E3's Winner

So this post will be almost entirely dedicated to my obligatory pick of who “won” E3. And I’m not going to say “gamers won E3” because that’s a lame way of not picking sides.

A couple of days ago, Iwata told David Ewalt of Forbes that the Wii and Wii U will coexist for a little while before the newer hardware takes solo control of the reins. That’s nice of him to say, but I think well all know from Nintendo’s press conference that they already no longer support their current home console. Skyward Sword and a new Kirby game (while awesome) are not nearly enough to make the Wii’s last holiday a vivacious one.

Microsoft had an impressive showing of core software – all the usual suspects showed up: Call of Duty, Madden (and the rest of the EA crew) and that douchey Kudo Tsunoda guy. He just rubs me the wrong way. They also had a healthy showing of exclusives (some from last year) in Gears of War, Forza and Mass Effect. But their big emphasis was on Kinect and try to push core software for it. Choosing lines of dialogue by speaking in Mass Effect seems lame, but using voice commands to give advancement orders to your allies is fucking awesome. Ghost Recon was also a mixed bag of Kinect “controls”. The gun smith gesture and voice commands blew my mind, but my excitement deflated a little when I saw how much the controls lagged in actual gameplay. Kinect seems awesome for the customization of weapons, but not for the use thereof. And why the fuck did Microsoft bring Sesame Street and Disneyland to E3? Super lame. Overall, a solid show with a few down notes.

Sony did exactly what they needed to do and addressed the PSN right off the bat. Their statements were both humble and reassuring. They also had a solid showing with core exclusive games. Uncharted and Resistance look great, as does their new TV/PS3 monitor. Although, it is a little strange that Tretton said it could display either HD or 3D. I’m wondering if that means it won’t display both at the same time. No matter. That’s easy choice anyway. The NGP also looks cool with a modestly outrageous price (oh yes, I just coupled those two words together). Another solid show from Sony.

But I can’t pick against Nintendo for best in show, despite my outrage at the lack of Wii software. Several quality first-party games will his this year, including Mario Kart, Kid Icarus, Star Fox and (the surprise of the show) Luigi’s Mansion. Fingers crossed that we’ll be stomping goombas in tanooki suits later this year too. The Wii U looks both innovate and traditional and may finally strike a balance for the casual crowd and core gamers. Nintendo fans are sure to be pleased as well. The Zelda HD tech demo look spectacular, and although it is not a confirmation of software, I’m looking forward to Link’s first HD adventure with great anticipation. In addition to high-end HD graphics, the Wii U’s tablet controller opens up the possibility for great creativity. Nintendo did not confirm any first party software, but showed several solid third-party games for their new hardware.

But how awesome would it have been if just before the end of their conference, Reggie came out and said, “But we haven’t forgotten about the Wii,” and then proceeded to show Kirby, The Last Story, Xenoblade, Pandora’s Tower and one or two other core games. And then confirmed those for this year. It would have been the perfect way to cap off a great show, the best of E3.