So what's everybody's impressions about this year's E3 news? Seems to me like the 360 GPU and KZ realtime debate are all that's been discussed lately. While I had looked forward to some concrete info on the next gen, I really still craved for some surprise announcements in regards to current gen consoles, esp PSp. I'm hoping that the media attendees have more info to provide in the following days, because I'm left kinda empty right now.
E3 Impressions
- Thread starter eDoshin
- Start date
I've no idea about anything current gen! Mostly E3 was a huge disappointment though. I was expecting the muvver of all E3's, with 3 hardware unveilings. MS's show was perhaps 'tardy' and most info was already out, Sony's had nice tech demo's I liked and we heard for the first time about PS3, Nintendo said very little. Generally not too interesting after the first day.
You raise a good point. Actually there's a lot of news to be reported. But the media and everyone else only wants to look at next-gen, then blindly reports that it's a dull E3...
I get 2-3 page details on machines that don't exist yet, and games that don't exist yet developed for said machines that don't exist yet. Wheras games that are going to debut soon only get a 1-page cursory mention.
Where are the HOMM 5 impressions? More impressions on Killer 7? Dragon Quest 8? Soulcalibur 3? Kingdom Hearts 2? XBox Half-Life 2? The list can go on. I wonder whether the game sites are so busy kissing the console makers' backsides by spreading the respective next-gen FUD that they don't report on the current-gen things that are shown.
I get 2-3 page details on machines that don't exist yet, and games that don't exist yet developed for said machines that don't exist yet. Wheras games that are going to debut soon only get a 1-page cursory mention.
Where are the HOMM 5 impressions? More impressions on Killer 7? Dragon Quest 8? Soulcalibur 3? Kingdom Hearts 2? XBox Half-Life 2? The list can go on. I wonder whether the game sites are so busy kissing the console makers' backsides by spreading the respective next-gen FUD that they don't report on the current-gen things that are shown.
Here's my overall opinion on E3, fresh from the show-floor.
Lets get the hardware announcements out of the way first.
XBox360 was at best a minor buzz at the show. The stuff they announced started off sounding pretty good at MTV, but the PS3 conference took the wind out of the Microsoft sails and the only thing they had left were a few pretty disapointing titles. Sony didn't show anything live at all, but then they're not actually claiming to be launching this year - for a machine that is supposedly less than six months from being on sale, Microsoft had little to show and their approach rang very hollow for me in the flesh. Their overly "cool" approach felt to me more like they were trying to sell ring-tones to kids than consoles to gamers.
I mentioned on a previous thread that they had at least one title (Kameo) which included an option on the menu to lock the framerate at 10Hz. That's not good for something running on hardware that isn't that far away from the final specification in capability, if not in design.
A couple of times when I was watching stuff running I realised that if someone had told me I was seeing an XBox-1 title I'd probably not question it too much - other than the resolution, and maybe a bit more texture detail, there wasn't much to show for the next-gen ability.
This was the general feeling with most of the people I spoke to - 360 just wasn't impressing - and another clue was in the size of the queues. Sony's queue for viewing some footage and getting up close and personal with the prototype was all the way down one side of their huge stand and most of the way around the back to the other side. By contrast I never really saw any queue to look at X360 stuff.
I'm not going to get into a discussion on which claims were "lies" and which were "truthful". Lets just say I think there's a pretty equal amount of marketing spin on both sides and right now that gives Sony a slight edge because they've promised more, delivered a more polished showing, and have longer to make it happen.
So, X360 - unimpressive at E3 and a lot to prove in a short amount of time if they're to make an impact at launch.
PS3 on the other-hand seemed to have piqued a lot of interest even though there wasn't much on show.
I haven't mentioned Nintendo so far and that's because Revolution was nowhere to be seen and I personally didn't care much that they're releasing yet another version of the Gameboy. So I think it was a terrible show for Nintendo, despite a promising run-up. They did better in software, but only really made an impact (somewhat predictably) by rolling out Zelda again.
So thats the hardware covered.
On software, things were a lot more low-key I thought. Nothing stood out for me as game of show or whatever. I liked Okami on PS2, and Shadow of the Collosus was interesting but technically not as polished as I'd hoped. Genji was very pretty to look at in places, but gameplay wise didn't appeal to me much. Jak-X seemed to be the worst bits of Jak-3 (the driving sections) in a stand-alone game and although Daxter looked interesting I note they've farmed this out and I guess they're all concentrating on something new for next-gen.
