E3'06 - And what it means for the future of gaming...
E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo), Los Angeles, May 2006...
Before the first day, I had this to say:
"I can't wait to hear what the next big bubble is. At least
there's nothing comparable to 'Emotion Engine' being
pandered this time around. Gamespot and IGN are so gonna be
sucking everybody's cock, non-partisan. Journalists
shouldn't be given access to places like this because they
turn into kids in the sandbox. Wee."
Well, nothing too glaringly deceptive came from the Big Names'
stands, but a general air of jubilation was mixed with an
uncritical reception of anything the companies were willing to sell.
Not too surprising, then.
I've now watched the Sony and the Nintendo press
conferences, and there's just way too much to account for...
Luckily I don't have to, since it's all out there on
countless sites, from IGN to Gamespot.
What follows is pearls before the swine:
...
First: new PS3 controller! Eh... old, really. It's the same.
With motion detection - and WITHOUT rumble?? For shame.
At the least, I'm glad there's no boomerangutan to distract
from the established PS experience.
I'm just waiting for the japanese to really kick in with their
second-gen rpgs and action games, since launch titles tend to
reflect quite poorly on Sony's actual array of third-party games.
... Which is exactly the opposite case for Nintendo, at least
when a Zelda or a Mario is prepped up for launch. Nintendo
is all about immediate satisfaction, immediate familiarity
and Miyamoto-san's omnipresent calming effect.
Wii (I'm loving the name, btw, it's a real hit, "pika-pika"
japanese crazy style) seems exciting enough, and if it's
going to end on the economical side of the market, I might
as well buy it. There's a few good reasons: 1) Mario
Galaxies, 2) Mario Galaxies, 3) Zelda: Twilight Princess, 4)
the rest is bonus!
To be frank, Zelda didn't seem altogether mind-blowing,
compared to what Gamecube already does, but as an integrated
experience I'm sure it'll deliver.
The hyper-excited kids playing baseball and ping pong in
their living rooms did not resonate with me, but maybe I'm
not in their target trendy audience. The discussion here is
on the right track: It's definitely no less an appeal to
youth trendiness in Nintendo, than it is in MS, or Sony.
Luckily Miyamato-san will deliver gold no matter who's
buying it.
The little we saw of the new Mario, I can say it's going to
be a worthy continuation of the series. I still consider
Mario 64 as possibly the greatest game of all time, and
Sunshine was cute enough too, so I have high hopes time time
around as well.
Last complaint: To say (second year in a row, I can
testify!) that "it's no longer a matter of the quality of
graphics, but rather the quality of content" is a clumsily
concealed way of saying that Nintendo is unable to provide
groundbreaking hardware for developers or gamers. Looking at
the Sports party game they had to offer, one thing seems
clear - "dazzling" is not the word to describe the level of
their graphical offering...
...
Sony, on the other hand, provided just that: DAZZLING
graphical demonstration. No matter what you think of some of
their rehashed demos from last year, it's clear to me that
they are WAY ahead of the race as far as pure processor
power is concerned.
I'm looking forward to the longer MGS demo, so I'll skip
that for now... FFXIII, too, seems too early to say anything
about.
GT HD was quite sweet. Tokyo track was a bit boring, since
it's the same lifeless track from GT3 and 4 (was it in GT2
already?). They haven't updated the dynamics or the
interactive elements of the backgrounds at all, it seems,
which makes for a poor show of what the machine is capable
of. To be fair, it's not a demo for a NEW game, but rather a
simple re-vamping of old content with new resolution and
frame rate. That said, the "Grand Canyon" stage seemed
absolutely remarkable! Not only the jaw-dropping background
(in fine detail), but the faultless, smooth, streamlined
vehicle models in beautiful close-ups really gave a glimpse
into the future of the series.
Still, certain factors NEED to be introduced to the series:
1) Interactive and embellishing elements to the stages -
including people (not mere carton figures), birds, LIVELY
trees and plants, wind, water, rain, thunder, geological
formations etc.
