New hardware was the call of the show, with all three companies unveiling, to an extent, their new consoles. Microsoft's Xbox 360 looks set for a North American/Japanese/European release date this year, giving it a good head start over the competition. Nintendo's Revolution and Sony's PlayStation 3 shouldn't be forgotten though, as both companies are adament they will see the light of day before the end of 2006.
Online was a component stressed heavily by all companies, particularly Nintendo and Microsoft. Both companies are set to offer free online features for all their consoles, which will come as great news to everyone.
With the focus on hardware this year, games came as a secondary concern this year. Although, everybody who has seen Killzone on the PS3 has been gobsmacked, regardless of whether the video was pre-rendered or in real time. Nintendo managed to impress with more information of Zelda: Twilight Princess, while Project Gotham Racing 3 awed potential Xbox 360 owners. That's not to mention the other hordes of promising games unveiled.
So, we ask the PALGN staff what they thought of E3. Were they pleasantly surprised? Absolutely blown away? Or just cynically indifferent?
Mark, Contributor:
"This year's E3 left me a little empty for some reason. Developers made their announcements on upcoming concepts and showed some very brief trailers of what is to be expected in the future. The hardware companies didn't really show off anything interesting that left me getting all giddy for the future either.
"The Xbox 360 showcasing was weak if anything. Showcased some running footage of some upcoming games that honestly, looked rather choppy all round. And I agree with Jeza, that the console is trying to make it's debut far too early, since the graphics don't really stand out as being next-generation to me. What was on the show floor for the console wasn't much, but there were definite stand out games such as Perfect Dark Zero and Gears of War. But overall I thought Microsoft's, and the developers working for their consoles, didn't really show a great deal this year. Bungie showed some new Halo 2 maps, Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes was shown in more detail and there wasn't much else that got me really excited for their future.
"The Sony showcasing wasn't any better either. The PS3 unveiling was pretty awesome. The console itself looks great, and I guess I'm the only one who likes the controller's design. However, Sony had nothing spectacular to show for the PS3, PS2 or the PSP. The PS3 was only showing footage, where most couldn't run on the console as it is (Killzone for example) and we were handed the systems specs. I was just a little disappointed that we weren't shown to some actual in-game footage. Sony have been getting this PS3 console around a bit for the last couple of years saying that this 'cell' will change gaming. We were expected to originally see the console at the Game Developers Conference, and yet after all that time we were shown some footage where most of it wasn't produced for the console. Maybe they're hiding something? I don't know.
The PS3, in all it's fridge-like glory.
"I have mixed opinions about Nintendo. The press conference was rather useless since we were shown to some DJ fellow using Electroplankton and some half-witted chick playing Nintendogs. While these games are fantastic, it didn't really show us anything new. We've seen what these games could do back at the Game's Developers Conference; I just thought it was all useless. The Game Boy Micro didn't leave much of an impact on me either. I can definitely see how Nintendo will market this machine - to the older and more image conscious gamers - but from what was shown, that was their biggest surprise of the entire event. The Revolution seemed to be packed away for another time, most likely because Sony out staged the console. But I can honestly admit that the downloading of twenty years worth of Nintendo is a fantastic idea and the online concept for the console looks like it'll be the best off the three. For that reason, I take my hat off for Nintendo.
"Now an area of gaming that most gamers tend to overlook is the PC side, and believe it or not I honestly thought that there was a lot of excitement coming from the developers with games for the PC. Games such as Heroes of Might and Magic 5, Age of Empires III, Quake 4, Civilization IV, Spore and F.E.A.R all knocked my socks off. These games looked absolutely stunning and being a long-time fan of all these franchises I can admit that I'm really excited for the future for PC gaming. Battlefield 2 looks like it's going to be crazy online, and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars looks like an absolutely stunning game. I'll admit, I was acting like a 12-year-old teenage girl when I was shown to some footage of upcoming PC games.
"I think the clear winner of the show was the Nintendo DS though. The unveiling of online, some upcoming killer hits, and the majority of their games were actually playable, putting it a cut above. I came off extremely excited with the DS's upcoming library for the year. Games such as Metroid Prime: Hunters, Lost in Blue, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Mario & Luigi 2 and New Super Mario Bros. are all games that I think will set-up the DS for what it is - a fantastic and innovative console. But there were still a lot of stones left unturned. No Zelda DS, No Final Fantasy III, and No Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles DS and no real surprise titles made the scene this year. And to say the least, the DS had no real competition at the show from the handheld market. PSP showed almost nothing. Os it a sign that developers aren't using the console? Maybe. We were told about the upcoming GTA game, which was nice, but what about Devil May Cry and all these special projects we were hearing about?