The MGS4 "teaser" was amusing, and if the theme of the next game really is "nowhere to hide" then it could be an interesting twist on the gameplay awaits. Perhaps it's set in the desert this time?
PC stuff was all pretty dull. Some pretty titles, some less pretty. Nothing that grabbed me, but then this is the console forum so the least said about that the better.
Is there anything people particularly want to know about? Probably should've asked that while I was still there, but never mind. I covered a reasonable amount of the show so I might well have had a look at what you want to see anyway...
Oh - but if it involved a 3 hour wait, as in the case of Zelda, don't hold your breath...
Lets get the hardware announcements out of the way first.
XBox360 was at best a minor buzz at the show. The stuff they announced started off sounding pretty good at MTV, but the PS3 conference took the wind out of the Microsoft sails and the only thing they had left were a few pretty disapointing titles. Sony didn't show anything live at all, but then they're not actually claiming to be launching this year - for a machine that is supposedly less than six months from being on sale, Microsoft had little to show and their approach rang very hollow for me in the flesh. Their overly "cool" approach felt to me more like they were trying to sell ring-tones to kids than consoles to gamers.
I mentioned on a previous thread that they had at least one title (Kameo) which included an option on the menu to lock the framerate at 10Hz. That's not good for something running on hardware that isn't that far away from the final specification in capability, if not in design.
A couple of times when I was watching stuff running I realised that if someone had told me I was seeing an XBox-1 title I'd probably not question it too much - other than the resolution, and maybe a bit more texture detail, there wasn't much to show for the next-gen ability.
This was the general feeling with most of the people I spoke to - 360 just wasn't impressing - and another clue was in the size of the queues. Sony's queue for viewing some footage and getting up close and personal with the prototype was all the way down one side of their huge stand and most of the way around the back to the other side. By contrast I never really saw any queue to look at X360 stuff.
I'm not going to get into a discussion on which claims were "lies" and which were "truthful". Lets just say I think there's a pretty equal amount of marketing spin on both sides and right now that gives Sony a slight edge because they've promised more, delivered a more polished showing, and have longer to make it happen.
So, X360 - unimpressive at E3 and a lot to prove in a short amount of time if they're to make an impact at launch.
PS3 on the other-hand seemed to have piqued a lot of interest even though there wasn't much on show.
I haven't mentioned Nintendo so far and that's because Revolution was nowhere to be seen and I personally didn't care much that they're releasing yet another version of the Gameboy. So I think it was a terrible show for Nintendo, despite a promising run-up. They did better in software, but only really made an impact (somewhat predictably) by rolling out Zelda again.
So thats the hardware covered.
On software, things were a lot more low-key I thought. Nothing stood out for me as game of show or whatever. I liked Okami on PS2, and Shadow of the Collosus was interesting but technically not as polished as I'd hoped. Genji was very pretty to look at in places, but gameplay wise didn't appeal to me much. Jak-X seemed to be the worst bits of Jak-3 (the driving sections) in a stand-alone game and although Daxter looked interesting I note they've farmed this out and I guess they're all concentrating on something new for next-gen.
The MGS4 "teaser" was amusing, and if the theme of the next game really is "nowhere to hide" then it could be an interesting twist on the gameplay awaits. Perhaps it's set in the desert this time?
PC stuff was all pretty dull. Some pretty titles, some less pretty. Nothing that grabbed me, but then this is the console forum so the least said about that the better.
Is there anything people particularly want to know about? Probably should've asked that while I was still there, but never mind. I covered a reasonable amount of the show so I might well have had a look at what you want to see anyway...
Oh - but if it involved a 3 hour wait, as in the case of Zelda, don't hold your breath...
The media pretty much ignored the current gen stuff (which is winding down) and the next gen showings were a dissappointment. Where were the games?!
Last night I was thinking to myself this had to be the worse E3 ever... yes, very entertaining... but it totally lacked substance. It was like PR-Chess game with no substance. BAH!
