E3 has finally arrived! And to cover the event, GEN is doing a daily recap bringing you all the details and thoughts on the event that you could ever want.
Watching all of the press conferences, I was highly impressed with what I saw. From Bioware’s Dragonage Origins, Mass Effect 2 and Sims 3 to Microsofts announcement of Twitter/Facebook merger, the new motion sensor camera and the killer new MS titles.
It’s an amazing world we live in where we can get up to the minute mini-feeds of what’s going on and what people are thinking about through sites like Twitter.com and Facebook. One of the biggest buzzes occurred during the EA press conference as two games were announced under the EA Girls brand - The Littlest Petshop and Charm Girls Club.
The estrogen charged women of the net took to their site of choice to proclaim their disgust, outrage and venomous hatred for these titles.
But ladies …. these weren’t made for you. These titles were made for the 5 - 11 year old girls who thrive in the Hannah Montana saturated society we live in. They love to have slumber parties and do each others hair. They love trading stories and playing with their stuffed animals. This is who these titles are aimed at and, honestly, they are going to be HUGE sellers for EA.
Many times, we forget that gaming is much bigger than the little internet that we surround ourselves with. The vocal minority who speak out on the web, who pick up gaming magazines, who attend E3 and watch every moment of coverage only truly encompass about 1% of people who are out there buying these titles.
So, bring on the Webkinz … I mean, Littlest Petshops. Bring on the Charmkins .. er… Charm Girls Clubs. Bring on Barbie and her donkey show …. um… horse adventures! They are building the girl gamers of the future. Don’t forget that once upon a time - you were playing with your dolls too!
Boobies, Bonkers, Knockers, Jugs, Fun-bags, honkers, bazookas, hooters, melons…right now I think that’s out of my system lets get down to business. As you might remember I practically wet myself with excitement a few months back over Bayonetta.
Baynetta is a rather sexy new title under way from SEGA and is from the makers of Devil May Cry. I am so bloody excited for this game. Seriously, they have even given it its own genera, they call it ‘Climax Action’. Damn it, I want some climax action!
The new teaser video was bought out for E3 and not only does it give us more of a hint towards the story, (she is totally a MILF) but it does actually show game play footage. Now this is very important, you see anyone can make a pretty movie, pretty box art and have people buy it even though the game is utter shite (I’m thinking of The Bouncer). The trailer is just proving that Bayonetta is set to be big, big and delicious like her breasts. Yes, fan service is obviously key to the games design. The trailer also includes two of my other favourite things, motorbikes and massive chainsaws. Oh we are on to such a winner!
Negative points? Yeah, my accent is still waaaay better than hers.
All year rumors about Microsoft’s new full body motion control system have been flying in a stormy mix of truth and speculation. Most sources seemed pretty convinced that the system was definitely in development even though Microsoft would not say a word. So come E3, I was ready to see for real what the gaming goliath had in store for players itching for a new gadget- or a lack of one.
This morning Microsoft finally presented their controller-free full body motion control system (code name “Natal”) for the whole world to see!
Natal is equipped with face and voice recognition technology that allows for a user to simply walk in front of the screen and it will sign on their XBox360 avatar. Then with two cameras that allow for full body motion sense, a user can move around and the avatar will follow all of their motions.
It looked pretty good in the game demos, but in the menu there did seem to be a bit of a smoothness issue. I figure it will be a little like the Wii controller, where it will take time to perfect and some games will be much better for it than others. Still, I’m excited, and so are a lot of other people, like Steven Spielberg, who came on stage to endorse it! “I think what microsoft is doing is not about reinventing the wheel, its about not having a wheel at all”- Spielberg
Another feature that Microsoft and Lionhead developed to compliment this technology is a little boy avatar called “Milo” (my assumption is that in the end it will not be limited to Milo, users would be able to make their own). He is capable of recognizing a person’s voice and even their emotional inflection and tone to react to what the user is saying. He seems to even conjure an emotional response of his own. He can recognize from the user’s tone that he should be ashamed or excited etc.
The demo showed features that allow the user to participate in the avatar’s world. For instance Milo would ask a user, Claire in this example, to look into a pond. We would see the pond and then her live reflection would appear in the pond. She could play in the water. “There Claire is in Milos world, she’s in that pond.”–Peter Molyneux.
