Worst…E3….ever

As I had not so miraculously predicted (anyone who looks at trends in the gaming world could have seen it coming), the big hardware manufacturers all tried to imitate their competitor's successes at this year's convention.

Or, rather, they almost did. Nintendo stuck out like a sore thumb, and for once, it was not in a good way. The market leader continued to sing the praises of its "Blue Ocean" strategy and gaming for all. This is understandable, given their emphasis on easier, new-user friendly software has given them the top spot again, a position they hadn't had for the last 12 years.

However, now that the big N's grasp on this new, casual/expanded/call-it-whatever-you-want audience is solidified, they could have thrown a bit of a bone to traditional gamers, those who sink their teeth into meatier action-adventure games, RPGs, platformers. To their credit, Nintendo did announce two of their development teams known for these types of games are hard at work on new projects. Of course, in a conference where legendary designer Shigeru Myamoto is ushered on stage to talk about Wii Music, which has gamers wave their controllers around like a wand to conduct orchestras, that's like punching you in the face to make you forget about your stomach ache.

Nintendo also announced two cool peripherals. The first is WiiSpeak, a long-overdue online microphone/voice chat solution. The other one, WiiMotionPlus, is a small accessory you plug at the end of your Wii remote, so that your motions are rendered even more effectively. Instead of simply registering you swiped your hand right to left in a diagonal motion and having your on-screen character imitate it, WiiMotionPlus will detect your waving your enhanced remote almost anywhere 360 degrees around your body. Suddenly, the prospect of a real-time swordfight-based adventure has become a lot more interesting. Too bad Nintendo didn't announce any such games to go with it.

Meanwhile, Microsoft failed to impress. None of the more traditional gaming software they announced was anything that people did not know about, although admittedly a lot of it looked pretty good. The house that Bill Gates built made an even more aggressive push on Nintendo's new-found casual or "expanded" audience than many expected. XBOX 360 users will soon be able to have their very own cartoony imitations running around in multiplayer-friendly mini-games and representing them on a cleaner, less-cluttered hardware interface. It's not like Nintendo invented the concept of a virtual avatar, but if Microsoft didn't want to be accused of directly ripping the idea off from their competitor, they could have put some effort into making their avatars look less like Nintendo's.

Sony, for example, had announced a similar system last year, but at least the avatars they're coming up with for PS3 users (yes, the project is still "under construction") look a lot more realistic, which is, if nothing else, less of a blatant rip-off of Nintendo. Sony came into this E3 with the lowest expectations out of the three. Despite their recent summer hit Metal Gear Solid 4, the PS3 is still not up to snuff, having sold almost twice as less as the first-place Wii since the two launched practically simultaneously in November 2006.

Nevertheless, the rules of E3 coverage/editorializing dictate the outlet in question pick a winner, and much to his surprise, this columnist awards the crown to Sony this year. You could say it's a pyrrhic victory though. Sure, out of all three, Sony had the best presentation in terms of combining their upcoming more casual software with traditional games, and yes, they at least revealed two new games sure to remain exclusive to the PS3, unlike the many that have wound up shipping for XBOX360 despite similar promises. However, even of their two newly announced projects, one was an obvious guess. On top of that, Microsoft delivered a real sucker punch when it announced Final Fantasy XIII, the latest in a long-line of best-selling RPGs that have been exclusive to Sony consoles for a little more than a decade, will also be launching for XBOX360.

I haven't completely lost my faith in the other two consoles of course. Despite not directly announcing much in the vein of more traditional fare, Nintendo hinted there are big things headed our way, and I can only imagine how the WiiMotionPlus has given its designers, some of the most talented in the world, even more tools to play with. On top of that, third-party support finally seems to be picking up for the Wii. Microsoft, despite blatantly ripping off Nintendo, will probably deliver on the whole avatar experience with their exponentially better online system.

In other words, Sony merely won a battle at E3, and I doubt they'll be able to turn the tide of war. But I do hope this isn't a sign of its rivals resting on their laurels. Many a giant in the video game world has fallen making that mistake.