Electronically Exagerated Explanation

For those of you who don't know, I am a teenager. Also for those of you who don't know, I am a teenage guy. Like most teenage guys, or even guys in general, I like video games. Those who know me, however, will be able to say that I like video games more than the average person, so naturally, I was abnormally excited about this years Electronic Entertainment Expo, more commonly known as E3.

"What is E3?*" You may be asking. Well kids, E3 is the largest media event in the gaming industry, where all the big names in gaming such as Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo all show off what the have in store for the future of their companies for their systems. This includes press conferences, demos, trailers, etc.

*I know my explanation is a bit bland, but you know you can always get more in depth information at www.wikipedia.org.

The weeklong event is being broadcasted this week on G4TV, and I was able to catch the three major press conferences (again, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo). Thank goodness for Tivo. Here is a rundown of what randown:

Microsoft: The giants behind the Xbox 360 gave a pretty good press conference. Of course, they showed gameplay footage of highly anticipated games such as Gears of War 2, Fallout 3, and Fable 2, each with new forms of gameplay and a smoother and sharper visuals. But they also did something that wasn't totally expected, they acually made an attempt to braoden their audience to those few people who arn't hardcore gamers. With games like Uno! I mean, why spend about maybe 5 bucks on a deck of uno cards when you can spend 350 dollars on a new Xbox 360 and Uno game? Genius right?

Then they did somethign completely expected from Microsoft gaming, using someone elses ideas. They announced that they will soon be launching Avatars, which are the equivalent of Nintendo's Miis for the Xbox 360. The funny thing is that I think they were expecting this kind of response:

"Wow! That's a great idea! That's never been done before!"

Instead, this was my response:

"Micrsoft Miis?"

Besides online play, it's clear that Microsoft gaming isn't all that innovative at all. But it's fun, so im fine with their unorigionality.

The big thing that microsoft did to suprise me was near the very end of the press conference, when the Square Enix representative showed a trailer for the game Final Fantasy XIII. Thats right. Final Fantasy on an Xbox. You know what that means? Final Fantasy fans now no longer have a reason to buy an overpriced PS3, because Xbox 360 has everything they have and more.

Moving on.

Nintendo: Nintendo has the ability to skip all the useless garbage that gamers don't really care about, such as being able to play movies on game systems, and focus on why we buy the systems, which are, or course, the games. Nintendo also has the amazing ability to keep secrets well. Nobody really knew what to expect from Nintendo's press conference, except for the fact that they said that hardcore gamers would be pleased.

Were they right? My answer is, kind of.

Some cool new peices of hardware were revealed, something that only Nintendo did this year. Wiispeak was announced along with Animal Crossing: City Folk for the Wii to be released by the end of this year (an addition to my Christmas list). This new device, which is placed right on top of the sensor bar, allows players to speak directly to other people they are playing online. It's different then a headset in the sense that everyone in the room can speak collectively, allowing for a more comunitive gaming experience.

The second cool peice of hardware is the Wiimotionplus, a small little device that is placed into the same plug that Nunchuck controller goes into, and its purpose is to sharpen the motion control, make it more precise, allowing for better gamplay. Along with Wiimotionplus, they announced a sequel to Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort. This game features new sports like jetskiing, frisbee, and the ever exciting sport, fencing. Each looks far more smooth than anything previously seen on the Wii, thanks to Wiimotionplus.

As far as the Nintendo DS goes, they announced Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, another Guitar Hero, titled Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades, and Spore creatures. Nothing on the DS really excited me that much, sadly.

The last big thing they annoucned was that Wii Music, the game they revealed back in 2006, would be released by the end of the year. They announed that there would be about 50 instruments to play, and that it was also functionable with the Wii Balance Board (serving as drumming pedals or whatnot).

Harcore gamers pleased? Kind of. I was expecting an F-Zero Wii game, and maybe details about Pokemon Platinum Version. Neitehr were mentions sadly.

However, something cool was breifly mentioned. The teams who work on the Mario and Zelda games are hard at work. What does this mean? A new Zelda game coming out? I sure hope so.

Sony: (Keep in mind, my recording of the the sony conference was cut short because of DVR)

Sony, Sony, Sony. Probobly the most underwhelming press conference of the three. The whole thing was spent with them saying that they had the most powerful system. Sure, thats cool and all, but where are the games!? A system can't possibly be good without good games! All sony has going for it, for now, is Metal Gear Solid 4.

Sony did announce some new titles, such as God of War 3, Resistance 2, and a new Ratchet and Clank game for the PS3. I was dissapointed with how little they showed off Littlebig Planet, a game that might accually save the Ps3 with its new gameplay.

As far as PSP goes, they announced a cool new Resistance gane, but thats about it.

Sorry to all Playstation fanboys that I dont have much to say about Sony's conference, but that's not my fault. It's because Sony didnt have much to say either.

"Our system is the fastest, with the best graphics, and the most powerful."

"What games does it have?"

"You'll have to wait till next year's E3 for that!"


So there you have it, my summary of the three gaming giants, and what they had to say at this years E3. If you want to see the full press conferences, im sure you can find them somewhere on www.g4tv.com. And for more in-depth information on anything else I mentioned, again, just check wikipedia.

On another note, next week, I am going to be enjoying myself at EFY*. That right, I will be going around in collared shirts, eating ok food, and flirting till I can't flirt no more, all on the Pacific Univeristy campus! This does mean, however, that next week will be post-free. I might squeeze one in by the end of this week though. Possibly.

*EFY is a weeklong camp where I go to Forest Grove and attend lessons, dances, and make a whole bunch of family-like friends. Basically, mormon camp.

And finally, to wrap things up, something funny I heard recently:

Sorta is a word that is used a little to often. Like at the end of "I love you" or "You are going to live"