>The Wii Zapper and Wii Wheel fell extremely flat

>with the audience - not a single clap of applause

>even when announcing they'd be bundled with future

>games.

You mean just like what happened with the Halo 3 Xbox last night??

I think by limiting the E3 audience this year they have filled the conference with boring old industry insiders who don't like to cheer and clap. They should let a few fanboys in to liven things up.

Re: "You mean just like what happened with the Halo 3 Xbox last night??"

Yep, just like that.

Not sure why, but I expected more.

Oh well, I'll just stick with my 360 and PS3.

I don't think the audience is the problem. They'd gladly applaud a good presentation. it just seems that Nintendo and MS still geared their presentation for the Fanboys of previous E3s.

Stuff that would impress people would be new announcements of hardware/software, or updates that show vast improvements or more info on current known projects.

Like Ozy said, peripherals for the Wii are silly and don't add anything new to the game (not counting the Wii board). Showing a Halo themed console at anything other than a small press conference or MS party is a joke.

Good quality presentations would get thunderous applause.

I'm just guessing, but I'd say there's no mention if they'd start treating Europe as anything but a footnote?

Super Paper Mario is coming this September in EU, so I'd suppose we won't say Metroid Prime 3 until next spring or Mario Galaxy until summer. Which is, as far as I'm concerned, unacceptable. Even Sony had to realize that treating Europe as a fourth rate market is no longer a viable business practice.

As testified by the Wii's availability over here. Haven't seen a shop with anything less than 3 non-bundle Wiis readily available since February. (One large chain has a pile of over 30... and it isn't exactly being replaced every day.)

As for the rest... mehville. Minigame collections of marginal originality (and that I know I'll personally get tired of after five minutes), and sequels to same old tired franchises. Sequels of sequels that show the exact same innovation the Tomb Raider saga showed around chapter V: same ol' game, but here's a FANTASTIC NEW MOVE!

Bah. If I have to wait for hardly innovative sequels, I'd rather do it on a platform that offers the same level of entertainment, better graphics, online, and more than three franchises getting said sequels a year.

I think that everyone is thinking that it's annoying how many games come out around the holidays compared to the rest of the year.  

The Darkness and Overlord are both pretty good games, but they aren't GREAT games that I will want to keep in my collection, but because they released in the summer, I own both of them.

Now, I know that I'm a hardcore gamer and that there are a lot of "normal" gamers that don't know much about these games or who don't purchase games on a monthly basis, but I think that Halo 3 could be launched in the middle of July and it would STILL be selling like mad on Thanksgiving weekend.  Likewise, I think that Mass Effect is going to be an outstanding game that will sell well any time it releases and then will continue to sell fairly well for months as people see their friends playing it and word of mouth marketing takes place.  

Why aren't blockbusters and slow-burners ever marketed in the summer time?  Aren't Dead Rising and Saint's Row proof that it can be done?

So I think that people looked at the holiday release date of Mario Galaxy and thought, "Oh, another game that I won't have time to buy or play until after Christmas."

Worst E3 ever. Nothing really new or interesting. I think that  whoever had the idea of moving it from May to July, did something very,very wrong.

MS show was lame, nothing new and zero interesting things (a green XBox? C'mon! Plus it's an half breed of the Pro and the Elite).

Nintendo show? Maybe it's good for the casual, but almost nothing for the hard-core.

Sony? A new PSP that is totally identical to the old one. A new IP that's kinda lame and little more. At least Killzone 2 seems very good (IMO it's the best of the show right now).

Please move the E3 back to May and, next year, keep something new and exclusive for the show.

Yeah well this E3 should've been better. I am disappointed with the big three. I would have wished for more "special" announcements (Peter Moore, where was the "Sony" Tattoo? Come on, buy em before they start shifting hardware again ;)). Seems like TGS will be the better show this year.

Hope the 3rd parties will show something nice on their conferences, though.

