In our usual style we provided commentary on all three (Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony) E3 presentations and we’ve come to the conclusion that there wasn’t even a real need to scrutinize the details or lay anything out because there was a very clear winner: Nintendo. It wasn’t even close this year as Microsoft’s Kinect tunnel vision led to a clear ‘dis-Kinect’ from the core gamer audience and Sony failed to deliver much of anything new or exclusive.
Nintendo brought it in a big way with exclusive after exclusive and one surprise after another. They didn’t lose sight of what mattered most (the games) while trying to impress us with their new technology. While they turned to the Nintendo 3DS towards the end, 3/4 of the presentation was all about the games with actual in-game footage being played. Here’s a quick look at our favorites from Nintendo’s Presentation:
The presentation for ‘The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword’ suffered from technical difficulties, but kudos to them for actually playing their games in front of us. Since Twilight Princess first debuted on the Wii there has been a real necessity to raise the ante for what Zelda can bring to the Wii. Twilight Princess suffered because it was a mirror from Gamecube as a launch title. In the presentation we saw a great colorful world and some of what Nintendo intends to do with the motion controls.
Out of nowhere, ‘Donkey Kong Country Returns’ has been heralded as perhaps the greatest announcement at E3 — even from the Sony fanboys. As soon as the music began playing we were out of our seats cheering. They’re sticking to what worked like they always do. Nintendo finds a recipe for success and makes good games and even when going back and bringing classics to the current generation.
Epic Mickey represents the perfect game that we like to play. It’s a platformer with a great story, familiar characters, a rush of nostalgia, and innovative gameplay. The drawing and erasing and paint/paint thinner features allow players to shape the game to their playstyle. Erasing characters from existence, choosing to fight or befriend, erasing walls, and manipulating the adventure with tangible results all in a Disney (an atmosphere that has proven to be great in games like Kingdom Hearts) is like sensory overload. Then there’s the sidescrolling adventure where it becomes a cartoon with depth to top off what was already looking like a game moving to the top of our list.
Kirby hasn’t had a game in forever! It wasn’t what we had expected when Reggie announced that Kirby was returning as the star in his own game. We immediately thought something like Epic Mickey or maybe Donkey Kong. It’s actually a little weird at first glance but the more we see the more it’s clear that the ‘weirdness’ surrounding Yarn is dismissed when it segues into neat gameplay.
Nintendo 3DS blows Sony’s ‘Move’ and Microsoft’s ‘Kinect’ away. 3D gaming without the need for glasses and no silly gimmicks of motion control make it almost too good to be true. If not for the continued coverage from the press with people sharing their opinions about how this thing is actually legit then we would have a hard time believing it was real. Nintendo is getting backed by just about every developer out there wanting to bring their games to the 3DS.
Even after the presentation, the 3DS continues to trump the competition as news leaks came out during Sony’s about Ocarina of Time and Starfox 64 remakes for the 3DS.  Nintendo has basically rendered 3D televisions useless. It’s not going to be long now before this technology hits mainstream computer screens. This rush that Sony has made towards 3D televisions being the future of gaming has been embarrassed by Nintendo taking a giant step forward right in front of them.
Nintendo really did bring out the buffet this E3 and there is something for everyone. Heck, we want it all. Do you agree/disagree? Which company do you think had the best E3 and why?
I’d have to agree. The 3DS and some of their games are what stuck with me the most. Though if I had to pick a second place, I’d say it was clearly Sony. Microsoft’s show was just a real let down.
That said, I’m really impressed by Sony’s Move from what I’ve seen. I really don’t like motion control, but after seeing more of the Move, it just seems much more responsive and fluid than the Wiis and Kinetic (which lack of controller seems like it’ll just be used for minigames and whatnot).
I’ll probably be picking up a 3DS first chance I get though, and probably sometime down the line pick up the Move. That Sorcery game looked impressive.
Sorcery is the only reason that I would pick up Move. It has been the only game using Motion Control on ANY platform that looks like it is using it in a way that naturally fits the game (Skyward Sword pending). The thing looks like a friggin wand. The graphics, spells, and overall gameplay of how the monsters were fought looked really cool.
Nintendo for the win! I do still want to pick up the new Xbox 360 so I can play Red Dead Redemption and Fable III.
Eh, I think my age is finally catching up to me. None of these 3d motion gizmos actually get my heart pumping.
The only thing that caught my attention was the trailer for the new Warhammer 40k mmo. Stupid MMOs keep pulling me back in.
I’ll be talking about MMO’s tomorrow. The Warhammer 40k MMO and SWTOR trailers are interesting.
The trick with 3D screens without glasses is that: A ) the 3DS screen is tiny, whereas a 3D TV is very large. Increase the surface area and you exponentially increase the price to produce and sell. It probably wouldn’t be very affordable.
