blog

While Penny Arcade provided readers with a fairly accurate wrap-up of the three biggest E3 press conferences today, I just kept thinking that it would have been a lot funnier if it weren’t so true. I was so excited only two days ago for the start of E3 and the surprises and occurrences that went along with it, but now I just have a bad taste in my mouth from yesterday’s events. What happened to the companies I have been supporting since childhood? I’m still not entirely sure.

Below are simply my opinions on the Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony press conferences that took place on Monday and Tuesday. They have already been liveblogged and summarized, the big news events posted, but I just can’t get them out of my head.

Microsoft

Perhaps it was the fact that Microsoft got to go first that made their press conference the most exciting, but I don’t really believe that. Their presentation was delivered in a fun, constantly moving, almost never boring way. I was continually excited throughout the entire thing, even though there was really only one super-shocking announcement. Microsoft, in my opinion, was the only console-maker that did the press conference right.

Everything was presented well, even the games we already knew about. The new trailers and gameplay footage was enough to keep me excited throughout the entire conference. Yeah, it’s no surprise that Fallout 3, Fable II, Gears of War 2, and Resident Evil 5 are going to make Microsoft a crapload of money, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t happy to hear from their some of their developers and see some footage I’d never seen before.

Even though Don Mattrick essentially ran the conference, so many different people came onstage to talk and present things that I never really got sick of anyone. Mattrick and Microsoft also knew when to step back and let their presentations do the talking, like when Glad0s announced Portal: Still Alive, or when the new Xbox Live dashboard was unveiled.

And then, of course, there was the big Final Fantasy XIII announcement that I’m pretty sure blew the minds of everyone watching. I’m glad at least one company gave me a positive “Holy shit!” moment (actually, Microsoft gave me two: Portal and FFXIII). That’s why Microsoft was the clear winner in my eyes.

Nintendo

In the aftermath of Microsoft’s press conference, I simply could not wait to get to work yesterday and gear up for what Nintendo and Sony had to say. I scheduled everything else I had to do around those two conferences, and Nintendo was up first. To summarize in one sentence, I spent the entire conference waiting for an announcement that never came.

I wasn’t even waiting for anything specific, to be honest with you. Sure, a new Zelda or some such thing would have been swell, but really, I just wanted to be surprised and impressed by the video game company I have been a fan of for twenty years, almost my entire life. I wouldn’t call myself a fangirl, since I really enjoy all of my consoles, but I do own every Nintendo system ever made (minus the Virtual Boy). I’ve been a big defender of the Wii this generation, while many gamers have already dismissed it. So suffice to say I wanted something more out of Nintendo.

I think the only time I was pleased during the entire press conference was during the Animal Crossing announcement, and everyone already knew that was coming. Wii Sports Resort looks fun, but $50 worth of fun? I don’t know, but it’s certainly not going to be regarded as a triple-A title. GTA: Chinatown has potential, and certainly shocked me, but again, it just didn’t feel like enough.

The worst part was Nintendo’s biggest announcement, Wii Music. Wii Music?!? Are you serious? A music game during which you don’t even actually do anything except push random buttons and pretend you’re playing an instrument? Honestly—what the fuck. I could put on some music right now and play air guitar if I wanted to do that. I could not believe that Wii Music was what they were giving the gamers. I felt almost insulted. That may seem really snotty, and obviously it’s not all about me, but Nintendo has completely abandoned the gamers that have supported them since day one. That’s just not cool, and I don’t even know how to defend them anymore. In my eyes, they messed up big time, and I will think twice before supporting another Nintendo console if this is all we’re going to get out of them.

Sony

As you can imagine, I wasn’t in the best of moods after the Nintendo presser pretty much ruined my entire morning, so I was hoping that Sony would be able to make it up to me in a big way. Much like Nintendo, I have been a Sony supporter from the start, having had all three of their consoles within a year of launch. I’d take the PS1 over the N64 any day of the week, and even though I wasn’t a fan of the PS3 when it launched, I came around and finally gave in and bought one.

So let’s rewind to yesterday, when I holed myself up in Mike’s office to watch the Sony presser, anxiously awaiting whatever those guys had to give me. Again, I wasn’t exactly awaiting a specific announcement, just one that would excite me, something I did not see coming. And, once again, it never came.

Overall, I thought they did better than Nintendo, but that’s not saying much. Instead of being severely disappointed, I was just plain bored. Part of the problem was that Jack Tretton did most of the talking—and there was so much damn talking. Big conferences like these should be all about show and tell, not “tell, tell, tell, tell, show, tell, tell, tell.” He started off talking about Sony’s exclusives, which honestly just seemed like a big joke after Microsoft’s FFXIII announcement, along with saying that the conference was the most stressful event you could imagine. I’m sure it is, Jack, but that’s no excuse not to represent at E3 in a big way.

There were a few new game announcements with potential, and a few cool trailers. The best part for me, by far, was the use of LittleBigPlanet to present information I otherwise could not have cared less about. The fact that LittleBigPlanet has not been further delayed (yet) was also reason to celebrate. However, other than that there was a lot of information provided in the most dull, unexciting way possible. Even one of Sony’s biggest reveals—God of War III—was introduced by Tretton saying “Yes, God of War III is coming.” We know that, just shut up and let Kratos do the talking! They did show a teaser trailer for the game, but it lost the magic it would have had if they had just shut off all the lights in the theater and rolled the clip.

By the time the Sony conference was nearing the end, I just wanted it to be over so I could go home and forget yesterday ever happened. But it’s a day later now, and I still can’t believe how the two companies I’ve supported the longest disappointed me in such a big way. I can’t be the only one so completely disgusted by the shows Sony and Nintendo put on yesterday, can I?

This may seem silly to some of you, but I have been a gamer most of my life, and I now play video games for a living, so this stuff is really important to me. I have easily spent more money on hardware and software this generation than ever before in my life, and I expect a lot out of the first-party companies. Yes, there are things to look forward to from all three of them, but as a whole, I am completely underwhelmed. Anyone with me?

Related Articles:

E3 08: Microsoft Press Conference

E3 08: Nintendo Press Conference

E3 08: Sony Press Conference

Share this article: