Alright, this will likely be one of the last posts for a bit, unless I see something mammoth pop up. Frankly, E3 just has way too much information to be covered by one man—especially one who isn’t actually there. Although I do have to mention the new Golden Axe, which is coming up right after I’m done writing this post.
Now that the keynote speeches have come and gone, what are we left with?
Nintendo’s conference remains the best to me. I’ve been playing games for a long time, and Nintendo really seems to be offering something new. Microsoft and Sony are offering some good games to be sure, but the Wii is truly offering some new experiences.
I must say that I was unimpressed by the Sony conference. I couldn’t actually watch it though, which might have changed my feelings somewhat. The price was the clincher for me though. That’s just too damned much money for a console. Not to mention the “cheap” SKU just seems to be crippled beyond belief. For instance, without the card reader, would a user even be able to take advantage of the new PSP download service? And of course, there was yesterday’s query about whether or not low-end PS3 owners will be able to watch Blu-ray movies in true HD—which, mind you, was a major marketing push by Sony in the first place. I just don’t know. I probably wouldn’t have gotten a PS3 anyway, but the price has officially put it out of range for me.
I was a little hasty in my coverage of Microsoft’s conference. One area I completely skipped over is the upcoming LIVE Arcade games. All I can say is this: Contra. Everybody is excited about Wii’s Virtual Console service. Well, LIVE Arcade is offering that right now.
There’s lots to see in the next few days. I’ll cover what I think are big stories. In the meantime, I suggest you hit up all the usual suspects, Joystiq, 1up, IGN, XBL Marketplace, you know the drill.
I would have to agree on Nintendo’s conference.
It’s been a while since I’ve wanted to try a game so badly. The fact that I don’t even like tennis but still wanted to play it has to say something. Watching the montages only intesified that feeling with Metroid Prime, Red Steel, and Zelda. It reminded me of watching the NES commercials with R.O.B. back in the day. “LEMME TRY!” LOL
As far as the “core” PS3, a card reader and a wireless adapter could always be added externally if Sony decided to not be proprietary for 5 seconds. The HDMI port can’t be added on though. At least the 360 can support HDMI with a different A/V cable.
I have to hand this one to Microsoft; at least the Core and the Premium packages still contain the same Xbox 360. The only difference is the included external accessories.