Day two has officially come to a close (unless you are still at the Bethesda party playing beer pong) and so it’s time for our GEN Day 2 wrap up. We now commence in wrapping …
Sony’s conference was a big let down. They showed many multiplatform titles, and showed technology they have shown before, such as advanced Eye Toy features. The PSP Go had already been “leaked” earlier this week, and is too expensive to justify upgrading. Sony, like Microsoft, showed some new video services that weren’t ground shaking. Home will be getting additions, and does anyone really care? I remember all the hype for home, and fevourishly wanting in the beta, only to be totally let down when I finally got my hands on Home, plus the constant downloads of updates for it is uber annoying. Mag, the 256 players at a time FPS was shown, and still looked bland as ever. What I view as Sony’s two big announcements, Final Fantasy XIV and Agent, don’t interest me, as I don’t like Final Fantasy games, and if Agent is anything like GTA, then it will be too repetitive for me. Also, no price reduction on the PS3…really….REALLY!?
Nintendo, on the other hand, delivered the goods this year. Super Mario Galaxy 2, was announced, and while featuring some of the old levels with new objectives, is supposed to have a whole lot of new content, including two Mario suits, and Yoshi! *Insert Yoshi saying Yoshi here* Also announced was New Super Mario Bros. Wii, that can have up to four players simultaneously. Saddly, the graphics don’t look upgraded much from the DS version, which in my opinion was one of the worst Mario games. Of course Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside was expected, as it’s been released in Japan for a while. Wii Fit Plus reminds me of Star Wars, Final Fantasy, and Cows, as they all get milked. There really wasn’t much announced for the DS, which makes me wonder if there will be a new handheld next year? Also, no Kirby, Donkey Kong, or Mario Party…seriously!?
A lot of exciting things happened at E3 today; a Final Fantasy XIV (yes, 14) trailer, a Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker trailer, Assassin’s Creed 2, Sony’s presentation of the crispest motion control system to date….And then there was the Nintendo conference (they did make a few really exciting announcements so stay with me).
The first three-fourths of Nintendo’s conference this morning was a bit disappointing for the core gamer. Nintendo’s new platform is “there’s a gamer inside everyone.” They want to bring games to every demographic. The idea that one day, video games and electronics that were made using cutting-edge technology could become something as universal as television is exciting. It made me imagine that the “Minority Report world” of the future could come from gaming technology. Though this is an awesome thought, it does not mean it’s okay to pander on for half an E3 Conference and ignore people that play games for games.
Let me explain.
The first game introduced was a new Mario which looks and feels like the classic side-scrolling Mario that you remember. However, it does not add much to the series except that it is multiplayer. My guess is that this is to keep Mario classic and simple, but add a social aspect so that everyone can play. I thought this was fine and even cute, so I watched on.
Next was a string of games geared pretty heavily towards the mainstream audience: Wii Fit Plus, Wii Sports Resort, games for pre-teen ladies, and some games that are not yet games because the user has to design them him/herself. Many applications would use the Wii Motion Plus controller and new precision control adapter. The popular idea was, “it’s about what’s happening in the real physical world.” This means it makes games more about what you are doing in your living room instead of what you’re doing within the world and story of the game itself. There are both good and bad implications concerning this notion, but I feel that it detracts from the virtual world that provides the structure of most core games. Core games are usually somewhat story-based, and allow a player to become a character within that story. Most of Nintendo’s presentation ignored this concept.
Complaining aside, there were some pretty awesome announcements. Mario Galaxy 2 looks like an innovative Mario adventure game that would be fresh and worthwhile for players. The concept of Bowser’s Inside Story may be scary (since you enter the internal organs of crotchety ol’ loveable Bowser), but I cannot help being intrigued, and thinking I would enjoy the game.
Nintendo pretty openly admitted to their mainstream foibles and offered a sneak peak at three third-party games for core gamers. And lastly, they showed a truly exciting clip from a new Metroid Game! In this game we will learn more about Samus’s past and the Metroid world- two things I think most core gamers are pretty interested in.
Those are my thoughts on this morning. I am looking most forward to Square Enix and Konami’s presentations tomorrow, so come back for more goodies then!
