And so, it’s already the end of E3 2010. The dust has settled, ladies and gents. Let’s see which of the Big Three (Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony) has the strongest press conference showing.
Microsoft
If you though Microsoft kicked off E3 with a whimper, you’re not alone. Viewers were treated with an hour of awkward and heavily-scripted demos of a little girl playing with a virtual pussy, car porn from the Forza guys, and other stuff that’s sure to entice people who wished they could play Scene It! and You’re In The Movie Now by flailing their bodies and hands around. That’s your Kinect presentation in a nutshell, folks!
There is huge speculation that the Kinect experiencing input lag as well as having users to stand up the entire time to use the thing, but hopefully that would get fixed in time for its November release date. There’s still lots of potential for the Kinect that goes outside for gaming (dashboard navigation for one), that I don’t deny. But for now, I’d be lying if I said that it looks more convenient than, oh say, using a wireless controller.
What also isn’t tolerable is the current line-up of games for the Kinect on launch; I really doubt anyone outside the current Xbox 360 market (hardcore gamers and jocks) would care so much to pet virtual tigers and gyrating their asses playing Microsoft’s version of Mario Kart. The Star Wars clip at the end of the show was just pandering and tells us nothing. I will say this; Harmonix’s Dance Central and Q Entertainment’s Child of Eden (actually shown off at Ubisoft’s press con, which came a few hours after Microsoft’s) will be the Kinect’s killer app.
There’s more footage of Gears 3 and Halo 3, though that’s to be expected and can be considered more of the same so I don’t know if that should even be a plus in their favor. The new Xbox 360 model was also nice to see; too bad SEA’s only getting it next month instead of now.
Verdict: C. While Kinect is indeed a technological marvel with big potential to draw in the kiddies and soccer moms, there sadly isn’t any strong and concrete products to convince us hardcore gamers to shell out money for it. Perhaps what Microsoft should do quickly is at least shoehorn in one big name title that’s Kinect-controlled. As it stands, this is the sort of thing that should be reserved for CES instead.
Nintendo
What people will mostly remember about Nintendo’s E3 2010 showing is the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword demo. Halfway through the presentation when Shigeru Miyamoto showed off the bow and arrow controls, it went tits up from there. The view spun out of control. The sword wasn’t registering his swings the way he wanted it to be. The new beetle item was flying around like as if it had a few Scotches too many. Thanks to wireless interference, Ganon’s army prevails!
Still, Nintendo manage to come up with a kick-ass presentation. In addition to catering to our nostalgia with Donkey Kong Country Returns, Metroid: Other M, and Kirby’s Epic Yarn (which is more or less Nintendo’s thing), they showed off the next generation of portable gaming. All it took for Nintendo to seal the 3DS deal was Reggie Fils-Aime’s words:
“It’s the glasses. Man, those glasses. That kind of fashion-forward statement doesn’t come cheap…and that’s for every person in the room.”
And then it showed up on a lone podium. Looking just like a sleeker DS Lite (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it), it comes with better graphics, a gyroscope and motion sensor, dual camera lenses, and 3D without glasses. The presentation was capped off with a teaser of their launch title, Kid effin’ Icarus, developer testimonies of the 3DS ranging from Keiji Inafune to Hideo Kojima, and a hands-on with the device tethered onto the waists of booth attendants. No one from the press was spared; everyone was impressed with the 3DS.
Verdict: A. Nintendo hit the home run on both the casual and hardcore target market while also showing off their new tech. Even with the wireless interference problem Shigeru Miyamoto encountered, everything else went uphill and beyond from there.
Sony
The company who popularized memes like “Riiidge Racer” and “Massive Damage” thankfully kept their Playstation Move (essentially their version of the Wii Remote) presentation simple and straight to the point with convincing demos of Sorcery and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11. The 3D presentation was a bit of a gimmick though; just remember than an average viewer will have to shell out for a 3D-enabled HDTV and a few extra 3D stereoscopic glasses when this all hits around the end of the year. And the less said about the PSP ad campaign and their version of Xbox Live Gold account benefits (the Playstation Plus), the better.
What made this presentation great was getting Gabe Newell to the “dark side” with him proclaiming that the PS3 version of Portal 2 will be the “best version ever,” Killzone 3 with some support of PS3 Move, LitteBigPlanet 2 with its awesome create-a-game features by the Media Molecule guys, a few crisp trailers on inFamous 2 and Gran Turismo 5 (complete with a November release date), and an extensive demo of Twisted Metal by David Jaffe. Throughout the decade, E3 has always been about the games, and in that regard, Sony did well in blowing it all out with the latter portion of the presentation.
Oh yeah, and some guy named Kevin Butler appeared. That definitely helped in the entertainment factor.
Verdict: B. While arguably not-so-memorable as Nintendo’s, at least Sony played their cards right and let Killzone 3, LBP2, Twisted Metal, and Kevin Butler take centre-stage. Even if the whole 3D presentation is an elaborate gimmick to a few and they spent all of their Playstation Move showcasing earlier at GDC, the presentation’s balanced out with the rest of the games on tap.
