E3 2006 Thoughts: Fanboys Beware!

E3 is now over, and throughout the week I was attacked by a few select for supporting Nintendo and their new direction. Some went as far as to label me a fanboy. Sad thing is - they were all either Sony or Microsoft fanboys.

It’s true that I’ve always believed in Nintendo, how could I not, I grew up on the illustrious company. Before the NES was ever out, I was hooked on video games. From Atari 2600 to Colecovision, I had them all, and continue to own every console possible today. When the NES came out, they took gaming into a new direction and are responsible for the way we play today. They were the start of franchise names like Mario, Link, Donkey Kong, and a slew of others.

Other companies “followed” this trend and brought us memorable characters such as Bonk, Sonic, Spyro, and Ratchet and Clank.

Today, I play games on every system, and I support them all. When I’m at work, if I’m not playing my DS (ok, so it’s the kids DS, I’m just waiting for the more fashionable and brighter DS Lite), I’m playing my PSP. At home, I bounce around from PS2, GameCube, Xbox, and PC. All this while being addicted to World of Warcraft. Honestly, I think I have gaming ADHD, it’s hard for me to have say, a four hour session on just one game. I like to play a little of this, play a little of that, and wonder why I never beat certain games.

So a week before the big E3 show, Nintendo drops the bomb about the big name change. Revolution had been planted in everyone’s mind, and from what we new about the console, appeared to be rather fitting. When the announcement of Wii hit, the internet nerds (that includes me) filled message boards everywhere with their displeasure about the name. Sony and Microsoft fanboys started up jokes and everyone, including Nintendo fanboys, knew the Wii was destined for failure.

Well guess what, Nintendo is getting the last laugh.

Nintendo blew up E3 as the Wii became the main focus of the expo. In less than a week’s time, Nintendo turned nay-sayers into believers. When your booth has up to a five hour line and the others are a ghost town, you know you’ve done something right.

“The Wiimote (what everyone has dubbed the new controller) is the next Nintendo gimmick”, is what everyone was saying before the show. From what I’ve read and seen now, the word gimmick never enters a sentence when one talks about the Wii. Everyone that got a chance to play it walked away wanting more. It’s intuitive and will change the way we play games. Sure there’s a learning curve, but I remember having to learn how to use dual-analog controls as well.

What’s left now on the negative front towards the Wii is the diehard fanboys that refuse to buy into the hype. “Like I really want to look like some tard waving my hands around while playing a game”, is what you’ll hear them say. From what I’ve seen, everyone was having fun. Isn’t that what games are supposed to be, fun? Remember (for those old enough) back in the 80’s when gaming was fun and who was responsible for it?

That’s ok though because those fanboys can stick to playing games forever with their thumbs and boasting about how many polygons per second their machine can pump out (who sounds like the tard in that scenario?).

Fact of the matter is, Nintendo took a huge chance with the Wii, and if E3 is an early indication, took one that is going to change the face of gaming forever. I’m just as excited as the next gamer for the incredible graphics and games shown for the PS3 and 360, but as the five hour long line has proven, I’m even more excited to try something new and different.

What Nintendo has done is good for the gaming industry and a needed step to change the vastly becoming monotonous industry. As the past has shown, others will soon follow Nintendo’s lead (is Sony’s “new” controller enough proof for you?) and that will only lead to greater things for gamers.

And now for my winners and losers of this year’s E3:

