First of all I'd like to apologize for removing my recently made video and closing the channel. One of my obsessed stalkers, who continually tries to add me on every account I make on the web (He's one of the teenage kids that clung onto my old youtube persona, those who remember the type of slope-headed nerds who frequently commented on my channel KNOW how f'ed up these kids were) obviously found it and thought it would be funny to subscribe to it. I've created another channel and made it invisible, as well as making the videos unlisted. I'll be handing out the link to some people here later in the week. I only ask that you do not subscribe to the channel or favorite the videos, or else it won't be a "secret" anymore and this kid will locate it. Good? Good.

Also, I should note that my Witcher 2 review was mentioned in the Gamespot community blog. Thanks to all of those who msg'd me pointing it out. Big victory for my work and yet another thing to add to my portfolio.

That being said, I've been really psyched for this year's E3 like no other E3 before it. Yeah yeah I know...same disappointment waiting for me, right Weedman? Still, with the new console generation getting kicked off this summer and the world having narrowly missed Armageddon before the pigs-can-fly arrival of Duke Nukem 4, you can't blame me for feeling that this one will be special.

Since E3 blogs and opinion pieces are all the rage on Gamespot right now, I figure I'll give my own rundown of what I'm looking forward to, and what I think will happen.

Don't worry, it'll still be cranky and full of old-man whining.

Ten Things I'm Anxious To See




Thing #1: Nintendo's "Project Cafe"

What I want to see:

I'd like to see Nintendo finally escape from this malaise they're in and go back to being the "hardware company" that produces the highest spec consoles again. Believe it or not, there was a time when their consoles were the fastest and most advanced. Sadly, the Wii changed that. The power of the SNES, N64 and Gamecube were replaced with the weakness and ineffectual hardware of the under-powered and woefully inept Wii. Sales were high, but attach rates, the thing that *really matters* to hardware creators, were abnormally low.

I'd really like to see Nintendo jump out of the gate with a hardcore system that produces visuals beyond what we've seen from a console so far *and* give us great gameplay with no gimmicks. Also, a real online infrastructure would be great to see as well.

What I THINK we'll actually see:

Nintendo has already said it's internal flash storage will only be about 8GB. Rumors also claim that their network won't see any big upgrades either, so expect friend codes or something like them to still remain. The ugly TV screen on their ugly controllers doesn't look too good either, if the pictures I've seen are accurate anyway.

To put it bluntly, I'm not expecting much here. I don't think Nintendo has learned their lesson yet. Maybe another generation of abysmally low attach rates and software sales will teach them that lesson.


Thing #2: New "Tales of..." Games

What I want to see:

I'm hoping we get a formal announcement that Xillia will come to the US or what the "other platforms" are that will be getting Graces. Though I'm pretty sure that other platform is the 360, you never know with Namco. Maybe they'll even throw us a bone in the way of a Vesperia PS3 announcement.

What I think we'll see:

We'll be lucky if we get a date for Graces F, let alone any word on Xillia. This *is* Namco we're talking about here.


Thing #3: Footage of Sony's NGP Handheld

What I want to see:

I guess it's called "Vita" and from what I'm hearing the poor sales of the 3Ds have caused Sony to rethink the handheld's design and they are toning down the hardware. They figure if people didn't get the 3DS due to price then they won't get the NGP either, so they are not going for wallet-breaking bleeding edge tech this time around, which I think is an incredibly bad move. I really want to see this thing blow the doors off of everything, but with these rumors going around....who knows?

What I THINK we'll see:

More Uncharted portable footage. Probably running at 15fps. Watch.


Thing #4: Sony trying to recapture the faith of lost fans

What I want to see:

Sony hasn't "lost" me, but a lot of folks are biting mad over the PSN fiasco and I can't really blame them. Poor communication combined with really bad timing have conspired to make Sony look bad in a situation that isn't helping anyone right now. Developers are rumored to be leaving PSN, publishers are losing money because their games are late and Sony has lost millions in revenue...all because of some psychotic hackers. Hopefully Sony makes amends at E3.

What I THINK we'll see:

Sony will ignore it and Kevin Butler will come onstage to chants of "IT ONLY DOES IDENTITY THEFT" at which point he'll cry and run off.


Thing #5: The Big Witcher Announcement?

What I want to see:

I'd like for them to announce an expansion pack or some large bit of DLC that adds more to the game and broadens the ending a bit more. Perhaps another full length chapter or several news quests for the admittedly short 3rd one. Either wya I'd take it and gladly give them my cash for more of what is already this year's best CRPG by far. (Unless I count Drakensang 2, which I technically played last October)

What I THINK we'll see:

The official Xbox 360 port, and it'll look horrid....then I'll laugh.


Now onto "things" I know will be good.

Thing #6: Dark Souls (Demon's Souls 2)

There have been some gameplay videos already but not as much as I'd like. Undoubtedly this year's E3 should change that and show us a good chunk of gameplay for once. I'm interested to see what changes, if any, will be made to the co-op portion of the game and if spears are actually balanced now. (read: nerfed)


Thing #7: Rage gameplay

I know *some of you* out there have tried to convince me this game will suck, but I simply cannot see how. IT's cl@ssic iD gameplay with a brand new engine. It was built for co-op as well, making this exactly the kind of FPS I need right now. A sort of Borderlands with more FPS and less RPG. What's not to like? Hopefully some new footage will convince everyone else of what I'm already certain of.

Thing #8: The BioWare backlash

EA Louse? The leak of details concerning Old Republic Online's imminent fiscal failure? Dragon Age being a dead franchise? Ohhhh....it should be fun watching BioWare deal with the fan backlash at this year's E3. I have my popcorn all ready for that. Oh sure, you'll have people drooling over ME3...but is anyone who wasn't born 2 years ago going to forgive them? No.

Plus Old Republic looks horrid. It is destined for the bargain bin or a Free 2 Play reversal. Guaranteed.


Thing #9: The Boo's over the Call of Duty subscription announcement

Oh they can try to explain it away as optional all they want, but when they mention it at E3, expect all heck to break loose. I expect some boo's as well as some good cat calls until the offenders are kicked out of the building. Still, it'll be fun to watch and I'm looking forward to them trying to explain it away.


Thing #10: And the thing I am lookign forward to the most: Phantasy Star Online 2 footage.

Hey, they might even announce that it's coming to the US. Sega really did us dirty by not mentioning America in their PSO2 footage last year. We've waited all this long for a true PSO sequel and after the pathetic attempt at recreating it with PSU you'd think they would try to bury the hatchet with the fans and give us something to smile about for a change.

I'm hoping we hear something from Sega about an American version. If not, Sega can kiss my [expletive deleted].