Unlike last year's E3, this year was a little more balanced. Sony and Nintendo did a good job but Microsoft was'nt as good as I expected.

Microsoft

I was expecting much more from Microsoft this year and thought that Microsoft would be able to overshadow both Nintendo and Sony. But I was slightly disappointed. The conference started off really nicely and I liked the band that played the Halo theme. What was shown of the game, Rock Band, was impressive but I don't really think casual gamers would buy a game like that the same day it releases. Viva Pinata and Gears of War for the PC were some good annoucements I really wanted to hear. The best thing was that Gears of War will be compatible with Windows XP as well. Viva Pinata: Party Animals did'nt sound very convincing like Mario Party or Rayman Raving Rabbids party titles.All the usual suspects were there likeCall of Duty 4, Stranglehold, Guitar Hero III, Lost Odyssey, NBA: Live 08, Mass Effect, Medal of Honor: Airborne, Tiger Woods 08, NHL 08, Assassin's Creed, Splinter Cell: Conviction, NASCAR 08, BioShock, Madden NFL 08, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, Harry Potter, Half-Life 2: Orange Box, andRock Band. And thats where the problem lies.

There were no titles that you would'nt expect. No new exclusives; third party or first party. The things that did impress me were Mass Effect releases this year, Fatal Inertiaand Resident Evil 5 coming soon,andBeautiful Katamari and DMC4 100% confirmed to be in developmentfor theXbox 360. Scene it and Viva Pinata: Party Animals were just a few games Microsoft was using to market itself to Nintendo fans, and also tried to show its family friendly nature. They were'nt all that great anyway.Some announcements such as new movie downloads were impressiveONLY if you love watching movies on your 360. The Games for Windows montage showed flashes of some great games like Kane & Lynch, Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts, Flight Simulator, and Hellgate: London. The Halo special edition 360 could have looked better too. Many people were expecting MS to drop the price of the 360 even after the warranty extension thing. The fact that they've got a stable demand for their consoles shows that they can still afford to carry on with the same price tag. The statement that the games being shown in the press conference are all going to be released this yearsaved Microsoft. The good reason I could think of for MS not announcing anything major during E3 is because it would give Sony a good idea about MS'es strategy. I expect better things from MS during TGS and X07. Peter Moore said he's got tattoos but did'nt show them off :P

Score: 3 out of 5

Nintendo

I personally felt that the only thing Nintendo could do this year was announce release dates for the most anticipated(already announced)Wii and DS games. Nintendo showed off statistics that prove that its changing the gaming audience and has been very successful in bringing games to non-gamers and casual gamers while not forgetting about hardcore gamers. Great games like SSBB, Metroid Prime, Zelda,and Super Mario Galaxy got release dates/periods. Mario Kart for the Wii was a great annoucement that many people were hoping for. The best part was that itcomes along withthe racing wheel in which you attach yourWiimote.The announcement of decent online support for new Wii games was another good thing.

Satoru Iwata's explanation of how they're shaping the gaming market/audience and bringing in new gamers was kind of enlightening :P. He showed how effective they were in breaking the psychogical barrier that video games are meant for kids. Even though Nintendo did'nt announce anything big besides Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii they still demoed the most anticipated games unlike MS. The announcement of Wii Fit was good news but I could'nt help thinking that it would be just another average game like Wii Sports or Wii Play. But it was promising nonetheless.

There was'nt much to complain about Nintendo's press conference but I felt that accessories(essential ones) are increasing in number. What I am trying to say is that you will not get the full experience from games without their accessories like the wii balance board, wii zapper, and wii steering wheel. Its like having DDR+Guitar Hero+Singstar+many more accessoriesin the future. Even though Nintendo issays they have'nt forgotten core gamers, one thing isclear that core gamers have definitely taken the back seat for now. TheWii is designed to pull in non gamers and there's no denying that. Themajority ofthe games released until today and the ones that will be releasing in the future are also mostly targeted at non gamers. Only stufflike Mario, Metriod, EternalDarkness,Resident Evil, Castlevania,and a few others appeal to core gamers. Virtual Console is alsoaimed at bothcore and new gamers.

