Hello E3, Goodbye E3!

As many of you should know, the past week was chock-full of gaming “goodness” with one
of the year’s biggest gaming conventions, also known as E3. Although over the years it’s
gone a little down the drain with the extinction of booth-babes, there are still a few gems
that shines through here and there. Let’s have a quick look at what was shown, announced
and missing.

First off, Microsoft had their “before the show” press conference to show what they’ve been
up to and what we have to look forward to in 2008 and 2009. One of the bigger
announcements, at least for me, was the brand new dashboard with the “Avatar” system.
Albeit a big rip-off of Nintendo’s Miis’s, it seems that Microsoft actually thought this through
and will be launching a well-polished update. With a new dashboard, Netflix capability and
lively avatars, the next dashboard update should definitely give current Xbox 360 users a
refresh in the user interface.

Gaming wise, Microsoft had a lot to show. Gears of War 2, Fallout 3 and some games aimed
towards the “family” crowd (c’mon!!), with a complete lack of any Alan Wake information.
Yes, I am a little mad over that but hey, isn’t it a game we’re all looking forward to? If you
missed any of the above mentioned games, be sure to head over to your favorite video site
and watch some of the new gameplay footage.

The day after Microsoft’s conference, both Sony and Nintendo had to do something good to
steal a little thunder from Microsoft and each other. Nintendo seemed to have casual games
on their mind a lot lately, with the announcement of WiiSports 2 and WiiMusic. Whether or
not you agree to the way Nintendo views their audience, they are still in the game with over
10 million consoles sold in the US alone. Is that enough to satisfy the core gamers?
Apparently, Miyamoto states that even though E3 attendees or followers might get that
impression, they are still working towards pleasing core gamers.

Sony, God of War 3. Do I need to say anything else about their conference? I don’t care
about the $399 version getting an 80gb upgrade, since I shelled out $399 for a PS3 with the
lousy 40gb hard drive not too long ago. Their conference itself was something I didn’t get to
watch, but I did surf some of the footage from the show. New PSP titles including Patapon 2
and LocoRoco 2 are two games I am looking forward to. They also showed off new footage
from Killzone 2, but is it just me or does it seem like just another generic shooter?

Overall, this year’s E3 did get me a little excited for the months to come. New games,
updates, videos and information who can be disappointed? What did you think, anything
you really wanted to see?