E3 my reactions (so far)

Microsoft

I didn’t watch the Microsoft press conference and therefore cannot comment too much about it. It is clear, however, from what I have read that Microsoft is trying it’s best to capture the casual market in much the same way that Nintendo has, with the likes of the avatars (by Rare) and games like Lips.

The BIG announcement from the press conference, however, was that Final Fantasy XIII was going multiplatform, and would be released on both PS3 and 360. A big coup from Microsoft, stealing one of the crowning exclusives from Sony.

I was also a tad disappointed (for me naturally) that Portal: Still Alive was announced as exclusive to Xbox Live – but what can you do!

Nintendo

Ah Nintendo… a show which I’m sure that will be remembered for many years to come… for all the wrong reasons.

Prior to the show, Reggie promised that a game would be announced which would appeal to the core gamer, ready for the holiday season… Maybe you can tell me what game he was talking about, because I sure as hell didn’t see any.

We have Animal Crossing – which looks just the same as the Gamecube and DS versions (and since I have played both, and there doesn’t appear to be much new here, I’ll likely skip). We have Wii Music, which, lets be frank, looks a little lame, especially compared to the much more proficient Rock Band and Guitar Hero series. Only Wii Sports Resort looked promising, and that’s not due until next year!

What’s more, the presentation itself was frankly embarrassing. Like an overeager school teacher talking to a bunch of children. I was cringing through pretty much all of it.

So for this year, it looks like there is next to nothing coming from Nintendo (apart from the new Wario game, which looks like good old-school platforming fun).

At least a port of Dead Rising for the Wii was announced a day later, to raise my spirits.

Sony

Sony’s presentation was a much slicker affair than Nintendo’s and what they showed of Resistance 2, DC Universe and Infamous looked very promising. Unfortunately they didn’t have too many big surprises up their sleeves and as such, much of what was shown had either been heard about before, or seen previously.

MAG was probably the only surprise of the evening, but much like the God of War 3 footage (of which I have zero interest in), this was all prerendered, and as such, was not exactly indicative of the eventual game.

I had, kind of hoped that the oft rumoured Final Fantasy VII remake might have made it’s way into the presentation to counter the announcement of Final Fantasy XIII for the 360, but no luck. Maybe at the TGS!

Even so, Sony still impressed.

Oh, and I love the Penny Arcade strip, which perfectly summarises the three conferences…

Penny Arcade: E3 strip