Lawrence.com

by Chris Baker, guest bloggerHeading out to L.A. last week, we all knew that we were going to witness the most divisive E3 ever. When all was said and done, we would learn that there were a lot of things that should have happened that did not. Sony's PS3 should have stolen the show. Nintendo's Wii should have appeared gimmicky and disappointing, Microsoft's Xbox 360 should have been all about Halo 3 and Dan Ryckert (the new Lawrence.com Video Game editor) probably should have died after drinking 22 beers in one night or from crossing the freeway afterwards at midnight to get some Burger King chicken fries, but none of those things turned out the way they should have. For those reasons, this will be an E3 to remember. Sony was the first to stun us all on Monday night with their whopping two hour snooze fest of a press conference where they showed off their "new" controller, a mixed batch of generally unimpressive games, a colossal new Eyetoy accessory and their launch price/date. Their product line was described as "innovative" and "exciting" by Sony executive Phil Harrison which of course is a joke and I don't mean the funny kind. I'll leave the exact descriptions of what occurred at the event to my fellow game staffers but needless to say, we were all extremely shocked. We expected a demonstration of power, beauty, creativity and true innovation. What we got was a twenty minute video clip of a future PS3 Gran Turismo game, aptly titled "Gran Turismo HD" for now, that looked no better than a higher resolution version of its predecessor on PS2. Shocked I say, shocked.Now pay attention Sony, this is for your own good.Rule #1 Do not ever, ever show anything that is only 10% complete, especially for a new, unreleased hardware.Rule #2 As with life, first impressions are important, do not blow them.Rule #3 The general game playing consumer may be stupid, but a room full of people who flew in from around the world are NOT stupid. Save your BS for the marketing people, they're good at it.Rule #4 Powerpoint presentations suck. We much prefer bright lights, real-time demonstrations, awesome trailers and hot women. Unless it is Shigeru Miyamoto, small Japanese men with piss-poor English skills do nothing for us.Rule #5 Above all else, never assume that victory is guaranteed. If you take us for granted, we will move on to better pastures. Moving right along, Microsoft had a very decent showing. With no new hardware to show (other than a few new accessories), Microsoft's press conference and booth were all about the software and they did not fail to impress. Gears of War was easily a game of show contender (generally agreed upon by the Lawrence.com staff to be deserving of 2nd place this year) and Too Human, Mass Effect, Crackdown and even Viva Piñata were all looking very promising. They also showed off their new Live Anywhere functionality where the Xbox 360, your PC, cell phone and more will soon be able to work and play together with the launch of Windows Vista early next year. Lastly, a Halo 3 trailer was shown in all its glory, bringing the audience to a rambunctious roar.We all had a 30 minute playable demonstration of GoW's multiplayer team deathmatch mode and were blown away. Not only is the game absolutely gorgeous but the gameplay is innovative, the story line is intriguing and bottom line, I can't wait to play it again. Check out our E3 GoW feature that was posted a few days ago for more information on how it plays. Gears of War is expected to ship this fall and will likely be Microsoft's big holiday title.Too Human is being designed as part one of a three game trilogy that will finally reach the Xbox 360 this fall, with the 2nd and 3rd installments following it within a few years. Silicon Knights Guru and head honcho Dennis Dyack has assured us that after 7+ years in development, across three different consoles, (PSX, Gamecube and Xbox 360) all three games will be released during Xbox 360's lifespan which means there will be no Halo style three year long waits for the next title. The game itself looks good and introduces a lot of new ideas to the classic action adventure genre. A new motion camera system is employed that constantly positions the camera for the best possible angle according to what the designers want you to see. It worked for the demo and we have good reason to believe that it'll work when the game ships.Little is known of Mass Effect's story or gameplay, just that it is going to be an all new FPS with RPG elements from Bioware, makers of the acclaimed Knights of the Old Republic and others. From what we saw though, we are very excited. Crackdown's interesting graphical appearance could help or it could hinder it's appeal depending on how picky you are for realism, but it's free ranging, explosive style of gameplay should hook just about everyone. Lastly, Viva Piñata may be Microsoft's attempt to attract more non-gamer types with its cutesy "sim" like look and play style but it does look genuinely fun. Basically it feels like a cross between Harvest Moon and the Sims with a dash of Pokemon.Then there is Halo 3, Microsoft's Ace in the hole. Being completely honest with you, no trailer for any game as ever had me as excited as the Halo 3 trailer did. No real gameplay was shown, but the 2+ minute clip spoke volumes for fans of the series. Featuring a disturbed version of Cortana chanting words of doom, a conquered earth overrun by covenant forces and a battle scarred Master Chief clutching the original assault rifle left the audience in awe followed by deafening cheers. Gamers have already swarmed the net trying to decipher the various clues and theories of what we can expect from the game in 2007, likely next fall. I actually spent a very healthy amount of time within Nintendo's booth (probably a solid 25% of my time on the show floor overall) and there was no doubt