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Full disclosure: I work for a publisher, which was good enough to get me into the Activision 'Preview Event'. And that's where my E3 week starts, which would make it the fourth time I've attended the Electronic Entertainment Expo and like everyone else, I was totally caught up.
While other gaming blogs and sites made the Activision party look like a spectacle full of fluff and very little gameplay, let me assure everyone reading it totally was. But where the difference lies between me and those blogs is that I actually thought it was awesome. And so did a lot of other people who were there. Usher, Deadmaus, David Guetta, Jane's Addiction, N.E.R.D., Maynard James Keenan and a choir leading a stadium wide sing along of freaking Bohemian Rhapsody, Rhea, Eminem, Travis Barker and Rhianna-that's good enough for major tv programs. It was some excellent music displayed, along with a dancer on a 60 ft pole. I can play games later, at that point its all about having fun on someone else's tab…Infinity Ward's. Good starting point.
The good of E3 2010-Overall, every major presentation had something for everyone to cheer for. Nintendo knocked it out of the park with the 3DS and a bunch of games that weren't just Mario, Zelda, and Metroid. Best of all, with Epic Mickey on the main presentation and Warren Spector there, it shows that the Wii will have a third party 'killer app' for the holidays…as opposed to having really good games from third parties (so take that Wii haters)
Nintendo 3DS-It drew a lot of lines for good reason: A device that can display 3D images without the need for glasses. And Kid Icarus as a main title. The 3D itself was really impressive, as was the small tech demos for it. And Resident Evil Revelations on this device was astounding. So much good third party support. I can wait to learn about pricing, wi-fi details, launch titles.
Kirby's Epic Yarn-One of the best looking titles on the floor, hands down. Whenever I tell people I like Nintendo, the next word out of their mouth is 'fanboy'. But the problem with that is, Nintendo doesn't make bad games, they rely on imagination as opposed to raw technology to make great games, and using colorful yarn for visuals is fantastic.
Nintendo's booth-A lot of great games on display, including NBA Jam, Sonic Colors, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Mario Sports Mix, Metroid: Other M and Zelda: Skyward Smash. And the booth babes were cute as all hell. I just felt bad for them because most of them were chained to 3DS and couldnt see the rest of the show.
Lucha Libre-This was one of the better booths at E3. There was an actual wrestling ring with actual matches throughout the day-take that EA's MMA! Best of all, if you just played the game on the second day, people received a free lucha mask. There isn't a shirt or hat anywhere that can beat a lucha mask.
Sony's booth-Just as busy as Nintendo's booth, but a lot less organized, leading to multiple hours of waiting, which leads to some of my bad stuff in few paragraphs.
Disney's booth-Buried under all the Epic Mickey and Tron stuff, were games based on their TV shows and let me tell you why that's a good thing. Disney isn't just using their namesake to peddle a lot of second rate stuff, they're making honest-to-good video games and I like that.
Child of Eden-Possibly the best game of the show, Child of Eden is dazzling enough to make me consider the Kinect, which actually works as advertised and is actually compelling as a gaming device. However…
The bad of E3 2010-Had Microsoft actually chose to show of Child of Eden on the showfloor, a lot of naysaying about the kinect would've been quickly overturned. But no, Microsoft rather show off a bunch of Wii warmovers that even left Miyamoto unamused and unimpressed.
Running and jumping and gesturing in front of a TV is something i can do right now for free. Is there going to be a great game for the Kinect? Absolutely. I'm fully behind the product for that. is it the kinect a great device to interact with consoles. Yes and I hope voice and body recognition becomes a permanent fixture for interact with devices in the future. Did Microsoft show off anything at E3 resembling anything to compel people to buy a Kinect? No damn way.
Demos-Now, there was a lot of good stuff I wanted to check out (Marvel v Capcom 3 being high on that list, along with Vanquish, which I did play.) But the lines were too long so I avoided them for two reasons. One: Everything on the floor will be available on the Playstation Network and Xbox Live Arcade so everything I wanted to play will be playable without sweaty lines. Two and this was the biggest one: A lot of what was on the floor were just updates, sequels, and reboots. So I'm pretty sure how Dead Rising 2 would handle, along with Mafia II, and Zelda for that matter. Granted, I'm excited for many of those sequels and many are actually compelling, but not enough to endure a 2 hour wait.
WiiWare-I frequently buy games from Nintendo's online store and there was not one announcement or trailer for anything for this service. For shame, Nintendo.
The 'Media'-I don't wanna bash the good women and men who bring a staggering amount of content in three days under such pressure. I get that this an actual job. However, when you cut lines to get your coverage: up yours. And a good amount of these 'media' members are from lame websites and blogs, created just for the sake of getting into E3. And why wouldn't they? Gamers would absolutely love to be here. But I would rather be cut by someone who's an actual journalist who writes and talk to developers, not a bunch of blogs wanting free stuff.
People who actually paid to get in-Not actually a bad idea, but for a show full of demos, videos,and free stuff: this isn't something someone should actually pay for to get into. I actually met a brother and sister from Ohio who paid over $300 each for the ticket. People don't go to E3 because they want to be here. They go because they can. Having a blog, working as a tester, selling anything gaming related are worthwhile endeavors for 3 days of lines, sweat, and fun.
The ESA-They organized this whole show and did a rather bad job. Considering how many pointless hoops people legitimately go through to get in and to see a bunch of kids walk around, there's no wonder the lines are long and booths get crowded. And why not impose time limits for demos so that lines are actually moving? Would it kill them to have just a media day on Monday? Move up all the conferences a day early and give the show floor to every media member on Monday, just like they do for the Super Bowl: one day to get in all the legit gaming news sources along with all the wacky ones. Then it's three days of gamers actually enjoying the show as one.
What can make E3 2011 great? Well…the stuff I mentioned in the last paragraph. Impose more rules and time limits because not everyone wants to be there the entire damn day. Give the media one day to their job and make them wait like everyone else afterwards.
I know I didn't mention a lot of stuff, because I limited everything to only what I touched and saw during that week. It was a lot to take in and the videos and photos I have show that despite the general malaise that comes from attending a big event, E3 2010 was a great show and gave hope that the second half of 2010 would be great as the first half.
