Microsoft
Well first off I'll say I am an avid Xbox 360 fan. I own all the consoles however.
Like most Microsoft fans I was looking forward to hearing about project Natal, now named "Kinect". I actually like the new name better then Natal.
So the Microsoft conference started out nicely for me, the COD Black ops trailer and in game footage was nice. I have high hopes for this game, especially after MW2 let me down so much. The exclusive map pack deal was a nice touch as well.
Metal Gear Solid Rising really impressed me, I know it's multiplatform but whoa! It was looking good. Sometimes the Multiplatform games are better then the first party games IMHO, and this one's looking great.
Gears of War 3, what else is there to say. 4 player co-op, amazing graphics, even improved on the Gears 2 ones. We get new characters, new mechanics, the ability to give each other weapons, female Gears, new enemies, this game is of course going to be amazing.
Halo Reach, this game has exceeded my expectations since the Beta. I loved the look. It reminds me very much of Halo combat Evolved. Your back to fighting the Covenant, which is the way it should be. 4 player co-op, new game modes, weapons, vehicles, abilities, looking like a great campaign and oh did I mention Space battles? Bungie always does a good job and this is shaping up to be the biggest game released this year.
Fable 3, the Fable series has always been a favorite of mine since the amazing first game on the original Xbox. this one looks amazing and the way you import your character from the last game is impressive. I love the idea of your decisions effect the outcome, this is more hack and slash, but plays a lot like Mass Effect series.
Forza 4, The Forza series is my favorite racing series, they use officially licensed cars, and offer real time damage. It's the best racing sim and the new features that work with Kinect look fantastic. The detail on the cars, the ability to sit inside them and look around. It's looking nice.
Codename Kingdom, now there wasn't a whole lot on this one other then it is an Xbox 360 exclusive from Crytek, the makers of Crysis 1 & 2. The promo looked pretty sweet though and I'm sure I like other gaming fans will look forward to more information as it comes available.
On to Kinect, I knew Microsoft would be pushing this a lot today, so I wasn't surprised at the attention it got. Well deserved attention even if the device isn't geared towards hardcore gamers. Sure I would have liked to see a few more titles aimed at the hardcore crowd, but I look at Kinect as Microsoft's "Soft console" launch. I see Microsoft using Kinect the way Nintendo used Wii, pretty much using motion controls to sell this device as a new console. See consoles don't have to have state of the art graphics, were in an age of "Entertainment" more then anything else. So Kinect in fact is the next Xbox.
Many of the games didn't interest me, but I could totally see myself playing them with some friends, tossing back a few brews and having a good time. I would like to see some hardcore games to give them a try with Kinect. The fact is Kinect just isn't geared for the type of gamer I am, it's not for the people of this site or any gaming site. It's going to appeal parents, grandparents and casual gamers alike. Does that mean hardcore fans wont get it? Of course not. I will get it. Why? The show blew me away, I love tech and the voice commands, controller free options really impressed me. As a whole, I've not seen Move or Wii follow movements like Kinect did today.
XBL improvements, I am a huge sports fan, I love ESPN as well, so mixing the two and having so many sporting options on Demand and having it free to XBL Gold members is really a big deal to me. So bravo on that one.
Now comes the heavy hitter, the Slim Xbox 360 with built in Wireless N and 250 gig HDD. It's looking super Sexy, I love the design, very Alienware and very hip and fresh and new. This combined with Kinect is why we wont see a next console for a few more years at least.
Now some people were upset about the Microsoft Conference, I pretty much expect just this. They had more games to show, Crackdown 2, Kameo 2, Ninety Nine Nights 2. They just didn't have time to push new hardware and all these games as well.
Personally, I have had a hard time getting all the 360 games this year, so I am kind of glad I wont have to worry about getting a new game a week or whatever, because combined with the hardcore exclusives, there are a lot of third party games I want as well, MGSR, COD Black Ops, Medal Of Honer, Crysis 2 etc..
anyway, Halo Reach and Gears 2 will tide me over a long, long time.
I think some of the Sony or Nintendo fans that are talking smack on the Microsoft show will have a slightly different tune after tomorrow. Sony is going to heavily push 3-D, mostly because they have billions invested in the technology and cant afford for it to flop. Also expect as much time devoted to Move as was devoted to Kinect. As for Nintendo, they are launching a new 3DS, so a lot of their time will be for that. Not saying you wont see games, but new hardware or a add on are always going to take a lot of time.
Now was the Microsoft E3 conference a success? I think so. The new Slim Xbox 360's are sold out everywhere and #1 on Amazon right now. At my local Gamestop they were doing a lottery just to get the chance to buy one. They said to expect a 3 month or longer wait. So Microsoft is clearly seeing a big rush on their console right now. I am personally seeing PS3's going up for sale and older Xbox 360's going up for sale for cheap on Craigs list and Ebay. I mean CHEAP too. It seems the Slim Xbox 360 is just what the doctor ordered and now a bad price for what you get really, Wireless N is the top you can get and is only available on the new Xbox 360.
