Well, well, well, the major conferences are all done and dusted, and in all I'm a little surprised at the complete lack of show-stopping exclusive announcements from any of the three majors. Each had their own moments of mini-excitement, but overall a pretty tame affair.
I'm going to keep this quite brief as it's really just me rambling about what I felt. I watched the Nintendo and Sony conferences live this evening (British time) but have only read up and watched clips of the Microsoft conference.
Overall I think Sony owned this E3. They offered what was in my opinion the most consistent and considered conference which rarely deterred away from games. None of Nintendo's waffling on for 20 minutes about how they were dominating the market (something we all already knew), in place a strong focus on games. There weren't a bucketload of new games announced by Sony by any means, but what they did show was impressive and fairly exciting. The new Metal Gear Solid 4 footage in particular was amazing, and has re-infused my impatience to get a hold of this game (early 2008? eeek!).
As well as this, home and littlebigplanet both held their own, with home in particular really coming closer to showing off its full mettle and potential. It's been said before plenty of times, but there's no denying the pull and allure of combining gaming with the personal and interactive self-spaces of the likes of bebo, facebook, myspace etc. I loved the analogy of mixing itunes with myspace for the new singstar also - this could be very exciting indeed.
All told, for all their PR blunders and overpricing, I do genuinely think that where it counts Sony are innovating at a core strength more than even Nintendo. Casual gaming is at its absolute peak, and has exploded, but if Wii fit is anything to go by, I can see it wearing off sooner than expected. Where the wii looks like it is going to struggle is in truly original, strong titles - ok it's got the metroids and the marios, and they are definitely going to bolster it over the next year, but if anything, this E3 has worryingly made me think that my wii console is indeed going to be something of a fad to eventually be discarded. I've no doubt wii fit will inspire and entice to the same degree as wii sports, but how longer are Nintendo going to be able to continue dragging out essentially the same idea? I do believe it is a finite amount of time.
One of the things that actually surprised me and impressed me the most was the first playstation store game shown, I can't remember the exact title, but its simple graphics yet impressive 3D thinking really quite amazed me - showing off some fiendishly clever 3D thinking and manipulation - it's this kind of gameplay innovation, mixed with the likes of home and littlebigplanet which I think are really going to pull the ps3 from strength to strength, so long as the current cloud of hatred for the console can be overcome.
Halo 3 is looking rather nice visually (though not quite top tier), but my biggest concern is whether or not it is going to be fresh enough to have the same impact as its predecessors. I think the clout and quality of its title will be enough to pull it forward, but I'm having doubts it is going to be up to the standards of the original in particular in terms of its impact. Similar accusations could be levelled at Metroid Prime 3, but the wii-mote does look like it's going to keep things fresh and new.
What of the Wii zapper? Well initially I was curious, then thought it was a bit of a money-grabbing ploy, then when they announced such a low price I am settling on fairly impressed. There's no denying it is going to make FPS in particular much more fun to play, and I am now genuinely looking forward to the experience it will provide with Umbrella Chronicles. It looks like a fairly neat design, and whilst it is effectively nothing more than an alternate way of holding the wii remote and nunchuk, it is nonetheless far more accessible for the 'casual gamer' Nintendo are so enamoured towards.
Nowhere near as impressed regarding the wii wheel - I've already seen identical products in my local gamestation, so not exactly sure what Nintendo were trying to achieve with that. The new of a new Mario Kart is very good news indeed, and at last another quality title (i hope) to look forward to on the wii, but still nothing groundbreaking.
In fact, I think 'groundbreaking' is a term Nintendo have become a little blind towards. To me, it seems as though with the Wii (formerly revolution), innovation and revolution were the optimum drives for the company. Now though, with the huge success of the console and the likes of wii sports etc., they seem to have settled back more into a comfort zone for casual gaming, and the true potential of the console, and in particular the wiimote, seems to be getting a little overlooked. Had the wii not seld so brilliantly, do you really think wii fit would have been the chosen highlight for Nintendo's conference, or some title developed to really try and impress and stress the strengths and innovative potential of the remote.
In conclusion, it does seem like I'm bigging up Sony and bashing down Nintendo and Microsoft, but I genuinely believe Sony are the ones most responsible for pushing forward, and not settling back into enjoyable comfort zones that Nintendo and Microsoft seem to be relishing in. Maybe this is because Sony really have to prove themselves for once, but for whatever reason, I think it was they who shone brightest this E3.