Not the most dazzling presentations by all 3. All I can suggest is to let the games speak for themselves. I don't need to see people walk out with controllers and play other people, just let me see a quick clip of the game and move on. The Assassin's Creed people would have thanked you, because their presentation was awful.

On the MS side, I would have liked to get an idea as to what's coming out in '08. Everyone knows what's coming out this holiday season...a lot of these games were showcased at last years e3. And I was suprised that there was no price cut. Waiting until Halo 3 releases, I guess.

As for Nintendo, a pretty lackluster presentation and the worst of the three. For me it really cemented that the Wii is a first party platform.

And Sony...mix of good and bad. Home interests me not at all, and MGS (although pretty) bores me. On the good side, Killzone2 showed some promise, Ratchet & Clank are always favorites of mine, and Warhawk looked fun. But Sony's priorities bothered me (increase install base, 2nd was games). Games should have come first, because great games naturally increase your console sales.

Wow, I just saw the Super Mario Galaxy video. It's... Super Mario 64 with new moves and better graphics.

How can anyone of sound mind claim that Nintendo is doing anything but rehashing old stuff? At this point, the hype machine has gotten so far out of hand that I wouldn't be surprised if my "off the radar by Christmas 2008" prediction turns out to be far too optimistic.

The Nintendo Keynote was an utter disappointment to me.  First of all, in the slew of online titles announced for Wii, Super Smash Bros Brawl was not among them.  I really hope SSBB is online.  Second, the zapper is underwhelming.  It looks cool, and it looks like a lot of fun to play, but when Reggie announced the price, it seemed as if he tried to make it sound like a bargain.  Before he announced it, I knew it would be $20.  I figured Nintendo would try to make as much money off a piece of plastic as they can, so they made it as expensive as possible without it seeming outrageous.  On a positive note, Galaxy and Mario Kart seem fun.  Especially Mario Kart.  Galaxy looks fun, but it doesn't look like it will measure up to Super Mario 64, which in my opinion was a legendary Mario game.

@ Aaron

The reason why publishers push their games (forward or backwards) to the holidays is because the of the crazy amount of money they make during that time.  While I agree that Halo 3 would still sell well outside of the holiday season, it just wouldn't sell as spectacular during the holiday.  The top 20+ best selling games during the holiday outsells the #1 selling game not in the holiday season.  Which means that if Barbie's Barf Me Thin 5 was to make it to the top 20 during the holidays, it would outsell Final Fantasy Infinite 16 if it was release outside of the holiday.

At Microsoft's press conference I was happy to hear about the Disney offering and Scene IT.  Scene IT looks like it could be a hit.  A few months ago you asked about Casual Gaming...a simplified controller was one of my suggestions.  Hopefully there is much more to come..when it comes to casual games and input technology.  Robbie Bach said at yesterday financial briefing that the XBox R&D team was looking at a host of technologies and not just *motion sensing*.  I hope there is a sense of urgency with this group to deliver.

"Wow, I just saw the Super Mario Galaxy video. It's... Super Mario 64 with new moves and better graphics."

By this argument Halo 3 is nothing more than Halo 1 with new weapons and better graphics too.

"How can anyone of sound mind claim that Nintendo is doing anything but rehashing old stuff?"

Come again? WiiFit is substantially different from the Nintendo games of old, unless you count Dance Aerobics for the NES.

i think microsoft's conference was by far the worse of the show. E3 is suppose to be a place to get new publishers as well as stimulate the minds of millions of what is to come in the coming year. So far with teh microsoft conference all you saw was what was comming out this fall. and the problem with this is that everyone knwos what is comming out this fall there is no secret gaem that no one knows about. Microsoft has proven to the world why this holiday should be a micorsoft year but what about the begining of next year. So far it seems micorosft is pushing all their hotest and greatest games all this fall so what should i expect form microsoft next year. Nothin. There does not seem to be any one game which microosft has announced which is making me say hmm my system next year will rock. So far it seems sony is the one that has ambitions for next year. We can still hope for final fantasy for next year.

