E3 2011

[Wraith]

So E3's this week. I know there are some posts about this already scattered amongst the mega-threads, but I don't want to track all of them down.

So Nintendo's announced it's next hardware.

It looks like it could be cool, but I'm very skeptical. Nintendo burned through a lot of credit they had with the Wii and it's tons of shovelware. It also looks like it probably won't have a very reasonable price-point.

MS and Sony don't seem to be announcing any new hardware yet. I was expecting at least one of them to, but I guess they'll be waiting until next year, which probably means the next generation of console wars will kick off fully around 2013. A shame they won't make it out before the apocalypse, but oh well.

Mass Effect 3 has voice recognition through the Kinect. I've seen this work pretty well before in End War, so I'm not sure why it needs a Kinect, and I'm hoping that they put this feature on the PC with standard audio-in too.

[Ominous Gamer]

Reddit was tearing down the possible Wii U price. The hardware of the console is a mystery, but the controller doesn't look as expensive as it first comes across as. Since all the heavy lifting is done by the console, the controller comes across as a glorified itouch. I'd say they will come in at $79 - $99 a piece.

Problem so far seems to be that Nintendo isn't having very good luck getting more then one of these to work on the same console. That could be a dealbreaker for lots of families. Personally I love the concept of the U, now not even the call of nature can interrupt my gaming time.

Nintendo maybe be a little to liberal with what they approve for their console, but their in house games carry the torch just fine. 3D Starfox maybe enough to push me into a 3DS, oh and the free copy of Zelda 4 swords.

[Wraith]

Reddit was tearing down the possible Wii U price. The hardware of the console is a mystery, but the controller doesn't look as expensive as it first comes across as. Since all the heavy lifting is done by the console, the controller comes across as a glorified itouch. I'd say they will come in at $79 - $99 a piece.

Is the console just beaming the images to the controller, with all processing happening console-side? That's going to really screw with the capabilities of the device. That would mean either incredibly beefy hardware, or crappy results. This only makes me more skeptical.

[Ominous Gamer]

Microsoft really blew E3 this year. Almost completely ignored the diehard games for kinect bullshit; and the kid actors they hired were really fucking awful. The "finger tracking" is bullshit, but the ability to physical objects in game is a nice evolution of the kinect concept (thats going to get abused worse than Uno Live).

I'm not big with FPSers, but i like the idea of voice commands for troop movements, but ghost recon had the best example of kinect use. Using voice to speed through menus, and their weapon customizing was really impressive.

I knew it would be impossible for Microsoft to leave Bungie's Halo untouched

Is the console just beaming the images to the controller, with all processing happening console-side? That's going to really screw with the capabilities of the device. That would mean either incredibly beefy hardware, or crappy results. This only makes me more skeptical.

What can the Wii U controller do that the DS and their existing Wii controller's can't do? All we know about so far is the possible HD display. So unless they want a controller that sucks batteries worse than a gamegear, the video is going to be beamed (they even mention latency free) to the controller from the console. And DS's are already down to $99.

How the video is being transmitted could also explain why we're only seeing one of these used at a time. I wonder how they are spaced on the E3 floor, cause I've been wondering about interference.

[Ominous Gamer]

I was impressed that Sony come out and at least immediately addressed their PSN problems. I think they ignored a lot of the who/what/why that I thought was important, but they did at least address they fucked up pretty bad.

The Vita looks impressive, the AT&T announcement was a huge momentum killer, the laughing and the booing after that was announced... that was gold. So even if I do cave to one, its going to be a wifi model.

They seem to have a solid lineup coming this year, they bragged a little to much about exclusive titles and in game stuff, which I hate, but was expecting.

Also like where they are heading with the Move, turning it more into a pointer instead of trying to force the player into awkward stances like Microsoft kept showing with the Kinect.

[Wraith]

I'm not big with FPSers, but i like the idea of voice commands for troop movements, but ghost recon had the best example of kinect use. Using voice to speed through menus, and their weapon customizing was really impressive.

Never played Ghost Recon, but the End War use of a similar feature was impressive.

What can the Wii U controller do that the DS and their existing Wii controller's can't do? All we know about so far is the possible HD display. So unless they want a controller that suck batteries worse than a gamegear, the video is going to be beamed (they even mention latency free) to the controller from the console. And DS's are already down to $99.

How the video is being transmitted could also explain why we're only seeing one of these used at a time. I wonder how they are spaced on the E3 floor, cause I've been wondering about interference.