"Overall this year's event was a little empty. Seeing a trailer for the next-generation Sonic game wasn't too bad, but that's all that was really shown for next-gen consoles, trailers. No real indication of how the consoles perform, just trailers that may not even be designed for the consoles. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess looks stunning and, again, the majority of the PC exclusives look superb. There's a lot left unanswered this year, and overall I'm disappointed, since this event was pretty much like "Yeah we'll show you our concepts, but we'll tell you the important stuff another time". Too many developers downplayed E3 this year."
Karl, Contributor:
"This years E3 was a big one in my opinion, with three simultaneous console unveilings. All three consoles shocked everyone with their own unique look. Overall I thought the Xbox 360 was the best thing on show, even though it was shown on MTV a week before. The whole new GUI for the system has really got me excited, let alone the sheer hardware power behind it. The games shown for the Xbox 360 all look incredible, except Perfect Dark Zero which was kind of a let down. Also it was great to see some new partnerships for Microsoft such as Square-Enix.
"Then theres the PS3. The actual look of the console is nice the controller has me in stitches, the whole boomerang sytle really isn't working. Hopefully Sony will look into this before launching the next gen. The specs of the console are great, but they could have lowered the price a bit. Unfortunately not many games were really shown for the PS3, with a few interesting titles such as Fight Night, Metal Gear Solid 4 and the next Fifth Phantom Saga game but overall not much to jump up and down about. I'm sure next year will be bigger for Sony though.
Throw it and it will return to you!
"Nintendo's Revolution probably got the most anticipation from me for the E3 but unfortunately I was let down. I was happy with the look of the Nintendo's machine but very little was said about its titles. Nintendo seemed to be focusing more on their handheld units, the GBA and DS.
"The DS seemed to be a highlight of the E3, with people going to the stands to download trailers and demos of upcoming titles such as Mario and Luigi 2, Metroid Dread, and Touch Golf. But these were only a side show alley compared to the first screenings of Animal Crossing and Mario Kart DS, which were shown with their online capabilites. Also a big surprise was the Game Boy Micro which alot of gamers were happy about seeing.
"One of the most pleasant surprises at the show for me was the first in-game footage of the next Zelda title for Gamecube, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. This year's E3 was basically Zelda. I kind of lost my love for Zelda after Wind Waker but now my faith has been restored. The game looks stunning in all most every way. Also Kirby Adventure got my attention, I cant wait to hear more on this title.
"PC games was probally the second biggest attraction for me thanks to some very exciting titles; Battlefield 2, Spore, Quake 4, Civilization IV, Unreal Tournament 2007 and Age of Empires 3. Also I was surprised to see more on the Gizmondo. I own a N-Gage and I like it, so I'm really hoping that this next mobile handheld wont be such a flop because with stats like a 400mhz processor and custom video card there is so much potential.
"Overall I quite enjoyed this years E3 event. It looks I'll be sucked into buying alot of gaming equipment this year."
Jeremy, Contributor:
"For some reason, E3 was bitter sweet for me. While there were some great things on show, it just didn't have the feeling of excitment as of previous years.
"From what I saw of Xbox 360, I'm still not convinced that it is needed. The graphics don't look that much better and there is still the issue of gameplay. Will we see anything new and innovative? Interestingly, Perfect Dark Zero was recieving high praise but I'll wait till I actually see what the fuss is all about.
The Xbox 360. What's with standing consoles these days?
"PS3 was impressive. Killzone blew me out of the water and nothing can be better than tech demos with rubber duckies. Still, I couldn't stop laughing when I saw the controller and I think it is an absolute joke. Some people may get confused and take it outside to use it as a boomerang. Also, I'm not excited about the impending price tag. PS2 launched in Australia at $750, just imagine what PS3 will go for (Remember, the Australian dollar is much stronger than it was in 2000, so in theory at least, the machine should be cheaper. - Ed.).
"Nintendo were very disappointing this year. Sure, Revolution looks very nice and the backwards compatibility is an excellent idea but the fact that there weren't any videos or specifics really made me upset. Is there any reason to care about Nintendo? Probably, but not when they are disappearing from Australian store shelves faster than I can tie my shoe laces. Nintendo had Zelda, which looks absolutely excellent and I really want to play it soon but apart from that, there was nothing that took my fancy at all.
