Posted June 10, 2011 The dust has now settled and everything is getting back to normal in the gaming world. For me this years E3 was probably one of the most boring in recent years. E3 used to be about big game annoucements and first looks but this year it was stupidly thin on the ground in terms of new content. Alot of the games shown were shown last year or revealed a few weeks before E3. Microsoft were going into E3 with Kinect on their minds. The games shown did not appeal to me at all and what little core games they did show were ones we aleady knew about. They did give us a teaser for Halo 4 but from what little we saw they may aswell just skipped it. Sony spent some time hyping the games that are arriving this year on the PS3 such as Resistance 3 and Uncharted 3 but again these are titles we all knew were coming. The God of War PSP games and Ico collection for the PS3 were announced as was Sly 4. They gave a big showing to Vita and rightfully so as it's their next big thing, but we had seen this earlier in the year. A big surprise for me was the price of the thing and it was a welcome one. Nintendo spent alot of time talking about Zelda and its anniversary only to give us Link's Awakening on the Virtual Console and a GBA port of Four Swords on the DSi. It kinda seemed like a slap in the face as they were hyping the whole Zelda anniversary earlier this year. They said they would be putting more effort into this than they did with the Mario ROM dump but quite frankly it is just as bad. The 3DS montage showed some great titles but only one of them was new, Luigi's Mansion. Mario Kart, Mario 3DS, Kid Icarus and Starfox were shown last year. Granted we got to see some cool stuff from Mario Kart but that was it. Next up was their unveiling on the Wii U. While it looked great Nintendo didn't have any footage of games ready for the thing, tech demos sure, but no games. They then played a montage of 3rd party games which were running on 360/PS3 consoles and to top it off they announced a Smash Bros sequel only to have no footage of it. It didn't get any better when it came to third parties either. Very few games were announced at E3 and most of them shown had been shown the year before. Many Japanese developers just didn't bother to show up in terms of their game offerings, probably because they want to keep them for TGS. Even an S-E executive complained that his company had done a shoddy job showing new games. All in all a very bad E3 for me. At least the sales chatter was kept to a minimum. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2011 overall it was pretty average M$ brought nothing to the show other than Kinect, and they upto kinect's launch complained that the casual gamer wasn't for them blah blah, and this year at e3 they sold out, it was 90% casual gamers the rest was sequels upon sequels, which isn't bad but none of them shown were particularly epic, and when a HD remake of a really old game is the highlight of their show then thats never good, halo 4? hmmm a cgi film says nothing, give me more info. a D- performance for me Sony: pretty average, some good games shown, nothing spectacular. The vita pricing was a surprise $299 €299 but then when i saw £229.99 for uk prices which is over $370 then i wasn't happy, there is no way $170 extra taxes etc for the UK, they could have claimed the 20% but that is extortionate, that alone was enough to make me think buy the vita when it drops below £150 late 2012. would have been a B+ but after crappy euro prices D Nintendo: some solid 3DS games, Luigi's mansion was a shock and a pleasant one at that! Super Mario was a bit odd, i was of the belief it was to be somewhere between super mario 64 and galaxy, yet it looked more like new super mario bros wii.... I wanted fully 3D worlds like 64 had. still it does look good then the WiiU, i'm sold looks awesome, potential for it is awesome, shame the only had a few playable games at e3 such as; shield pose,chase mii, battle mii which were sort of wii graphics but a bit better. but they also had Killer Freaks from outer space, which i saw on games radar then began looking around for and it looks pretty damn awesome Nintendo got an A but overall the entire conference was C Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2011 Microsoft/Sony: Already announced and multiformat games look awesome. Not really and new and interesting announcements. Nintendo: Wii U. I love. