E3 2011
Another June has come and gone and with that another E3. This E3 had its highlights, but most things that were announced were not much of a surprise because of either leaks or previously released details. Regardless E3 served its purpose by giving us geeks purpose for 4 days with constant videogame coverage. To keep this as organized as possible I’ll give my two cents for each major company in their own section. Also a small disclaimer, I am only commenting and reacting to what I have read or saw, so if I happen to miss something please let me keep my head.
Microsoft:
Microsoft usually comes strong with a bevy of great stuff and this year they had great stuff, just not an abundance of it. The Kinect had some highlights with the announcement of Dance Central 2 and Kinect integration into the forthcoming Ghost Recon title, but other than that it was a pretty quiet E3 for the Kinect. Microsoft leaked Halo 4 right before their conference so that took the wind out of their sails. More Gears 3 and Forza 4 coverage was pretty cool and also the revealing of the Gears branded console was awesome as well (I want it so bad, but must refrain). Microsoft also showed off the fall update for the Xbox 360 dashboard that will surely be interesting when it hits later this year. All in all Microsoft had a solid E3, but beyond Halo 4 nothing really blew me away.
Sony:
Sony had a great E3 and showcased more of the NGP, which is now called PS Vita. The PS Vita was given a price for the two available models and the 3G Carrier (AT&T) was announced (to the dismay of many). The Wifi model will go for $249.99 and the Wifi/3G model will go for $299.99. That price point is almost perfect considering what the device will be capable of doing so I am excited for the fall (…Uncharted: Golden Abyss…drool). The games that were detailed for the PS3 were things I had already heard about so I wasn’t too impressed, but I was happy to see that Sony has cemented a date for the Team Ico collection and announced another God of War collection bringing Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta to the PS3 in HD and in 3D. Sony has a good E3 outing and I am hoping that a prompt release of the PS Vita comes this fall season.
Nintendo:
Nintendo came out the gate this year with a huge announcement of a new home console entitled the “Wii U”. Continuing with the Wii branding Nintendo is looking to change the landscape of console gaming yet again, but I think they might be too ambitious this time around. I will reserve judgment until the system comes out and there are actual gameplay videos of titles running on the hardware (not just tech demos). But with that being said I think Nintendo is trying to cover way too many bases with their new home console. The Wii U controller looks like the bottom half of a DS and it looks cool in theory, but my biggest concerns lie in functionality and pricing. The controller boasts a 6.2 inch display in the center of the controller. That is only a few inches shy of your standard tablet pc screen size (and tablets are not cheap). In terms of functionality I just don’t see how the controller will be integrated properly to satisfy both casual and hardcore gamers, but only time will tell so I will not speculate any further. Nintendo has confirmed a lot of third party support for the Wii U so we will wait and see what 2012 brings to us. I didn’t see anything about the 3DS that interested me (mainly because I don’t own one) so I have nothing to say about its E3 appearance. Last thing I will say about Nintendo for this year’s E3 is that the Zelda HD demo looked really sweet so please Nintendo please turn that into a reality and you will have something truly special on your hands.
Closing Comments:
This years E3 was easier to follow than most other E3s simply because the bulk of what was detailed during the conferences was leaked or detailed earlier in the year (like I said earlier). The Big 3 had solid showcases for the futures of their respective brands and hopefully the rest of the year will drench us in more awesome games than anyone person can handle. Comment if you want to chime in about what you thought of E3 this year. As always thanks for reading and you can follow me on Twitter @GamersAbstract and on Facebook. Stay tuned until next time.
The Gamer's Abstract 