Overall Score: 4 out of 5

Sony

Expectations were high for Sony and it delivered in almost every way. There were some more things they could have talked about but I think its better if they save some annoucements for TGS or something. Sony was almost 0 on any statistical information about the PS3 compared to MS and Nintendo. The redesigned PSP was'nt exactly as different butat leastthey should havemade some minor changes/tweaks tothe analog and shoulder buttons. The $200 PSP entertainment pack also sounds like a good buy. The upcoming games like Castlevania, GoW: Chains of Olympus, Syphon Filter, and Silent Hillfor the PSP also sound quite promising. I am still not clear whether PSP can output videos only to a Sony Bravia or other TVs as well. If its compatible with all HDTVs then its a greatfeature. Sony mentioned Bravia HDTVs a few times so thats what I am confused about. Initially I thought the special guest would be Pink because of their earlier PSP marketing campaigns with her. Anyway it was better to have Chewbacca than Darth Vader on stage. Even thinking of Darth Vader saying, "Dude, get your own"is so embarrasing.

Moving onto the PS3. They showed off some great games, both expected ones and unexpected ones. Echo-Chromeplays amazing. PSN looks like it will be getting some really good games soon, but they did'nt say anything about The Agency. All the other games like Wipeout HD, SOCOM: Confrontation, LittleBigPlanet, Pain,and Warhawk were impressive. Home looks visually very appealing and its integration with mobile phones and video games is really good. Game specific lounge for Home sounds like a very handy feature. NCsoft making exclusive games for Sony was great news. Haze, UT3, Rock Band, CoD4, Kane and Lynch look amazing. I was impressedwithgames like Kane and Lynch, COD4, and Rock band because there were rumors that it would be exclusive to the Xbox 360. MGS4, Heavenly Sword, Uncharted, R&Cwithout a doubt were very impressive. Infamous, for some reason reminded me of Crackdown.Whatever it is, it was stillimpressive.I can't say anything much about GT5 because Ihave seen the HD trailers for GT5 or even PGR4.Killzone 2 looked great but I was thinking it would be somewhere close to, or better than Crysis or UT3. I felt CoD4 looks just as good as Killzone 2 and thats not a bad thing in any way. Another great thing is that Sony is working closely with Epic Games to optimize the Unreal Engine to get the most out of the PS3 hardware. This means that any other game that uses the UT engine will probably have the graphical edge over other consoles.

It was disappointing to hear that there was'nt any playable game demo for MGS4. I was expecting moreannouncements like rumble controllers, God of War 3(teaserat least), FFXIII, The Agency, FF7 remake, a better PSP redesign, more PS2 game software, and more support from Capcom and Ubisoft (Splinter Cell, Dead Rising, Lost Planet?). I think I am asking for too much but I am guessing they are saving some announcements for other gaming expos. I can't shake the feeling that MGS4and Haze are onlytime exclusives. But that's just me :P. Their E3 showing was good nonetheless.

Overall Score: 4 out of 5

Hello everyone.

It has been quite sometime since I visited Gamespot. I am back. I am not sure for how long though. If you've read my previous blog posts you must be knowing that my head was a little messed up. That has'nt changed much. But my medication has reduced. I am on vacation now and have no clear idea on how to kill time. Time is killing me. I don't feel like playing games much. I did play a little bit of Star Wars: Battlefront 2 but I quit because I kept losing this one really annoying mission in which you respawn really far away from your objective. By the time you get to the Control Point its already taken over by your enemies! My exams were not that bad. I should get my results soon.

Leaving all that aside, I am really looking forward to E3. It looks like Sony is really geared up for this one. Killzone, MGS, Lair, LittleBigPlanet, Home, Heavenly Sword, PSP2and hopefully a God of War 3 teaser at least. Looks like Microsoft really ran into some major problems with their poor quality tests and cheap hardware. Do you guys think Microsoft will announce a price cut after spending$1Billion on extended warranty? Microsoft recently launched the Xbox 360 here in the UAE along with the release of the PS3. Even though we got the 360 a year late, I think Microsoft made a wise decision because anything thats labelled "PS" kills other consoles. Tell me what your expectations are from E3.

