E3 is like the Christmas of gaming, to use a broken simile. Once every year, the gaming community gets together to share tender moments and try to tear the other guy a new breathing hole. Always a subject of much debate is which of the Big Three stole the show. Which company's fans get to say, "We won!" and hold it over their rival fans' heads for the following weeks?

Needless to say, that's always going to be a subjective "victory." It's not an election. It's not a sporting event. We don't vote on a clear winner. Nobody gets more points than the other guy. So, of course, most people will probably say, "No, my company won and here's why," and a reasonable argument can typically be made for any winner.

Except, perhaps, for this year.

Microsoft

Microsoft's reception was lukewarm at best, with GameSpot's senior editor Brian Ekberg saying there were "some highlights and a few 'meh-lights'". While there was no shortage of big names, it felt like more of the same. Can you have too much of a good thing? Microsoft doesn't seem to think so.

The somewhat familiar lineup of core games, like Gears of War 3 and Halo: Reach were certainly crowd-pleasers, and it's always safe to bet on a Call of Duty game selling like crazy. Metal Gear Solid Rising and Fable III also made fairly strong appearances, though it seemed like Kojima and Molyneux were in a rush when they presented their respective games, slipping out of sight in a hurry.

"Molyneux was only onstage with Fable III for about a minute," said Justin Calvert, senior editor at GameSpot.

Crytek also debuted a new projected, codenamed "Kingdoms." The trailer, while intriguing, was only so because it gave away nothing--then again, that's normal for debut trailers. Kingdoms is a significant break from the modern/post-modern shooters Crytek is known for, instead going for an atmosphere reminiscent of "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" and "300."

And then, something strange happened: Microsoft devoted well over half their conference to talking up their new motion controller, Kinect (formerly Project Natal). What followed was a series of titles that left many with a sense of deja vu--especially Nintendo, considering they'd done the same thing with the Wii for a few years straight.

Calvert called Kinect Sports a lot like "a game I already own on the Wii."

I'm worried about Rare, a studio once known for stellar titles like Banjo Kazooie, GoldenEye 007 and Donkey Kong 64. Seeing them lowered to doing a Wii Sports knock-off is very troubling.

That's not to say Kinect wasn't technically impressive, but to say it's met the promises made at last year's E3 is ridiculous. Microsoft promised a gaming revolution, that the face of gaming would forever be changed. What they showed this year was instead a hotbed for minigame compilations and gimmicky motion controls. Sound familiar? If not, those are both criticisms leveled against Nintendo's Wii for the past four years.

Even worse, some of the Kinect games showed off seemed like they'd be fun if not for the fact that they had no controller.

"Watching Kinect Joyride in action, I couldn't help but think, 'Well that could be fun if only I had a controller in my hand while I did it,'" said Kevin VanOrd, editor at GameSpot.

Fortunately for Microsoft, none of the Kinect demos were as horrible as Nintendo's somehow endearingly awful Wii Music demo of E3 '08. Everything shown off was at least functional, if underwhelming (though that's a bit like saying Highlander 3 wasn't as bad as Highlander 2 on the grounds that it was "at least watchable").

It seems Forza was the only true nod Kinect gave to the core audience, though a mildly interesting Star Wars lightsaber game might just give Kinect the push it needs to sell to some of this elusive core audience. That's, of course, provided the game amounts to more than a glorified shooting gallery. As for how the lightsaber game will work with no physical controller to offer feedback, that's anyone's guess. Presumably, LucasArts has something up its sleeve to make all the pieces fall into place, but it'll be a while before we know for sure.

Nintendo

Conversely, Nintendo seems to be this year's Cinderella story. It wasn't without skepticism that much of the press and the fans anticipated Nintendo's conference, but they came out swinging this year with a myriad of exclusives, many of them due out this year.

"There's no question that Nintendo won," said Craig Harris, executive editor of IGN. "They not only showed us a Zelda game and a Donkey Kong Country game… but the big hit of the show was pretty much the 3DS."

Harris also pointed out third-party titles like Disney Epic Mickey and NBA Jam.

Tom McShea, associate editor at GameSpot, said Epic Mickey was his "standout." From a gameplay perspective, he said, it looks like a standard platformer, "but the fact that you can alter the story, environment, and even the characters around you by the choices you make sounds incredible."