Today belonged to Sony and Nintendo. Nintendo started the day with it’s press conference and releasing news of it’s many amazing, innovative, ground breaking, earth shattering, mind numbing …. sequels.
Now, I’m all for killer sequels when they are called for. Kingdom Hearts 2, Gears of War 2, God of War 2. Not to mention the upcoming Uncharted 2, Assassins Creed 2, Bioshock 2, Final Fantasy 13, God of War 3, Beyond Good and Evil 2, and the numerous Call of Duties, Battlefields, Rockbands, Guitar Heroes … wait … where was I going with this?
Oh yes, I’m all for sequels but when one goes into production on a sequel, one hopes to raise the bar .. just a tad. This isn’t limbo here folks, we don’t need to go a little lower now. There is no need to take a step back and recreate the wheel … so to speak.
My first thoughts on the new Mario Galaxy? Little Big Planet - Mario style! Metroid? Meh, been done. Yes, we ALL love Samus (Hey, I’m not really Samus, I just play her on TV) but do we need to take a step back from the 1st person shooter inventiveness of the most recent Metroid masterpiece? Do we need to bring New Super Mario Bros. to the Wii or can we just please reminisce with the chubby little plumber and his player 2 brother as they were when we loved them most? I ask you, Nintendo, in the words of Ms. Jackson - What have you one for me lately? Ooh Ooh Ooh yea.
Add to all of this Nintendo jumping on the social networking bandwagon by adding Facebook picture sharing with the DSi and again heading towards a complete Wii gym with Wii fit Plus and the Wii Vitality Sensor (so you know when you’re about to have a Wii heart attack ™, I am not sure Nintendo really knows WHO it is now a days.
I know a lot of Nintendo fans out there are going to scoff at this and say that I’m a “Nintendo hater”. However, I am completely open to being proven wrong. I WANT to love the little chubby plumber, the hot blonde and her blue zero suit, the donkey, his diddy and the rest of the kongs, boys in tights and babies with mallets. I want to love them … all of them. I just haven’t been shown the true ways of the Nintendites.
Every E3 and GDC I await the news of something amazing, mind numbing and heart racing from Nintendo. Sony has given me chills. Microsoft has made me nerdgasm. Nintendo, come back to me, baby. Show me your moves!
How did Day 2 leave you feeling? What are your thoughts on the big three and their surprises? What does Day 3 hold for you?
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:52 am
I have so many things that I can finally speak about (because while watching E3 today, I was utterly speechless) but everything still comes out in a fangirly rush of excitement and ramblings. This is what my mind sounds like:
OMGFFXIII&OH….NOOO.ARE WE REALLY GETTING FFXIV??? I CANNOT WAIT TILL 2010! OMGOMGFINALFANTASY!!! God of War III did you see, did you see? OMG Kratos is a effin beast!!! OHH OHH and did you see the motion sensor, blows wii outta the watahhh!!! Ahhhh!!! Did I see Soul Calibur for the PSP, OMG OMG I WANT A LILAC PSP!!…..etc
Yes, my mind is still in fangirl mode so I spent the entire day on the phone and on twitter freakin out with all the other ecstatic gamers, :). Nice wrap-up ladies!
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:58 am
I’m wondering if I saw a different Sony press conference. If you were to go by crowd reaction. Sony would win. They easily got the most applause and woos of any conference. As soon as the Uncharted 2 demo begin, Sony had that crowd. Uncharted 2 has some of the best graphics I’ve ever seen in a game. Which ended with our heroes in a building that was collapsing and made the crowd go wild!
I was thrilled to see a playable Assassin’s Creed 2 demo. Which left me wondering why MS didn’t do that. The game showed showed off flying, new fighting moves and unlockable weapons. This demo had the crowd excited as well. The Mag demo on the other hand looked ok and didn’t get much reaction.
Then there was the Final Fantasy XIII preview, which showed more playable footage. That was a crowd pleaser of course. Oh and let’s not forget FFXIV Online.
Sony’s motion control impressed me the most and here’s why. Out of all the motion controls I’ve seen. It seemed the most precise to me of any motion control. The swordplay demo was particularly fascinating, how he tickled the enemy with his sword.
