E3 '08 opinions

[ironish]

I've seen all of the press conferences so far and here's what I think:

MS: Probably the best showing this year. Gears 2 looked amazing. Their Mii like avatars are better than Miis but still have a childish look to them. Of course there was the huge shock at the end where FF XIII was announced for the system. Plus the new $300 price point. Not bad.

Nintendo: The worst showcase hands down. Where are the good games? Wii Music might be cool, but not for me. Wii Sports Resort seems ok especially the fencing. I suppose it's also good that we know that they are working on a new Mario and Zelda game, so I'm excited about the possibility of having TWO Mario titles this gen. Other than that it was horrible. At the end of the conference on G4 when Reggie was asked about the lack of core games, his answer was Animal Crossing 2. Animal Crossing? C'mon. Plus I suppose Nintendo finally realized that control accuracy was a problem by finally annoncing Wii Motion Plus.

Sony: Resistance 2 was amazing. My jaw dropped when I saw that huge boss that was the size of a skyscraper. That game will be awesome. Other than that there wasn't much else. Not seeing Home was disappointing. It must be hard to program, but we're getting almost halfway through this gen. Plus I got all excited when they started announcing their renewed focus on the 80 gig PS3. For a second I thought they were going to be bringing it back full force or maybe even include full BC like the 60gig because of the demand. I was shocked that it was basically the 40gig with a 80 gig HD. I've always been pulling for them since day one, but I was a little let down this year.

 

[Mithos]

After this year's E3 I can now without a doubt say that this gen is fucked.

 

[Lagduf]

MS new "299" price point is only a nice trick since they'll be rolling out the 60GB pro system at $349 and only selling the $299 system while supplies last.

I'ts a total sonyesque move.

I don't think anything mindblowing came out of E3 this year.

At least for MS they were able to show a lot of games that we already knew were coming out (and only proved how awesome they were going to be).

Gears 2 + Fallout 3 are what i'm waiting for (more so F3).

This Fall/Winter should be fun.

 

[cannonball]

I got more excited about Mirror's Edge after seeing the E3 demonstration. Other than that...meh.

 

[Lagduf]

I got more excited about Mirror's Edge after seeing the E3 demonstration. Other than that...meh.

Hopefully this game is as fun/good as it looks to be.

I also hope Geometry Wars 2 is awesome.

I still want a port of Geometry Wars Galaxies to 360.

 

[ironish]

MS new "299" price point is only a nice trick since they'll be rolling out the 60GB pro system at $349 and only selling the $299 system while supplies last.

I'ts a total sonyesque move.

I don't think anything mindblowing came out of E3 this year.

At least for MS they were able to show a lot of games that we already knew were coming out (and only proved how awesome they were going to be).

Gears 2 + Fallout 3 are what i'm waiting for (more so F3).

This Fall/Winter should be fun.

Oh damn. I didn't realize it was only while supplies last. I assumed the 20 gig was around to stay.

 

[Buro Destruct]

 

[Jedah Doma]

The Nintendo conference in a nutshell

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZs7WHmzPL4

 

[Lagduf]

The Nintendo conference in a nutshell

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZs7WHmzPL4

Hahahahaha.

Reggie is still cool in my book.

God that conference looked so forced and lame.

 

[ironish]

Mortal Kombat vs DC was cool today. So was SF4 but I've already seen plenty of footage from that one.

 

[Neo Alec]

The loss of FFXIII exclusivity

The PS3 is doing pretty well now and looks like it has a long life ahead of it, but in terms of it triumphing this generation, the loss of Final Fantasy XIII exclusivity was a death blow as far as I'm concerned. That was really the one big bargaining chip that Sony had left. Sure, there are awaited games like Killzone 2 and God of War 3, but none of them are the huge system-seller that FF is, especially when it comes to bringing female gamers on board. In fact, I would wager that between the PS3's high price, hard core image, and the presence of the Wii this generation, that the PS3 has a very low installed base of female owners. Final Fantasy has a huge role to play in that.

And with Microsoft declaring victory in this generation already in its press conference (they must have meant console sales in the US only), the industry sentiment certainly doesn't bode well for the PS3.

The one thing that wasn't definitively mentioned was the release date for FFXIII in the US, so it's still possible that the PS3 one will come first, be superior because it is the original, and therefore will draw players to the PS3 before the 360 version comes to market. But more likely, the damage has already been done. Even if the 360 version comes late to the game, the fact that we'll know it's on the horizon will keep 360 loyalists waiting for that version.

 

[Korigama]

After this year's E3 I can now without a doubt say that this gen is fucked.

This. Really, this is as vapid and redundant the industry has been since before the crash.

 

[Jedah Doma]

This. Really, this is as vapid and redundant the industry has been since before the crash.

Agreed. I've been hearing these kind of apocalyptic predictions since the 8-bit era.