Though Miyamoto's demo of Zelda Wii (now with the subtitle Skyward Sword) was shaky in its better moments, it's since been confirmed via show floor demos that the control issues present in Miyamoto's demonstration were due to wireless interference. Skyward Sword featured yet another new art direction this time somewhere between the realism of Twilight Princess and the cartoony of Wind Waker. Due to control issues, the Zelda demo ended up falling a bit flat, and it was probably the second most anticipated part of the show. That was a big failure for Nintendo's conference, which had an otherwise almost flawless lineup.

Almost, anyway. Nintendo, too, made an obligatory nod to the casual crowd with titles like Wii Party and Ubisoft's Just Dance 2. With the success of games like Wii Sports Resort and the original Just Dance, it's hard to blame them, but they detracted from what was otherwise a fantastic showing.

Nintendo revealed Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. Activision debuted a reimagining of GoldenEye. The hits kept coming from there. New Donkey Kong Country and Kirby titles, the former from Retro Studios, the latter due out this fall. From there, they talked a bit on the previously revealed Dragon Quest IX and Metroid: Other M before they went on to the second of the most anticipated points of the show: the 3DS.

Reggie and Iwata seemed to really talk up the glasses-free 3D play before revealing the 3DS. The new platform, which is roughly the same size as the smaller DS redesigns, features graphics comparable to those of the Wii and will sport improved online capabilities. This was arguably the best moment of the show, because Nintendo showed off a new Project Sora title: Kid Icarus: Uprising. The long-rumored Kid Icarus sequel was shown off in a trailer featuring both cutscenes and gameplay.

Then came the developer and title list for the 3DS. Developers like Ubisoft Montreal and THQ will be contributing games like Assassin's Creed, Saints Row, Ninja Gaiden, Kingdom Hearts, Metal Gear Solid, Street Fighter IV and many more. This was just a preliminary lineup, but more will be revealed in the coming months as the launch of the 3DS draws ever closer.

To say the least, the 3DS made an impressive debut, and if early media impressions are any indicator there's a lot to love that we haven't yet seen.

Ekberg said the 3D screen of the new handheld "simply works just as promised," though the demonstrations featured no actual gameplay. In spite of that, Nintendo, he said, did "what you'd hope for with an E3 press conference," and mare him want more.

It's amazing to think that a company that so badly botched 3D play with the Virtual Boy could come back from that to deliver true 3D play--no glasses or clumsy headgear--in a way that actually impressed.

Sony

Sony, on the other hand, was neither bad nor good. The conference opened on a high note with Killzone 3 before quickly falling prey to the same problem as last year's conference: Boredom.

The middle segment was plagued by awful marketing and sizzle reels, the latter of which I've mentioned many times is not an adequate replacement for trailers and demos. Many of the games shown were neither exclusive nor new--something this conference had in common with last year's.

Move made a relatively impressive full-game debut with the Harry Potter-esque Sorcery, a game that has you flicking the controller to cast spells like fireballs, shields and environment reconstruction. Sorcery looks enjoyable, if uninspired--honestly, it seems like Harry Potter would have been a perfect fit, but they opted instead to go with something other than the cherished franchise with millions of fans. The only problem with the Sorcery demo wasn't part of the demo itself, but the audience, who cheered when the player drank a potion to turn into a rat. That seems, to me, like the audience at a football game cheering over a two-yard gain.

Then came Tiger Woods 11, which somehow had even more difficulties than a full-on action game. The demonstration was derailed when the rep spent about two minutes explaining the game and adjusting his posture to play, only to barely nick the ball off the tee. He did get it right shortly thereafter, but for an onstage demonstration, he could have done a lot better--but at least it was a slightly embarrassing demo of Tiger Woods, rather than Zelda.

Heroes On the Move looks, enjoyable, if unremarkable. It features Ratchet, Clank, Jak, Daxter and Sly Cooper, among others, as playable characters in a sort of action-party game format.

