What was Expected: Prior to the attacks on the Playstation Network, Sony had the most to gain with announcements of their new PSP 2. If they could announce a price tag that could stand up to Nintendo's 3DS, they could crush their competition. Unfortunately, the attacks took a lot of wind out of Sony's sails, and apologies were expected.
What we Received: Sony started out with acknowledgment of their downtime, but did not directly address the loss of data. Clearly a strategic decision, this way they address the elephant in the room, but don't look him in the eye. In any case, Sony unveiled their 3D strategy, by having most of their conference done in 3D. They unveiled a consumer priced 24" screen package consisting of the tv, glasses, and Resistance 3 for the very reasonable price of $499. This is a great move by Sony, but I believe many of us wish they could have shown us something a bit bigger than 24". They also showed off the ability for two people to view two different things on the same screen. I see this saving many marriages.
The PSP 2, now named Vita was unveiled and looked VERY impressive. At the end of their game demos, they looked Nintendo square in the eye and said "$249 wifi, $299 3G". This puts Nintendo in a very awkward position of having less than desirable hardware competing against a Next-Gen platform. Nicely done, Sony. Anybody who is looking for a handheld gaming device will be looking this way first.
The Future: Sony's looking very impressive. The 3D bit is a gimmick, and won't personally be getting me to purchase one any time soon, but if this is Sony's entry level for home entertainment, it's a great first step. The Vita is right where Sony needs it to be, knocking on Nintendo's door with a baseball bat. I fear that they may be too late with smart phones in the market that can run simple games right alongside of the Vita, but we'll see how this pans out. Despite having an Iphone, I kind of still want one...
What was Expected: Nintendo had all but announced their new console prior to E3, so we knew we were going to see it there. The big question was what tricks did Nintendo have up their sleeves this time, and would they make people give them another look after watching their Wii's gather dust. We also wondered what was the future of the 3DS, as well as looking for sequels to our favorite Nintendo franchises. If Sony had the most to gain, Nintendo had the most to lose.
What we Received: Nintendo introduced the Wii U, what Nintendo wants us to believe is the next generation of Wii, with a new controller that looked like a cross between a Gameboy and a Tablet. It will be out next year and Nintendo's big hope to capture the core gamer audience that they lost while the Wii took over. We also got sequels upon sequels of existing IPs with relatively little new innovation. The Wii U is Nintendo's effort to try to catch up with the current generation. Sadly there was no talk about one of Nintendo's biggest shortcomings, their online presence.
The Future: Nintendo's in trouble. As a Nintendo fan since about 1987, it pains me to see the company circling the way that it is. The Wii was a great innovation that nobody knew what to do with, and the Wii U offers some interest, but will ultimately fall flat in the face of Microsoft and Sony. They proudly announce that Batman: Arkham City will be a launch title on the Wii U.. when it comes out next year. Meanwhile, everybody with Xbox 360's and Playstation 3's will have already played through theirs, set it on the shelf, and forgotten about it by the time it hits Nintendo's latest offering.
I get it Nintendo, you need to bring back third party developers, so you made a controller that feels like a regular one (albeit a lot bigger), and upgraded the hardware to support the current gen titles. It's a good idea until Microsoft and Sony decide to announce their consoles in the next year or two, completely outclassing the system that won't even be out until next year. I'm calling Nintendo's death, or at least the final nails in the coffin, within 2 years. It might be time for them to start looking at Sega's route, and bring the IPs that we love onto their competitor's systems.
What we Expected: Honestly, I had no idea. Microsoft's winter catalog looks pretty sparse save for Gears of War 3. Maybe Kinect? It's hard to tell, they've been playing their cards awfully close to their chest.
What we Received: Add Kinect to EVERYTHING. Microsoft is really trying to get people to want these Kinects and after having seen their presentation... it looks pretty cool, actually. The Kinect's ability to scan things into the Xbox and make them into items or Avatars, and respond to hand motions was very well implemented. They also announced that Bing will be coming to the 360, making finding things in their store look ridiculously easy compared to how things are now. A few more mentioned of You Tube, Hulu, and Minecraft helped cement Microsoft's Xbox 360 to be the system you want control of your living room setup.
The Future: Microsoft is looking comfortable with where they're at. They're beginning to bring their original vision - the set top box that would route all your entertainment needs through one system - to life. The Kinect is looking cool enough for me to actually consider getting one, too. But where are they headed from here? They look almost a little too comfortable where they're at. I'm thinking we're going to see a big announcement from them next year, but for now, they're not going anywhere.
So Who Won?
Looking for the three presentations, I would have to say Sony is in the best spot right now. Despite the attacks on their network, they showed great poise and confidence in their offerings. Sony has learned what consumers expect a game system to cost, what a portable system can do, and are showing what they've got with the entry level 3D televisions. Will any of it take off? Time will tell, but without these important first few steps unveiled this year, Sony is showing their commitment to at least trying, and making sense when they do.
Nintendo, on the other hand, is trying to be original and unique for the sake of doing so, and I think this time it's really going to cost them. The new controller has its own hang ups (only can use one of these on any given system, can't buy more, and looks rather cumbersome), but with no mention of something that is becoming more and more important to consumers, the online presence, Nintendo may still be stuck in the stone age.
Time will tell, of course on everything we've seen this past E3. There's some fantastic looking games coming out for all of the systems, and I can honestly say each one has a title I'll be purchasing this fall. We here at Video, Gaming at 30 are looking forward to seeing what comes of it all, and reporting on them. Until then, Happy Gaming.