in my mind who "won" this years E3 contest. With a slew of great looking new DS titles, the new DS Lite and of course the Nintendo Wii, they're booth easily packed the most punch per square foot. According to many reports, the Wii booth created the longest entry line in the history of the Expo, stretching around the entire west hall of the conference center with a wait of at least six hours. You simply can't buy that kind of attention, attendees really were that anxious to see and play the Nintendo Wii. Of course, the real draw behind the Wii was its unique controller. Unlike Sony, Nintendo has made no secret of the fact that its console will have much less graphical muscle when compared to Microsoft's and Sony's competing consoles, but they've also stressed that that is not their primary focus this time around. When asked about their competitor's "progress", Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, etc, responded with this, "They're talking about the next generation of the same old videogames - it's the same old experiences with new graphics. And while there are people who enjoy that, we're really talking about the next leap in interactive entertainment, and really bringing interactive entertainment not just to videogame fans but to everyone." Nintendo seeks to revolutionize gaming. They don't claim to be going in the "right" or even "best" direction, but simply a better one. I give Nintendo a lot of credit for their new approach to the game industry, no doubt, but I should acknowledge that they didn't have a whole lot of choice when they began heading down their current path. Nintendo's last three major consoles (Gamecube, Nintendo 64 & Super Nintendo) each lost about half of the market share that their previous console had earned. They simply could not compete on the same playing field as Microsoft and Sony when they weren't willing to match them with more adult themed games and marketing campaigns. Actually I should rephrase that. It's not that they couldn't compete, it's that they were not willing to. They simply had, and still have, no interest in changing their family friendly approach to the game industry. So rather than launching what would inevitably be a doomed console to compete with the Xbox 360 and PS3, they realized that it was time for them to move in a different direction where their image and software library would not be judged by an industry that demands conformity. It will prove to be an incredibly smart move. Did they bail out? I suppose you could say so, but you can only take so many punches to the face before you try something different and kick them in the balls.I can honestly tell you that, for the first time in a long time, we should all be excited for Nintendo's new console. Nintendo will truly come to the table fully prepared this time around, with most of their development teams having had far more prep time with the Wii than they did before Gamecube or even Nintendo 64's launches, both of which were weak by most standards. This is evidenced by the fact that they will launch both Metroid Prime 3: Corruption AND The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess alongside the Wii this fall, with Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros. Brawl within six months. That alone should be enough for everyone to wait in line outside your favorite game store on the eve of its launch, regardless of its supremely innovative and fun new Wiimote controller.There has also been a lot of interesting talk coming from Microsoft and Sony concerning the Wii. Both Peter Moore (Microsoft) and Phil Harrison (Sony) have gone on the record recommending the purchase of a Wii, after you've purchased their respective consoles of course. This represents a genuine change in attitude within the industry; that this generation of the "console war" will really just be between Microsoft and Sony, with the Wii serves as the perfect companion for either console. Most consumers of the last generation did not own all three consoles, but a huge number of them owned two, a fact that you can bet Sony & MS are well aware of. So if you only acquire two platforms this generation, they want it to be their own console & a Wii. The ironic part is that you'll be able an Xbox 360 AND a Wii for less than the cost of a PS3. Naturally, E3 can only provide us with a specially packaged "this is what we want you to see and know, now take it home and digest it" image of the state of the gaming industry for the next year. Our impressions of the show are pretty clear, but nothing is set in stone at this point. More news will trickle out as this fall approaches and the launch of the PS3 and Wii draw near. Honestly, I can't imagine that the PS3 will be as bad as Sony themselves made it look, which only means good things for us as their picture should improve as their launch approaches. Microsoft is certainly on its way to being a killer platform with all the great looking software they displayed. They basically wanted to let you know that if you don't already own an Xbox 360, you'll sure want to get one now, which is exactly the impression that they left attendees with. The final contender, Nintendo, proved to the world that their new direction in gaming is the way that we'll want to go this fall. Assuming that the Wii launches in the sub $200 range, its success is a given. Regardless of how things work out in the coming year however, it is going to be an awesome ride. Whether you are a fan of the PS2/PSP/PS3, Xbox 360, or the DS/Wii, you have a lot to look forward to in the coming year. As for the Lawrence.com crew, E3 06' was certainly an experience that we'll never forget. We got on the airplane with a list of expectations of how things should have worked out and instead returned with a list of surprises. Of course, that's what makes E3 so exciting. Time to start saving for E3 07'!