I think this would be a disappointing E3 overall if you're a big Sony or Microsoft fan (or both). They both did pretty bad this E3 imo. (a few great moments for Sony, but nothing like Nintendo.

That said, I'm VERY happy right now. I do like Sony a lot and I sort of like Microsoft, but I've wanted for so long for Nintendo to do GREAT. So for me, E3 is not disappointing overall. This is, without a doubt, my favorite E3 EVER.

Nintendo gave me almost everything I wanted (no Earthbound though) and a thousand times more. The 3DS looks wonderful and most of the new Wii games look amazing. I'm very excited to find out more about the 3DS, its games, and of course all of those great Wii titles.

I would have liked Sony to have done better, but Nintendo is so over shadowing that disappointment for me.

DF2506
" Wishes G4 would cover Nintendo more this year. lol."

[Caller]

I'm happy to see them remaking N64 classics onto the new systems. N64 was a failure let's admit it, but it had some amazingly good games, some of which still stand the test of time as the greatest games ever made...and a lot of the past generation didn't get to experience it. Well Nintendo is finally cashing in on that. Yay for remakes! Now we just gotta hope they don't gimmick them up.

[df2506]

I'm excited for the remakes too Caller. Especially Ocarnia, but Star Fox 64 looks awesome too. So far, the 3D is sounding very un-gimmicky and awesome. I wasn't sold on 3D before, but everything I've been hearing so far makes the 3DS sound really awesome. I think seeing will be believing with this system though. There's just no way to show off the 3D effect or the system really until it's right in front of you.

Very excited for the new Animal Crossing. I read on the official UK Nintendo site that the new game will have the player be the mayor of the town and he or she will have to fix the town up. Also, the player will get a secretary to help him or her! Sounds like a really cool idea for the next Crossing.

Other news: Oracina of Time for the 3DS will not be a straight remake. They will be fixing up more than just the graphics: I heard they'll be adding an easier way to get to your items & improving some areas like the Water Temple. I'm crossing my fingers that they add some new areas/sidequests too! This could be a really awesome remake. I know that the graphics look great.

In Sony news, I heard that LittleBigPlanet 2 will be coming out in November! Very cool.

Also, in Microsoft news, there was a Fable 3 demo at E3: gameinformer.com/games/fable_iii/b/xbox360/archive/2010/06/16/fable-3-demo-at-e3-with-peter-molyneux.aspx

^^Sounds like a really cool game!

I'll post more news and links as I find them.

DF2506