![[CLOSED] WIN: Tekken Movie Poster + Tekken 6 for PS3!](http://img.youtube.com/vi/st6dHmDSkhY/0.jpg)
![[CLOSED] Cataclysm Beta Key Giveaway](http://gameaxis.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/catalogo.jpg)
![[CLOSED] Leading The Hax Life](http://img.youtube.com/vi/YCncvc3ASN8/0.jpg)
![[CLOSED] Red Dead Redemption Card Deck Giveaway](http://gameaxis.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Red-Dead-Playing-Cards.jpg)
![[CLOSED] Splinter Cell: Conviction In-Game Giveaway](http://gameaxis.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/SC3000M.JPG)
I believe diferrent because my friends and family use another company.It’s relaxing and i love it’s very much.But next 3D Products I can think of this as 3D stuffs that you just present.Appreciate!!!
i think jayson is spamming. that should be grounds for a temp ban here, right?
I hardly visit the forums dude….
sony’s presentation wasn’t that good; the ps move = black wiimote. at least microsoft showed off something actually new with kinect.
yeah,i agree with anonymous.. in fact,the inventions aren’t the thing that we modified from others..it’s something that we newly found and achieve,and here microsoft’s ahead of the other 2 company…
@ Jayson: I was referring to the fiasco the GT5 release has become better known for. But of course, being the big Sony fanboy you are, you can only “assume the position”.
Leave your “console wars” attitude out of this and try not to get banned here like you did on the GS forums mmm-kay?
@papapishu: Heheh yeahhh.. extreeeeeeme.. whoah whoah whoah
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-mfi8a4ZR8
wait till the 0:45 mark…and why did that guy keep saying ‘extreme’ so funny?
sorry, this post was meant for the guy above you….:p
OMG TOFFEE BIAS AGAINST 360 LOL…
nintendo & konami owned E3, though konami is close to the top because it is EEXXXTREEMMEEEE
Scott Rohde, Vice President of Worldwide Studios, North America, accepted records for LittleBigPlanet with the Most User-generated Levels (2,463,073), UNCHARTED 2 as the Best Selling PS3 platform game and MAG for the Most Players in a Console FPS with 256.
KZ3 (Hell yeah!)
LBP2 (Nice!)
GT5 (OMFG HELL YEAH!)
InFamous 2 (Oh Yeah!)
Just correcting your lol on your speech to the appropriate ones losconquistador….
Sony still kicks ass so just pray for GameTrailers to fix the score-sheet and you’ll be fine….
Hmmm I would say this article sounds suspiciously biased, though my recollection of Mr Toffee being a 360 (as well as PS3) gamer gives me pause ;)
Having watched all 3 press conferences myself, I personally found Sony’s the most awkward and boring (save for Butler). I almost spewed when they felt the need to cart out the Sweeth Tooth van then proceeded to leave the hapless clown there banging away his toy cleaver while the devs droned through the demo.
Face it, unveiling KZ3, LBP2, GT5 (lol) and inFamous 2 was hardly any different from what you claim to be the ho-hum of Halo: Reach (not 3), Gear 3, Fables 3. Sure, the Kinect games were mostly the usual “casual” game fodder the Wii has been ridiculed for, but surely the potential and forward-looking nature of the tech vs Sony’s “mii too” go at the Wii’s motion controls deserves mention. I believe the games press was unanimous in this sentiment.
Of course, I also believe Nintendo had the strongest showing of the Big 3 but only because:
1) The 3DS was inevitably gonna be huge when they finally announced it. This was merely a formality. Most of the specs were more or less leaked long ago in the run-up to E3. It was the presence of so many core Nintendo titles and the promise of strong 3rd party support (Metal Gear back on Nintendo at last) that cemented this good sentiment.
2) The fact that Nintendo has been perceived as neglecting their “core gamer” audience for so long (this was even alluded to in Reggie’s speech) and they finally took this chance to appeal to said audience.
Anyway, all of that is moot since Konami clearly owned E3. Not only did we get a look at MGS: Rising, they also left us with this little gem..
h**p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtKMqdMWNec
Hmm the video refused to embed.. Anyway rock on.. ONE MEEERREON DROOPS!!!
Kevin Butler has a lot of positions!
Director of Game Accuracy (MLB 09: The Show)
Director of Rumor Confirmation (PlayStation 3 Price drop, It Only Does Everything)
VP of Enough is Enough (Candle, It Only Does PlayStation Home/Movie Downloads/Epic Fun)
Family Activities Director (Desperate Dad, It Only Does Family Games/Blu-ray)
VP of Big Action Moments (Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, It Only Does Action/Multi-Player)
Chief Weaponologist (Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, It Only Does Time Travel/Crazy Weapons)
VP of Epic Footage (Mon-Tage, It Only Does All-Nighters/Blu-ray Games)
VP of Blu-ray Superiority (Grandma, It Only Does Blu-ray/Wi-Fi)
VP of Big Deal Deal Making (PS3/Best Buy bundle, BOOM)
VP of First Person Shooter Relations (MAG, It Only Does 256 Players/Relentless War)
VP of PS3 Softball Team (MLB 10: The Show, It Only Does Realism/Walk-Offs)
VP of Apologetic Apologies (via Twitter for PS3 update brick)
Regional Manager of War (God of War III, It Only Does Epic Trilogies)
VP of Realistic Movements (PlayStation Move, It Only Does Fun/Immersion)
VP of Inspiration & Perspiration (ModNation Racers, It Only Does Track Creations/Parties)
VP of Artistic Modification, stars alongside Jack Tretton, CEO of SCEA (Artist Spotlight for ModNation Racers)
VP of Fanboy Relations (Kevin Butler hires Marcus Rivers for Step Your Game Up PSP campaign)
VP of Sharpening Things (Gabe Newell’s presentation of Portal 2 at E3 2010)
VP of Tweeting (Huge Gamer’s article on Kevin Butler hiring Marcus Rivers as PSP spokeskid)