"I didn't really pay attention to handhelds but if I did, they probably would've shown a few decent things on the DS like Nintendogs. To add to this, I think the GB Micro is a waste of time and totally unecessary.
"Overall, the PS2 and Xbox titles took a back seat to the next gen and I can't say that anything really stood out for me. E3 was OK and it always will be. But there was an empty feeling that simply it wasn't anything really new and mindblowing."
Brendan, Editor:
"Sorry, but at this point the Xbox 360 is doing nothing for me. Sure it looks pleasent enough, but there just isn't any real stand out software at this point. Perfect Dark Zero will probably be a fairly good game, and Gears of War and Ghost Recon 3 look incredibly flashy, but neither of the above make me want to spend a whole lot of money on it at launch. Project Gotham Racing 3 on the otherhand might. The online aspects sound interesting, but it looks a lot like everything a PC has been doing for years. But, 'selected backwards compatibility' is a farce. Why bother emulating old games at all if it can't easily be done? On top of that, it seems the existing Xbox has been largely forgotten. Sigh.
"Similar deal with the PS3. The console itself is the best looking thing since the N64, but no real in-game footage? Bah. Of course the Killzone demo looks impressive, but it's doubtful the game itself will look like that. The usual Sony suspects - GTA, Gran Turismo, Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid, etc - means I'm a lock to get one at some stage, though, even if there are no substantial innovations. Provided they fix that controller, because at the moment it looks horrible. PSP support seemed to be at a minimum throughout the show, but titles like Infected and Burnout Legends should see the machine through these early stages.
"Somewhat suprisingly to me, Nintendo was the highlight of the show. They showed several titles which prove there is no real reason for this generation shift. Twilight Princess will be absolutely brilliant. Batallion Wars really impressed me during the Nintendo conference, and I cannot wait to get my hands on it. The assorted Mario titles, will excessive, should also be pretty decent, but I cannot help but feel that these games should have been on shelves back in 2003 and 2004. And are they serious with Mario Party 7? Ugh.
"I'm not at all upset with Nintendo's lack of information regarding Revolution, either. The machine itself looks impressive, and I'm surprised they even showed that much considering their statements leading up to the show. The abillity to download old Nintendo games is a definite winner, too. Whether Nintendo can actually make the console a Revolution remains to be seen.
Revolution is a mystery.
"The DS looks the definite goods though, with a plethora of support and great games. Castlevania, New Super Mario Bros., Metroid, Mario Kart DS, Viewtiful Joe and even that quirky surgery game Under The Knife all look like very good buys to me. I'm almost sold on the console, but I'll wait until next year's E3 when Nintendo unveil the updated styling..."
Matt, Contributor:
"This E3 was a bit disappointing - I'm glad I abandoned my plans to attend this year. The shows which reveal new hardware only happen every 5 to 6 years, and they are usually the most memorable events, so there was a reasonably high amount of expectation placed on this year's show. It didn't deliver in that regard - the current generation software really stole the show for me, though a lot of things I was hoping to see were notably absent.
"Microsoft came out of the gate too early with the Xbox 360, not exactly keeping secrets close to their chest for the last year, not to mention the godawful MTV celebrity jerk fest that took place last Friday. Gears of War and Ghost Recon 3 certainly look like titles that will steal the headlines come launch day, but the title that caught my interest the most was probably Dead Rising - I've always wanted a game that involves a Dawn of the Dead style situation with mountains upon mountains of zombies. I'm disappointed that Perfect Dark Zero was pulled from the Microsoft press conference and only showed behind closed doors, but the impressions from those sessions were highly positive, which leads me to believe that the MTV show, while good for the casual gamer, was probably a really bad thing to do form the perspective of the gaming media and the more enthusiastic fans. The whole backwards compatibility thing is a bit of a nuisance - hopefully Microsoft won't charge us for the ability to play our older games. It will be interesting to see what developers are able to do with the Xbox 360 when they get their finalised development kits. At this stage, while I want an Xbox 360, I won't be in the line at launch day.
"The unveiling of the Playstation 3 was a typical Sony event - show the glitzy stuff, but don't let anybody touch it. Some of the demo reels looked unbelievable - hopefully they will be able to achieve the levels of graphics seen in the Killzone trailer, and combine it with some tight gameplay. The machine itself looks kinda pretty, and offers a lot, though the controller is up in the air - I won't be able to form an accurate opinion until it's in my hands. Launch day purchase? Maybe, but I may just import this time.