Microsoft presented a conference that has been fully saturated by gaming websties and publishers and they just showed as content we have already seen numerous tiems with the exception of a select few. I think microsoft forgot why people loved them in the previous e3's . there was always a mystery factor with them. We always knew microsoft will presents games, games and more games. now it looks like they presented crickets. i am not sure if my system will last till next year if this is the path. too many a++ games comming out in august, september and november.

>By this argument Halo 3 is nothing more than Halo 1 with new weapons and better graphics too.

Which is what Nintendo fans have been saying for, oh, over a year and a half. So, once more with feeling: why is it that a Halo 3 is not innovative because it's a rehash of stuff seen before, but Nintendo is innovating while 90% of their lineup consists of games like Super Mario Galaxy, which are rehashes in the exact same way?

Why is it that Nintendo somehow put "the fun" back in videogaming with a new controller and mostly old games, but Microsoft and other companies haven't with old games and a tried-tested-and-true controller?

I'm not holding my breath for an answer.

>WiiFit is substantially different from the Nintendo games of old

And Halo 3 is substantially different from Microsoft games of old, like, mmmh, Minefield. Besides, it's ONE title. This counteracts the rest of the lineup, consisting I remind you of rehashes of Metroid Prime, Mario Kart, Smash Bros., Zelda, Mario 64 - not to mention the resurrection of the lightgun mechanics - how, precisely?

It doesn't in any way. Nintendo isn't innovating, it's just got a lot of people screaming from the rooftops that they are no matter what they actually do.

Won't last.

I wouldn't give any credence to Matt Cassamasina's (sp?) comments on IGN.  He's a self-professed Nintendo fanboy and hype's almost every title like it was the best thing since sliced bread and then invariably criticizes it after release.

The Wii-mote is only good for broad, gesture based games (think minigames) and should have been an alternate controller rather than forcing developers to shoe-horn in all genres into this system.

"Why is it that Nintendo somehow put "the fun" back in videogaming with a new controller and mostly old games, but Microsoft and other companies haven't with old games and a tried-tested-and-true controller? I'm not holding my breath for an answer."

You're completely missing the point of Nintendo's approach with the Wii. Games have always been fun - with the Wii it's about accessibility. A lot of Wii titles are much more accessible and easier to pick up and play than more traditional games on the Xbox 360, especially for casual gamers and those who have never played before.

"90% of their lineup consists of games like Super Mario Galaxy, which are rehashes in the exact same way?"

Nintendo's most successful games as of late have been entirely new games and franchises. Of course Nintendo, who own some of the most successful IPs in videogaming, are going to release new titles in those franchises, BUT...look at stuff like WiiSports, Nintendogs, Brain Training, WiiFit...all of these may had borrowed ideas from other existing games but by no means rehashed stuff Nintendo has previously done. These titles have also begun to eclipse Nintendo's more traditional games in sales figures as of late (see Miyamoto's disappointment at Zelda's sales), so the shift towards to brand new and "casual-centric" franchises will only hasten in the future. More traditional games and franchises like Metroid Prime 3 are not going to drive sales of the platform - games like WiiSports are. Nintendo understands this.

"Nintendo isn't innovating"

Playing a game like WiiSports or WiiFit offers a substantially different experience than playing an average game on a regular console. Whether it's truly innovate or not is in the eye of the beholder, but that doesn't matter as long as Nintendo offers people something the other console makers don't. And sales figures of the Wii would indicate that Nintendo is doing just that.

- Always ignores DVD scratch issue

- Always slate ps3 stuff

- Can only talk about Live experience and chuck out ring of death nightmare.

i am on my 16th 360 and had 5 games scratched WITHOUT MOVING THE CONSOLE. contacted support line and they give all the reasons that make you wonder why 360 is such a console that is paranoid.

Whilst I don't agree 100% with your comments regarding Wii FPS controls in general (done right they can work)...how on earth can IGN say Call of Duty 3 was a benchmark? That game was horrible to play on the Wii.

