Leveling Down

Microsoft’s vision for the future of gaming: wild and crazy dancing.

I don’t know if it’s because I’ve leveled down or what, but I actually felt that the E3 this year was not that great. For many years now I’ve always looked forward to what Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo say at their keynotes, and like many other gamers, I like to determine which of the three of them “won” E3 that year. I guess in most instances, winning E3 is more about making announcements that actually excite gamers, so let’s review what the big three console companies had to share and my evaluations for each of them.

Microsoft [Grade: C-]
Microsoft spent some time showing videos of the new Call of Duty: Black Ops game by Treyarch – big whoop. As far as I’m concerned, Call of Duty is dead now that Infinity Ward blew up. But anyway, Microsoft had the big announcement of timed exclusive DLC map packs…joy! As if any 360 owner is going to get excited about that. Up next was some footage of Metal Gear Solid: Rising, which was kind of cool in its own way – but wait, it’s not exactly an exclusive title. Microsoft did share some new footage on its main exclusives though: Gears of War 3, Fable III, and Halo: Reach. But seriously, these are just sequels to games I’ve already been playing only 1-2 years ago. Are any of these exclusives really that interesting?

For some reason or another, I feel like Microsoft has totally lost it. Years ago they were really the hardcore gamer’s paradise with all of their exclusives, strong third party support, etc. Now, they’re losing practically all their third party exclusives, and decide to spend over a third of their 90 minute keynote sharing this new Wii-mote knockoff called Kinect. Last year it looked more interesting with the whole Milo demo, but this year with all the stupid dancing and arm waving – what a disgrace. And do they really think it’s going to sell at $150? That’s how much a Wii basically costs now. Even at $50 I was skeptical about this device but if they really think this thing is going to sell like hotcakes for $150 they must have really lost it. What an utter disappointment from Microsoft.

It’s like Microsoft decided to give up their core gamer crowd and chase after a piece of Nintendo’s pie. Unfortunately, that ship has already sailed. I think Microsoft pretty much screwed itself with such much invested in this $150 Kinect. The slim 360 was a little bit exciting, but unlike the PS3′s slim and $100 price drop, the 360 was already at an inexpensive price so it didn’t really do much. Microsoft is lucky they still had a few console exclusives left to show, or else they would have looked truly foolish.

Nintendo [Grade: A-]
I remember E3 last year and how Nintendo’s key note was a total disgrace. A finger sensor accessory? Luckily, Nintendo came out a lot stronger and exciting this year. They opened their keynote with a new Zelda game, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and it looks good. I’m sure fans are excited, and while Nintendo had a lot of big casual games: Mario Sports Mix, WiiParty, Just Dance 2, etc., they also showed a lot of more traditional Nintendo franchise favorites such as Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, Metroid: Other M, Kirby’s Epic Yarn and a couple new surprising announcements with a GoldenEye remake starring Daniel Craig and Donkye Kong Country Returns. And we can’t forget Epic Mickey either. In short, just this list of games that Nintendo demonstrated probably rivals or even generated more excitement out of me than Microsoft’s keynote.

Then Nintendo showed off the new Nintendo 3DS. The thing looks really good and turned their keynote from pretty decent to pretty awesome. The new Nintendo 3DS looks like a ramped up DS Lite, but now with an analog stick, 3D support without glasses, and a graphics engine that looks practically as powerful as the Wii now. Maybe even more powerful!

The list of supporters and game franchises for the new console is also staggering, with announced titles including a new Kid Icarus game, a new Nintendogs game, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Super Street Fighter IV, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy…these are all major franchises. The PSP2 will definitely have its work cut out for it. I may have to get one of these new Nintendo 3DS things after all.

Sony [Grade: B]
Sony’s keynote clocked in at about 2 hours, and therefore was longer than both Microsoft’s and Nintendo’s. Like Microsoft, Sony also spent a good amount of time demoing their Wii-mote like device called the Playstation Move. Again, it looked stupid to gamers. And really, are there casual players buying PS3s? Get out of town. Fortunately, unlike the $150 Kinect, the Playstation’s Move controller is only $50. Another thing mentioned for $50 was the new Playstation Plus service – an annual fee similar to Microsoft’s Gold Subscription, but who knows what they’re going to add if multiplayer is still going to remain free.

Unlike the Microsoft keynote, Sony had several exclusive franchise sequels demoed: Killzone 3, Gran Turismo 5, a new PSP God of War, Patapon 3, LittleBigPlanet 2, and inFamous 2. An HD Sly Cooper Collection was announced, as well as a new Twisted Metal. Unlike Microsoft, Sony is really continuing to build out their exclusives and they’re really starting to come around to appreciating the hardcore gamer.

One of the other major talking points of their keynote was the announcement of Portal 2 not only coming to PS3, but being the best one. Think about how Left 4 Dead and its sequel never made it to the PS3 – Valve claimed that the PS3 was too hard to develop for, but now they’re doing a 180 and instead putting their best work on it. And there were also several EA games shown, and unlike Microsoft’s Call of Duty: Black Ops timed exclusive, several of the PS3′s games shown had notable exclusives. For example, Dead Space 2 on the PS3 will come with Dead Space: Extraction and Playstation Move support. Buy the PS3 version of the new Medal of Honor and get an HD remake of Medal of Honor: Frontline. EA really wants to sell its games more on the PS3 these days, and with Dead Space: Extraction being bundled in with the PS3 version, I may actually have to go for it.

Sony is really making a turn around with the effort they’re putting into the system, and I guess as a new PS3 owner, maybe I will have to start considering the PS3 as more the future and the 360 the past. At least, based on what I’m seeing from these key notes.

A Grim Glimpse into the Future
As someone who owns several 360s, I was very disappointed that Microsoft’s E3 showing was the worst of the three. Sony’s was better than Microsoft, but Nintendo pretty much blew them both away. My “hardcore gamer” side weeps as I hear stuff like the new Zelda coming out on a Wii with last generation graphics, and consoles with HD graphics (the 360 and the PS3) parading around trying to show off their new motion capture devices. Where has the gaming industry gone? A significant amount of Microsoft’s presentation was about this stupid Kinect thing – do Microsoft and Sony really think that casual gamers are so excited about the Wii that they want to upgrade and spend several hundred dollars to buy another system to put on their shelf next to their Wiis already collecting dust?

Oh well – maybe I’ll find gaming salvation with the new Nintendo 3DS. Or, maybe the gaming industry will just come to an end and we’ll all be dancing to motion based games for our gaming future. After all, cmfl3x has already taken up Just Dance. Now it’s time for the rest of us to join in on this dancing party! Not.

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