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2011 On the Playstation side they showed cool games that I already knew would be cool. There were no smaller unique titles, as it stands this year I'm only getting Unch, Res3, Journey and Dark Souls - if those latter two are in fact 2011 titles. Haven't bought a game since last October. The only thing remotely of interest after everything died down was Amy. But I haven't seen much from that yet. Were it not for Jeremy I would've lost faith in human-kind. As a side-note: I disagree with WiiU Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2011 I thought it was a very disappointing E3. Being mainly a Nintendo fan, I was hoping to see some new 3DS games and a reveal of Project Café in the same manner as they did with the 3DS at last year's E3. But no, they only showed one new game over all four systems. One!! Luigi's Mansion 2 looks cool, but I always thought the original was, if not exactly overrated, a bit of a fan favourite. That's not to say I think the 3DS has a bad line-up, not at all, it's just that all the other games had been seen before, which is not really what I want out of E3. I just thought the Project Café reveal and its line-up would be plenty and traditional like the 3DS last year. But no, it's much more like the Wii than I expected. The one thing that really got me excited was the Zelda HD demo - it was spectactular, I am truly hyped - but even there I must not get too excited, as there's no guarantee it will become a real game. Still, at least they've made the colours nice again in Skyward Sword. Sony had a decent showing, with lots of games for the Vita. I'd say the new game that interested me most out of the whole conference was Dragon's Crown. It may not be a Zelda, but at least it's a real game. Basically, gaming's not what it used to be, especially since it became so westernised. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2011 Brilliant e3. I enjoyed this year's more than last. Most of the big (and overrated)AAA names did not do too well leaving the less popular but higher quality games a chance to shine. Perfect example of this was COD against Battlefield. All genres were well represented for frsh ideas and great games. On the shooter side as an example we have Deus Ex which looks to be the best single player shooter in quite some time. Starhawk and Dust 514 looked great with fresh concepts and combat. Battlefield looks to steal COD's thunder which is a good thing given how old and tired the COD series is. PC/Mac gaming is looking at its best in years. Starcraft 2 expansion, big WOW update and many future games as well as enhanced versions of multiplatform games I really liked how Sony chose to not to use long term key massive franchises for the Vita press conference(after conference had tons of announcements and games) with LBP, Modnation and new names. Times have moved on. Uncharted look insane as did Starhawk. Unhcarted exhibited some very large advances in physics and lighting. Not sure how they do it. Dust 514 was a great unveil with a very bold vision. There is no doubt future fps will incorporate MMO elements. A couple of games also received major patch/content updates this past week (GT5, Home, KZ3, LBP etc.) I will say resistance looks like junk. Who gives a crap about that after the last game? Nintendo's dual screen announcement were pipped by Sony and Apple with similar features. Not sure what Nintendo are doing? The games seemed dull and the exhibited Nintenod knack for churning out the same games a million times over. MS i didnt care about. Same ole same ole(halo and gears). But new Kinect stuff. I was going to invest in an xbox but my cash is better spent on the PC and PS3 right now where more exciting and fresh titles reside. Overall great show if you are a PS3, PC/Mac or future Vita owner. Nintendo and MS were truly horrible for hardcore gamers but I am sure many casual gamers will be more than happy. Anyway I am off to buy infamous 2 and make my own missions and scenarios Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2011 Nintendo spent alot of time talking about Zelda and its anniversary only to give us Link's Awakening on the Virtual Console and a GBA port of Four Swords on the DSi. It kinda seemed like a slap in the face as they were hyping the whole Zelda anniversary earlier this year. They said they would be putting more effort into this than they did with the Mario ROM dump but quite frankly it is just as bad. Yes ignore the fact that 4 swords is going to be free, as well as if we do get it, a bonus soundtrack of OOT when we buy the OOT 3DS, as well as a live concert of a Zelda orchestra touring around the world. Yep...it's far worst than spending money on some cheap ROMS with a soundtrack of very little music and that's all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2011 But no, they only showed one new game over all four systems. One!! I take it you mean new Ip's/original games Basically, gaming's not what it used to be, especially since it became so westernised. yes, hell yes a prime example DMC vs Devil May Cry westernisation is not right there Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2011 I take it you mean new Ip's/original games No, I just mean new games that we hadn't seen before. Unless I'm mistaken, Luigi's Mansion 2 was the only one. yes, hell yes a prime example DMC vs Devil May Cry westernisation is not right there Genuinely don't know what you mean there. I meant it's all guns, greys & browns nowadays. Boring. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2011 MS were shit, pure kinect wankathon, they are trying to duplicate the Wiis commercial success, and failing. Sony, didn't watch or look for anything in that camp, couldn't give a monkeys about them either. Nintendo did good, not as good as I was hoping though, they have a strong line up of 3DS games in the pipeline, Wii U looked good, but needed some games to show it off, but that's not what Nintendo wanted to do. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2011 Yes ignore the fact that 4 swords is going to be free, as well as if we do get it, a bonus soundtrack of OOT when we buy the OOT 3DS, as well as a live concert of a Zelda orchestra touring around the world. Yep...it's far worst than spending money on some cheap ROMS with a soundtrack of very little music and that's all. 4 swords is useless for many unless it's online. OOT soundtrack will be easily obtainable online and the Zelda concert won't be available to everyone. How about you stop bitching about my thoughts and tell us your own. I'd say the new game that interested me most out of the whole conference was Dragon's Crown. It may not be a Zelda, but at least it's a real game. Agreed it looked fantastic. No, I just mean new games that we hadn't seen before. Unless I'm mistaken, Luigi's Mansion 2 was the only one. Yup. It would have been much better for Nintendo if they actually showed the games they had plastered all over the back wall at the end of the conference. Mario Party, Kirby and Fortune Street would have been nice to see live on stage. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2011 Missed the MS conference, haven't heard a tremendous amount from them, Halo notwithstanding. Interesting that they're still focusing on the Kinect so much, I wonder how long the plan-term to keep the 360 fresh with it is. Sony showed some decent stuff, the Vita looks interesting and very competitively priced but I feel it'll still struggle to appeal beyond existing customers. A strong exclusive line up (hell yeah Sly Cooper) should help the PS3 tremendously though the Move seems to have become slightly forgotten. Nintendo almost but didn't quite steal the show with the Wii U, they probably could've stood to demonstrate some straight-up content alongside the tech demos. It's clearly piqued media interest though. Some decent 1st party showings, clearly designed to try and shift the languid 3DS a little better. Overall felt like a preview to the big coming out parade for WiiU next year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2011 (edited) Apart from knowing pretty much everything beforehand it was a pretty good E3. Highlight for me is the Vita. Still not sure I 'do' handhelds but the games shown, the deb chatter and the cross play with the PS3 is making it mighty tempting (and I just got a refund for my netbook so that's money potentially put aside). In terms of presentations everyone was dreadful. Microsoft were blah, Sony were boring and Nintendo just were not clear enough (probably because they still haven't finalised many thing with the WiiU). Biggest disappointment is the name WiiU. It's bloody dire. Just makes me think of Yahoo. Edited June 10, 2011 by Daft Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2011 I enjoyed it. Then again, my expectations weren't high. E3 isn't what it used to be. When I was growing up E3 was the place where 90% of big gaming announcements were made. These days there's far more trade shows for these companies to make their announcements, E3 has become less important. What I do know is that I'll now be picking up a Kinect. The price has dropped enough that I was already considering it, and the titles shown look like they could be good fun with the missus/for drunk times with friends. Sony yet again showed off software that I want, but yet again I probably won't pick up any of their consoles due to lack of time/budget. The WiiU blew me away, despite not being full thought through yet. Seems like an amazing concept (with a really dire name) and I will most likely pick one up at launch for family fun Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2011 Pretty average to be honest. You'd think it would be more exciting with all the new hardware being shown. I believe Nintendo edged it with the win but barely then Sony then microsoft.......I still think Kinect was overused. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2011 I actually think that Nintendo's E3 was brilliant. The Wii U probably wasn't made clear enough that it was a new console, as the general feeling from some is that its just a new controller for the Wii lol. However, the fact that third parties are showing their support, and we have had confirmation that they're ticking the boxes that people bitched about with the Wii is big thumbs up. 3DS was just unbelievable with what was announced for this year alone. Yeah, some games we knew about but it was so great to see how strong the game library will probably become by year end after a not so brilliant launch line up. Microsoft - no interest as their Kinect games are not going to be something I buy, nor is Kinect itself. Sony - As others mentioned it is stuff we knew about already. Vita looks decent yeah, but I honestly don't think it'll be a patch on the 3ds in terms of 'handheld' titles. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 10, 2011 I only really watched the Nintendo conference so can't comment on the other 2. As mentioned above Nintendo didn't make it clear enough in their presentation that the Wii U was a completely new console, especially when the games they showed off during the presentation looked like games from the Wii (Golf, Baseball, Mario) The 3DS games mentioned though did get my interest, I haven't picked one up yet due to lack of games (may pick one up to play Zelda OOT again though ) and seeing Luigi's Mansion is coming made me smile. Yes E3 lacks the same pizazz as before, but it's better that way, you don't want every games company announcing everything at the same time (in fact is it not unusual for Nintendo to announce their new console in America rather than Japan?) and have it spread out over several trade shows throughout the year Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 11, 2011 I think a lot of the problem comes is that we are very much in a transition stage. E3 clearly came to early for Nintendo as simply didn't have any fully working out. I do get the feeling they are somewhat stretched internally developing for both 3DS and Wii U which is why I think we will see more 2nd and either 3rd party developers taking on important franchises. As for Sony and Microsoft I think in a lot of ways they are both struggling to give us reasons we should care about their consoles still with neither ready to make a next gen jump. Arguably Microsoft are struggling the most with most of their internal studios working on Kinect stuff which doesn't interest the vast majority of us. Also the face that 2 announcements were Halo related is very indicative of this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 11, 2011 My reaction was "Huh...WTF?...Aahh! This is my stop!" (I was watching the conference on a bus) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 11, 2011 No, I just mean new games that we hadn't seen before. Unless I'm mistaken, Luigi's Mansion 2 was the only one. Genuinely don't know what you mean there. I meant it's all guns, greys & browns nowadays. Boring. well 1 new for the 3DS, but every announcement for the WiiU was new, i know technically all the games like ghoist recon/ninja gaiden 3 were known games but they weren't known for WiiU and Killer Freaks fom outer space for the WiiU is completely new as for devil may cry, the original was obviously anime orientated and influenced with its over exaggerated characters etc, however the reboot by team ninja seem to water down that influencing and brings in punk rock, hipster styling in, which is westernised Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 11, 2011 (edited) Arguably Microsoft are struggling the most with most of their internal studios working on Kinect stuff which doesn't interest the vast majority of us. Also the face that 2 announcements were Halo related is very indicative of this. I think it's probably got more to do with the number of studios they've lost/closed over the past few years. FASA Studios, Carbonated Games, Ensemble Studios, ACES Game Studios have all been closed by Microsoft, Bizarre Creations were closed by Activision. This leaves Microsoft with Lionhead, Rare and Turn 10 Studios as being the only MGS studios with any experience of releasing traditional games. Every other studio was opened with Kinect, Windows Phone or XBLA in mind. Rare have been reinvented as Microsoft's lead Kinect studio (curiously there was nothing from them at E3...) so they won't be working on regular games for quite some time, and Peter Molyneux has lapped up the Kinect project, his studio was already going that way. That leaves Turn 10, who have only ever done Forza games. Oh, and 343 Industries, a new studio made up of ex-Bungie staffers. They've opened 3 new studios this year, but their games likely won't see the light of day until the Xbox 360's successor. The only exclusive games that Microsoft could have shown, other than Halo, Forza and Kinect games, are the Alan Wake and Too Human sequels that are being worked on. Too many eggs in one basket? Edited June 11, 2011 by McPhee Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 11, 2011 My opinions of E3 i think you pretty much covered in your post HoT! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 11, 2011 IAlan Wake and Too Human sequels that are being worked on. The Alan Wake "sequel" (I've heard rumours that it will be a downloadable game based on the Night Springs TV show you saw in parts of it) hasn't got a publisher yet, so it could be multiformat, and there has been no mention of Too Human 2 for absolutely ages. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
