E3 2011 News

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
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JUNE 7-9, 2011


This is going to be a big year for E3, and it's all about the hardware. These will be the first steps into the next console generation. I haven't been this excited about an E3 since 2006, when Nintendo's show was amazing, and Sony's was hilarious. Anyone wanting to watch the live conferences can check www.gametrailers.com for links to streams. They did a fantastic job last year of covering both the live events and posting trailers in a timely manner.


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http://e3.nintendo.com/
Nintendo will take the stage June 7 @ 9 a.m. PST. They will be showcasing their next home console, rumored to be called Project Café. It's also a sure bet that they will continue to anchor the 3DS with an expanded software lineup. Expected titles to be highlighted are the new 3DS Mario, more on Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, the new Kid Icarus, and I am also expecting another big unveiling. Possibly a new franchise from Miyamoto? Or maybe something a little more obvious, like a new F-Zero or even Starfox. Hey, maybe we'll finally even see Pikmin 3... :mozgus:


sony1.jpg
http://blog.us.playstation.com/
Sony's conference begins June 6 @ 5 p.m. PST. They have some very public hand-wringing to do after the PSN, Sony's online service, was down for almost a month after being hacked. Though, at the same time they'll have to bolster support for their next portable, the NGP, now rumored to be called the PlayStation Vita. And with Fumito Ueda not showing this year, it's unlikely we'll see more of Team Ico's next game, The Last Guardian. Not really sure what other titles to expect out of Sony this year, software wise. I'm sure Uncharted 3 will make a splash. Kojima isn't coming this year, so no new MGS title. Am I missing anything?


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Microsoft's conference begins June 6 at 10 a.m. PST. has an uphill battle to win back players. Since Kinect launched, it's had no significant software support. I expect a show of good faith from them with Kinect support for the upcoming Forza 4, or even dedicated Kinect versions of Gears of War and Forza. I also anticipate the next Halo title to be shown off this year. Bungie departed, but handed the reigns of the franchise off to 343 Industries.



Leading the pack in advertising and presence will undoubtedly be EA's Battlefield 3 and Activision's Modern Warfare 3, both of which will be battling for market share in the lucrative console FPS arena this fall. This is a critical moment for Activision, the same group who ran Tony Hawk and Guitar Hero into the ground with tepid annual releases. Though the franchise has consistently broken sales records, this is the first major entry to the series that will be operating without its creators at the helm. They were fired by Activision shortly after the release of Modern Warfare 2. Now, the newly formed studio will be put to the test. And with critics' interest waning after Black Ops, and anticipation rising over Battlefield 3, this could be the tipping point in the FPS franchise war. Or, it will be lukewarm at best and outsell Black Ops and Battlefield 3 on name recognition alone :carcus:

BioWare's ass is also on the line this year with the upcoming launch of its Star Wars MMO: The Old Republic. They still have a lot to prove in order to win over players from World of Warcraft, unless they care to join the mountain of corpses of failed MMOs littering the gates of Azeroth. Either way, we'll be seeing more of Mass Effect 3, and I intend to keep my ears firmly closed during that portion of the show. :schnoz:

What are you guys looking forward to this year?
 

Aphasia

ALL MYSTERIES MUST BE SOLVED
So excited to see this thread fill up! Great stuff to come!

Looking forward to nintendo stuff, for obvious reasons. New xbox exclusives would be cool. Indifferent concerning Kinect. Maybe there will be some software to make me care this time.
The only Kinect oriented title I've found interesting is Child of Eden. And that's playable on a controller, which kills any desire I have to go out and buy an expensive peripheral.

And finally, more news and gameplay of my dream game: Skyrim!
 

Truder

"I frown at Griffith's nipples" -Aazealh
I will have my eye glued on the Nintendo conference. The new console will either make or brake them this year.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Truder said:
I will have my eye glued on the Nintendo conference. The new console will either make or break them this year.
You say this year, but it's not due out until sometime in 2012. Anyway, I wouldn't say that. The Wii's price drop will keep that thing selling, even if the software is declining. And the 3DS will only get bigger from here on out.

Aphasia said:
The only Kinect oriented title I've found interesting is Child of Eden. And that's playable on a controller, which kills any desire I have to go out and buy an expensive peripheral.
From what I've read and heard, though Child of Eden is playable with a controller, you miss out on a lot of the cool immersive stuff the Kinect does with the game. The Kinect version sounds much more preferable to me.
 

