My Disjointed on Thoughts on E3 – Final Post

I finally did get around to seeing all of Nintendo’s press conference. To be blunt it was rather boring at times and mostly lacked the “wow” factor that Sony’s had. At least Nintendo had a few cool factors and many of the games they announced were definitely exciting. Unlike my last post I’m not here to exclusively talk about any one company or product. I’m going discuss what really grabbed my attention at E3 this year, now that the electronics expo has ended.

First I’d like to post a follow up to my thoughts on the PSP Go. As I said the biggest source of contention for many gamers would be the high price point and possibly having to re-buy their entire UMD collection. At the very least a possibly free solution is in the works for Sony regarding the latter. Engadget reported that Sony is working on a program that will allow new Go users to swap their UMD games for digital versions. The details of how the program will exactly work are not yet clear. For example, imported games (with PSP games being region-free) could be a problem. Still, this is a good move in regard to catering to people with older PSPs (and large UMD collections) who want to upgrade.

Video posted on Joystiq compares the PSP Go with the 3000 and the iPhone, and also shows off how sleek and streamlined the device is. Still, I’m not sure Sony has learned much with a high price point of $249 for a hardware revision. Yes, the argument could be made that it is cheaper than iPhone or iPod Touch, and or the price of a current PSP and 16GBs of memory. Yet, such a move seems counterintuitive during a recession when people are strapped for cash. A $200 or even a $220 price point would have been more attractive. Unlike the PS3 costs for the PSP have fallen over the years, so I don’t expect $249 to stick around for very long.

On Monday and Tuesday Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony all announced the next step in motion control. Nintendo finally followed up to the Motion Plus controller it introduced at last year’s E3. In the meantime Microsoft and Sony announced their own projects in the form of Project Natal and the PlayStation Eye. Out of the three, Microsoft’s Project Natal was the most ambitious, promising to use the player’s entire body as the controller. Sony introduced a combination of Wii-like motion controls combined with a camera for precision that promises to surpass the Wiimote. Out of the three, only Nintendo’s Motion Plus controller has a solid release date of later this month, while Microsoft and Sony’s respective projects won’t be seen until sometime next year or later. The demonstrations from E3 already show the Motion Plus controls as a huge improvement on the Wiimote. It’ll be interesting to see how developers embrace the new and improved controls.

Given that the Wii and its motion controls are a run away success, it’s only natural that Microsoft and Sony would introduce their own form of motion control. In fact, if Nintendo hadn’t of done it three years ago I’m certain someone else would have sooner or later. The gaming community seems genuinely split on the idea of more motion control. Some gamers welcome it as innovation that had to happen and as a way of bringing more causal gamers into the fold, while others feel such technology is a waste of time. There are positive signs that developers may understand these concerns and possibly alienating the hardcore gamers who are content with traditional controls and will address both. Personally, I feel innovation is a good thing, especially if it encourages people to be active in an enjoyable way. At the same time I’m a gamer who is content with traditional controls. So if possible I’d like to have it both ways, and if the Wii is any indication that future is very possible.

Microsoft also went in an interesting direction and announced Facebook and Twitter connectivity on the Xbox 360. Nintendo also did the same to a certain degree with aspects of the DSi. Gamers use Facebook and Twitter, so this could be a good idea. As long as it isn’t forced on gamers (which it won’t be) it’ll be a fun tool for those addicted to social networking. The idea of being able to share images and footage from video games on Facebook with like-minded friends is especially appealing. In short, social networking is here to stay, like it or not.

Speaking of the Wii, Nintendo announced a (gorgeous) black colored console and accessories would go on sale in Japan starting on August 1st. No announcements have been made for releases outside of Japan, but I hope Nintendo eventually decides to sell a black Wii domestically. Such a move could boost sales, and let’s face it, people like being able to choose their colors. (At least I know I do.) The “You can have any color as long as it’s white” deal may not be a point of contention with many gamers, but variety is still good.

E3 ’09 was also great for gaming news. Geoff already covered a lot of the gaming announcements in his posts on the subject. However, I’d like to cover a few games of interest that he didn’t mention, or only mentioned briefly. As numerous fans pointed out Nintendo set out to appease many of the gamers who were upset by last year’s E3 conference. The gaming giant announced games for both hardcore and more casual gamers. At the very least, the conference was an excellent one for RPG gamers. Golden Sun, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, and a playable version of Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (which is said to be quite good) were all announced for the DS and Wii. So far 2009 is a great year to be an RPG gamer, between the various upcoming games on the DS a
nd PSP.
 

Nintendo also revealed Wario Ware: DIY. It’s Made in Ore for the DS, and Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again for the DSi. Both games offer players the chance to create their own custom levels and share them with others. While I don’t play Wario (yet), Mario vs. Donkey Kong looks interesting. If I had a DSi, I probably would have grabbed the title when it released on June 8th. On a final Nintendo related note, James Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club: Games of Passion actually managed to catch my eye, even more so than COP: The Recruit. I don’t know anything about the James Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club series but the gameplay footage did strike me as being Phoenix Wright-esque. Being the Ace Attorney nerd that I am, it is almost tempting to try this game for that fact alone. It certainly worked well enough in Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law.

Sony had a variety of interesting game announcements. Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy XIV are two games that left the biggest impressions on me. FFVII is announcement that I’d been hoping for, mainly because my fears that would not arrive on PSN Stateside were assuaged. Considering the going price of the game on eBay and the higher PSN price for Japan, $10 dollars on PSN is practically a steal. Although I own a like-new copy of the game (I bought in 2003 brand new at a reasonable $14.99), I am tempted to re-buy the game just to play on my PSP. Either way, a PSN download is a great way for gamers to experience one of the most popular RPGs of all time, especially if they haven’t previously done so. Now if only we could have other classics, such as Xenogears.

Final Fantasy XIV was also announced as a PS3 exclusive for 2010. Since then Square Enix has more or less stated the game could be a timed exclusive- it hasn’t denied the possibility of a 360 release. The announcement came as a bit of a surprise as FFXIII isn’t even complete yet. I was curious to what XIV was going to be, until the word “Online” appeared under the title. After that it was pretty easy to figure out this game Square’s long awaited new MMORPG, perhaps named XIV at the last minute? Or maybe they planned to call it XIV all along but managed to keep the name tightly under wraps. While some Sony fans are glad to have an FF exclusive (perhaps after the sting of losing XIII) many more Final Fantasy MMO fans want the game to hit Xbox Live. With any MMORPG the more players the better. I can’t imagine this one not hitting XBL since it represents a huge chunk of online gamers, and 360 owners did get XI after all. I can only hope Square’s newest MMORPG fixes many of the problems found in XI, as well as providing a nice graphical upgrade to the series. Of course that last hope would be a given as it is debuting on the PS3 (and PC) first.

All in all, some pretty nice announcements came out of E3 2009. There were no major hardware changes, with the exception of a PSP revision, the Wii Motion Plus controller, and upcoming projects from Microsoft and Sony. The overall themes (other than exciting new games and motion control) seemed to be social networking and online play with customization. The next year or so will be an interesting year for gaming, to say the least.