E3 Approaching

[Cracka Jack]

In less than a week, the Electronic Entertainment Expo will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, from June 15-17. This is the gaming industry's biggest yearly event, and where every 1st and 3rd-party developer looks to make their biggest impact, The next year or so in gaming can often be decided here(see: wii, 2006).With that said, what are you most looking forward to at this year's show? What surprises should we expect?

I, as always, am most anticipating each 1st-party developer's conference. This shows us where each company plans on going with their console, and what they're putting the most emphasis on going forward. Also, I love unveilings of surprise games. This all just gets me so excited.

 

[Lee]

Microsoft: 13th June: Time TBC

Obvious Natal's going to be their big renouncement, add to that Fable III, GearsOfWarIII and Halo:reach. On top of that rumours of a slimline console to be bundled with Natal.

Nintendo: June 15th: 9AM PST

Where the big boys come to play: Expect the official unveiling of the 3DS, some Dragon quest X stuff, Pikmin 3, a bit more on Metroid other M, Vitality, Epic Mickey. Seems all good...oh yeah Legend of Zelda Wii

And a MASSIVE rumour that Goldeneye Wii is being announced.

Sony: 15th June: 12pm PST

Erm motion sensor stuff, 3D titles, Killzone 3, LittleBigPlanet 2, inFamous 2 and SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs. Oh and maybe GT 5 will get a release date! Also rumoured is a new PSP and a new GodOfWar title

SquareEnix

Kingdom Hearts confirmed, DragonQuest IX and X very likely, probably some final fantasy and what not.

What else?

Sonic 4, Okamiden, Conduit 2, Dead Rising 2, Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, a few capcom "surprises", Batman: Arkham Asylum 2, Super Scribblenauts, Metal gear Solid: Rising, Fallout: New Vegas, A heavily rumoured Elder Scrolls V, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II and there's always a few surprises in E3...exciting times to say the least

 

[Lee]

Nintendo E3 conference

Confirmed: Vitality, 3DS, ZeldaWii, Pokemon Black and White

Likeley; Goldeneye, Pikmin 3, Donkey Kong, Wii fitsportplaymusicdoesanyonereallygiveafuck

Out there rumours: New updated wii console

Intro: The sales woman before the feed started said we're due for some surprises, lets see if she told the truth or not. Remember 09 and 08 E3? Yeah exactly.

Regie opens to big up the E3 conference, to tell us that technology is a tool, the thing that matters is the experience. When Gaming design and technology are evenly matched that's when you have a good experience.

Open with Zelda! Wow it's cell shaded, very interesting called “Skyward sword.” Miyamoto showing that the shield will be used for the nunchuck. It actually looks quite nice the Zelda game, not too much a fan of how the controls look, but I guess it will be quite easy to pick up. A bit concerned about the interference with the wireless controller, I imagine during smaller spaces it'll be better. Release date is “next year”

Entertainment than can cut age/gender and culture. So of course we're going to have a wii sports type game. Yup Mario Sports mix, erm ok. Mario sports games are usually fun, but nothing too exciting.

Some stats now showing the wii is more than sports and fit.

Wii Party, the logo is pink. Yak. Seems like Mario Party with Mii's, I'm not a fan of Mario Party. Should be fun if you're drunk. Eww Just Dance 2. Just dance was a shit game, but sold well.

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. Looks a heck of a lot like Dragon Quest, I like dragon quest though, so that's allright.

Goldeneye, this was expected as was seen by my thread last night in the former bar room. But come on YES Out in time for Christmas, the graphics look shit.

Epic Mickey looks fantastic, I love how it's going in the forgotten Disney history. This would be like a WWE game where you find Benoit. This looks really good, it looks good, the controls look simple plus it has a mix of the Disney magic but being a little different. Adventure/Roleplay and platform, the story is very interactive. Should be good. Wow the 2D platforming aspects look good too. This is quite exciting.

Kirby Epic yarn. Making this the second game in a row with the name epic in the title. This actually looks insane. Reminds me of Paper Mario but if it was made out of a pair of jeans. A nice pleasant surprise.

Dragon Quest IX This is out next month, it's been out for a year in Japan, there's nothing I will be surprised at here. Another one expected was Metroid other M, this actually looks pretty good a return to the original series with a mix of prime in it. More platform than FPS. August 31st is the release date.

Yup that was on the rumour list, retro are making a DK game, Diddy Kong's in it. This looks like good fun, but another 2D platformer? Donkey Kong Country: Returns

Nintendo 3DS. I like how it looks, a 3D depth slider, which is pretty good. Touch screen on bottom, 3D on the top, analogue. Motion sensor. You can TAKE 3D PHOTOS?! Wow I didn't expect that at all. They're also going to have 3D movies.

YES KID ICARUS, didn't expect that at all! This looks pretty darn good to say the least, and this is a 3DS game? The graphics are like GameCube standard. This is pretty good.

3D version of Nintendogs/Cats...fuck you skittles! Kingdom Hearts, Saints row, Batman, Assassins creed, Metal Gear Solid. Resident evil! All for 3DS.

Biggest disappointments: Goldeneye doesn't look too exciting at all

Biggest mark out: I actually marked for Pit

Game I'm looking for the most: Epic Mickey and of course Zelda.

Nice surprise: Went to Kirby, that game looks insane!