2) A.I.! Please - these drivers would totally flunk the
Turing test. If it drives like a robot, and slides like a
robot - it's a robot...
3) Realistic collision detection - including harder
punishments for hitting walls, grass, gravel and other
cars.
4) Finally - one can always dream - the ability to wreck
your car/bike.
The rest of the games seemed quite exciting too. Nobody's
talking about Afrika, that could rule. Plenty of teasers,
but enough of live performances as well... These seemed
particularly exciting: Medal of Honour, Resistance: Fall of
Man, 8 Days (or was it 9?), the untitled Naughty Dog game,
and Warhawk (hell yes!).
...
Last, but definitely not least, Heavenly Swords blew me
away, for what easily could've been mistaken for
pre-rendered goodness in last year's E3 was now proven 100%
to be actual gameplay. Well, sort of - plenty of the moves
seemed quite scripted, in the vein of Shenmue. This is no
Shenmue though. If anything, in the worst case scenario, it
could be "The Bouncer" of PS3's launch (anybody remember
that PS2 showcase?): a semi-worthless game with the sole
purpose of showing what the machine is capable of before
launch. But it didn't seem too bad at all, this Heavenly
Sword. Entertaining as hell, methinks.
In fact, so many of the PS3 games seemed faultlessly smooth
and pretty, that it's safe to say a new era of gaming is
dawning on us. Sure, thank Nintendo for innovating yet again
in gaming interfaces and content. Sure, give X-Box its' due
for introducing hi-def gaming and hard drives in our
livingrooms. But the only system that makes my skin itch, my
hands shake and my heart race - and, occasionally, my blood
boil - is PS3.
Now, if only the price game down a bit. :(
...
Next up: Microsoft press conference... That'll wait another day.
Until then, I'm gonna have to repeat to myself: "Do NOT think
of the pink Bill Gates sitting in your living room (playing X-Box),
I repeat do NOT think of the pink Bill Gates masturbating with
your rumble pad..."
Now THERE's an image!
Before the first day, I had this to say:
"I can't wait to hear what the next big bubble is. At least
there's nothing comparable to 'Emotion Engine' being
pandered this time around. Gamespot and IGN are so gonna be
sucking everybody's cock, non-partisan. Journalists
shouldn't be given access to places like this because they
turn into kids in the sandbox. Wee."
Well, nothing too glaringly deceptive came from the Big Names'
stands, but a general air of jubilation was mixed with an
uncritical reception of anything the companies were willing to sell.
Not too surprising, then.
I've now watched the Sony and the Nintendo press
conferences, and there's just way too much to account for...
Luckily I don't have to, since it's all out there on
countless sites, from IGN to Gamespot.
What follows is pearls before the swine:
...
First: new PS3 controller! Eh... old, really. It's the same.
With motion detection - and WITHOUT rumble?? For shame.
At the least, I'm glad there's no boomerangutan to distract
from the established PS experience.
I'm just waiting for the japanese to really kick in with their
second-gen rpgs and action games, since launch titles tend to
reflect quite poorly on Sony's actual array of third-party games.
... Which is exactly the opposite case for Nintendo, at least
when a Zelda or a Mario is prepped up for launch. Nintendo
is all about immediate satisfaction, immediate familiarity
and Miyamoto-san's omnipresent calming effect.
Wii (I'm loving the name, btw, it's a real hit, "pika-pika"
japanese crazy style) seems exciting enough, and if it's
going to end on the economical side of the market, I might
as well buy it. There's a few good reasons: 1) Mario
Galaxies, 2) Mario Galaxies, 3) Zelda: Twilight Princess, 4)
the rest is bonus!
To be frank, Zelda didn't seem altogether mind-blowing,
compared to what Gamecube already does, but as an integrated
experience I'm sure it'll deliver.
The hyper-excited kids playing baseball and ping pong in
their living rooms did not resonate with me, but maybe I'm
not in their target trendy audience. The discussion here is
on the right track: It's definitely no less an appeal to
youth trendiness in Nintendo, than it is in MS, or Sony.