I would love to play with this and see what the limitations are, because in the pre-recorded demo it was pretty flawless, but I feel that when left face to face with it, there would be times when Milo misinterprets or misunderstands. Perhaps misunderstandings could be attributed to the user being unclear, which would make it the most realistic feature on the program…or a glitch.
All in all, Microsoft’s creation has the potential to be something that changes all of technology forever, be it game-related or not. There are some pretty stunning implications concerning technological interaction with human beings. However, I’m not sure the future is now yet. My guess is that the technology has a ways to go before perfection. Maybe not. We shall have to see what people say as they get a chance to try it out.
While the Microsoft press conference appears to have pulled out all the stops, having huge stars, and huge announcements, I feel that Microsoft is taking the Xbox too far into the social networking land. Adding Twitter, Facebook, and last.fm (all 3 types of social networking) on top of Xbox Live seems like a great idea, but what about gaming? The motion control announced looks cool, but how many camera/motion sensing peripherals have really held your attention for more than a month? Lastly, the XBox Live Arcade looks like it is getting some original offerings, the most enticing for me being Joy Ride, which sounds similar to the ‘free’ online mmo Kart Racer, with the gameplay being free, but upgrades/tracks costing money. Overall, it sounds like a lot of big announcements, but when the dashboard already has a slew of issues, will all these additions just make things worse? I guess we shall all find out in the fall, pending any delays.
“Last time I saw my grandmother, she asked me was I still a prayin man. I told her ‘yes ma’am’. ‘Well’, she says, ‘Pray harder, cuz it aint workin’!”
These are the first words we hear in the trailer of Left 4 Dead 2, the next co-op zombie shooter coming to Valve this winter 2009. One of the first things you see in the trailer is a cemetery full of gray concrete tombs; the sun is rising above tall buildings in the background. Right off the bat, it took me back to the creepy old cemeteries I would pass as a kid in my home town of New Orleans on my way to the French Quarters. Sure enough, the next scene you see in the trailer are the balconies of a jazz club in the French Quarters, adorned festively with Mardi Gras balloons and masks. The streets are littered with trash (so New Orleans), and a banner with the words “Louisiana Fall Festival” hangs over the trash littered street. Nothing strange here, right?
A can rolls toward a blood spattered sign on the side walk with the words “QUARINTINE” in bold red warning of a “contagious disease”. Then the camera pans up from the ground to two fighter jets wizzing by in the sky, and ends in the face of a blood dripping, eyeball-less zombie. Yes! Action ensues as hordes of zobies are seen running wildly through the streets of New Orleans. This new trailer introduces us to a new special zombie, similar to the tank. He’s an overall wearing mutated abomination with one little arm the size of a normal human, and one huge arm equal to the size of 30 Chris Redfield biceps. His legs have the same dilema; nevertheless, this guy looks mean and seems pretty fast! We are also introduced to 4 new characters - 3 guys and a girl again- holding some weaopons you would expect to see in Dead Rising. I was excited to see there will be melee weapons in Left 4 Dead 2 like the chainsaw, axe, and baseball bat- because bullets just aren’t enough to satisfy my insatiable appetite for zombie slaying! And humorously enough, one of the characters is also seen in the end of the trailer smashing a zombie in the face with a frying pan before the words “coming Nov. 17″ flashes on the screen.
I am elated about this new game, the only thing I’m concerned about is how early another L4D is being released. It hasn’t even been a year yet, and this game will be released the day before it’s predecessor’s 1 year anniversary. I will be happy, though, if they include the original Left 4 Dead on the same disk. That way zombie enthusiasts like myself can enjoy every brain splattering campaign that Left 4 Dead offeres in one medium with no interruptions.
After watching the day’s worth of E3 press conferences, I have to say I am very excited for the next few years of gaming, for the consumer and the industry alike! I loved Xbox’s list of upcoming games, I’m sure we are all looking forward to some of the titles that Microsoft had unveiled today. Personal highlights of the day included Left 4 Dead 2, the Xbox Live upgrades being FREE, and of course Metal Gear. EA also made me rethink my ban on MMORPG’s. I’m excited to see how Star Wars Old Republic pans out.