Truder

"I frown at Griffith's nipples" -Aazealh
Walter said:
You say this year, but it's not due out until sometime in 2012. Anyway, I wouldn't say that. The Wii's price drop will keep that thing selling, even if the software is declining. And the 3DS will only get bigger from here on out.
i didnt mean it that way, i meant just in E3.. who will get the most attention/praise this year at E3. Last years i think they stole the show, this year they can either have a good reaction from the crowd or a bad one like the year they showed Wii Music :magni:.

i think if they showed the rumored HD screen control it will be a flop.. i personally think it seems a bit dumb to have such an expensive controller. maybe if its not HD and not so huge like the rumors say it will be. or better yet, i hope the rumors are complete BS and we get surprised! (good or bad)
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Truder said:
i didnt mean it that way, i meant just in E3.. who will get the most attention/praise this year at E3. Last years i think they stole the show, this year they can either have a good reaction from the crowd or a bad one like the year they showed Wii Music :magni:.

i think if they showed the rumored HD screen control it will be a flop.. i personally think it seems a bit dumb to have such an expensive controller. maybe if its not HD and not so huge like the rumors say it will be. or better yet, i hope the rumors are complete BS and we get surprised! (good or bad)
It's far too early to make a call at this point. As you know, for every specific rumor on what Project Café will be, there's one that cancels it out.

HD SCREEN ON CONTROLLER!
NO, SD SCREEN ON CONTROLLER, BUT HD DISPLAY!
1080p or 720p?
BOTH! NEITHER!
MORE POWERFUL THAN THE 360 and PS3!
NO, LESS POWERFUL, but CLOSE!
IT'S PORTABLE, YOU CAN CARRY IT INTO A CAFE WITH YOU!

I'd just rather wait than nebulously speculate on what will or won't be in the console. In the end, I trust Nintendo not to fuck up.

And honestly, the hardware features are the least of what excites me about this console. A major console revision like this signals not only an upgrade for gaming specs, but an opportunity for Nintendo to really shift their policies out of the past and into the future. What I'd like to see Nintendo do is take a bold leap with a more open policy on online gaming -- to shed their thick skin and embrace the fact that everyone laughs at Friend Codes, and their virtually hidden Wii Shop. I wrote about this predicament of theirs before, 3 years ago. And their position is certainly no better now. Gaming truly is a different creature than it was when the Wii first launched back in 2006, and I expect Nintendo to show the world that they've learned some lessons in how to handle online games.
 

Aphasia

ALL MYSTERIES MUST BE SOLVED
Walter said:
You say this year, but it's not due out until sometime in 2012. Anyway, I wouldn't say that. The Wii's price drop will keep that thing selling, even if the software is declining. And the 3DS will only get bigger from here on out.
From what I've read and heard, though Child of Eden is playable with a controller, you miss out on a lot of the cool immersive stuff the Kinect does with the game. The Kinect version sounds much more preferable to me.

I've heard that too, but unless they make me salivate at some new unrevealed titles I'm going to be toughing it out with an old fashion controller. Eden's control scheme with the kinect does seem really cool though. I just can't warrant it for one cool game. Maybe if I had kids!

Walter said:
And honestly, the hardware features are the least of what excites me about this console. A major console revision like this signals not only an upgrade for gaming specs, but an opportunity for Nintendo to really shift their policies out of the past and into the future. What I'd like to see Nintendo do is take a bold leap with a more open policy on online gaming -- to shed their thick skin and embrace the fact that everyone laughs at Friend Codes, and their virtually hidden Wii Shop. I wrote about this predicament of theirs before, 3 years ago. And their position is certainly no better now. Gaming truly is a different creature than it was when the Wii first launched back in 2006, and I expect Nintendo to show the world that they've learned some lessons in how to handle online games.

Agreed. It would be really nice if they joined the rest of the world. That's one of the biggest draws on the xbox for me. It's so easy to communicate with your friends, see what they're doing, what they've been playing and play with them. Lets hope Ninty jump on this opportunity.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Truder said:
i didnt mean it that way, i meant just in E3.. who will get the most attention/praise this year at E3. Last years i think they stole the show, this year they can either have a good reaction from the crowd or a bad one like the year they showed Wii Music :magni:.

