Michael “Red Pen of Doom” Futter
I don’t want to rehash what my colleagues have said so far, but I can endorse their points. Sony was my pick for “winner” of E3 even though I hoped that Microsoft was holding something huge back in reserve. Halo 4 will, no doubt, be exciting, but it wasn’t enough.
As a Kinect owner and a parent, the most exciting title for the system is Double Fine’s Once Upon a Monster. I think they have nailed it by targeting the right audience. Star Wars and Fable appear to be on-rails and not the games we’re looking for. I am intrigued by the Gunsmith features of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. One of my favorite parts of Brink (ha! worked it in!) is the weapon customization. Ghost Recon will take that far beyond anything we’ve seen before. I’m not terribly keen on the Mass Effect 3 integration. The worst thing I can imagine is the Kinect misinterpreting a key dialog choice, changing the entire trajectory of my experience.
Microsoft needed to step up and away from the Kinect-heavy presentation of last year’s E3 and they utterly failed. I can only hope that this is because they are already gearing up for next year’s console announcement.
Sony surprised the heck out of me. As John said, he, Drew and I were in shock at the Vita’s price point. I had almost no interest in it before their conference but, between the games they showed and the price point, I’m sold. My pre-order is already in. I am eager to hear whether it will launch holiday 2011 as promised or if the corporate murmurings of “by end of fiscal 2011” end up being true (that’s March 2012, by the way). I also want to get more info on the game price point and the 3G plan.
My thoughts on what would make the Vita a true slam dunk are simple. First, they need to work with AT&T to create a yearly plan that mirrors XBox Live’s cost. If Vita’s mobile service costs $50 – $60 per year, the additional $50 for the 3G model makes perfect sense. Second, Sony needs to bundle games with PS3/Vita interoperability. I won’t buy a PS3 and Vita copy of Ruin, BUT I would absolutely buy an upcharged PS3 version that comes with the Vita version. Give me a discount for buying both and I’m there. It’s the perfect way to push the interoperability (and give the Wii U a run for its money- more on that later).
I thought the 3D TV bundle for $499 was a brilliant marketing move and clever gamer ego stroking. Jack Tretton was smart to realize (and communicate- not typically one of Sony’s strengths) that gamers will drive 3D television adoption. That bundle isn’t for me, but I absolutely see who the target market is and think that it would be a great value for someone needing an additional television.
Then we come to Nintendo. Much has already been said about the disappointment of the hardware and software presentation. Lots of rehashes and no new first-party IPs. The 3DS Mario Kart and Kid Icarus games look good. Skyward Sword will be the first game I put in my Wii in years that isn’t for my kids.
The Wii U announcement, though, was premature. Interestingly, this isn’t a unanimous view. The community is divided pretty sharply on it. To me, the controller looked clunky and uncomfortable. Perhaps things looked very different to those sitting in the auditorium, but at home, the presentation was simply unimpressive. To make matters worse, Nintendo focused so much on that part of it that there was confusion over what exactly the Wii U is. Many, legitimately, thought it was just a controller upgrade for the existing Wii hardware.
There are questions surrounding the usefulness of the “take it with you” gaming aspect of the controller screen. There is concern that you won’t be able to take the controller too far from the Wii U console without losing the connection, and your ability to play. It’s also been revealed, as John mentioned, that all the 3rd party footage shown was PS3/360 footage. There was no disclaimer, which seems very deceptive to me. Nintendo should have left it with the developer interviews and, perhaps, a list of games. There was no need to show a montage. The worst part is that Team Ninja, creators of Ninja Gaiden, had no idea they were making a Wii U version. Nintendo stock prices have declined sharply following the press conference.
We also want to know what those fancy controllers are going to cost. Dual Shock 3 and Wireless XBox 360 controllers already cost around the same price as a new game. It’s great that you can use any legacy Wii control peripherals, but if the console is built around the Wii U controller, you’re going to want to have at least two.
If Microsoft’s presser was bad, and Sony’s was a pleasant surprise, Nintendo’s was simply mystifying.
As for games, I’m very excited for a lot of what I’ve seen. Uncharted 3, Skyrim, Mass Effect 3 and the Vita offerings (especially Uncharted) are just a few things I’m keeping my eye on.
