Ponza's Thoughts on E3 2009 So Far
Alright, I have seen all of what Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony have had to offer for this year's installment of the E3 Keynote Addresses.
Here's how the scorecard breaks down, we'll start with Nintendo, since they clearly lost again this year.
Nintendo
- New Title: NEW Super Mario Bros. Wii - Probably the most intriguing title in the lineup, but unfortunately the big N starts a terrible trend with this one. A 4 player Mario game for Wii, done in the NSMB Style that was on DS. Mini-games likely included. Score 1 point.
- New Title: Wii Fit Plus - A sequel or standalone new title, in bundle and software form, Wii Fit Plus adds to the fitness fun of the first game. I say yaaaaawn, because no one in my household still plays Wii Fit in the first place. What, are we getting these once a year now?
- Wii Sports Resort walkthrough. Basically Reggie Fils-aime and another guy (Bill Trinen) demonstrate the Wii MotionPlus attachment and show off the Resort in one go. Archery, Kayaking, Skydiving and Basketball are shown off. Other games using MotionPlus are mentioned, including Tiger Woods 10 and Red Steel 2. (If you didn't fall asleep during Monday night's James Cameron lecture at the Ubisoft keynote, then you saw some sweet Red Steel 2 action.) No score for stuff we already saw LAST YEAR.
- Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days - Square Enix continues to make some fine stuff for Nintendo, but we've known these titles existed for a while anyways.
- New Title: Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - Finally something new! Mario and Luigi RPG 3 finally out in the open, this time it looks like it's a side-scroller with RPG elements, staged inside Bowser's Digestive System. Um... ew? Score 1 point for something new.
- New Title: Golden Sun DS - YES! A thousand times yes! This is a shocker, and one of Nintendo's few bombs this year. The fans have been wanting it for years and it's finally real. Looks like Golden Sun, although more 3D, and the djinni action looked pretty cool in 3D as well. Only a tease from Reggie, but definitely a fantastic surprise at E3. Score 1 point.
- About this time, Nintendo starts plugging random stuff for the DS, and then moves on to the DSi. While Flipnotes Studio is intriguing, I don't find it that impressive yet.
- New DSiWare Title: Mario vs Donkey Kong: Minis March Again - Available June 8th (that's next week), it's the same Minis action people know and love, if they've ever played it. Included is a level editor and a sharing system that is all online. I didn't know this was coming, so it's worthy of scoring 1 point.
- DSi will let you upload photos directly to Facebook this summer. AS IF YOU COULDN'T DO THAT ALREADY?! Nintendo, you fail!
- Attachment Announcement: Wii Vitality Sensor - What?
- Megaton New Title: Super Mario Galaxy 2 - Nice! Finally, picking up some steam, Yoshi appears with Mario in the saddle, as they're back on the spherical worlds. Score 1 Point.
- Reggie comes back and flirts with the crowd about Nintendo wanting some edgier titles. We know Nintendo's getting Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, Dead Space Extraction and The Conduit, but then Reggie says Nintendo is collaborating with Team Ninja on something...
- Megaton New Title: Metroid: Other M - Nintendo ends the show with this blockbuster announcement. A game to dig into Samus Aran's origins, I guess, and she speaks in the trailer, which is a first for Nintendo as well. Team Ninja, do this property proud! Score 1 Point.
Final Score: 6 points.
Microsoft
- Okay, this keynote happened Monday, and started with The Beatles Rock Band. To keep you all informed, this game is multiplatform, so I think MTV and Harmonix just wanted to start E3 with a bang on Microsoft's time. Did I mention they brought guests? Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney. Um, yeah. I geeked out. That was impressive. They jabbered on to advertise their game, that they're excited for, but can't play because they're old, I guess.
- Next, Tony Hawk comes out and talks about his new game and peripheral: Tony Hawk's Ride. Working with Activision, they made a deck with buttons and infrared sensors, that detects hand movements. Sure enough, they've made the next evolution in skating games. Because Skate 2 was a threat (DUH!). While Ride looks awesome, it's something that will get people off the couch... and the stereotyping lives on.
- Infinity Ward gets on stage and demoes Modern Warfare 2. After the demo, they announce that 2 map packs will be timed exclusives for Xbox 360. Score 1 point. (Why the point? Well, anything that Xbox Live gets first is a sign that it's better than something else.)
- Square Enix took the stage and showed some Final Fantasy XIII running on 360 architecture. As my friend Joddat Rafih pointed out: Look at the jaggies! I have to admit, he was right. Game did not look that stunning in comparison to the PS3 visuals we've seen in the past. Probably a sign that the Cell processor is better for Square Enix to develop with.