16th?  Get real, troll.

@XWar:

"So, once more with feeling: why is it that a Halo 3 is not innovative because it's a rehash of stuff seen before, but Nintendo is innovating while 90% of their lineup consists of games like Super Mario Galaxy, which are rehashes in the exact same way?"

You must have seen a different video of SMG than everyone else did. It looks dramatically different to SM64 and Sunshine.

...

I'll be interested to see how the controls for Metroid Prime 3 work out. I would have thought that a modifier (freelook) button would work better than a bounding box, but we'll see.

I'm sure that Ozy will wind in the Wii Remote-is-no-good-for-FPS FUD when the 360 gets a pointing device. ;)

I'm upset all microsoft gave us was basically verifying the games we KNEW were coming out SOON already....

I expect E3 to be a harbinger of the years to come, stuff to get excited about in the long run, was hoping for Dead Rising 2....

Instead we get trailers of games that ship in a couple months. I understand far off games were out on the floor, but I mean at the actual microsoft show... boring.

Wii was what I expected, not much, I'll admit Wiifit is cool... but so is freaking Blue Dragon and having a system with abundant deep games.

And its obvious sony just lies to just keep lying. 120 games turned into 160 games in an interview on G4 and REGARDLESS of all that, we know some or most of those games for a good while. But it is ammusing to hear them talk superior like "at sony, we believe in a 10 year console life cycle" ROTFL, well... okay, PS2 pretty much dead, failed the 10 year life cycle... try to squeeze 10 years out of that overpriced PS3... I'm not so much with the seeing that happen.

BTW, Metroid belongs in 2D, the Prime games suck... and are NOT true metroid. I like shooters and I like metroid, I HATE prime. True metroid only exists on the handhelds now days and not since GBA.

Side note Zelda on the DS looks excellent and will make me sad when it releases; still not going to get another DS.

BTW, playing Duck Hunt on the old lightgun had more precision than the floaty controls of Wii aiming.

eh, missing comments.. this happens a lot Oz.

Nintys E3 briefing was all the motivation i needed to go sell my Wii .

i had been putting it off for ages in the hope that i could like the machine .

the wiimote will never be accurate enough , and the console will never be powerfull enough .

ive been a ninty fanboy all my life really and bought a machine for zelda dating back to the nes .

im just really dissapointed with the wii offerings and lack of games worth playing .

im also reall p*&&%* at all three companys and there pathetic release schedules, most of the games that sold me on the 360 back at launch still havent arrived yet . and dont even get me started on my ps3 !

ohh, P.S

got a great trade in price for me Wii , nintys stock scam pays off for those selling on aswell, as them .

When I got rid of my gamecube.. er, second gamecube, then they announced Resident Evil 4 at E3.  I was kicking myself.  In hindsight one game wasn't enough to even stress it.

This year, I share Veto's sentiments.  There was not one thing shown in the press conference that made me sad I traded my Wii in a few months ago.  If you want to play sports, play sports. If you want to excercise then excercise. I personally don't see the need to marry physical activity with gameplay unless a true VR feeling is achieved.  Now add a VR Screen/Head movement tracking Visor to the excercise board and Wiimote.. release a few hardcore VR games and then MAYBE I'm buying another one.  But we don't even know that's whats to happen, hell aside from possibities right now we don't know that the excercise board will be put to good gaming use.  In theory its promising but if the Wii-zaper doesn't fix floaty aim for me then I'm lost on the whole platform.

After playing Resident Evil on the Wii, I was disappointed with the controls.  A fun game to be sure, but certainly not more immersive with the remote... just more frustrating.

These are the same bunch of reviewers who think Metroid Prime as a series is one of the greatest FPS of all time.  I couldn't play either game more than ten minutes with the Gamecube controller before giving up.  The first one felt like Doom... with some nicer alpha blending.

I enjoy the Wii, but I mostly enjoy it when something innovative is being done with the remote.  So, for gamer's games, it's not working for me.  For new types of games, I like it.