Secondly: A lot of the “3D” isn’t hardware-based, it’s software. So the cameras used to film shows and movies would have to be altered or they would have to do some sort of composite rendering in post-production in order for you to get 3D without the glasses. So I hardly think it will leapfrog over Sony’s 3D TV’s right away. And I’m sure Sony’s already trying to generate similar results for their next line of 3D TV’s that are in development (2011-2012 models).
I don’t know who manufactured Nintendo’s screens for the 3DS, etc, but unless they sell licenses for the technology, or some company spends lots of money to reverse-engineer and duplicate it, then it won’t leave the 3DS very quickly (Unless it’s simply the type of lens out of a pair of 3D glasses just stretched over the surface of the screen). I do agree with you on the computer screens, though. Because computers are so flexible with coding for programs (especially games) and codecs for videos, I can see computer monitors switching over to accessory-less 3D and having tons of software support to back it up. Granted they’ll probably be 3x as expensive as a current HD monitor of equal size at the start, but you pay to be an early adopter. 🙂
I don’t know, i mean i understand that the 3ds is new tech, but am i the only one that just doesnt care about handhelds? I dont consider a handheld a serious platform, good to pass time, but i have never had the urge to sit and play for hours on any handheld. Having 3d without glasses is great, but from what i have read, if you look away or even change focus you lose the effect. this sounds like you wont be playing this anywhere on the move, but instead sitting on a couch or at a table. riding in a car where you must keep still or lose focus seems like a quick way to queasy town. I may be wrong here having not used it in the real world.
I dont think that MS did all that bad, with a revamped xbox that brings it up to the ps3 or close in terms of features and looks. I do think kentic, is a gimmick but i think that about all motion gaming. I simply will never want to spend hours standing playing a game. If it was maybe 60 dollars with a wii sports kind of title, i would maybe get it for party scenarios, and no threat of losing my tv to an errant remote. If it ends up the 150 they are predicting, it will flop more than likely.
I have heard almost nothing from sony that wasnt already known, and move seems even less inventive than kinetic.
I would think this is closer to a tie between nintendo and MS.
PS warhammer 40k MMO, and SWTOR. those win 🙂
Being a mature gamer theres really nothing that Nintendo has shown that interests me in the slightest. But its great stuff for the little kids.
I’m on the older bandwagon as well. I just can’t get into all these new “Motion” controlled games which was mostly what E3 seemed about, and I agree with Big Kid Gamer as well with the hand-helds. My PSP is collecting dust somewhere in a closet.
This E3 was disappointing for me, and all three companies seemed determined to mainly produce technology to capture that “non-gamer” market. I don’t blame them for wanting a larger fan base, but Core gaming seems to have taken the back seat.
I think the only console based games that got me excited were Gears of War 3 and Fallout New Vegas.
On the MMO front SW:ToR trailer was awesome as usual, but when it comes to actual game play I worry with the recent announcements of the battleground type of PvP. WAR40k looked good as well.
http://www.gameslave.co.uk/newscomments.cfm?news=9212&title=Warhammer-40000-Dark-Millenium-Online-Screenshots–Trailer
“Side with the forces of Order, or the vile hosts of Destruction”
God! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! DO NOT WANT!
to clarify.. why god WHY? would you inspire them to make a two-faction MMO out of 40k?
Because WoW has 2 “sides”, I think lobotomy is a prerequisite for MMO designers these days.
I would hope that WAR is also an example that if you want PvP and factions that you do NOT use only 2. If it is a more wowesque game where PvE is the main focus, then 2 will work. If it is PvP focused, which i pray to yaweh it is, then you need each as its own faction, or at least 3 factions minimum.
“Nintendo 3DS blows Sony’s ‘Move’ and Microsoft’s ‘Kinect’ away.”
I totally disagree with this statement 100%. 3d handheld mariocart and super cooking challenge will not blow Kinect away.
I agree with the poster above me. This technology does not make 3DTV useless. Just imagine yourself watching a movie made like that – you’d have to run back and forth in front of the TV. And watching such movie in the cinema? No, thanks.
The 3DS works by having a parralax barrier over the screen. Instead of 2 overlaid images like you see when you use glasses, this type of 3d uses alternating slices of the image (similar to those decals that change picture as you rotate it). The parallax barrier ensures each eye gets a different picture. The 3DS slider adjusts the barrier, allowing it to be set for your preferences.
The problem with this type, and why it will never make it to mainstream TVs, is that it relies on the user being directly in front of the image. If you are to the side, it appears blurry. This is great for a handheld, and maybe even a monitor. But it will not be useful for a screen that multiple people will be looking at.
Remember the first LCD screens? You had to be right in front of those too and I mean RIGHT in front. I’d bet anything that the technology gets better and better. For now though, yes, you need to be right in front of the DS screen.