Like Aktrez, I also read a lot of “tweets” about how lame the EA Girls was. Whether you oldie-moldie’s like it or not, 11 year old girls can be interested in video games too. Especially now that they are being catered to as a demographic, specifically. I like to see the “tween” demographic becoming a larger part of the industry. As a gamer and a mom, I’m glad that my daughter will have a game to relate to. Regardless of what anyone tells you, most girls love cute animals and feeling pretty. This brings me to my last highlight of the evening: did anyone else notice how adorable some of the Ubisoft developers are? The guy presenting Splinter Cell Conviction could give Cliffy B a run for his money. Plus, I think I have a thing for French accents! I’m interested to see what Nintendo and Sony have up their sleves for tomorrow! Until then, rest well! With the new games coming out, there will surely be plenty of sleepless, all-night-gaming-sprees.
We want to hear your thoughts on today’s activities. What shocked you, impressed you, dissapointed you and what are you most looking forward to!?
June 1st, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Although I expected pretty much everything that was announced today, final confirmation of Crackdown 2 made my day. I’m not entirely sold on the ‘infected’ storyline though, seeing as a game called Prototype happens to use the same tagline.
The motion sensing periph is ridiculous and could redefine gaming entertainment as we know it. More information is needed before I pledge allegiance to it, though.
One thing that totally blew me away was the slumber par–wait…
June 1st, 2009 at 9:46 pm
I was actually pretty impressed with microsofts motion control segment, looks like it could be fun as long as they supply with good applications. The whole “Milo” thing on the other hand certainly through me for a loop. I hope I wasn’t the only one that was freaked out by that little boy and how frighteningly responsive it was to the ladies actions and voice. Finally, I’m very glad they finally officially announced a Crackdown sequel. Overall Microsofts conference was very good I’m excited about the other big announcements coming up.
June 1st, 2009 at 10:57 pm
The opening with the Beatles Rock band was amazing! The intro almost made me cry. Being a huge Beatles fan I was moved by what I saw and I don’t even play those plastic guitar games, but this just might do it.
I loved Alan Awake! The graphics looked fantastic! I’m a fan of exploration type games, like Tomb Raider. Where you explore the world. You discover things, solve puzzles and occasionally fight enemies. Alan Wake appears to be like this from the footage they showed. I can’t wait!
I don’t really enjoy games like Prototype. Where you have this beautiful world, but you never really get to take in that world, because you’re too busy destroying everything over and over again. I like action and explosions as much as the next person, but when it’s basically the main object of the game. It gets repetitive. I like a little more substance in my games.
I really don’t know how to feel yet about Project Natal. I haven’t really gotten on board this whole motion control phenom. So it’s hard to get behind something you’ve been avoiding. I do like that you don’t have to hold any type of controller. So there’s no chance of anything slipping out of your hands and causing damage.
I really don’t mind motion control. I’m actually a bit intrigued by it. I just don’t want it replacing the traditional controller. I want options. I want to decide whether to use a controller or motion control. There’s room for both. But games like Tony Hawk Ride scare me, where you don’t have that option. You must use the Skate peripheral. I hope this doesn’t become a trend.
How sad is it for a gamer. Who’s a huge Tony Hawk fan and has the use of his hands, but is confined to a wheelchair. He can’t play Tony Hawk Ride. Speaking of Tony Hawk Ride. Didn’t Project Natal basically make the Skateboard peripheral obsolete?
As a gamer on Xbox Live. One of the things I like most is to be anonymous to other gamers. Which brings me to Twitter and Facebook on Xbox Live. Do you really want to share your photos and personal info on Xbox live? When you’re constantly running into aholes in multiplayer games. Who would love nothing better than to attack you on a personal level. Twitter and Facebook could provide that service.
Oh Ubisoft. Oy vey. I never thought Joel Mchale could be unfunny, till now. Hey, let’s show Avatar, actually let’s not. Let’s have James Cameron talk about it for an hour. After he finished talking. I felt like I already saw the movie.
Then there was Pele. Who hasn’t been seen in public for 25 years. It started innocently enough, then Joel Mchale presents footage from Pele’s game, oh wait, no, just a cartoony pic of Pele. Uh oh, awkward moment. I seriously changed the channel at this point. I switched back a minute later and Pele started talking about Soccer in Portuguese, to an American audience mind you.