- From this point on in the show, all of the games (except one) are EXCLUSIVES! *big cheers*
- New Xbox Live Arcade Title: Shadow Complex - A first for Epic Games and the Unreal 3 engine together on Xbox Live Arcade, Shadow Complex is a Metroidvania style game, with tons of depth and exploration, weapons galore, and boss battles. Looks awesome! Score 1 point.
- New XBLA Avatars Title: Joyride - A kart racer for Avatars. Luckily it's free to download. That's about all that I found interesting about it. I'm not even excited for it, in the slightest.
- Megaton New Title: Crackdown 2 - OH MY GOD! AGILITY ORB SOUND!?! I jumped out of my seat for this one, I was so pumped. This time, it appears you're the villain instead of the good guys, but this time, there's even more epic boss battles... monsters out of the ground? Score 1 point.
- Megaton New Title: Left 4 Dead 2 - Wow, so soon? Exclusive to 360 and PC, we get some more zombie slaying action, and they've brought melee weapons to the foray this time. November 17th, 2009 release window. Score 1 point.
- Splinter Cell Conviction - Looks like they've changed the game a lot since the last time we've seen it, but at least Ubisoft is shipping this exclusive soon. Sam Fisher's daughter is dead, and Sam wants vengeance. He goes all vigilante when his organization, the 3rd Echelon, puts his job on ice. Lots of Krav Maga in the 2 demoes I have seen of the game. Normally, I'd score this a point, but this game was announced long ago.
- New Title (worse kept secret at E3 for MS): Forza Motorsport 3 - Dan Greenawalt talks smack to the imitators of racing sims, pumping up his Turn 10 Studios team, and showing off an Audi R8 V10 in the background. Sexy game, sexy cars, and new damage engine. Did I mention FM3's got rollovers? Yep, it's got ROLLOVERS. Score 1 point.
- Halo 3: ODST - Joe Staten comes out and talks the game. ODST takes place just as the Prophet's carrier jumps in Halo 2. In a Halo first, there will be supressors, a modified Night Vision, and flashbacks to see earlier moments in time from other teammate's point-of-view. Multiplayer includes the maps that are out for Halo 3 as it is, as well as a new mode: Firefight. Much like Gears of War 2's Horde mode, but with skull modifiers as well. Interesting concept. But the surprise is yet to come.
- Megaton New Title: Halo: Reach - Not much is said about it, other than it's coming in 2010. Buying a copy of Halo 3: ODST will secure access to the Halo: Reach beta. Score 1 point.
- Alan Wake - About time this game got demoed. Looks scary as hell, man! Gives me chills thinking about it.
- That does it for games, for now at least. Microsoft announces Last.fm, 10 more countries to Netflix, UK getting Sky and SkySports support, and all video will now be streaming 1080p HD. Quite the announcement, but living up to it is half the challenge.
- Felicia Day arrives and announces Facebook and Twitter to the Dashboard this Fall. That's big! But not scoring a point, since Wii and PS3 do this already with their own browsers! Microsoft, you fail! Okay, the Facebook thing sounds interesting, because it groups friends by Avatar and by profile, and searching for things now seems to be a snap. One thing I find about Facebook.com is it's really crowded on there. Xbox 360 will make it simplified and more transparent.
- Megaton New Title: Metal Gear Solid Rising - "Another bites the dust!" Raiden returns to star in his own game, which according to rumor, takes place between the events of MGS2 and MGS4. This game is for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, and possibly for the PC. Hideo Kojima is looking forward to developing for the Xbox 360 platform. Score 1 point for taking away an exclusive.
- And that's about it. I lie!
- A lot of chatter about this "motion controller" stuff that people like. Can MS make one? How about, can MS make you the controller? Microsoft reveals Project Natal. Natal (pronounced nah-tal) is a camera bar that fixes to the bottom of the TV. Basically, it has voice-recognition and distinguishes where your body is, what your movements are, and translates it to actions on the screen. They show a video demonstrating examples. Steven Spielberg even comes out to say he's been working with MS on this tech. (Give us Boom Blox, Steve!) Creative director Kudo Tsunoda comes out and demostrates it with his actual avatar. Still lots of bugs with the hardware, I take it. Either way, Kudo makes a comment attacking Wii: "This isn't the kind of game you end up on the sofa using some kind of preset waggle commands." Crowd got loud over that one.
- Following the gesture gaming demo with Natal, Peter Molyneux comes on stage and on video screen and shows off some impressive tech with Natal: Project Richter is this codename. Basically, it's an AI called Milo. He's a boy, and he's just like any other AI movie you've seen. Creepy stuff if this is actually real. No proof though, since this is all on video.
Final Score: 7 points.