I think they'll get a good feedback, simply because they're giving people what they want (to some extent). The industry has been clamoring for a HD system for years, even when it wasn't pertinent, so now that they're getting it they're bound to be happy. And the newfangled stuff is likely to get everyone excited as well. I mean Kinect had folks drooling all over the place when it was clear to me from the get-go that its potential was extremely limited, so I'm not too worried for them in that regard. I'm rather interested to see what it's all about and whether or not it's actually a viable concept (i.e. worth my money).

The other big announcement I'm waiting for concerns the NGP. That's the only other thing that could steal the show IMHO (unless MS surprises us with a new console).

Truder said:
i think if they showed the rumored HD screen control it will be a flop.. i personally think it seems a bit dumb to have such an expensive controller. maybe if its not HD and not so huge like the rumors say it will be. or better yet, i hope the rumors are complete BS and we get surprised! (good or bad)

That's hard to say. I'm not too crazy about the touch screen idea myself. We'll see.

Walter said:
Gaming truly is a different creature than it was when the Wii first launched back in 2006, and I expect Nintendo to show the world that they've learned some lessons in how to handle online games.

Though its online capabilities aren't available yet, the 3DS' software design itself makes me think that they're moving forward in the right direction. Of course what would be great is for them to innovate instead of just trying to catch up, but that might be asking too much of them.
 

nomad

"Bring the light of day"
Looking forward to all 3 really. I'm not to keen into listening to all 3 giving their speeches about their "High Quality, Super Duper Techno Semen Infested Grade A home entertainment opinions of themselves and just show us the goods. Oh that and 3D. Please put it to rest already.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Aazealh said:
Though its online capabilities aren't available yet, the 3DS' software design itself makes me think that they're moving forward in the right direction. Of course what would be great is for them to innovate instead of just trying to catch up, but that might be asking too much of them.

I think Street Passes are a cool idea, and the ability to keep up with your friends progress in games is awesome. But I want seamless jump in/jump out online gaming with friends on the new Nintendo console. You know, it's ridiculous that as good of friends as we are, we've never actually played a Nintendo game together. I have your Miis on my Wii, and we can share messages, but can't do anything related to a game. That's just sad.

Nomad said:
Looking forward to all 3 really. I'm not to keen into listening to all 3 giving their speeches about their "High Quality, Super Duper Techno Semen Infested Grade A home entertainment opinions of themselves and just show us the goods.

I dunno, with a few exceptions, I've come to really enjoy the conferences every year. Even as self-congratulatory as they are, it's entertainment to me. In particular, a guilty pleasure of mine is watching Reggie's performances on stage MY BODY IS READY :ubik: And the best part? This year there will be no Cammy to spoil things for Nintendo.

Nomad said:
Oh that and 3D. Please put it to rest already.

You can count on Sony pushing 3D until the Bravia line dies.
 

nomad

"Bring the light of day"
Walter said:
I dunno, with a few exceptions, I really enjoy the conferences every year. In particular, a guilty pleasure of mine is watching Reggie's performances on stage MY BODY IS READY :ubik:
Reggie's announcements are the best so far I admit. Well, compared to the other ones. I dislike the "Here at *blank* we believe in the best home entertainment quality . *Show footage*. Repeat, Here at *blank* our goal is to give our consumers the latest in home entertainment..." Repeat, and repeat. No worries though, I'm sure I'll be glued watching E3. Afterall, I am a consumer looking for the best experience and quality in home entertainment! :badbone:

Walter said:
You can count on Sony pushing 3D until the Bravia line dies.
So true. Looking forward to hear their response in general to the hack though. In the mean time, let's recap E3 moments!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jxUZL_6N40
2:11
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Nomad said:
So true. Looking forward to hear their response in general to the hack though. In the mean time, let's recap E3 moments!
Aww, skittles was cute, but definitely an awkward conference in general for Microsoft.

There are so many classic E3 moments for me... Too many to count. But one of my favorites was Reggie being weighed by Miyamoto: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNdCgnPga2A&t=76m33s

Another all-time favorite for me doesn't exist on YouTube. Ken Kutaragi, creator of the PlayStation, unveiling the PS3 controller, which had been rumored to be that big boomerang thing for several months prior to the unveiling in 2006. When he finally reached inside his jacket and showed off the controller, he said: "This is the final PlayStation 3 controller..." Since it looked exactly like the Dual Shock, there was silence in the audience, then muffled laughter in the crowd. It was so awkward even Kutaragi laughed nervously and smiled... as if to say "yeah yeah, WE KNOW"

Found it! http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2267963363241583878#

The controller comedy starts at about 1:41:30
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Walter said:
You know, it's ridiculous that as good of friends as we are, we've never actually played a Nintendo game together. I have your Miis on my Wii, and we can share messages, but can't do anything related to a game. That's just sad.