"The Revolution was initially a big disappointment to me - I was expecting Nintendo to stand toe to toe with Microsoft and Sony, and I think a lot of other people were too. It took a few days of thought to be able to understand the logic behind what Nintendo are doing, but I can honestly say I have faith in the Revolution, and am looking forward to its release next year. Backwards compatibility is a plus, and the whole downloadble games from the NES, SNES and N64 is almost enough to seal the deal when you combine it with the fact that we'll see an online Super Smash Brothers, new Mario, new Zelda, Metroid Prime 3 and something new around the launch window. The controller is still a mystery - maybe it is the key to the console's legendary aspect?
"Now for the current gen stuff;
"PSP: Where the hell was all the PSP software? There were a handful of games on show, but none of them were really heavy hitters, and quite a few were just PS2 ports. Have developers already forsaken the PSP, or was everyone just too focused on the new hardware to show anything off? Given that it costs the same amount to make a PSP title as it does to make a PS2 title, we may see something of a shift in the PSP's software lineup soon.
"DS: It could be easily said that the DS stole the show in terms of upcoming, playable software. The New Super Mario Bros., Mario & Luigi 2, Kirby, Animal Crossing, Nintendogs, Advance Wars, Sonic - there will be no excuse to not own a DS this Christmas. Heck, I was a big skeptic of the dual screen handheld after launch, and now I'm sold.
Sonic is tripping. Aha.
"Xbox: It seems to me that developers have forsaken the current generation of the Xbox - Microsoft certainly has, with Conker Live and Reloaded being the only first party offering, with just about every other game on offer being multiplatform. Certainly some life left in the console, but it really seems like everyone is already looking towards the Xbox 360. It's rather ironic that Conker is going to suffer the same fate as it did on the Nintendo 64, despite the fact that the developer's intention for the remake was to release it while the console was still highly active.
"Gamecube: Mario is being milked a little too much for my liking on the GC, with Super Mario Stadium, Super Mario Strikers, Mario Party 7, DDR w/ Mario and god knows what else. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is easily the game of the show on the consoles - certainly my most anticipated game this year. The new trailer was great, and it will take a lot of self control not to watch all of the footage that is floating around the net. Nintendo seems to be fully intent on not repeating the mistakes they made at the end of the Nintendo 64 by offering up lots of compelling software. Let's hope they keep up the momentum with the Revolution.
"Playstation 2: The PS2's lineup for the latter half of this year is remarkably consistent, with plenty of software for various different tastes. I'm looking forward to Shadow of the Colossus, We Love Katamari, Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance, Urban Reign, Namco x Capcom (localisation pending), Okami, and Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi (shouldn't it be Tenkaichi Budokai?). It's unfortunate that some of those games werent shown on the show floor, but that won't dull my enthuasiasm.
"PC: Unfortunately, I havent had the time to look too far into PC, but I was disappointed at the lack of information on BioShock and Fallout 3. I'm pumped for The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars was an unexpected surprise. Spore stole the show on the PC, but the release date of Q3 2006 was a little disheartening."
Luke, PR Director:
"E3 was a little disappointing for me. I really was expecting more games to be announced. Sure, we were treated to a few new games and surprises, but I personally expected more.
"I really expected Sony to show more PSP titles off. It is the first E3 since the platform launched, so to basically only show Grand Theft Auto off was a little disappointing. The DS has a few titles as well, but I would have liked to have seen a few new franchises rather than just Mario and Kirby.
"Current gen software was also a bit lacking. Developers seem a little reluctant to take chances on current generation software at the moment (as the consoles near the end of their lifecycle), so we're treated to a lot of sequels, which aren't as exciting as they could be.
"The Playstation 2 did steal the show over the original Xbox though, with Microsoft moving all their time and effort to the 360. We cannot think of many Xbox exclusive games coming in Quarter 4, 2005 that look like must-owns, but maybe this is Microsoft's plan. Australians still need to go through another christmas before the Xbox 360 launches though.
The best looking game ever?
"The next-generation information was also a little light, Microsoft revealed a lot more information than its competitors, with Nintendo being very tight-lipped (much more than we expected, their 2004 E3 conference was much better) and Sony pre-rendering all their videos. We don't want to fall into the trap we did with the Playstation 2, where we swear that same Tekken movie was shown.
"However, E3 is all good fun and i will look forward to E3, 2006, but for an event that had so much potential, I found a lot of companies just didn't show enough."