If the work is happening console-side, it could be a processing bottleneck too. Each controller is going to need its own thread, and trying to shove those all on one device means you have to sacrifice either speed or quality. Trying to give each controller it's own processor, assuming at least some amount of future-proofing, is going to drive up cost and reduce battery time. I guess we can wait and see how they're doing this stuff, but this could turn out to be a bad move for Nintendo.

I'm wondering what the next generation is going to look like for the other two. I've been hearing chatter about both Sony and Microsoft looking to ship without disc drives. Sony seems the most likely to do this, as they've been investing heavily in the infrastructure needed for this, but Microsoft already has that kind of infrastructure. I'm betting that MS is going to try to invest heavily in the computer vision front, since Kinect has been pretty successful, but this might result in them being the next generation's Wii - they grab the casual market, which is great for them, but not so much for the more hardcore gamers. I've got no information on Sony's inputs, but with the way their company goes, I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to copy both Nintendo and MS for the next generation, featuring both CV and touchscreen controllers, and they'll fail spectacularly.

[littlelolligagged]

I don't know, it kind of bugged me that Nintendo was talking so much about games for adults - the Wii has been fantastic for kid-friendly games, and since none of the other companies do that it will suck for people with little kids. Why not keep making games and systems for that market? It's clearly been a moneymaker for them.

[Wraith]

Syfy and video game publisher Trion Worlds announced today that they would be collaborating on Defiance - "the first multi-platform shooter MMO which, in a ground-breaking entertainment experience, interconnects with a global television program by Syfy, cable's premier imagination-based entertainment channel."

Yes, TV and video games will collide as the first live gameplay demo of Trion and Syfy's visionary concept will debut at E3, June 7th-9th. Demos will take place behind closed doors at the Trion booth over the course of the three-day show. Select press and VIPs will see the first shooter-style MMO to play live on PC, Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system.

On the television side, the Defiance series will be penned by Rockne S. O'Bannon, a legendary sci-fi TV writer best-known for his work on Warehouse 13, Alien Nation, seaQuest DSV, and Farscape. In an entertainment first, the game and show will influence and depend on each other, and even feature some players' characters on the TV shows as extras.

Source
I like how SyFy is now an "imagination-based entertainment channel".

Interesting idea, though. Too bad it's going to suck.

I don't know, it kind of bugged me that Nintendo was talking so much about games for adults - the Wii has been fantastic for kid-friendly games, and since none of the other companies do that it will suck for people with little kids. Why not keep making games and systems for that market? It's clearly been a moneymaker for them.

I'm sure they're going to.

[littlelolligagged]

Where's the imagination in wrestling again?

I'm imagining that SyFy will turn back into SciFi and will quit sucking.

It's not working yet.

[Ominous Gamer]

I don't know, it kind of bugged me that Nintendo was talking so much about games for adults - the Wii has been fantastic for kid-friendly games, and since none of the other companies do that it will suck for people with little kids. Why not keep making games and systems for that market? It's clearly been a moneymaker for them.

The conferences are mainly watched by the diehard gamers. I'm not expecting Nintendo to back away from the children market at all. They kept emphasizing how they wanted games to be more open to everyone. I think they said "wider" and "deeper."

I actually liked how they focused on the games the audience wanted to see, like Zelda's 25th, even the barrel roll meme from StarFox. I was not looking forward to another Elmo and Disney display like the one Microsoft put on

[Ominous Gamer]

I'm wondering what the next generation is going to look like for the other two. I've been hearing chatter about both Sony and Microsoft looking to ship without disc drives. Sony seems the most likely to do this, as they've been investing heavily in the infrastructure needed for this, but Microsoft already has that kind of infrastructure. I'm betting that MS is going to try to invest heavily in the computer vision front, since Kinect has been pretty successful, but this might result in them being the next generation's Wii - they grab the casual market, which is great for them, but not so much for the more hardcore gamers. I've got no information on Sony's inputs, but with the way their company goes, I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to copy both Nintendo and MS for the next generation, featuring both CV and touchscreen controllers, and they'll fail spectacularly.

I am not ready for digital only games. I like weekly sales, clearance sales, stores being able to compete against each other for sales; yet I hate 2nd hand (go figure). I consider Steam's stance to be an exception, and not the model. Microsoft has spent a good bit trying to squeeze what they can out of the DVD format, trying to push 10gigs onto one disc. Maybe the optical drive isn't the right format for consoles that hate lengthy installs, but I'm not willing to trade those loading times for a monopolistic digital store. Also not looking forward to downloading what amounts to a bluray each time I play something new. and a digital only service is only going to pave the way for concepts like Onlive and Infinium Labs to become mainstream profit machines

Hopefully the shitacular sales of the PSPGo will delay the transition to digital only sales.