I was a little disappointed we didn't get a Kinect price today, but I suspect we will get one after "Move" has a price point. The $149 speculation was wrong and even though Gamestop put it up as that, there reasoning was they needed some kind of price on it in order to accept pre-orders and they were getting a ton of them today.
According to Aaron Greenberg on Twitter
"No Kinect price announced yet, retail price estimates are purely speculative, final price & pack-in details are not yet determined."
We are also seeing the current 360 prices slashed, $99 arcades and $179 elites, so now is the time to buy a Xbox 360.
I still believe we will see a Kinect/Slim 360 bundle for $250. They want to compete with Wii and that price point will let them do that.
Was the day perfect? no, but I think it was successful and will help Microsoft cement themselves into a second place finish this generation. Kinect could very well be the next big thing.
I don't expect a lot of support for this blog here, but this is as unbiased as I could be. I will give grades to the other two big contenders tomorrow.
To those saying they expected a price cut with the new slim 360, I think you got one. I mean I know a lot of people who wanted a 360, but couldn't afford to get one and then a Wireless N as well. Which sells for $100 on it's own, bringing the total to over $400 for an elite. Now you get 130 more gig in HDD space and Wireless N for the same price. Everyone I know is trading up and trading in. So people thinking Microsoft messed up need to look at the big picture. I know most Sony fans are "hoping" the Slim Xbox 360 doesn't sell well, but bottom line, it will probably sell as good as the Slim PS3 did and maybe even better, Plus there are around 2 million current Xbox's out on shelves at really reduced prices. I think This is a great step for Microsoft.
Overall on the day I give the Microsoft Conference a B
Nintendo
Like I said before I am a huge Microsoft supporter, that being said I think I enjoyed the Nintendo conference much more then any of the others.
Nintendo has always had the best first party support and the most popular and well reviewed games. They always have innovation in the industry and force others to follow suite.
First we see a new Zelda Wii title "Zelda Skyward Sword, this game looks amazing and it's offering revamped motion controls with the Wii motion plus add on. It's looking more accurate and makes you feel more part of the game. Of course this game is going to be epic.
Mario Sports Mix is shown next. It looks like a Wii Sports type game but with our favorite Mario characters, so you can bank on this one being a big favorite among the casual gamers and kids.
I liked how Nintendo went after the competition a bit, with Reggie giving some nice numbers, as Mario Kart Wii has sold more than 22 million copies, And New Super Mario Bros. Wii has topped 14 million.
Also a survey which cites studies saying Wii owners play their systems the most, and more people intend to buy a Wii in the next six months than the 360 and PS3 combined.
Wii Party is shown next, it's another typical party game, offering some nice variety though. There will also be 70 different minigames, and a heavy focus on Miis.
Just Dance 2 is next up, their is apparently already a sequel to a game I didn't know existed in the first place honestly..lol
Next up was a DS title, Golden Sun Dark Dawn is the new title in full. It looks to be a nice RPG, I loved the Golden Sun games before, so I am looking forward to this one.
Next was a game I never thought would happen, Goldeneye.
The game will have eight Bond characters, 16 game modes, stealth kills, and Daniel Craig in the title role. The N64 game of the same name revolutionized FPS games, this game didn't look too great, but if it has solid gameplay it wont matter.
Next we see Disney Epic Mickey, this game actually looked stunning and I was loving the classic levels like Steamboat Mickey. I think this game will actually do well as a classic style platformer.
Next up a new Kirby game, Kirby's Epic Yarn. This is a departure from the Kirby we know. Will it work? I guess time will tell. It looks interesting, but might be too big a change for my tastes.
Next up is Metroid: Other M. This game is being made by Team Ninja, the company behind Ninja Gaiden and Dead Or Alive games. The game is looking really nice, sometimes you forget it's a Wii game because the graphics and textures look so stunning.
Next we see a
Donkey Kong Country-style side-scroller. The game looks nice and was a nice throwback to the classic Donkey Kong games.
Lastly we have the best thing at E3 Nintendo 3DS.
The slogan is "nothing between you and the experience."
They pretty much take pot shots at Sony, because Nintendo's 3DS is glasses free, which is something I could actually see succeeding. This hand held blew my mind. The Analog stick, the screen size, the camera, the always connected online, the power. It looked like it had the power of the mini Gamecube or original Xbox.
There are two camera lenses on the outside of the system, so users can take pictures and view them in 3D.There's also a gyro and motion sensors in the system, and the analog stick is actually a slide pad.The system is also capable of displaying 3D Hollywood movies, but they aren't announcing any specific details at the show.
Next we see some games first was a new Kid Icarus, which gets loud cheers, this franchise is now resurrected and was a personal favorite of mine growing up.
The 3DS can automatically search for Wi-Fi access points and other 3DS systems, and will automatically communicate with them without you knowing it.
Iwata said the 3DS supports automatic communication regardless of the games being played.The feature will be used to give new stages, quests, and rankings to players.There won't be a monthly fee for that.
Iwata concludes by talking about the doubt people had regarding Nintendo's previous hardware innovations. As a result, Nintendo had to show the way with first-party software.In this case, Iwata expects the biggest third-party launch support it has ever received will be for the 3DS.
