Well, it's over now, but it was quite a rush. By now, everyone's seen what every game developer had to offer, so let's get some opinions. What did you think about this year's E3? What'd you think of the Press Conferences? Any games make your jaw drop?
What I thought of E3 2006:
Overall, I thought it was a good show. Publishers showed off a slew of games; some of them were really appealing. The Press Conferences were decent at a combined level.
The Sony Press Conference was boring! I couldn't use my computer at the time it was airing live, so I watched it later. Most of the games they showed off didn't look all that thrilling, and the guy who was speaking (wasn't it Kaz Hirai?) wasn't very exciting either; ended up fast forwarding a couple times. I found it very irritating that Sony ditched the Boomerang at the last second and put a motion sensor in a Dualshock, calling it their "secret"; anyone with eyes can tell it was just an attempt to show up the Wii's controller, and a poor job at that. I imagine Nintendo would be flattered Sony takes an interest in their ideas, but the way they presented it looked so cheap as to embarass the big N. Did you see how hesitant they were to show it off? They looked so nervous. The price was outrageous as well. The $500 20GB version isn't even going to have some of the promised features like WiFi and HDMI, so that really forces those who want the specified features to get the $600 60GB version. The only good thing I liked about the Conference was the MGS4 footage.
The Nintendo Press Conference managed to keep me awake and on the edge of my seat, not surprisingly. All the secrets they were holding back really made me anxious, so I had to watch it live. It definitely was a spectacle. Most, if not all, the games they showed off in the montages looked like loads of fun. Twilight Princess also looked fun; glad they showed more information about this in light of leaving us hanging. I never would've guess they'd release it for both the Gamecube and the Wii, that's more of an EA sort of thing. The Wiimote presentation made me excited to play the Wii even more. The addition of the speaker was cool; real time sounds coming through the Wiimote's speaker is a big plus and really innovative. After Sony's abysmal motion sensor Dualshock controller display, I was sure Nintendo was going to pull out a secret to outshow that "secret", and they did. It's going to be a while before Sony fully duplicates the Wiimote's functions, I'm sure of that.
Microsoft's Press Conference I didn't watch, I skimmed through the article talking about it though. Figured they wouldn't have anything major seeing as they jumped the gun last year, and what a surprise they didn't have anything major. They had Halo 3, that got the crowd going for a second I heard, but the trailer was short and didn't showcase much of anything the game has to offer. I was hoping Microsoft would release Banjo Threeie, at least some info on it.
In short for the press conference details:
Sony: sucked! BAD! Controller was a cheap knockoff ccmbination of the Wiimote's key feature and their own (overdone) controller; should've stuck with the boomerang. Ain't shelling out that much money for a console either, and can we say Neo Geo?
Nintendo: amazing, and I'm not just saying that because I'm a Nintendo fan. A lot of unexpected surprises and games shown that look entertaining.
Microsoft: didn't watch, but I imagine I wasn't missing much.
I said a lot already, so for any other details I'll leave short. I was just left speechless by the announcement of Super Smash Bros. Brawl; Snake in the game? Get out of here! That's a shocker and way unexpected. Heard Kojima was begging for him to be in the game since right before Melee. I hope the next characters they plan on putting in this game are Sonic and Diddy Kong. Sonic would be a great addition and most expected, and Diddy would be a good match and would fit perfectly alongside DK. Nothing else was as surprising, but I'm looking forward to playing a lot of these newer games, and not just the ones on the Nintendo platforms. Can't wait.
What I thought of E3 2006:
Overall, I thought it was a good show. Publishers showed off a slew of games; some of them were really appealing. The Press Conferences were decent at a combined level.
The Sony Press Conference was boring! I couldn't use my computer at the time it was airing live, so I watched it later. Most of the games they showed off didn't look all that thrilling, and the guy who was speaking (wasn't it Kaz Hirai?) wasn't very exciting either; ended up fast forwarding a couple times. I found it very irritating that Sony ditched the Boomerang at the last second and put a motion sensor in a Dualshock, calling it their "secret"; anyone with eyes can tell it was just an attempt to show up the Wii's controller, and a poor job at that. I imagine Nintendo would be flattered Sony takes an interest in their ideas, but the way they presented it looked so cheap as to embarass the big N. Did you see how hesitant they were to show it off? They looked so nervous. The price was outrageous as well. The $500 20GB version isn't even going to have some of the promised features like WiFi and HDMI, so that really forces those who want the specified features to get the $600 60GB version. The only good thing I liked about the Conference was the MGS4 footage.
The Nintendo Press Conference managed to keep me awake and on the edge of my seat, not surprisingly. All the secrets they were holding back really made me anxious, so I had to watch it live. It definitely was a spectacle. Most, if not all, the games they showed off in the montages looked like loads of fun. Twilight Princess also looked fun; glad they showed more information about this in light of leaving us hanging. I never would've guess they'd release it for both the Gamecube and the Wii, that's more of an EA sort of thing. The Wiimote presentation made me excited to play the Wii even more. The addition of the speaker was cool; real time sounds coming through the Wiimote's speaker is a big plus and really innovative. After Sony's abysmal motion sensor Dualshock controller display, I was sure Nintendo was going to pull out a secret to outshow that "secret", and they did. It's going to be a while before Sony fully duplicates the Wiimote's functions, I'm sure of that.
Microsoft's Press Conference I didn't watch, I skimmed through the article talking about it though. Figured they wouldn't have anything major seeing as they jumped the gun last year, and what a surprise they didn't have anything major. They had Halo 3, that got the crowd going for a second I heard, but the trailer was short and didn't showcase much of anything the game has to offer. I was hoping Microsoft would release Banjo Threeie, at least some info on it.
In short for the press conference details:
Sony: sucked! BAD! Controller was a cheap knockoff ccmbination of the Wiimote's key feature and their own (overdone) controller; should've stuck with the boomerang. Ain't shelling out that much money for a console either, and can we say Neo Geo?
Nintendo: amazing, and I'm not just saying that because I'm a Nintendo fan. A lot of unexpected surprises and games shown that look entertaining.
Microsoft: didn't watch, but I imagine I wasn't missing much.
I said a lot already, so for any other details I'll leave short. I was just left speechless by the announcement of Super Smash Bros. Brawl; Snake in the game? Get out of here! That's a shocker and way unexpected. Heard Kojima was begging for him to be in the game since right before Melee. I hope the next characters they plan on putting in this game are Sonic and Diddy Kong. Sonic would be a great addition and most expected, and Diddy would be a good match and would fit perfectly alongside DK. Nothing else was as surprising, but I'm looking forward to playing a lot of these newer games, and not just the ones on the Nintendo platforms. Can't wait.