Last night I was thinking to myself this had to be the worse E3 ever... yes, very entertaining... but it totally lacked substance. It was like PR-Chess game with no substance. BAH!
passby said:
To be blunt, the new hardware on show was a lot more interesting than most of the titles there. Nothing really managed to differentiate itself enough to make an impact, and the advent of 2 (actually present) new hardware platforms is much bigger news.
However it's certainly a shame if the games don't get some coverage:
HOMM I didn't check out...
Killer 7 looked stylish... Watching someone play it (it was a bit busy on that bit of the stand when I passed by) I only saw one or two scenes being played. It was running on both PS2 and Cube and I was mostly watching the PS2 version - there weren't any obvious differences between the two that I saw. I couldn't really get an impression of what it's like to play from watching it - it could be style over substance, or it could be ace.
DQ8 - well that's been out in Japan for ages so I didn't give it much of a look - not convinced about the controller, but I might check the game out if it makes it to Europe.
SC3 - looks a lot like SC2 really. Minor incremental improvement in terms of graphics, but I didn't play enough of it to see if anything drastic has been done in gameplay terms. I button-bashed my way to victory against a couple of random strangers and colleages (I blame the fact that the two characters playable were unfamiliar to me...)
KH2 - again, nice looking title but not my kind of thing so I didn't really pay it much attention.
XB HL2 I only saw briefly and it was during a fairly dull bit of game that wouldn't really show how well it was coping.
I agree with Shifty on this one I walked out of E3 disappointed. MS Xbox 360 was the worst kept secret ever !!! Although some of the next gen footage looked great and some people walked away in awe, I was a little more cautious. I remember back to the unveiling of the PS2 and all the footage getting me excited for the next generation only to be disappointed at launch.
I will have a wait and see attitude but in any case I will end up buying all the systems anyway. The wait and see who can win this generation is still to be determined. (and Sony still starts with a pretty sizable lead at this point) The fight should be fierce and I hope it pushes the 3 companys to their systems full potential.
No matter the outcome it looks like the biggest winner will be the gamer.
On a side note, I looked on some sites that show games for the Xbox 360 costing $59.99. (subject to change) This does have me a little worried seeing to many games coming down in the number of hours to finish around 7-10 hrs. Now I know that some games will include multiplayer and content download (which probably will cost more $$) but I think companies need to provide games worth the price. I dont mind paying $60 but you better give me game play for that $60, not just a pretty 6hr game.
I walked out of E3 disappointed. MS Xbox 360 was the worst kept secret ever !!! Although some of the next gen footage looked great and some people walked away in awe, I was a little more cautious. I remember back to the unveiling of the PS2 and all the footage getting me excited for the next generation only to be disappointed at launch.I will have a wait and see attitude but in any case I will end up buying all the systems anyway. The wait and see who can win this generation is still to be determined. (and Sony still starts with a pretty sizable lead at this point) The fight should be fierce and I hope it pushes the 3 companys to their systems full potential.
No matter the outcome it looks like the biggest winner will be the gamer.
On a side note, I looked on some sites that show games for the Xbox 360 costing $59.99. (subject to change) This does have me a little worried seeing to many games coming down in the number of hours to finish around 7-10 hrs. Now I know that some games will include multiplayer and content download (which probably will cost more $$) but I think companies need to provide games worth the price. I dont mind paying $60 but you better give me game play for that $60, not just a pretty 6hr game.
mckmas8808
Legend
I was kinda excited, yet disappointed. But the reason I was disappointed was because I could see everything that E3 offered. When is that DVD coming out. Here is something that I read about what video game publishers think.
Link http://story.news.yahoo.com/s/sv/20050523/tc_siliconvalley/_www11716748
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SS 1
Link http://story.news.yahoo.com/s/sv/20050523/tc_siliconvalley/_www11716748
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SS 1
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I think Microsoft made a mistake in waiting till E3 to completely let the cat out of the bag. The MTV show was a great idea, but poorly executed. The show should have been an hour long, more details on the tech and hardware and should have been broadcasted live on MTV and Xbox Live! I think if Microsoft would have shown everything at GDC or CES they would have had all the focus and not worry about Sony stealing some lime light. Yes, provided Sony waited till E3. There were too much stuff and too little time to see everything at E3. People had to prioritize their schedules. Plus, if they showed off the same games, they needed to make people understand that they were running on alpha kits and should be a lot better by launch. With no PS3 demos to go up against for comparisons, Microsoft could have saved some grief by not having a lot deflated opinions of their games.