Yeah E3 doesn’t get more exciting that this folks! They should use this Ubisoft press conference in video game school as an example of how not to do an E3 press conference.
June 2nd, 2009 at 4:09 am
I tried to watch on G4, my favorite channel, but it seemed like every 60 seconds was another announcement or commercial for the King of Kong face off. Hey, I love Steve Wiebe like the next girl but I wanted more coverage.
Anywhoo… I LOVE how Aktrez & Angel addressed the issue about tween girls gaming. One of the things that annoyed my several months ago was Morgan Webb bitching about games that have girls playing on ponies or designing fashions. What’s wrong with that? It’s both stuff I still love to this day. Why not have games for girls that don’t want to electron blast zombies? I’m glad EA is doing something new.
June 2nd, 2009 at 7:12 am
Won’t it be funny in a few years when we say, “remember when we used to just sit and play video games with out thumbs?”
I’m interested in this Xbox Natal quite a bit. But I’d like to see all the kinks worked out before I give my final verdict on the whole thing.
I’m REALLY interested to see what kind of tricks Nintendo has in store for us. As history tells us, when Nintendo is faced with this much competition in the industry, they start getting super innovative. They were the first to have “rumble” controllers, motion sensitive controllers, etc. I’m excited to see what they have in store for today.
And Sony better do something miraculous too. God of War is a great game and all, but it’s not enough to keep them afloat after Xbox’s confrence.
Also, YEAH ubi’s show was BORING. I was mad that there was very little game play. I actually wrote my wrap up about 30 minutes into the Ubi show. I like a lot of their games, but *snoooooooze* for sure. Like I said, though, at least some of those French boys are super cute. The eye candy was worth the watch LOL!
June 2nd, 2009 at 10:43 am
I gave up on the Ubi conference after an hour of listening to “Avatar blah blah blah”… I’m never playing that game, but I hope it was worth them loosing half of their E3 viewers. I didn’t even see Ghost Recon!
June 2nd, 2009 at 11:47 am
Amber the press conferences were uninterrupted on G4. Yes maybe the occasional announcement on Wiebe’s status scrolled on the bottom or when the host were on, but no one can argue the best way to view E3, other than actually being there is on TV. On G4. You get awesome quality and no streaming connection issues.
I hope we don’t say that in few years Ang3L. Maybe I’m showing my age, but I hope we always have controllers. At some point we all want look back and play games from our youth and I’ll be darned if I play an old Atari or NES game with my body.
June 2nd, 2009 at 12:36 pm
HAHA Yeah, that’s me! I love the wii and all, but sometimes I want to just sit and RELAX playing a game. Not have to twitch my wrist every time I want to do something. I don’t want to get rid of controllers either.
June 2nd, 2009 at 1:06 pm
I’m gonna call it! Sony won E3!!! That was an amazing presentation that floored you from beginning to end!!! That’s how you do a presentation. MS would be second, next Nintendo, EA and Ubisoft last.
June 2nd, 2009 at 1:21 pm
I don’t even own Sony PS3 and have been pissed at them since they announced the price of the PS3. But I have to be honest. They kicked my ass! I was floored! Sony wins E3! That’s not to say MS was bad. They were good too, but the overall winner is Sony!
If Nintendo hadn’t announced Mario Galaxy 2 and the new Metroid. Nintendo would have failed miserably. They get a solid C+ I mean let’s be honest everyone. 60% of Nintendo’s Press Conferences in the last years have been them gloating about their sales figures, Mii’s and training games.
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:10 pm
Marketing gaming to the tween audience still doesn’t cut it for me. Developers need to think outside the box. When I was younger and playing games, there was no way I was going for Barbie games. I wanted fun action-adventure and platform games! Instead of grooming young girls into a domestic niche that is as stereotypical and boring as toy commercials that portray young girls all the same way, how about coming up with fun and creative games that are rated E? With all the T and M-rated games we adults tend to play, have we forgotten about quality E-rated games like Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon? About Mario?
Sure, girls like cutesy animals and dressing up, but it’s shallow to think that all tween girls simply enjoy those things. You can still market cute, but market cute with more creative and something that inspires a little thinking instead of just pumping out the domestic and stereotypical.
Baynetta’s dialogue and slutty characters still make me want to gouge my eyes out, but the gameplay does look fun. And that trailer was more tolerable than the first one I saw.