Then came easily the worst part of the conference: the marketing. Sony announced a partnership with Coca-Cola and talked about it for a full two+ minutes before Kevin Butler, Sony's fake VP of unfunny Stephen Colbert rip-off speeches came out in a very obvious ploy to attempt to fill space with pointless fluff and redeem the Coke partnership. (Spoiler alert: It worked for most, and some circles have called it the "high point" of not only Sony's conference, but E3 as a whole.) While I have no particular issue with Butler, it seems as though the campaign is wearing itself out pretty quickly.

Eventually, they did get back into games--sort of--after revealing a $50 price point for the main Move controller and revealing even more marketing. This time, the campaign was aimed at the PSP, which Sony quietly acknowledged isn't doing that well by way of introducing the campaign and the language used in the campaign itself. The ads feature a hip, young boy named Marcus, using much more street-savvy lingo than any child of his age would know (see those advertising dollars at work!), telling Sony to push harder to get the PSP out there.

Sony got back into "games" ever so briefly with a teaser for God of War: Ghost of Sparta, before doing more advertising for The Tester. Because one season just wasn't enough.

In fairness, Sony got back up on it with some huge news. Exclusives like Littlebig Planet 2 made impressive demonstrations of the expanded development tools, which allow for Space Invaders and Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots type of games, as well as some more complicated role-playing design. The main LBP2 game looks about the same as the original, with Move allowing for environmental manipulation, but the real draw for this game should be in the expanded and improved customization and design elements.

Sony went on to unveil a new premium PlayStation network, PlayStation Plus, which costs a subscription fee but offers exclusive downloads, from avatars to map packs--but didn't PSN already do that for free? Well, they have to gain ground on Xbox LIVE Gold somehow.

Dead Space 2 had an impressive demo, though the boss fight they showed off seemed to have little actual interactivity. 10/10 for flash, though, as the demo was one of the most impressive demos shown off in recent memory (from any conference).

And then, Valve's big surprise showed up. Gabe Newell took the stage and in seconds (with very little effort) became funnier than Butler's entire speech. Newell announced that Portal 2 will be coming to the PlayStation 3 and will be the definitive version of the game. This was possibly the biggest moment of the entire conference, with a possible exception being Twisted Metal.

Yes, a new Twisted Metal game, at long last. Of all the games in Sony's conference, it could be argued that this one stole the show. David Jaffe vehemently denied for years that a HD Twisted Metal was coming, and how here he was, taking it all back and demonstrating the new modes and features, from guided missiles to helicopters.

So, who won?

Not Microsoft, that much is certain. While Kinect made a moderately impressive appearance, it was bogged down with a lot of really boring demonstrations, though the Dance Central debut at least was good for laughs. It's good that MS had Cirque du Soleil introduce Kinect the day before their conference in one of the most hilariously bad publicity stunts in gaming history, because that alone might have killed their conference. In their defense, they opened the show with some huge franchises, all of which are sure to be heavy hitters, but over half the conference was devoted to Kinect demonstrations, and much of that time wasn't even actual games.

Not Sony, although they had significantly more surprises and a motion control device far more compelling to core gamers. They confirmed onstage that the Move will be compatible with games like Resident Evil 5, Heavy Rain and SOCOM. Not only that, but the Sorcery demo looked like it could be a lot of fun later on, depending on how much they do with the controls. No, where Sony really faltered was the blatant and shameless marketing, and the attempt to conceal it by replacing actual demos and trailers with more sizzle reels. They made up for a little of that with some impressive demos and even more impressive announcements, but Sony's conference's biggest problem was that it seemed devoid of emotion: none of the sense of awe at Uncharted 2's scale and beauty or the warm feeling the Last Guardian trailer gave viewers.

The winner of this show was Nintendo, by a landslide. If Nintendo's conference wasn't a 10, it was very close. I don't think anyone expected more than a cursory nod to the core audience this year, but Nintendo came out swinging with game after game, from Kirby to GoldenEye, NBA Jam to Donkey Kong. And even though Zelda's onstage demo was unimpressive, the hands-on looks by the press have been overwhelmingly positive, all but confirming the technical difficulties were caused by wireless interference. But the real gem of the show was the new 3DS, which promises to take handheld gaming to all new heights with a slew of new features and exclusive content, along with the promise of an improved online experience.

"Nintendo had passion for what it presented and showed us what's most important: games," VanOrd said. "Good games. Games that matter. Games that look fun. That's the kind of press conference I can get behind."