I have'nt been online in a long time because I have moved to a new house and did not have my internet connection for sometime. Besides moving to my new house, there are many other reasons why I have'nt visited Gamespot. There have been some "incidents" in the last two weeks which have pushed me back into depression. I just feel that I need to cool off and I feel I am losing interest in games-the only interest I had remaining after I got sick. 

Its not that I am never going to visit Gamespot again, but I just can't be an active user right now. I might have to resign from my post of officer at the VGL union. I am sorry for not coming up to your expectations. I am sure you guys can find someone with more enthusiasm for games than me.

Thanks.

I am sorry for not being here on Gamespot for almost a week. My PC wasnt working properly and I couldnt find the necessary part anywhere. My PC is ok now and I will be on Gamespot as usual.

I completed my first year of membership on Gamespot on February 18th. It has been a very good year. At this time last year, I was going crazy because of my sickness and exams. I turned to games and friends for getting over my problems and joined Gamespot. I have made some good friends here like the VGL staff and members, and some people who have tracked my contributions on GS(perfection1000, sohaibz, lvin5992, and yousef_ahmed). After joining Gamespot, I developed an interest in the gaming industry and started reading game-related news. I have been reading video game news since last summer and strangely I feel more satisfied watching game videos than actually playing them :? . Overall, I have had a great time here and I am looking forward to my second year on GS. :D

Updates:

My holidays got over last week and I am back in college. This was the first time I actually missed college because I was getting really BORED at home. I played Kingdom Hearts 2 and Soldier of Fortune 2, watch TV, did chores, and slept before 10PM to kill time :P .

I have also turned to professional help to get over my liking for that girl(28 years) because the more we're trying to get away from each other, the closer we're getting :?. She's nice and all, but this relationship is getting really serious and I don't want to end up hurting myself or the girl.

The teachers this semester are not that good and the worst thing is that we're having Operations Research(Maths) now. First of all, I suck at math and second, the teacher doesnt know how to teach! I really don't know how to handle this subject but I'll try anyway.

I am so confused and I just hope everything goes well. :?:( 

My exams just got over today and I must say they were really good. Compared to what I did last year, I think I have done really well. I missed a lot of news and game updates while I was gone. Especially the tags. I might have got upto 10000 tags by now if I was here on GameSpot.

I have also managed to control myself(lovesickness:P). Maybe you guys dont know but she's 28 years old and I am 20. The strange thing is now she's crazy about me:lol:

Anyway I am back to stay until my exams in June. See you at the VGL union.

My exams are starting soon and I havent studied like I should have. I will not be on Gamespot for sometime. Thats also a good way to beat my Gamespot addiction. I have also been lovesick for sometime and I am hating it :evil:. Youre not yourself when you like someone so much and I desperately want to be myself again. I dont believe in love and pre marital relationships. Thankfully, I have found a strange but good way  to kill it. :D

I will not be active on the unions so I am really sorry about that(asadnawabi). I have to study for the exams now. See you guys later. My exams start on 16th and end on 30th Jan.

Happy new year everyone! I hope you have a great 2007! Even though I didnt celebrate new year I did celebrate Eid al Adha. Eid Mubarak to those celebrating Eid!

I got a few games, clothes and candy/sweets on Eid.

Games I got:

1. Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria
2. Street Fighter Alpha Anthology
3. Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence
4. Bully
5. Kingdom Hearts 2
6. Jak 3

I finally reached 2000 posts today.

Besides that, my exams will start sometime in mid-January.

I havent played any games recently, which is nothing new, but I am looking forward to playing Rayman Raving Rabbids for the PC.

Three more days left for Christmas! Whats on your wishlist? What are your plans for Christmas day?

Eid al Adha is on 30th December and I am planning to get at least 5 PS2 games. :D

Some of those Japanese PS3's ended up right here in the UAE. Here are two pictures that I have taken today at the electronics store here.

I guess this is classified as grey importing. Click on the images to view the full size image.