Another thing about this motion controller is how It made me think of the most possibilities out of any motion control. For example the block building or controlling strategy games from a virtual table. The ability to be inside the game. The crowd got a real kick out of this demo. MS got a create reception with Natal as well. So will see where all this technology leads.
Moving along. We can’t forget about The Last Guardian trailer, formally known as Trico from TeamICO. This trailer was similar to the one leaked online, only now it was far more polished and complete. Particularly the feathers on the creature, which would blow in the wind and the detail on the lead character’s face. This got a great reaction. I know I was applauding.
Then Sony ends things with a bang. First Gran Turismo 5 is shown! Which looks like the best looking racer ever, sorry Forza 3. The trailer also shows off car damage! Oh and Nascar??? Wow!!! The crowd goes wild!
Keep in mind I haven’t even mentioned PSP GO or MGS & Gran Turismo on the PSP. Which also got a great reception.
Then there was one little game to show. A game called God of War III. You may have heard of it? The audience went nuts! Kratos was more brutal than ever and guys testosterone levels started rising. Ahhh!!! Sony was the only one who made the audience want more, by ending their conference with the God of War II demo. Which ended abruptly and had the entire audience all at once say, Awwww!!!
So how was Sony’s conference a letdown?
Nintendo started their conference with Cammie Dunaway. That really got the crowd excited. Hehe. They first showed off a DS port for the Wii. New Super Mario Brothers. Which now had four players and Reggie who later touted, If you can’t finish a level, you can have a friend join you, like it was some kind of new innovation in gaming. Wow! That’s never been done in a game!
Super Mario Bros Galaxy 2. Which looks identical to to the original SMB Galaxy. According to Miyamoto it has 90% new levels and the other are rearranged levels from the original game. So it’s more of a great thing. I’ll give Nintendo this one. They needed this right now.
Metroid the other M looked awesome. It reminded me of Metroid meets Ninja Gaiden. No surprise since it’s a collaboration between Nintendo and TeamNinja. This was a great way for Nintendo to end the press conference.
So okay I’m trying to think what else Nintendo had, hmm let’s see. Reggie gloating about sales figures. More damn Mii’s! Fitness crap. Cute fluffy pink DS games I can’t remember. Aw well.
June 3rd, 2009 at 8:01 am
This is the year for the sequels! I hang out in the Frag Doll IRC channel a lot and we were talking about this yesterday. There seems to be NOTHING but sequels… Very few “new” games.
I was ultra busy doing mommy stuff yesterday (Grocery shopping FTW! When is Nintendo going to make that game? LOL!) But I am really sorry I missed it. I think people are really letting their fan boy/girl side out in saying who “won” the confrences. I did too. But I’m not going to let my fan-ness get in the way when it comes to games in the next year. I hope everyone gives every platform a chance.
There are only a FEW exclusives this year… Maybe this is a really good thing for the consumer. Regardless of whether or not you have a PS3 or a 360, you’ll be able to play the games you want… Or at least some of them!
June 3rd, 2009 at 1:41 pm
LOL! Chicka youre so cute! I know EXACTLY how you feel about new final fantasy games. I was an RPG NERD (and I say nerd lightly, I was more then a little nerdy when it came to Final Fantasy, I was OBSESSED) back in the SNES days. When final fantasy 9 came out, I was soooo excited I pooped a brick. (Not literally, mind you) But I know that FF8 was the first one you played, so you came in a little late to the Final Fantasy series. I would be willing to bet that your reaction to the FF news this year was very close to mine back in 1999.
TO be totally honest, I’m a little tired of the final fantasy series. I think I’ve just become jaded after my years and years of Chocobos, Cid’s, and airships. I really hope SE can pull out something amazing. I would love to rekindle my affection for the turn based RPG by falling in love with, yet another, final fantasy game.
I’m glad that there are people like you, Chicka, who still get excited about it. It drives me to give them another chance. It’s people like Chicka who need to work for SE! I hate that I’ve become jaded over these things. Youre excitment alone was enough for me to consider the game. And I totally applaud you for that!