1. Nintendo is clearly the winner of the show (big surprise after reading the above eh!). Their Press conference was entertaining and filled with information and plenty of first ever seen Wii action. There were 25+ Wii titles playable on the E3 floors and most reviewers left wanting more. Besides the Wii, Nintendo made a big splash with the DS to include the DS Lite and tons of killer apps for the handheld system. And finally, there was even a little GameCube love, to include the next installment of Paper Mario, which is good-old Mario side-scrolling action with the Paper Mario look. I truly believe that most gaming sites and magazines will agree with me when I say Nintendo hands down, stole the show. Oh, and did I mention that Solid Snake is going to be in the upcoming online enabled Super Smash Bros. Brawl!!??
2. Microsoft was clearly behind the eight ball this year because their system launched last November so there was no longer any new system hype. But, they came through and delivered an impressive array of Next-Gen (can we call it Current-Gen already?) titles for everyone’s favorite green glowing box. The Halo 3 trailer was huge (and a tease), and Gears of War appears to be on par with anything Sony is throwing their way. The next phase of Xbox 360 games will be well worth the wait.
3. Sony’s press conference put them in a bad situation for the entire E3 show. It was boring and the price (which everyone expected to be high anyway) still leaves a bad taste in most gamers’ mouths. The two package deal is a joke because no one would want to miss out on what’s missing form the 600 dollar package. Then there was the unveiling of the new controller. Same as the PS2, but look, it has built in motion sensors! Nice one Sony, way to ride Nintendo’s coat tails already. But, Sony does have some gorgeous games coming up including Heavenly Sword, Metal Gear Solid 4, and the ever so impressive looking Eight Days.

So there it is, like it or not, that’s how I saw it and I’m sticking to it. I have a strong feeling that many gamers out there will be getting the “Next-Gen” system of choice (PS3 or 360), and adding a Nintendo Wii to their gaming arsenal. Nintendo was genius this time around, and I’m sure the sales will prove that this fall and holiday season. Personally, I look forward to all the new systems and can’t wait to get my hands on all of them. It’s just too bad Sony is gonna make me take out another mortgage on my house to get a PS3.

Now remember fanboys, you only miss out on other gaming experiences by staying “true” to your console. It’s video games, not football teams, remember that and rejoice in the future of gaming.

Later,
Keith Michaels
venomlace@yahoo.com

E3 2006: Sony Press Conference Impressions

Just got done watching the Sony Press Conference and I left feeling rather impressed and overwhelmed at the same time. Since there is a little bit of a lot of different things to cover, I’ll do it bullet style to make things easier. (Forgive any grammatical errors, I wrote this in a hurry)

• Kaz Hirai opened up with some boring statistics about PS2 and PSP sales and explained how Sony is not into gimmicks (a direct slam on Nintendo, and a hypocritical one I might add as you will see later).
• Lot of PSP trailers were shown and it looks like the best of the PSP is yet to come, thankfully. PSP greatest hits were announced and Ape Escape, Hot Shots Golf, Twisted Metal, WipeOut, and ATV will be the first five to hit that status. Other upcoming PSP goodies include voice of IP (voip), GPS, and possible camera capabilities.
• The PSP will interact with the PS3 and thanks to PS3 online features; you’ll be able to download PS1 games and run them on your PSP via a Playstation emulator running off your PSP memory stick or memory card. They showed Ridge Racer from the PS1 running on the PSP and you can even make it wide screen.
• There was a very nice demonstration of Gran Turismo HD, and thanks to the hard drive, they showed how there is little to no loading time. GTHD was very impressive looking, especially a track they showed around the heights of the Grand Canyon. Online capabilities are being hashed out and they expect sometime shortly after the PS3 launch.
• All PS3’s will have built-in hard drives.
• Eye Toy made an appearance with a Yugioh/Pokemon style came. You could actually see your hands on screen and as you placed a monster card, they would grow out of the card and fight. Interesting and many possibilities to say the least.
• Another way the PSP will work along with the PS3 was shown in a racing title. They hooked up the PSP and showed how it displayed what you would see out of your rear-view mirror. So you could then set it up on your TV and see the action behind you. Again, interesting and more possibilities.
• Other online features included a music download system. There will be a per-song charge and you can play them from your hard drive or integrate the songs into your games. Some type of karaoke type game will work along with this service and those include HD music videos.
• A lot of video demos for game were shown and all looked technically impressive. A couple that stood out were Metal Gear Solid 4, FFI3, and a game called Eight Days that just blew me away. These games have a realistic movie feel to them and if the gameplay stands up to the looks……wow! There was a working demo of a game called Heavenly Sword that was brutally beautiful with so much blood, I loved it! For you God of War fans out there, it resembles that with 50x better graphics and movement, if you can even imagine that.
• There was a real-time demo of Tiger Woods, not of actual gameplay, but of just Tiger himself. They showed how they are going to bring personality into games and had Tiger do his signature smile. You would swear it was really him. Then they moved him around a little bit and had him say a few things you might hear him say should he have a good or bad shot. If that is how the next Tiger Woods game is gonna look, I’m in trouble with the wife.
• Now for the hypocritical surprise. Gone is the ugly boomerang controller, thankfully. Instead, the PS3 controller looks just like a PS2 controller (not too happy with that, the PS2 controller has always been a weakness to me). What makes it soo special (or not), is that fact that it has built in motion sensors, with out needing infrared or any other wireless line of sight. So first the smear Nintendo with the gimmicky statement, only to unveil a motion sensored controller that during the demo of, looked gimmicky itself at best. Some guy was showing it off with a flying game it looked like he was having one hell of a time controlling the action. He couldn’t even land the damn plane on a platform. It has potential I guess, but the Nintendo Wii’s controller I feel is setup much better for that type of control, especially when it comes to first-person shooters.
• And lastly, the stomach turning price. We all knew it was going to be expensive, and in the end, it’s not as bad as some predicted. But, hearing these figures is still a staggering jolt the money nodes in my brain. In North America, the PS3 will be released on November 17^th, 2006. There will be two version, and two different prices. The PS3 with a 20GB Hard Drive will cost $499 and the PS3 with a 60 GB Hard Drive will run you $599. Not bad I guess when you consider you’re getting a Blue-Ray player along with it.