Sony
- Jack Tretton (I shall call him... MISTER T!) starts with some awesome stabs at everyone else, talking about "industry leaks" and "economic downturn, yet so many people showed up to this keynote". Har har.
- Jack also thought people at the press event were tired because they were too busy playing inFamous. Could be true...
- Uncharted 2 demostration - Game looks as sick as Uncharted: Drake's Fortune does. The demo guy wanted to remind people that the beta is starting very soon for Multiplayer, so keep those inFamous discs in the slot.
- MAG demostration - This blew my mind. Zipperfish came out and brought 8 guys, each playing their own account, while simultaneously, 248 others were playing the game from various studios across the world. Right there on stage. That sets a DANGEROUS precident for how they want MAG to work, and work well. And it looked cool.
- New Model: PSP go - "Worst kept secret at E3" - Kaz Hirai. Yep, he said it, not me. 40% lighter than the original PSP-1000 series, price point will be $249.99 US or 249 Euros. Includes built-in 16 GB storage space for games and data, Bluetooth and WiFi, as well as downloading capabilities from Playstation Store directly, which is alright. Also, new media transfer software is being made. Called MediaGo, this software will make moving files from PC to PSP Go a snap! And, a new feature for the PSP. SenseMe is a piece of software that scans your music and allows you to pick a theme. It then takes your music and sends to your PSP a playlist of music that suits that theme. Pretty nifty stuff right there. Score 1 point for the new device. October 1st launch date.
- Announcement - All PSP software, going forward, will ship on UMD, as well as via downloadable software. Great news for some, terrible news for people who like UMDs. Seriously though, once you have the internet, there's no reason to want to carry around UMDs.
- Gran Turismo for PSP - It's real! Unbelievable! Cars look amazing! Enviroments, however, look like ass. GTP will ship with 800 cars, 35 tracks, and run at an impressive 60 frames per second. Fidelity matched GT4 on PS2 incredibly well. GT PSP will ship on the same date as PSP Go, which makes a lot of sense, since GT usually does ship at the same time as a system.
- Megaton New Title: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker - The 2nd part of Kojima's Countdown Clock. Set shortly after MGS3, in the 1970s in Costa Rica. It's all about Big Boss, obviously. Trailer was pretty funny, but there were 4 Big Bosses, meaning there might be some co-op play. Score 1 point.
- New Title: Resident Evil Portable - Capcom says it's a Resident Evil built from the ground-up, specifically for the PSP. Awesome, I say. Score 1 point.
- New Title: echochrono - Was caught in the video montage.
- New Title: Final Fantasy VII - On Playstation Store RIGHT THE F*** NOW! $9.99 US, running at 1.32 GB. Play it today on PSP or PS3! Incredible shocker even though I found this on ESRB a few days ago. Score 1 point.
- New Title: Agent - Rockstar North and Sony collaboration on a massive endevour. A GTA-clone but set in the spy realm of the late 60 and early 70s. Very nice. Score 1 point for the exclusive.
- Jack Tretton cues the Final Fantasy XIII trailer, and then...
- MEGATON NEW TITLE: Final Fantasy XIV Online - WHAT?! They made another one? And... is Jack saying it'll be out in 2010? Holy crap! That's huge! And exclusive to PS3?! Give Sony a medal! Score 1 point.
- Sony shows off a Motion Controller they have been working on, in conjunction with the Playstation Eye. Looks awesome. I know what everyone's thinking: They're copying Wii! Who cares?
- Little Big Planet news - Disney characters are headed to LBP, in particular, Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Incredibles.
- New Title: ModNation Racers - Think Little Big Planet, Mario Kart, and Forza all jammed together. Got it in your head now? Good. This game will rock! You create the cars, the drivers, and the tracks. I'm personally already excited to see this. Score 1 point.
- New Title: The Last Guardian - From the team that brought us Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. Looks interesting, and I'll be playing this crazy acid-trip of a game when it comes out. Reminds me a bit of "The Never-Ending Story". Score 1 point.
- Gran Turismo 5 trailer with MEGATON ANNOUNCEMENT - Gran Turismo 5 proudly brings to you... an exclusive deal with the World Rally Championship, and, for the first time in Gran Turismo history... NASCAR! Score 1 point for stealing a property from EA! Seriously, that's huge news!
- And then Sony ends the show with some God of War III demo that people love a lot.
Final Score: 9 points.
Your winner of E3 2009: Sony by a slim margin, but clear winner over Microsoft and Nintendo.
What are your thoughts on the 3 major keynotes? Comment below!
After all that the only things I am looking forward to are the Halo games and the final fantasies. What a sheltered world I live in! Also, where the frigg are the pictures you keep promising, also are you going to appear at Tekko again next year or are you going down to the Florida one?
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