Tommy McClain
I think if Microsoft would have shown everything at GDC or CES they would have had all the focus and not worry about Sony stealing some lime light. Yes, provided Sony waited till E3. There were too much stuff and too little time to see everything at E3. People had to prioritize their schedules. Plus, if they showed off the same games, they needed to make people understand that they were running on alpha kits and should be a lot better by launch. With no PS3 demos to go up against for comparisons, Microsoft could have saved some grief by not having a lot deflated opinions of their games.Tommy McClain
The facts are that MS doesn't have to sell to E3 participants, they have to get the games ready so they can sell to the general public come christmas time and if that means a lackluster e3 showing then so be it. The past is littered with examples of companies that "won" e3 yet had a disappointing christmas selling product. Let's not forget how everyone were claiming that MS was stupid for buying Bungie, how Halo was really disappointing and how MS didn't have a killer app for the xbox launch.
I much prefer that MS underwhelm now and shock and awe come christmas as opposed to watching prerenders only to be disappointed later when the actual games at launch don't look as good.
I much prefer that MS underwhelm now and shock and awe come christmas as opposed to watching prerenders only to be disappointed later when the actual games at launch don't look as good.
The best wrap-up of E3 I read was on Penny-Arcade.
Basically, MS and Sony spread a lot of half-truths, and at the end I came away trying to figure out who mislead the least!
Nintendo didn't say anything misleading at all, but then again, no one talked about Nintendo, aside from afterthoughts. So I guess the MS/Sony model is the way of the future, isn't it?
Basically, MS and Sony spread a lot of half-truths, and at the end I came away trying to figure out who mislead the least!
Nintendo didn't say anything misleading at all, but then again, no one talked about Nintendo, aside from afterthoughts. So I guess the MS/Sony model is the way of the future, isn't it?
I personally found it odd that Microsoft didn't have working xCPU silicon there, and that their dev kits are so low powered grapically compared to what Sony used to do the live real time demos with in the conference. 6 months behind and showing real time better framerates than what was in the XBox booths? Must have been very disconcerting. On the plus side they did have quite a few playables even if some where back room only. Even if the framerate was a bit choppy, I was impressed by the Gears of War footage. They'll be fairly comparable when they launch.
My first impression was that Microsoft messed up badly and Sony stole the show. However, after some consideration I'm coming more to the conclusion that Microsoft/Xbox360 can only get better from this point on whereas Sony/PS3 have built themselves up for a big fall if, once again, they fail to live up to the promises and hype of their demos. I somehow really, really doubt we're going to see 'killzone 2' like graphics on the PS3 and I wonder how the Sony fan-base will take this?
Diplo said:
I think the point though as JVD and others have been saying for a while is that Sony won't fall, because people will forget and/or not care. Eg, PS2 demos. I think Sony will win because they'll have the most hype and because of that, the biggest fan-base. The biggest fan-base means more developers, means for people wanting their machine.
It's like the stock-market analogy from a movie I saw ages ago (can't remember what one... had James Earl Jones in it though
) If the public thinks a stock will crash, they will sell their shares. As more sell their shares, more people will jump out. End result, the stock WILL crash, regardless of whether or not it was going to in the first place.My personal dilemma at the moment is.. should I buy a PS3 with a reasonable assumption they'll win again this gen though FUD? Or should I go with a more honest player (Nin?) with less support because of it?
Eh, go with the machine that gives you what you want PARANOiA... I know I'm going to end up buying whichever machine has the best graphics (yeah I know, I'm shallow hehe). But if another system has a game that I absolutely have to have then I'll buy it too. I'd recommend that you choose whichever machine fits you best.
well it really don't matter in that case as the x360 will get the prime space and the launch will drive alot of people into the store . Even when the ns5 comes out it will get the prime space for awhile as any launch drives customers into the store .
Anyway ms wont outsell sony . But if ms can double or triple thier user base it will be a huge win for ms and a huge loss for sony
Anyway ms wont outsell sony . But if ms can double or triple thier user base it will be a huge win for ms and a huge loss for sony
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