James, Manager:
"To add my voice to the chorus, disappointing is indeed my overall impression. My biggest gripe lies with Nintendo. Their lack of decent Revolution information is nothing short of annoying. E3 is the time when people start to decide on what their future console will be. Nintendo has essentially given us nothing to go on. I understand their reasoning in not showing the controller since they’re worried about the competition, but why did that stop them showing more game footage? Why could they not have given us some system specs? There are obviously complicated issues here that will no doubt be resolved once we see more of Revolution. However I believe Nintendo made the wrong decision showing only partial Revolution information. I would rather that they had showed nothing to keep us guessing on every aspect. While this may sound strange it would probably have put them in a better situation. Showing only the design and not the power of the console makes it seem as though they can’t compete with what the competition had to offer.
The New Super Mario Bros. 2D platforming ahoy!
"I agree with Matt, in that the Xbox 360 was already old news by the time E3 started. Despite being a decent looking console, none of the games really held my interest for long. I would have liked to have seen more of Perfect Dark Zero. I do seriously wonder how the 360 is going to fair in Australia. Microsoft are going to be moving from the most powerful, to least powerful next gen console on the market (as far as we can tell at this stage). The major selling point of the 360 was it’s power. If we’re going to have a launch in Australia that will be relatively soon to PS3 launch, where will that leave Microsoft?
"For me, Sony had the best showing. Despite the general opinion that the console won’t deliver all its promises, I found the Unreal tech demo to be fairly convincing. To hear that they had whipped that up in a couple months is pretty amazing, and hearing it from the developers, not Sony, is even better. The game footage simply blew me away. I don’t care how ugly the console looks if we get anything approaching the Killzone and Gran Turismo Vision demos then I will be getting my PS3 at launch.
"For the DS I’m already a fan of Electroplankton. The game seems to hold plenty of promise. It’s great to see something being developed that blurs the line of what we call a video game. Having said that I’m seriously under-whelmed by the graphics of all the DS games that have been shown so far. For me the DS comes in third after the PSP and GameBoy Micro. The GameBoy Micro is fantastic. I’ve been wanting a decent handheld that actually is portable. I can see myself playing the GBM on my daily train tip. It will give me a reason to finally buy Minish Cap.
"For the PSP Burnout Legends looks fantastic, and Grand Theft Auto Liberty City looks promising. When it finally launches in Australia it looks like it will have a great line up of titles on offer.
"Finally the single game that held the most promise for me before E3 was Stargate: Alliance (especially since it’s being developed right here in Sydney). However the impressions from those who actually played the game were mediocre and no new details were released. It’s still in early days of development, though so let’s hope there’s light at the end of the wormhole."
David, Contributor:
"Well, looks like we're all dissapointed - who would have thought that were possible a couple of months ago?
"The most important stuff has already been said by other staff members. My take on it is that for a show about video games, there weren't many good ones!
"What was game fo the show? Zelda? It was a game of the last E3!
The almost unanimous game of E3 - Twilight Princess, of course.
"None of the new platforms sounded interesting. As mentioned, 360 was old news, and has no 'must have' games - Gear of War and Ghost Recon look good, but it's only graphics - I know I won't buy them. The others are current genetration graphics on top of last generation games (Kameo and Perfect Dark). At least they showed something - but maybe not eneough is ready for a 2005 launch?
"PS3 looks boring, if not stupid. The controller is the worst of both worlds - no new features, all the old problems but with a dumb new shape. And the machine is so far away from completion no ammount of pre rendered 'game' footage can make it interesting right now. It doesn't help that there were eerie overtones of the PS2 launch promises ('Super computer' - yeah, right fellas. So it's $200,000 is it?).
"Which leaves us with Nintendo, who showed nothing much on Revolution at all. The stuff they did show was good, but super backward compatibility, wifi, the machine mock up - they're all condiments - no meat was served. Funnily eneough though, nothing was in some ways slightly more impressive then the other companies' 'something' to me, if only because some mystique remains. Still dissapointing, however - espescially with it's specs and the revolutionary aspect still a mystery. Couldn't we have had one or the other?
"Platform of the show? Same as last year - DS. So many good games (finally?) coming. I want Goemon and Castlevania and Nintendogs and Guilty Gear and Metroid and New Mario and... It will actually have games on it this year! And with the PSP borderline MIA at E3, handhelds are once again Nintendo's game to lose."
...So, there you have it. It seems the general concensus is that there was too much focus on the hardware, and nowhere near enough on the games. This officially concludes our E3 2005 coverage. We hope you have enjoyed it!
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