Well I think we could play Monster Hunter 3 together, but... yeah.

Walter said:
Aww, skittles was cute, but definitely an awkward conference in general for Microsoft.

That's a good way to summarize it. Cute but awkward. And the Kinectimals bit was the best part of the MS conference. The rest was either boring or embarrassing. I'm really interested to know what they'll do this year. If it's full-on Kinect it could be a disaster rivaling the Wii Music conference of 2008.

Walter said:
Ken Kutaragi, creator of the PlayStation, unveiling the PS3 controller, which had been rumored to be that big boomerang thing for several months prior to the unveiling in 2006.

Actually it wasn't just a rumor, Sony had officially presented the "boomerang" as the PS3 controller. They changed it at the last moment because of the negative feedback.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Aazealh said:
Actually it wasn't just a rumor, Sony had officially presented the "boomerang" as the PS3 controller. They changed it at the last moment because of the negative feedback.
Nah man, you got it all wrong! That was the prototype that led to the ultimate, and genius choice to replicate the Dual Shock and implement some brilliant, pioneering (rudimentary) motion control into the new controller!
 

nomad

"Bring the light of day"
Aazealh said:
I'm really interested to know what they'll do this year. If it's full-on Kinect it could be a disaster rivaling the Wii Music conference of 2008.
That's the part that I still don't fully understand the logic. MS announces the Kinect spending god knows how much on the campaign and months later they claim they weren't "expecting" the success on sales stating they were only interested in a overall tax cut as a result? Hence why they excused themselves for not having a fluent lineup of Kinect games?
 

Viral Harvest

Every Knee Bent Too Shall Break
Skyrim! Don't care about much else, but I'm sure I'll be surprised.

Probably going to have to wait another year and for TGS for some info on Dragon Quest X.
 

Dar_Klink

Last Guardian when? - CyberKlink 20XX before dying
Walter said:
And with Fumito Ueda not showing this year, it's unlikely we'll see more of Team Ico's next game, The Last Guardian.
:judo:
Looking forward to Nintendo's everything and not sure what else to be honest.
 
Looking forward to some news on Skyrim, and maybe BF3. Nothing else really interests me, as I play exclusively on PC and don't really care about new console technology.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Aphasia said:
And finally, more news and gameplay of my dream game: Skyrim!
Viral Harvest said:
MrSmit said:
Looking forward to some news on Skyrim

Just curious, what exactly are you guys expecting to be announced regarding Skyrim that hasn't already been discussed? There are so many details out now about the game that there's very little left to reveal before it launches in November. I expect, at most, we'll get another trailer showing off a bit of gameplay.

Or is the sentiment more "I want to play that game, so I will be cheering for it at E3"?
 

Aphasia

ALL MYSTERIES MUST BE SOLVED
Walter said:
Just curious, what exactly are you guys expecting to be announced regarding Skyrim that hasn't already been discussed? There are so many details out now about the game that there's very little left to reveal before it launches in November. I expect, at most, we'll get another trailer showing off a bit of gameplay.

Or is the sentiment more "I want to play that game, so I will be cheering for it at E3"?

A little bit of that. You're right, it's really been discussed to death, especially on the TES forums. I was looking forward to seeing a gameplay video without quick cuts, seeing some new creatures, etc. I'm reconsidering watching the E3 coverage. I want my first play through to be unsoiled.

Some info regarding a collectors edition would be nice though. Those things people spend more money on because they have action figures and maps.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Aphasia said:
Some info regarding a collectors edition would be nice though. Those things people spend more money on because they have action figures and maps.
Traditionally, those kinds of marketing details don't crop up until a few weeks before release.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Walter said:
Or is the sentiment more "I want to play that game, so I will be cheering for it at E3"?

Does that mean we can also root against? :carcus:
 

Viral Harvest

Every Knee Bent Too Shall Break
Yeah, I'm not even going to front here. I'm a simple man, I just want some extended trailer eye-candy haha. To be honest, I haven't found myself reading about it on said forums so whatever I find out will all be new to me.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Viral Harvest said:
I haven't found myself reading about it on said forums so whatever I find out will all be new to me.
Oblivion with dragons and mountain vikings. Now you're up to speed.
 
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