It may be losing audiences to the Tokyo Game Show and the Penny Arcade Expo. It’s organizer, the ESA, is still strapped with management troubles. Yet there is still no question that the only convention in the games industry that builds hype, garners attention, and gets its own editorial section on every gaming site is still the Electronic Entertainment Expo.
Every year, gamers worldwide wait for the press conferences from the big three hardware, first-party companies to announce their next great projects. With each year, E3 gets smaller as more developers back out of displaying their unfinished wares at the show, but even this year, there are some goodies to gab about.
Below is a breakdown of the major news from this year’s E3 by each of the console creators:
Nintendo:
- Wii Motion Plus- An attachment to the bottom of the Wiimote that allows for one-to-one movement sensing. For example, a lightsaber game will allow you to weild the Wiimote and the sword will move in precise tandem with your hand motions.
- That lightsaber game I just mentioned? It’s real, along with other mini-games in the new Wii Sports Resort.
- Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the DS
- Animal Crossing for the Wii with internet voice chat via packaged microphone
- WiiMusic allows for easy playing of more musical instruments than Activision and Harmonix could ever include in Rock Band or GH
Microsoft
- Netflix on Xbox LIVE allows for downloadable movie rentals from the 360
- New Xbox LIVE Dashboard features animated, Mii-like avatars, slicker iTunes-ish design
- ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE SHOW: Final Fantasy XIII for the Xbox 360 simultaneously with the PS3.
Sony
- Sony starts a video download service for the PS3, a good year or two behind Microsoft
- MAG (Massive Action Game) will be an online shooter allowing for up to 256 players per match. Let’s see if it lags or not.
- God of War III confirmed but no real info revealed.
Fill the rest of your E3 hunger at The Escapist’s E3 2008 Coverage.
MAG is extremely promising. And FFXIII stays on the PS3 for me. Along with Soul Caliber and MGS IV.
Very excited about Force unleashed.
e3 sucked. I expected some titles but it was about movies and shit. i know sony had MAG or whatever, but whoop de shit. God of war 3 but nothing on it, the mic on animal crossing will suck dick.
Nintendo’s showing was a bit of a let down. As for Microsoft and Sony, I don’t really care.
I’m just disappointed that Bungie didn’t get to unveil their newest project like planned. There would’ve been huge buzz about it.
Until the FFVII remake happens, the PS3 doesn’t exist to me.