All said and done, I think Kinect is a snazzy piece of technology and represents the future of user interface. To assume that these first steps will be stumble-free is rather wishful thinking, however. First black people, now couch potatoes. Hopefully Microsoft will resolve these problems soon.
Amazing E3 so far. Some quick thoughts while they’re still fresh in my head!
Underwhelmed – Kinect - With games like Kinectimals and Dance Central, Microsoft Kinect was very clearly targeted toward the casual market despite having games like Forza and a Star Wars title (which honestly looked a bit janky). What Microsoft really needed in their press conference was Tetsuya Mizuguchi demoing Child of Eden – that is the Kinect killer app, a perfect example of what is possible with the hardware.
Hyped – Nintendo 3DS - At about 1:30 pm, we were introduced to the sizeable third party support for the new handheld. At about 1:45pm, the gaming press on Twitter was all abuzz echoing a single thought. Oh my God, it really works. And then came the software lineup. Metal Gear Solid 3DS? Ocarina of Time? Resident Evil? Street Fighter IV? Pilotwings? KID ICARUS as a launch title? At about 2:00pm, I was a believer.
Whoa – Kid Icarus on the 3DS – After years of Nintendo fanboys clamoring for a new Kid Icarus game and years of not getting one, we finally do get one. Is this proof of Nintendo listening to its fanbase? Hey Nintendo: we want Earthbound!
Oh Sh*t – Gabe Newell and Valve supporting the PS3 – For the longest time, Gabe Newell hated the PS3. In fact, he called it a disaster and a waste of time. That time has come to an end with the announcement of a Steamworks enabled Portal 2. Aside from steam community support, this also means that any updates to the pc software will get pushed out to the console version as well. This is an absolute coup for Sony since substantial updates to software on the 360 are mandated by Microsoft to cost money – a philosophy that Valve traditionally does not support. This is possibly the most important announcement amongst all of the press conferences.
Jumped the Shark – The Microsoft Oprah Moment – Really? Don’t get me wrong, I wish I was there to pick one of the new shiny 360 slims up. But yeah, I think this was a little bit too much in an attempt to get that mindshare.
Resurgence – Nintendo - The 2010 Nintendo E3 Press Conference was more than just a reversal of fortunes of the past two years of disappointing software reveals. It was a sign of life for all of the world’s Nintendo fans, and a return to what Nintendo was known for in the NES and SNES era. The sheer amount of software easily had more impact than the past two press conferences, starting first with a demo of the new Zelda game followed by the unveiling of an interesting looking Mario sports game. But it didn’t stop there: alongside was a modernized remake of the N64 classic Goldeneye, Metroid Other M, a return to the world of Donkey Kong Country, an exciting walkthrough of the Disney world of Epic Mickey, and a mind-blowing new Kirby game. The cherry on top was the unveiling of the Nintendo 3DS to be launched with a new Kid Icarus game. Sony did a good job, but there was no way anyone could have beaten this lineup.
Game of the Show (Thus Far) – Child of Eden – I have never played Rez. Watching the delightfully synaesthesic trailer and Mizuguchi-san demoing this game at the Ubisoft presser showed me that I really missed out on a hallmark experience and that I would can’t miss out on the spiritual successor to Rez. Not requiring Kinect or Move is a plus for me, though I can easily see this being the killer app for the Microsoft motion control system.
EVO2k9 was my first year watching the annual EVO fighting tournament – I always held interest in watching the competition after the famous Daigo full-parry video against Justin Wong in 2004. With the integration of the streaming technology of uStream.com, there was no easier way to pay attention to folks better than me at Street Fighter. The experience was extremely positive: I did not realize that I could have so much fun being glued to my computer monitor for a weekend, and I did not realize that I could get so excited watching moments such as the finals between Justin Wong and Daigo Umehara and (my personal bout of last year) SabrE vs. Alex Valle
An important point that stuck out to me was the range of fighting games that were included in EVO2k9. Street Fighter IV was a no brainer – it was the main draw and everyone was playing it. HD Remix A.K.A. Super Street Fighter II Turbo had always been a mainstay at the tournament, as was the same for Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and SF3: Third Strike. Rounding out the list were Soul Calibur IV (a game I totally didn’t even expect would be at the tourney) as well as BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (another surprising choice since it had been out for maybe a month). In any case, a great set of games for the greatest North American fighting game tournament. From the perspective of a gamer that had long fallen out of playing fighting games, the killer combination of SFIV and EVO2k9 brought me back to the fold.
At this year’s EVO, the breadth of games is still excellent, but there are some definite, notable changes. From the EVO Press Release linked on Seth Killian’s Unity Blog, Super Street Fighter IV would be taking SFIV’s spot (no surprise). HD Remix will also return (also no surprise) along with BlazBlue. Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, the latest from the Vs. series of games, would make its debut perhaps bumping Marvel vs. Capcom 2 out of the picture temporarily. Tekken 6 will make its debut this year as well (in my eyes, bumping Soul Calibur IV out). SF3: Third Strike? Nowhere to be seen. The final game will be decided by player vote from a pool of games which includes Third Strike, Soul Calibur IV, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Capcom vs. SNK 2, King of Fighters XII, and Melty Blood(?). The final game would undoubtedly fall between Third Strike or MvC2, but I will find it extremely odd not seeing either the game that put the Daigo Full Parry in the fighting game vernacular or the pinnacle of the Vs. series of games featured in this year’s competition. My vote goes to Third Strike.
Personally, I hope the fine folks at EVO sort out the video archive problem with their IGN partners this time around. While putting the videos online makes sense, I still feel it was an absolute travesty to lose some of the videos that they did (in particular, the 5 vs. 5 tournaments, some of the more interesting pool plays, etc.). If this stuff is going to vanish from the ether, EVO might as well put the video on DVD. Hell, I’d buy it!
In any case, the competition will be excellent and I look forward to watching the stream online. The 9th of July can’t come fast enough!