Luckily Miyamato-san will deliver gold no matter who's
buying it.
The little we saw of the new Mario, I can say it's going to
be a worthy continuation of the series. I still consider
Mario 64 as possibly the greatest game of all time, and
Sunshine was cute enough too, so I have high hopes time time
around as well.
Last complaint: To say (second year in a row, I can
testify!) that "it's no longer a matter of the quality of
graphics, but rather the quality of content" is a clumsily
concealed way of saying that Nintendo is unable to provide
groundbreaking hardware for developers or gamers. Looking at
the Sports party game they had to offer, one thing seems
clear - "dazzling" is not the word to describe the level of
their graphical offering...
...
Sony, on the other hand, provided just that: DAZZLING
graphical demonstration. No matter what you think of some of
their rehashed demos from last year, it's clear to me that
they are WAY ahead of the race as far as pure processor
power is concerned.
I'm looking forward to the longer MGS demo, so I'll skip
that for now... FFXIII, too, seems too early to say anything
about.
GT HD was quite sweet. Tokyo track was a bit boring, since
it's the same lifeless track from GT3 and 4 (was it in GT2
already?). They haven't updated the dynamics or the
interactive elements of the backgrounds at all, it seems,
which makes for a poor show of what the machine is capable
of. To be fair, it's not a demo for a NEW game, but rather a
simple re-vamping of old content with new resolution and
frame rate. That said, the "Grand Canyon" stage seemed
absolutely remarkable! Not only the jaw-dropping background
(in fine detail), but the faultless, smooth, streamlined
vehicle models in beautiful close-ups really gave a glimpse
into the future of the series.
Still, certain factors NEED to be introduced to the series:
1) Interactive and embellishing elements to the stages -
including people (not mere carton figures), birds, LIVELY
trees and plants, wind, water, rain, thunder, geological
formations etc.
2) A.I.! Please - these drivers would totally flunk the
Turing test. If it drives like a robot, and slides like a
robot - it's a robot...
3) Realistic collision detection - including harder
punishments for hitting walls, grass, gravel and other
cars.
4) Finally - one can always dream - the ability to wreck
your car/bike.
The rest of the games seemed quite exciting too. Nobody's
talking about Afrika, that could rule. Plenty of teasers,
but enough of live performances as well... These seemed
particularly exciting: Medal of Honour, Resistance: Fall of
Man, 8 Days (or was it 9?), the untitled Naughty Dog game,
and Warhawk (hell yes!).
...
Last, but definitely not least, Heavenly Swords blew me
away, for what easily could've been mistaken for
pre-rendered goodness in last year's E3 was now proven 100%
to be actual gameplay. Well, sort of - plenty of the moves
seemed quite scripted, in the vein of Shenmue. This is no
Shenmue though. If anything, in the worst case scenario, it
could be "The Bouncer" of PS3's launch (anybody remember
that PS2 showcase?): a semi-worthless game with the sole
purpose of showing what the machine is capable of before
launch. But it didn't seem too bad at all, this Heavenly
Sword. Entertaining as hell, methinks.
In fact, so many of the PS3 games seemed faultlessly smooth
and pretty, that it's safe to say a new era of gaming is
dawning on us. Sure, thank Nintendo for innovating yet again
in gaming interfaces and content. Sure, give X-Box its' due
for introducing hi-def gaming and hard drives in our
livingrooms. But the only system that makes my skin itch, my
hands shake and my heart race - and, occasionally, my blood
boil - is PS3.
Now, if only the price game down a bit. :(
...
Next up: Microsoft press conference... That'll wait another day.
Until then, I'm gonna have to repeat to myself: "Do NOT think
of the pink Bill Gates sitting in your living room (playing X-Box),
I repeat do NOT think of the pink Bill Gates masturbating with
your rumble pad..."
Now THERE's an image!
posted by BoxBob | 9:58 AM
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