NO ONE! (Okay...maybe Nintendo) (I know there's like 12,000,000 of these "Best of E3" posts. I'm trying to provide a fresh take on it). This is long, so make sure you hit the bathroom before proceeding... First thing I need to get out of the way... Major props as always to the Gamespot crew for knocking out another great week of E3 coverage. I'm sure the new format and the fact that some of the exhibits were scattered all over the place provided a set of headaches. I, like probably many of you reading this, checked out some of the coverage on other sites and even G4 (thank the Lord for live, streaming coverage of the Microsoft conference on Gamespot. I probably would have shot my TV when Sessler cut out of Halo 3. Good job Sess.). Of course Gamespot had the best coverage. It's also nice to chat with some of you losers about what's going on as its happening. Anyway, enough of the a$$ kissing...let's get on with it. I'm writing this approx one week after E3 because I wanted a chance to re-watch (?, is that a word; in that case, re-watch is trademarked to maddog95376. Do not use without the express, written consent of Major League Baseball.) the conferences and some of the videos and stage demos. That, and a heck of a lot has happened in the week after the end of E3. Peter Moore, you will surely be missed as the annual MC of the Microsoft press events. I don't think I've ever seen an executive willing to make a total a$$ of himself in order to promote or create hype for something. First the tattoos and now rocking out on stage with a cheap plastic guitar. You truly do rock Peter. At least he no longer has to answer questions about the 360 warranty and why so many of these things are breaking. I was kind of disappointed in Microsoft’s press conference. They highlighted games that we already knew about or knew what to expect. It was nice to see new trailers of Mass Effect and Halo 3, but where’s the new stuff? Surprise me. I don’t want to hear about other games on other platforms that are now coming over to the 360 (i.e. Devil May Cry). We already kind of knew that. I want to see original IP’s. At the very least, I’d like to know that new games are preheating. Just come out and say “Gears of War 2” in 2009 or (Name of new IP) in fall of 2008. That would have been nice. I just wasn’t surprised by anything Microsoft had to present. Nothing they showed was groundbreaking. No doubt they will have a great holiday season this year with Halo 3, GTA 4, Bioshock, and Mass Effect just to name four of at least a dozen good titles. Overall, the Microsoft press conference was kind of...blah. Nintendo’s press conferences are always fun. Whether or not you’re a fanboy, there has to be some level of enjoyment in watching the latest exploits of Mario, Link, and Samus. Nintendo always presents itself as accessible to everyone. Unlike Sony’s number-crunching slideshows that will put you to sleep, Nintendo puts on a show that’s fun and truly makes you wish you were there. Wait a minute...What’s this...Ten minutes of number-crunching slides...brought to you by Nintendo? I guess it will be a little different this year. Besides, if Reggie is “happy,” chances are, you’ll be to. I really have to hand it to Nintendo. This time last year, most of the gaming community was laughing at the Big N over the decision to change the name of its new console to “Wii,” and many critics felt that the motion-sensing controller would be gimmicky (some still feel this way). A lot of people wrote Nintendo off before the Wii had a chance to perform. Right now the Wii and DS are topping the sales charts, and Nintendo is laughing their way to the bank. I think we all know what to expect from Nintendo by now. I know going into it, I’m not going to see games like GTA unveiled at a Nintendo press conference. I’m going to see trailers and demos for the latest Mario and Metroid games. It was nice to finally get street dates for those games. Honestly, that’s all I was really hoping for from the Nintendo cap this year. Then they go and announce...Wii Zapper? This was a nice surprise. This thing looks kick-a$$. An updated version of Duck Hunt better be on the horizon. And Mario Kart...with its own little wheel...that’s cute. Can’t wait to play that game in two years. Okay...WiiFit. As ridiculous as this thing may look, as ridiculous as you may look playing this thing, this will be huge for Nintendo. My only worry is that the mini-game trend on the Wii is looking pretty stale in the eyes of many people, me included. I’m afraid this will be another Wario Ware with a nifty controller. However, based on Nintendo’s market, this thing will sell a ton of copies. Who am I kidding, my fat a$$ will probably shell out for it too. Going into E3, Sony (in my eyes) was making all the wrong moves. From the price of the console, to the lackluster library, to the cocky attitude many of Sony’s execs we’re displaying, Sony really turned into a sour note for me. I felt that if Sony really wanted to make up some ground with gamers, they needed to lower the price of the console, and they needed to have the best E3 press conference ever. Well, they got it half right. Based off of fresh numbers, the 60 GB PS3 has increased in sales by %135. That’s a lot when you sell hundreds of thousands of consoles every month. In my eyes, Sony always has the best press conferences in terms of presentation and surprise announcements. This year however, Sony was lacking. I give them kudos for finally giving gamers a look at actual Killzone 2 gameplay footage, but other than that and the cool MGS4 trailer, the rest of the conference was simply forgettable. Seriously, I have nothing else to say about the Sony press conference. I’m already excited about Little Big Planet and the Home Network, but nothing much has really changed since they were unveiled earlier this year. I thought this year’s E3 was really deprived on many levels. I don’t know if it was the change in show format or what, but this definitely didn’t feel like E3. If I had to pick best E3 press conference this year, I’d have to go with Nintendo. They had the biggest out-of-left-field surprises with the zapper and WiiFit, and they had street dates for the games people really want for the Wii. There’s no doubt that the 360 will have the best holiday season this year, just because of the sheer amount of sure-fire titles they’ll have on shelves. Nintendo will sell well only because the DS is the hottest thing since fire and the Wii will most likely sell out again this holiday season. Sony is going to fall flat on its face yet again. There’s almost nothing on that system from the last holiday season and there’s almost nothing coming out this holiday season that justifies a $500-600 kick in the wallet. Unless you have an HDTV and the money to burn, there’s really no reason to own a PS3 right now. Talk to me again when MGS4 and Killzone 2 come out. On to the best of: Best 360 game: Halo 3 Best PS3 game: MGS4 Best Wii game: Super Smash Brothers Biggest surprise: (tie) WiiFit and Wii Zapper Biggest Letdown: lack of surprise announcements from Sony and Microsoft What happened to: Too Human (a week after E3, obviously we know why) Best Developer: Ubisoft Most anticipated game that’s not a sequel: Assassin’s Creed Best E3 moment: When Peter Moore pressed the pause button during the Rock Band stage demo Here's hoping that next year's E3 will be much better.