The Nintendo Conference was fast paced and straight to the point. Nintendo didn't have to be flashy but they got the message across to everyone. Were in first place, we dominate the Hand held market and we will do so again.
Out of all the Conferences this was my favorite, and I'm a 360 fan. So that should tell you something. I mean Nintendo has paved the way, First laughed at by Sony and now copied. They have a Glasses Free 3-D, while Sony is left holding the bag with bulky glasses needed 3-D. Innovative is something Nintendo has always been.
I grade their conference a A-
Sony
The Sony Press Conference was the most boring of the bunch. I'll get that out of the way first.
Having Kevin Butler saved them a bit, his appearance seemed to be there just to appease the fans and fill some time up.
The Sony conference seemed dated, because the Nintendo and Microsoft pressers were before Sony's. So saying thing's like "Sony is leading the way with 3-D" was kind of out of place. Seeing as how Microsoft and Nintendo are going a different route.
To start with we get the Killzone 3 footage. I noticed or thought it was pre-recorded gameplay footage. Why do I think this? Because it never showed a side by side of the guy playing and split screen it with the game on screen. Every other presser had this and even the Sony one had this, just not on Killzone 3. The actual gameplay if you didn't know it was Killzone 3 you would have thought it was just a bland, generic Shooter to be honest.
I also heard the word 3-D around 100 times. It made my head hurt to be honest. Even yesterday I said to Sony fans. Expect 3-D to be pushed because Sony has Billions invested in the tech and stand to lose a lot if it fails. Expect to see Move. Which is exactly what we saw for most of the show. 3-D and Move.
On to Move, we got a price. Now if you want the full Move experience it's going to cost you $150, true the one wand piece is only $50 but if you need the whole setup it's going to cost you $150. Not to mention if you want to add controllers it's going to get expensive. I think Microsoft did the right thing in holding back their price on Kinect, because now they can put together a good bundle and I can definitely see a Kinect/Xbox 360 bundle being cheaper the the PS3/Move $400 bundle.
From what I saw the Move is more accurate then the Wii mote, but not as accurate as Kinect. It seemed to lag behind. I can see this being an issue with using it online as well to be honest. Also I a certain a person using a standard controller is going to have the advantage over someone using Move in an online game.
The Harry Potter looking Move game looked okay, but pretty typical as far as graphics and effects go.
Then we get a Multiplatform Tiger Woods Golf Game? I scratched my head on this one, I know they want to show Move but why a Golf game? I would have rather seen a 1st party game or something like that.
The pacing on Sony's show, especially the first hour and fifteen minutes seemed really, really slow.
Kevin Butler did some good comic relief, but in all honesty if you are going to make fun of the other companies, at least make sure your company has the better show first k?
The kid from the movie "Role Models" was a solid addition to try to market to the American Audience and a way to try to show "Ethnic diversity" among Sony users.
Overall their weren't many surprises and I certainly wasn't surprised by anything, they did have the Valve guy out at the end talking about a game sequel to a game I've never even played. It wasn't even exclusive or anything. I think Sony kind of traded places with Microsoft and bought some DLC timed stuff and some "Limited edition" things, but overall I was surprised that a company that has 16 1st party developers didn't really have many games to announce?
I kind of called that a while ago, they were going to push Move and 3-D and not much else.
Some of the stuff they used, like PSN numbers were not fully explained, they just used them to make themselves "Look good" 80 million registered users is not the same as 80 million unique registered users. 80 million users on PSN is easily explained, I mean 35 million consoles and I would say only 65% go online, so they are adding all the different PSN's people create. Personally I have 10.
Overall I think nobody can "Win E3" but Sony was unimpressive.
I heard how Move was going after "Hardcore gamers" and then we see it works with Killzone 3, which was the only "Hardcore game" I saw listed, the rest weren't even available to preview and the names and trailer made them look a lot like...PARTY GAMES.
SO both Move and Kinect have 1 "Hardcore game" apiece. Killzone 3 and Forza 4 respectively.
We heard nothing on Socom 4, Resistance 3, Uncharted 3, Infamous 2, Yakuza 4, Demon Souls 2, Agent or anything rumored to be unveiled by Sony. Unless I missed something at the very end we saw nothing on GT5 either? My feed cut out at the very, very end though so I could be wrong.
I don't think after Sony's E3 they have much in the way of bragging right over anyone. Nintendo IMHO had the best show. I'll get more into that on my Nintendo blog.
*-Good-*
LBP2
Killzone 3
Move price
Kevin Butler
*-Bad-*
Move price $150 for the whole thing is a bit much, $400 for a bundle, not sure how they expect to sell this to a Wii crowd who pays half that and have Mario and Zelda.
Slow paced
3-D
3-D
3-D
3-D
3-D
3rd party multiplatform is worthy of stage time now?
Nothing shocking, nothing big happening.
Average show IMHO
I give Sony a B-
Subject: My E3 Highlights and grades. 
Wed Jun 16, 2010 10:43 am
