E3 2011 Impressions
Has anyone else been following E3?
What do you think?
Personally, I thought Microsoft had a pretty weak showing. Nothing really groundbreaking or exciting. They just showed us a lot of games we already knew about, and a lot of Kinect games. The only unexpected announcement was probably Halo 4, but I think even that was kind of unsurprising, considering Halo is Microsoft's biggest franchise.
Sony showed off their new handheld, the PSVita. The low price ($249.99 for the wifi model, $299.99 for the 3G model), considering the technology powering it, was a pleasant surprise. They didn't show that many games for it, however, and what they did show looked action and fps heavy. I'm going to wait to see what kind of jrpg support it gets before I consider buying it.
Nintendo showed off their new console, named the Wii U. The console itself is just slightly larger than a Wii and is confirmed to support 1080p. Most of Nintendo's focus was showing off the controller that goes with the Wii U. The controller looks like a tablet with its built-in 6.2 inch touchscreen. It also features a microphone, a gyroscope, an accelerometer, dual analog controls, two shoulder buttons, two trigger buttons, a front facing camera, and a stylus. Despite its appearance, however, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata was careful to stress that the Wii U's controller wasn't designed to be a portable system.
You can see pictures of the system and the controller here.
I've watched the video of the Wii U. The HD looks fantastic, I have to say.
I don't know if I'm sold yet, though. Hopefully when the system is closer to its actual release, Nintendo will do demo tours so people can have a hands-on experience with it.
I remember when they announced the original DS and I thought Nintendo was crazy for making a system with two screens, one being a touch screen. I wasn't sold until I actually got to play one at E3, and then I thought it was genius. So I hope this is kind of the same thing.
That being said, the two things that excited me most that I have seen so far:
1. Luigi's Mansion 2 for the 3DS. The first game on the Gamecube was an overlooked gem, and I am quite happy that it is receiving a sequel. The 2D video of it doesn't do it justice. Anyone who owns a 3DS should download the trailer that's available on the 3DS eshop. It looks fantastic.
2. Final Fantasy XIII-2 trailer that hints at an alternate universe setting in which Lightning is dead or believed to be dead.
The only bummer is that both of those games are 2012. But in the meantime, there's plenty of other good stuff. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D comes out June 19th. Gears of War 3 comes out in September. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim comes out in November. And I have a giant backlog of games to work on in the meantime.
What do you think?
Personally, I thought Microsoft had a pretty weak showing. Nothing really groundbreaking or exciting. They just showed us a lot of games we already knew about, and a lot of Kinect games. The only unexpected announcement was probably Halo 4, but I think even that was kind of unsurprising, considering Halo is Microsoft's biggest franchise.
Sony showed off their new handheld, the PSVita. The low price ($249.99 for the wifi model, $299.99 for the 3G model), considering the technology powering it, was a pleasant surprise. They didn't show that many games for it, however, and what they did show looked action and fps heavy. I'm going to wait to see what kind of jrpg support it gets before I consider buying it.
Nintendo showed off their new console, named the Wii U. The console itself is just slightly larger than a Wii and is confirmed to support 1080p. Most of Nintendo's focus was showing off the controller that goes with the Wii U. The controller looks like a tablet with its built-in 6.2 inch touchscreen. It also features a microphone, a gyroscope, an accelerometer, dual analog controls, two shoulder buttons, two trigger buttons, a front facing camera, and a stylus. Despite its appearance, however, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata was careful to stress that the Wii U's controller wasn't designed to be a portable system.
You can see pictures of the system and the controller here.
I've watched the video of the Wii U. The HD looks fantastic, I have to say.
I don't know if I'm sold yet, though. Hopefully when the system is closer to its actual release, Nintendo will do demo tours so people can have a hands-on experience with it.
I remember when they announced the original DS and I thought Nintendo was crazy for making a system with two screens, one being a touch screen. I wasn't sold until I actually got to play one at E3, and then I thought it was genius. So I hope this is kind of the same thing.
That being said, the two things that excited me most that I have seen so far:
1. Luigi's Mansion 2 for the 3DS. The first game on the Gamecube was an overlooked gem, and I am quite happy that it is receiving a sequel. The 2D video of it doesn't do it justice. Anyone who owns a 3DS should download the trailer that's available on the 3DS eshop. It looks fantastic.
2. Final Fantasy XIII-2 trailer that hints at an alternate universe setting in which Lightning is dead or believed to be dead.
The only bummer is that both of those games are 2012. But in the meantime, there's plenty of other good stuff. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D comes out June 19th. Gears of War 3 comes out in September. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim comes out in November. And I have a giant backlog of games to work on in the meantime.