All in all a good show, the focus was on games and not gimmicks for once, kind of funny that 360 went the other way with that, whether you're casual, hardcore, nintendo fan boy or not there was at least one thing for you there. What was interesting was that Vitality just wasn't mentioned at all. Oh well.

 

[Stormtrooper]

Open with Zelda! Wow it's cell shaded, very interesting called “Skyward sword.” Miyamoto showing that the shield will be used for the nunchuck. It actually looks quite nice the Zelda game, not too much a fan of how the controls look, but I guess it will be quite easy to pick up. A bit concerned about the interference with the wireless controller, I imagine during smaller spaces it'll be better. Release date is “next year”

When I saw that Zelda was opening, I was shocked, because I thought that would be one of the main events. I was so pleasantly surprised with the Zelda. The semi-cel-shade with an adult Link looks to be a great fit. Unlike you, I adore th controls (as they were mentioned). They had technical difficulties, which made the actual gameplay look a little off, but they said that that is not normal, so I'm still amped for it. Also, if my memory serves me correctly, is this the first time we get the sword beam in a 3D Zelda?

Entertainment than can cut age/gender and culture. So of course we're going to have a wii sports type game. Yup Mario Sports mix, erm ok. Mario sports games are usually fun, but nothing too exciting.

I understand your opinion, and agree to an extent. However, it looks like it is 4 Mario Sports games in 1, and the Mario Sports games are always fun. However, did you not see that they had DODGEBALL?! I remember loving to play Super Dodge Ball for my NES, and if it is anywhere close to something along those lines, it will be worth it.

Goldeneye, this was expected as was seen by my thread last night in the former bar room. But come on YES Out in time for Christmas, the graphics look shit.

I didn't see the rumors of Goldeneye, and since I was away and not on the forums, it was a surprise for me. It looks exactly like the original, with cleaned up graphics. That is really the only way to make Goldeneye. I want to re-experience the same thing I had on N64, and I will get to, and do it in 2010. Yes, the graphics are not Call Of Duty, but it looks like the original.

Epic Mickey looks fantastic, I love how it's going in the forgotten Disney history. This would be like a WWE game where you find Benoit. This looks really good, it looks good, the controls look simple plus it has a mix of the Disney magic but being a little different. Adventure/Roleplay and platform, the story is very interactive. Should be good. Wow the 2D platforming aspects look good too. This is quite exciting.

When I heard Mickey, I almost got ready to press fast forward on my DVR. Then I saw it. HOLY CRAP. I want to play it, which is not something I expected to say.

Kirby Epic yarn. Making this the second game in a row with the name epic in the title. This actually looks insane. Reminds me of Paper Mario but if it was made out of a pair of jeans. A nice pleasant surprise.

I had a similar reaction to Kirby that I did to Mickey. I was excited at first, because Kirby is awesome. Then I see the title and what the game looks like, and I was a little pissed. When I got about 45 seconds into the gameplay video, I wanted the game right now.

Dragon Quest IX This is out next month, it's been out for a year in Japan, there's nothing I will be surprised at here. Another one expected was Metroid other M, this actually looks pretty good a return to the original series with a mix of prime in it. More platform than FPS. August 31st is the release date.

I really don't care for Dragon Quest, and even Metroid to a lesser extent. Metroid looks awesome, but since they are so close to release, I almost didn't care about these games here at the press conference.

Yup that was on the rumour list, retro are making a DK game, Diddy Kong's in it. This looks like good fun, but another 2D platformer? Donkey Kong Country: Returns

For me, I see DKC Returns as very similar to Goldeneye. The game is about nostalgia, and Retro really honed in on it by making it 2D.

Nintendo 3DS. I like how it looks, a 3D depth slider, which is pretty good. Touch screen on bottom, 3D on the top, analogue. Motion sensor. You can TAKE 3D PHOTOS?! Wow I didn't expect that at all. They're also going to have 3D movies.

It really looks like a DS, but is a new system in and of itself. The 3D images looks awesome, as do 3D movies.

YES KID ICARUS, didn't expect that at all! This looks pretty darn good to say the least, and this is a 3DS game? The graphics are like GameCube standard. This is pretty good.

I thought the same thing. They may even be PSP quality (I saw a PSP game played once or twice, and they looked similarly graphiced). If Nintendo can produce graphics just as powerful as PSP with 90000000 times better games, controls, price, and in 3D.

3D version of Nintendogs/Cats...fuck you skittles! Kingdom Hearts, Saints row, Batman, Assassins creed, Metal Gear Solid. Resident evil! All for 3DS.

The reaction when Iwata announced Metal Gear on 3DS was amazing. It was Austin/LOD esque. And the wow factor when Saints Row was announced was just as awesome. And I know you're on the other side of the Atlantic, so you may not care about it as much, but Madden NFL football is coming to 3DS too, which I am excited to see.

All in all a good show, the focus was on games and not gimmicks for once, kind of funny that 360 went the other way with that, whether you're casual, hardcore, nintendo fan boy or not there was at least one thing for you there. What was interesting was that Vitality just wasn't mentioned at all. Oh well.

I just turned on the Sony presser, and there is no way they can beat Nintendo, which outshined Microsoft in every way imaginable. Nintendo seemed to give us awesome game after awesome game, and then followed it up with a new hardware with another 12 amazing games. Microsoft went with their motion control, and appealed to the Mommies and the 6 year olds, 2 groups who don't give a crap about E3. I hope people rip Microsoft for it like they did Nintendo a couple years ago, but it's unlikely.