Every year at the electronic gaming expo known as “E3”, video game makers gather before legions of journalists to unveil the latest and greatest of what they are or will be bringing to the gaming world. In the last few years, E3 has become more accessible to the common gamer through TV and internet broadcast of the event, and so I’ve taken to watching the expo and this will be the second year I’ve collected some thoughts and reactions to share about the big three (Xbox, Sony and Nintendo).
First off, it’s always interesting to see the big suits come out and try to talk about their products. There words sound so rehearsed and their presentations so formal that I have to wonder if they have any genuine passion for video games themselves, or if they would gladly be the CEO of a successful knitting company just as easily. In fact, I’m nearly convinced that some of these suits don’t even play video games.
It’s a constant reminder that this isn’t a convention designed for the consumer. It’s for business owner considering what products they want to carry and journalists trying to figure out what the new trends will be. A convention “by the suits, for the suits”. But the artificial, awkward nature of the thing has a certain charm that adds entertainment value in my opinion.
XBOX
The big suit for Microsoft started the presentation by saying that this year Xbox was all about transformation. Transforming this and transforming that. They’re all a bunch of transformers at Microsoft. But unless you are interested in controller-free gameplay, they aren’t transforming much this year.
After showcasing some great looking games like Gears Of War 3 and Fable 3 (neither of which currently interest me) they spent the rest of the time talking about new functionality for the Xbox that has nothing to do with the core gaming market. ESPN on Xbox? Yay. Just what this sports-obsessed jock was waiting for. Okay, yes. I understand that many gamers are into sports. But I’ve never been one of them.
Last year’s “Project Natal”, the controller free sensor-based control system for Xbox, came back this year with a new name: Kinect. (A “cool” combination of the words kinetic and connect.) In many ways the hardware is impressive. It aims to be user friendly and intuitive and I think they nailed it on the head. With simple and obvious voice commands and hand motions, one can navigate menus and play games. (At least games designed to be played this way.) The novelty is pretty interesting, but in my estimation that’s all it is. Why?
As the technology was demonstrated, the coverage would often switch between showing the game screen and showing the player, but they didn’t show both together as often. This is probably because every time they did I noticed an obvious 1 second lag between what the player did and what happened onscreen. The “players” chosen to demo the hardware were Microsoft employees who had clearly had time to adjust to the lag. They smiled and “laughed” and had a grand ole time. But if it would have been me, I would have found the delay very frustrating. I’m assuming that games for the Kinect are designed forgivingly with this delay in mind, but that doesn’t change the fact that a 1 second delay creates significant distance between the player and the world he is interacting with. Look at your watch and think of almost any video game you’ve played requiring hand-eye coordination. One second is a long time.
When something like Kinect can read my body motions and process the information fast enough to reproduce simultaneously onscreen, then we will have made a significant jump in game play. Not to mention that several of the games demonstrated for Kinect could largely be played with a peripheral as simple as the original nintendo’s “Track and Field” mat. (They had a track and field hurdles game that I’m nearly positive could have been played using the NES play mat controller.)
So this is one Xbox owner who will be exclusively placing his gaming hopes in 3rd party developers this year.
PLAYSTATION
Playstation wasted no time in taking an aggressive attitude toward their competition, delivering not so subtle jabs at Nintendo several times throughout the show. But I can see why their confidence would lead them to be critical of Nintendo. The demonstration of the Playstation “move” controller looked remarkable after watching Microsoft’s “Kinect” demo. The “move” boasts nearly perfect 1 to 1 responsiveness and makes gameplay more interactive than anything I’ve ever seen.
PSP games seem to keep looking better, and Sony is clearly going to be putting more effort into their handheld device. But otherwise nothing really grabbed my interest in their exclusive games and content.
NINTENDO
With Xbox and Playstation both unveiling new technology, Nintendo naturally started their press conference by de-emphasizing technological advancements, claiming that ultimately the experience is what is important. Slick, Nintendo. Of course next year when you introduce the Wii motion “plus plus”, or the wii motion “multiplication” you’ll be saying that technology is the most important thing.
Nintendo got off to a rough start demoing the new Zelda game. After the sleek one to one controlling power of the playstation “move”, the interface between the wii remote and the game looked sluggish and even more delayed than the “Kinect”. Add to that some glitches in the operation of the controller that they blamed on “wireless devices” in the audience and things were looking pretty awkward. Really guys? A wireless phone way down in the audience messes up the wii remote? How about the one I have turned on in my pocket? If that’s the case, then Wii could only be enjoyed by people living in the stone ages!
Nintendo’s chief focus was games. Although they did reveal a new handheld device called the Nintendo 3DS, which they claim provides a 3D game experience without any glasses. Of course, there was no way for me to see the 3D for myself, but I’m very curious. I have to assume the 3D tech they are using is in some way similar to those 3D stickers that appear to move as you rotate them from side to side. Could be cool, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
Personally, I don’t need to become more physically involved with video games or see them in 3D. I’d rather play games with better graphics.
STAR WARS MMO
One game definitely had my attention. In recent years, my RPG loyalty has shifted from Square Enix to a company that it would appear can do no wrong. Bioware. As the geniuses behind Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic, I felt confident that they were the best ones to create an MMORPG based in the same well-known universe. But I have to admit that my first impressions were pretty tame.
The graphics for Star Wars: The Old Republic honestly looked unimpressive to me. I’ve never played an MMO, but if weaker graphics naturally come with the package, consider that yet one more reason why I’m uninterested in the genre. I also wish I could have gained a better understanding of the combat mechanics. Is it real-time, or something like the systems used for KOTOR and Dragon Age? The fact that the game can be played and enjoyed as a single player experience certainly caught my interest, but I suppose if I want a single player experience, I should just stay off of the internet, right?
As a whole, I really didn’t have any “wow” moments watching the coverage this year. Maybe it’s because I’ve had an insanely busy week and watching E3 coverage was just “one more thing”. But I think much of it comes down to the games. And this year, I saw almost no RPGs to look forward to. Not a good sign. Then again, I’ve already got some great ones worth playing again (and again and again! Thanks, Bioware!) and I could always stand to save some money!
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