Every generation, there are those doomsday naysayers who foretell this generation will be the end of gaming as we know it! But it always ends the same way: years down the road, those same people look back and say, "Man, I wish we had it as good as we did all those many years ago".

And the cycle is doomed to repeat itself generation after generation. Perpetuated by a group of nut cases no more sane then a lost and loony Y2K hippie.

Stop the insanity folks.

 

[Korigama]

Agreed. I've been hearing these kind of apocalyptic predictions since the 8-bit era.

Every generation, there are those doomsday naysayers who foretell this generation will be the end of gaming as we know it! But it always ends the same way: years down the road, those same people look back and say, "Man, I wish we had it as good as we did all those many years ago".

And the cycle is doomed to repeat itself generation after generation. Perpetuated by a group of nut cases no more sane then a lost and loony Y2K hippie.

Stop the insanity folks.

Actually, I was siding with the naysayers for once (I doubt a crash, however, when considering the sensibilities of consumers these days). So far, this is the most uninspired I've seen the industry in recent memory. I suppose the only thing I can hope for is that I'm wrong, and that this is simply an extremely slow start (but right now, that seems optimistic).

 

[Jedah Doma]

Actually, I was siding with the naysayers for once (I doubt a crash, however, when considering the sensibilities of consumers these days). So far, this is the most uninspired I've seen the industry in recent memory. I suppose the only thing I can hope for is that I'm wrong, and that this is simply an extremely slow start (but right now, that seems optimistic).

Well then I'd have to aim my comments to you as well.

Though I still love you because of your sig, therefore I cannot hold malice towards you.

 

[twalden]

Wee, more FPS games. I can't wait. There's a lack of FPS games to play currently.

 

[Lagduf]

Wee, more FPS games. I can't wait. There's a lack of FPS games to play currently.

There was a lack of 2D Action Platformers about 14-18 years ago too.

It's the same old shit with a new look IMO.

I do wish we'd see more third person action games though.

 

[twalden]

Yeah, every gen always seems to have one genre they milk the shit out of. I'm just burned out on FPS games and would like a more diverse selection of stuff to play. There have been some great games this gen, they just seem few and far between this time around.

 

[Lagduf]

Yeah, every gen always seems to have one genre they milk the shit out of. I'm just burned out on FPS games and would like a more diverse selection of stuff to play. There have been some great games this gen, they just seem few and far between this time around.

I really do agree with you though.

There have been a ton of FPS games coming out on consoles of late. Not so much in the days of the Saturn/PSX/N64/Dreamcastand I really didn't feel there were too many on say the PS2 but they definitely started to come when the Xbox hit the market.

It's pretty clear that Microsoft is targeting a somewhat specific demographic with the Xbox 360.

It's the Western gamer who is heavily in to actiony type games. FPS, Sports, etc. These days it seems like American developers are on top. You don't hear about such and such game coming from Japan anymore, unless it's a JRPG. If I look at all the 360 games I own i'm pretty sure only two are by japanese devs.

It seems the balance of power of sorts has shifted. I had hoped the PS3 would get all kinds of titles like the PS2 eventually did from all sorts of developers but thats not looking to be the case.

 

[Bishamon]

Nothing surprising, other than the FFXIII announcement, and I have no intention of playing that game anyway.

Gears 2 looks incredible. MAG sounds interesting. Ummm....

I think I'm going to miss the 360's blade interface, and hope the new software is more impressive than it appears.

 

[Buro Destruct]

IYou don't hear about such and such game coming from Japan anymore, unless it's a JRPG.

Because Japanese developers are consistently making shit games. They can't seem to break out of the game-style they were known for in the 16 and 32 bit generations. Metal Gear Solid 4 is a PRIME example of whats wrong with big time Japanese developers.

 

[evil wasabi]

The loss of Final Fantasy is hardly something a company will cry itself to bed over in this day and age.

Maybe 10 years ago.

But in all honesty, FF has been dying a slow painful death since 1998. What a pathetic series. I feel sorry for the people that actually buy that burgled turd.

 

[Mithos]

This. Really, this is as vapid and redundant the industry has been since before the crash.

True, but at least it was enjoyable for some time. Now they're not even trying to hide the fact that they're shitting everybody.

 

[Magician]

Just three points...

-The in-game demos for Fable 2, Fallout 3, RE5 and GoW2 were money.

-The FFXIII announcement wasn't a big deal, though many PS3 fanboys say otherwise.

-I didn't bother with the Sony or Nintendo conferences, those aren't my systems.

 

[Mr.Nemoperson]

I think I'm going to miss the 360's blade interface, and hope the new software is more impressive than it appears.

The blade interface will still be there. You can choose between the old and new style.

The press conference stuff sucked. But there are some cool looking games out there. Left 4 Dead looks like it will be tons of co-op fun. Dark Rift and Dark Void both look good. SF4 will kick ass. Gears 2 and Fallout 3 seem to be top notch as well. And while I will probably never buy a Wii again MadWorld looks sick as hell.