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Well, I’m sorry I missed Sony’s presser because Microsoft’s was jaw-dropping. I find it hard to believe Sony’s was more impressive. I’ll have to try to dig up coverage online.
Natal is amazing… and bringing facebook and more importantly Twitter- which I believe is going to become the only relevant social site- to Xbox Live? Awesome.
I still have 0 Xbox live friends. Now I can envision being on my Xbox, chatting up a game on Twitter with someone, and seamlessly adding them as a friend and jumping in to play.
Add in the Zune HD movies- no download times, ready to go at the push of a button? I’m STOKED I have a 360.
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:39 pm
I love you so much right now, Steph. You hit the nail right on the head. I can’t wrap my head around this mentality that “GAMES FOR GIRLZ” is the absolute right direction for the industry to go in. Sure, it’s making them money. Prostitutes are making money by selling their bodies. That doesn’t exactly make it right.
I know that when I was younger my parents (early on in life) encouraged me to play with dolls and stereotypical female items, but learned that that wasn’t going to fly because I’m obviously my own person and was smart enough to realize that there ARE other things to enjoy rather than what is force-fed to me. It’s absolutely disturbing that there are people in the industry who are just hunky-dory with this way of thinking - that if you cater to tween stereotypes such as DRAMA LOLZ, lipsticks, cooking, and popping out brats later in life (or now, depending on the game trying to be sold)then that’s like saying it’s perfectly okay that we’re basically molding young girls into shallow, self-absorbed harlots. Is that what you think? Really? We want to encourage this?
It’s so easy to dismiss these best-selling games as a marketing trend, but really it goes much deeper than that. Tell me to stop complaining if I want since they’re not aimed toward me, but doesn’t it bother you only slightly that we are creating roles for young girls to fulfill that never bother to meander outside of the box? I do not plan on having children but I would be embarrassed to allow any young girls I know near games like Drama Queenz or dreck like they demoed at the pressers. It’s appalling. Honestly, as Steph so elegantly put it, whatever happened to creating engaging and intriguing games that anyone regardless of age, sex, or creed can enjoy? It’s so much easier to label and pander to the “normal crowds,” though, isn’t it? I weep for future generations.
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:48 pm
@Brittany Yay, thank you! I’m so glad you agree. Those girls are going to grow up and wonder why more standard games don’t appeal to them, or why they never knew truly quality games existed—and it’ll be because of Nintendo lol.
My friends and I enjoyed lots of different games when we were younger—whatever looked cool, we wanted to play. And you’re totally right—why *do* we have to resort to gender when, hey, I thought women in gaming wanted to be taken seriously and not for that to matter? So agreeing to gender-specific video games doesn’t make any sense to me. Let them play what they want to play, and make games that appeal to both sides instead of just one. That’s how you take gaming into a better future—you bring people of all ages and genders and backgrounds together; you don’t alienate them into sub-groups.
June 2nd, 2009 at 9:58 pm
I’m reminded of a quote from Back to the Future 2:
Marty McFly: I’ll show you, kid. I’m a crack shot at this.
Video Game Boy #1: You mean you have to use your hands?
Video Game Boy #2: That’s like a baby’s toy!
June 3rd, 2009 at 3:01 am
I watched E3 on TV not online. Maybe that was the difference?
June 3rd, 2009 at 1:28 pm
I think that a lot of people are looking at this whole EA Girls thing the wrong way. There are ALREADY amazing platformers and non-gender specific games a kid can get into. My whole point is that EA is reaching out to a DIFERENT group of 11 year olds. Not the ones that are ALREADY having mario themed birthday parties (like Madden Widdow’s awesome kids.) These games are geared for girls who like to go shopping at the mall, paint their nails, and style eachother’s hair. Maybe, just maybe, this will open THOSE types of “tweens” to games like Final Fantasy, Halo, and other games that arent made specifially for girls. Sure, in retrospect, prom isnt the biggest deal in ANYONE’s life… but for a 13 year old girl who has dreams of the perfect prom night, a game that caters to that specific interest in a little girl is good for the industry as a whole. Maybe it will open the eyes of some of these twerps that video games is more then just a “boys hobby.”
And that’s all I’m sayin’
*gets off soap box*