So there you have it, my little breakdown of the Sony Press Conference. High Quality stuff from Sony as expected. It will be interesting now to see if Microsoft drops the price of the 360 in November as rumored. Look for my Nintendo and Microsoft Press Conference Impressions in the next couple of days as well as other random E3 ponderings.

E3 2006

In the past I've been there, but I'm not currently writing for any sites that are there. I'll still be following all the press, videos, and G4 and will provide you with my take on this week's exciting events.

Oh, and I've been messing with Photoshop more, let me know what you think of my latest sig (click it to view the real size):

Tom Cruise and the Nintendo Wii

Ok, the shock of Nintendo's Revolution name change is over, yet I still see and hear people complaining about the name and stating that they will not get or play the Wii simply because of the name. I find this type of behaviour to be asinine. Sure it's a ridiculous name, right now anyway. I remember when the Playstation was first announced, many people thought that were a silly name too, but I think we all know how that one panned out.

Personally, I think this move was brilliant for Nintendo. It gets people talking about their new system just a week before the big E3 show and that will force haters and supporters alike to at least check it while walking the enamored LA Convention Center floors. Once gamers see how this system is set to change the monotonous way we play games, they will start to take it serious and the name will become a household staple, just like the Playstation is today.

So what does the Wii have to do with Tom Cruise?

With M:i:III releasing this weekend I keep hearing people state that they refuse to see the movie because of Tom Cruise and his "wacky" Scientology rampage.

Come on people. Do you really want to avoid a May blockbuster just because you don't believe what Tom Cruise believes, crazy or not? If that were the case, I'd be screwed because 90%+ of Hollywood tunes into CNN, and I'm a Fox News guy.

I sure as hell don't believe in Cruise's Scientology faith (is it ok to call it that?) and I'm against his behavior during certain bits like his Ophra incident. But, that does not shun me away from enjoying the "actor" side of Cruise, the same actor I have enjoyed since The Outsiders, Top Gun, and one of my all-time favorites, The Color of Money.

So in the end, current situations involving Tom Cruise and Nintendo's Wii have contrasting parallels. I think everyone just needs to stop and use a little common sense before jumping the gun and avoiding something that they might actually enjoy when all is said and done.