The Return of E3

Well folks, this is a very exciting week in the world of gaming. It's the week where all the major players in the gaming industry meet the press and the gamers. They introduce and show off all of the new toys and games that we will be killing each other for this holiday season. They show us the stuff that is almost done and the stuff that is just in development and still a year or so away. It's a time where we can all get together to celebrate everything that is gaming. It's the week of the Electronic Entertainment Expo. It's E3!

E3 started on Monday with the big keynote speech from Microsoft. Then on Tuesday it was Nintendo and Sony's turn. There are also presentations from the big game developers such as Electronic Arts. Then it's time to hit the floor to check out all of the booths and play a level or two from some of the games that won't be released for months to come. I've been following along all week long and I have one word to describe this year's E3...."yawn".

I'll get into what the big announcements were from the different companies in a bit, but first let me touch upon something I mentioned a few months back...the recession. I felt that this was going to be a bad year for gaming. Discretionary income is way down, and that means so is discretionary spending. The cost of creating a video game is astronomical and game developers aren't going to spend that kind of money this year on a game that doesn't have an installed fanbase already. So that means we are going to see more sequels than ever before. And sure enough, that's what the big announcements were for this year.

Microsoft

Microsoft's big announcement was the development of a new kind of controller where you can play with your arms and use the motion of your arms to control the character's on the screen. Sound familiar? It should, because it's a blatant rip off of the Nintendo Wiimote. Sure Microsoft says theirs takes that technology to another level by introducing a camera that will recognize you and your actions. But seriously, this won't be released for at least 12-18 months, so really who cares?

As for games that Microsoft will be rolling out this holiday season. They announced sequels to some very successful games including Left 4 Dead 2, Mass Effect 2, and Assassin's Creed 2. All three were great games and I'm sure the sequels will be good as well, but there's really nothing new here. On the shooter side of life, they introduced Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Halo 3: ODST, which is Halo 3: the sequel. All of which will be good, but again, nothing new. It's a safe secure holiday for Microsoft.

Nintendo

Nintendo is really going to push their Wii Fit franchise this year with Wii Fit Plus. They really think they have something here and are going to really push some programming for it as well. It could be pretty successful, but again, the Wii Fit was introduced last year, so nothing new.

Mario is back. They introduced a new Mario game with Co-op gameplay. It looks like a basic Mario game, and I'm sure it will sell like hotcakes.

They also introduced a new advanced Wii Motion Plus, which when attached to the Wii-mote makes it more sensitive to your actions. So when you play Tiger Woods Golf, it really takes into account every mistake in your swing. Sounds pretty cool, but we'll see if it makes games to hard. Sometimes forgiving gameplay is ok. I'm pretty sure that I can't beat Tiger Woods in real life, so there's no need to make me face that humiliation in my living room.

Sony

Sony is still playing catch up. And guess what they introduced? Yup, it's a Wii-mote like device that will "revolutionize" gameplay. Again, like Microsoft, this is a blatant rip-off of the Wii-mote and is at least 12-18 months away from release, so who cares?

To Sony's credit however, they have introduced some original gaming with the game Heavy Rain. The game looks beautiful and has a very artsy "Blade Runner" look to it. I think it could be one hell of a good game, and I hope it gets the commercial success it deserves. Otherwise it's just going to me more sequels with higher and higher numbers at the end of the titles.

Overall

Overall, I'm happy that the gaming industry is moving forward and fighting the recessions with everything it can. I really liked some of the original games these sequels are based on, so I'm happy to sit down and have another Assassin's Creed adventure. I just hope that this isn't a long-term trend. Without new "real" innovation and new games with new themes, the gaming industry will hurt itself more than any recession ever could.

Until next time,

- The 30 Year-old Gamer