[Khendraja'aro]

[NGS]

Except people are buying Kinects. Now they just have more shitty games to use it with.

[Lewkowski]

Honestly the system looks crappy. But then so did the Wii when it was first announced. It went on to kill the competition. So honestly at this point I find it nearly impossible to think Nintendo won't make another grand slam.

[Lor]

Ghost Recon: I totally missed the unveiling of this, I was to busy looking at the Call of Duty: MW3 (A guilty pleasure - love the online MP). The Kinect feature looks and sounds good but I wish they'd have show cased more on the gesture control of your troops. Nothing was highlighted in respect to you being able to raise your hands to ask your fellow brothers in arms to hold.

Star Wars Kinect: After seeing a trailer i was impressed, I've yet to see any E3 footage but from what i've read it seems like this could be a hit providing they can iron out the creases in the controls. Apparently the feedback is that the lightsabre controls are not as smooth as using the 'Force' abilities with your left hand (or right if you're a lefty).

[Ominous Gamer]

I'm pretty sure the Microsoft E3 conference had footage from both games. I was not impressed by the kinect features for either. Ghost recon seemed like a lot of gestures to remember and repetitively use during battle, especially for shooting (I did like the menu voice commands), and stars wars was more ridiculous than the Wii version of Force Unleashed


Let me see if I can dig up those 2.

EDIT:
Must be getting games mixed up, Ghost Recon only showed how to shoot at the range (~1:30). Keeping your arms positioned like that doesn't seem like it would be very comfortable.

[Ominous Gamer]

Star Wars Kinect

[Kazuha Vinland]

Awesome drama:


0:55 - Possibly the best game graphics I've ever seen.


Those were the only ones that impressed me a lot.

[RandBlade]

I can't imagine Sony wanting to go disc-free. One of their big issues with the PS3 was the Blu-Ray and it helped win the next-gen Blu-Ray v HD-DVD war. A lot of people have bought the PS3 in order to have a unit that does Blu-Ray and gaming.

Do we really expect Sony to drop the Blu-Ray drive?

[Wraith]

I can't imagine Sony wanting to go disc-free. One of their big issues with the PS3 was the Blu-Ray and it helped win the next-gen Blu-Ray v HD-DVD war. A lot of people have bought the PS3 in order to have a unit that does Blu-Ray and gaming.

Do we really expect Sony to drop the Blu-Ray drive?

It's only rumors at this point. It could be something they were investigating, but haven't decided yet or decided against. Or maybe they never seriously considered it, and it's just signals about the various PSP thingies that got confused. There are a number of benefits for them if they do, though, and they don't really have a format war they need to win anymore.

[Ominous Gamer]

I've seen plenty of articles that have said BluRay will be the last of the consumer optical options. Its pretty much going digital after this. Of course the DVD has been around for 15 years, and is still strong, so hopefully BluRay will go just as long, or longer.

Sony has also confirmed that the PS4 won't be a development nightmare like the PS3, and they won't be dumping nearly as much money into it. I don't know if that means they are simply going to tweak what they have, or not push the boundaries like they did with the PS3.

[Wraith]

0:55 - Possibly the best game graphics I've ever seen.

Crap, those graphics really are awesome. I was interested in this game already for the gameplay features alone. I hope this doesn't mean I need a new video card, though.

[Ominous Gamer]

Forget the graphics, its got dinosaurs!

[NGS]

Go back to 4chan!

[Kazuha Vinland]

Feel obliged to post the image, as it is quite hilarious.

Also forgot one game on that hall of fame list. Hitman: Absolution rocked.

[Ominous Gamer]

Jokes aside, BF3 gets my vote. Holy crap, this is like night and day

[Wraith]

Battlefield 3, Mass Effect 3, and Skyrim are the only games I came out of E3 wanting.

Papo & Yo looks like it might be an interesting entry into the "games as art" stuff, but I'll probably pass on it.

Wasn't there supposed to be a new game from the ICO/Shadow of the Colossus people?

[NGS]

Wasn't there supposed to be a new game from the ICO/Shadow of the Colossus people?

The Last Guardian. It debuted at E3 two years ago, have barely heard anything about it since. The lack of new info was one of my biggest disappointments this year.

[RandBlade]

Skyrim looks exciting, though any new Elder Scrolls game I'd probably go for (even though Oblivion was first in the series I've played).

Saw an advert on TV for Skyrim the other day - seems odd to advertise a game so long before its actually released.

[littlelolligagged]

I agree.

I'm buying it and the new Tomb Raider when its released.

Also, my son is excited about all the Zelda stuff.