All three conferences of E3 have been unveiled, of course to plenty of surprises, controversy, and disappointment. Microsoft went first, and Sony follows several hours later. Nintendo did theirs on the very next day, perhaps with the most anticipation since they have a new system coming out next year. Surely enough this is one of the most important E3s in a very long time as the eighth generation of gaming was emerging quietly. I will breakdown each conference, what they did wrong, and what I predict is in their future.
=========
Microsoft
=========
What They Did Right: Halo 4. Microsoft’s flagship franchise despite a lot of skepticism (Bungie left, remember?) was a nice (albeit, somewhat expected) surprise to round out the evening. On an E3 with few surprises, Halo 4 was a nice addition. And I guess I should be proud of Microsoft for sticking with Kinect rather than treat it as a small fad that was used only to counteract with the Wii.
What They Did Wrong: The Kinect. The hardcore crowd I am sure must feel a little offended that the gimmick created to rival the other gimmick is cutting into the hardcore time. The fact that Kinect will be used for titles like the next Gears, the next Forza, and the next Halo means the games have to be adjusted a little to suit with the new technology. The Kinect should stay away from XBox’s better franchises and should stick with light party games—much like Wii Sports Resort. And the new Fable looks quite disappointing. As a matter of fact, the entire conference reeked of mediocrity. The XBox 360 has had a fantastic run, don’t get me wrong, but all we see are more shooters, more sequels, and more Kinect nonsense. Metal Gear Solid Rising once again is noticeably absent, and there just wasn’t much reason to truly be excited for the future of the long-running system.
Predicting Their Future: I predict that while the Wii is running out of steam, the XBox 360 will continue to have a light consistent flow of games being released. In the holiday season however, the 3DS and the PSVita is going to severely cut into their sales. Microsoft had a nice boost with Kinect, but that ship will sail very fast as superior handheld technology and a stunning array of software creeps its way into the final three months.
My Ranking: 3rd in E3.
==========
Sony
==========
What They Did Right: The PSVita. It’s a nice-looking handheld, cheap in price, and looks like it will simplify gaming for the masses. In other words, its pulling the Nintendo Wii strategy while at the same time attempt to overthrow sales of Apple’s IPod Touch and IPads rather than directly take on Nintendo. The handheld resembles much more Apple’s nifty toys rather than the dual-screens of the DSs. This strategy just might work, as the mainstream and non-casual gamers tend to appeal to that type of gameplay. Sony dedicated a nice portion of time to this handheld and did not hold back on the details. The price tag was definitely a nice added touch, as it rivals the price of the 3DS. Uncharted and Little Big Planet for the PSVita? Nice indeed.
What They Did Wrong: AT&T? Really? On a more serious note, the PSVita got plenty of love and showcased its attempts to appeal to the hardcore and the mainstream. That being said..........the Playstation 3 was pretty brutally avoided. All the highlights and best portions of the presentation came from the handheld, as they really had little punch left with the PS3 outside the already-dismally-irritating Move. None of the trailers looked that impressive. Along with the 360, it looks like there isn’t much punch left, nothing left in the tank. The Playstation 3 made a miraculous comeback, and it’s a miracle if Sony can pull any type of large profit in spite of all that’s happened, but I personally believe that Sony should start prepping for the PS4. Its time. One final note: no apologizing over the recent shutdown of the network is a no-no.
Predicting Their Future: The PS3 will continue to fight neck-to-neck against the XBox 360 in the coming months, but when the PSVita comes out the focus will shift. I think the Vita will become a massive sales hit in the holiday season, and unless the 3DS can pull some heavy punches this might be the first holiday season in which a handheld not by Nintendo sells the most.
My Ranking: 2nd in E3
============
Nintendo
============
What They Did Right: Saved the 3DS from anymore destruction in reputation. It’s a nice handheld machine with plenty of potential, but none of it has been met in the slightest bit. A plethora of software of exclusives later, there is some life in this handheld. Mario Kart, Star Fox, Kid Icarus, AND a new Mario adventure in the same exact year? And throwing in Zelda: Link’s Awakening and the Virtual Console? That’s new life. And then there’s the WiiU. The potential in this system is phenomenally high, with long-overdue HD graphics and a controller that is destined to provide hours upon weeks of unique gameplay. Like I said, while Nintendo was extremely ho-hum on the details, the potential is there, and Nintendo followers everywhere have other choice but to drool. The backwards-compatibility part is a nice addition as well. Plenty of news, not too much talk about how they are outselling the world, and of course, a brief mention of a Smash Brothers arriving in the 3DS AND the WiiU.
What They Did Wrong: Oh….boy. Potential. The Wii was knocked around a lot critically because of unmet potential, and now I am sticking the same type of complaint to them because of this conference. They revealed the biggest news of E3, but failed to capitalize on it. They got the system, but just got their feet wet in terms of details. Nintendo had no knockout punch, no overwhelmingly awesome surprising news that would send this company to the unquestionable peak of E3 stardom. The 3DS had a great lineup, but they still weren’t 100% convincing you to get the handheld. WiiU sounds extremely promising, but they lacked the AAA software that put you over the top on excitement. Nintendo had the hook, the line, but missed the sinker. No price tag, no specs, and no announcement of what’s coming at launch; when on earth are we going to get these details? Nintendo is trying to win back the hardcore crowd, but while the hardcore was pleased with the 3DS (Slightly), its a much tougher draw with the WiiU when we were limited to tech demos.
P.S. They are not doing enough for Zelda’s 25th anniversary. Where is the collection of games? Why is it just Awakening at Virtual Console instead of Minish Cap, Oracle of Ages, and Oracle of Seasons joining in?
Predicting Their Future: Nintendo’s Wii system is going to struggle mightily throughout the year, before getting a small boost with Skyward Sword coming out. That being said, Skyward will pull a Majora’s Mask and provide very weak sales—regardless of how good the game might be. Why you ask? Because its extremely late in the lifespan of the system, like Majora’s Mask back in 2000 on the N64. The 3DS is going to have some nasty competition coming from the Vita, as they must pull off a great marketing campaign to get the gamers to notice.
Last but not least, we will definitely get news about the WiiU this Fall at a random time.
My Ranking: 1st, but not by much.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This E3 was quite an interesting one, as many surprises were unveiled, and the next generation of gaming and technology was revealed to plenty of skepticism, criticism, and mayhem. Only with time will we see what the future of gaming will hold. One thing is for certain, your days of playing video games with just a simple controller are long long over. Just ask the 3DS, Kinect, PSVita, Playstation Move, ITouch, IPad, Wii, WiiU.................
No comments:
Post a Comment