E3 2009 Roundtable

[Brendan]

E3 2009 Roundtable by Brendan

PALGN Feature: We examine E3 2009.

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[Phreakuency]

Not sure if the Halo announcements were show stealing.

A spin off and prequel right? And this after Bungie saying Halo was all but finished. Halo 3 was a huge disappointment for me in both single and multi so any new Halo game does little to bring back any type of excitement or anticipation.

I think 360 has hit it's peak and is on the downward spiral, while the exact opposite can be said for the PS3.

Nintendo have done it again though. They'll release one or two good games a year and disappoint their fans. Fans who I am surprised keep staying loyal after so many let downs.

But yeah, overall much better E3 and a win for anyone who plays games.
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[Azza]

Yeah, Ninty's was a huge step up from last year, but still relatively lackluster, when compared to the rest of the show. However, I'm still peeved about the lack of a new Dune or F-Zero
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[Macka]

E3 2009 was definitely the best across the board in years. Here are my thoughts from all three conferences.

Microsoft
After watching the whole conference, I was left with an unresounding meh. The only games that interested me were Final Fantasy XIII, Alan Wake and Metal Gear Solid: Rising, two of which we already knew about and Rising is multiplatform. Project Natal is impressive, but a long way off and in my opinion, it will be too late to the party with trying to entice casual gamers to the console.

Nintendo
Another incredibly boring conference, but this time there were some nice new games rather than the horror of last year's Wii Music performance. They got off to a great start with the announcement of New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Then we have Mario & Luigi 3: Bowser's Inside Story, Golden Sun 3, COP: The Recruit, Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M. Wii Sports Resort is also looking pretty fun.

Sony
Sony's conference was by far the most entertaining and the Playstation 3 is looking extremely strong for the rest of the year. Despite there not being too many new games announced, everything looks amazing. Highlights for me were Uncharted 2, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, ModNation Racers, Assassin's Creed II, The Last Guardian and God of War III. Sony also introduced their motion controller, but like my feelings on Project Natal, it's just too late. Casual gamers are not going to pay for a PS3 just to get a slightly more accurate wiimote.


So after watching all three conferences, I have come to the conclusion that I need a PS3 and a 360 very soon!

Highlights across the board

- Golden Sun DS
- God of War III
- Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
- The Last Guardian
- Metroid: Other M
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[Dutch Rootsman]

PSP Go was the winner for me.

Halo 3 ODST looks like Halo 3. Yawn. Left 4 Dead 2, now there is a reason to fire up the old Xbox. I'm pessimistic about Natal. I need a control in my hand, if I wanted to wave my hands around like an idiot I would either buy a Wii or join a dance troup.

Same deal with Sony's Wii control substitute, I'm not a casual a gamer. Let me use the control that comes with the system. I'm not shelling out another 200 for cameras and controls and such.

Further to the point, Mircosoft and Sony have come to the casual party 3 years too late. You would be hard pressed to convince your average family to buy a 360 and Natal OR a PS3 AND a PSEye and Remotes. Most people would just get the Wii, it's proven itself. The only way this technology will get itself into homes is if it is demoed and explained to the common man extensively AND it is cost effective. If Natal is 250 (ie. more than the console itself) then forget it. A PS3 is already $700, price is too big an obstacle.

[diogenes92]

Nobody is surprised, shock, pleased by - not even a mention of - Final Fantasy XIV!?

[Macka]

[Adam]

[emech]

Not to fan the fires - but sony impressed most for me. Im not expecting natal to reach its potential for at least 18 months (so I'll care more about that next year E3), nintendo is offering more of the same (and only 3-4 titles = one per quarter) but with heavy rain, project trico, god of war 3 & uncharted 2 sony may have just convinced me to pony up and join the "next gen" era.

Having said that - with golden sun & scribblenaunts my DS investment continues to be rewarded.
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[ZeroX03]

Where's the Tekken 6 love?
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b+2,1 mindgames

[diogenes92]

[Frozencry]

I think that it was a pretty massive announcement, but it didn't quite leave a lasting impression because it was shown for like a minute.
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[Jahanzeb]

depends on who you are really , a Halo fan would be blown away by the new Halo games shown while a hardcore Castlevania fan would call Lords of Shadow the main highlight of the show.

so yea even if we all have our personal favourites, we can all agree it was a great show
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[battlegrub]

[Mr Waffle]

I'm not excited about Natal for gaming, but I AM excited about it for general dashboard usage- it'd be awesome if I only ever had to turn on a controller to play a game. Imagine- you sit down on your couch, say something like "xbox turn on" (or maybe be able to set it yourself- "xbots activate!"), then command it to bring up your movie collection, which you swish through with a gesture. Combined with streaming/downloadable movies, that'd make the HTPC market suddenly a lot more accessible to the everyman.

[Windburn]

[Frozencry]

[realitybites]

I think I full into the pleasantly surprised camp.

The lack of chest beating through market share was gone and replaced with products and games (heaven forbid).

Nintendo responded to its lack of clarity around hard core gamers by opening up with a salvo of Mario and Metroid. Although the Zelda quip was typical Nintendo and I don't believe with their track record they will deliver a Zelda for the Wii next year.

MS conference special was enticing and Natal was definitely intriguing although not unexpected. MS have always portrayed their consoles as hard core so its difficult to see them persuading a non technical gaming population why I should buy this over a Wii and/or the very successful PS2. Apart from Halo most of the other games are available on PC or other consoles.

Sony's pre-E3 PSP Go was telling I think it took a lot of guts to do that but it was important because that announcement in E3 proper may have diluted the PS3 story. PS3 easily had the best exclusive game line up. GoW III awesomely gorgeous game (although I think I may be GoW out after PS2).

The game I still look forward too is Dragon Age I hope it meets expectations.

[ManeKast]

Final Fantasy XIV. Online. PS3 Exclusive. That and the 4 player New Super Mario Bros / Mario Galaxy 2 / Metroid combo is all it took to blow my mind. The rest I expected, am pessimistic about or just not that optimistic about until I see more (Natal, Sony's new toy, Milo, etc.).
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Kudos to Fetidchimp for the sig.