E3 Expectations

E3 is nearly upon us. For those who don't know what E3 is: it's the biggest expo in gaming where all the top developers and publishers come together to reveal their new material (games and hardware) to the media and those select fans lucky enough to be in attendance. The biggest publishers, EA, Activision, and Ubisoft, alongside the biggest developers such as Bungie, Naughty Dog, and Konami. The event lasts three days while company-specific press conferences are held a few days before. The press conferences kick off early next week and the doors to the showrooms open a few days later. But what do we have to look forward to? What's the hype this year? Run through my countdown and you'll find out what I think will be big this year...

Number 10:

PSP 2

Not much is known about the specifications of the new hardware but expect Sony to unveil their new flagship for Sony handheld gaming. With the PSP Go flopping and the latest PSP edition aging, Sony needs to come out strong with a new design, a new GPU and some intriguing games in order to contend with the new iPhone and Nintendo's next portable gaming device (below).

Number 9:

Nintendo 3DS

Another portable system with little public knowledge. What's known is that the device will

use 3D technology to make itself stand out from the competition. The device is also rumored to

have high quality graphics close to what the Xbox 360 and PS3 are capable of rendering. This

will be Nintendo's primary response to the growing backing behind the iPhone and it's increasing

importance as a gaming device. Look for this device to be a headliner for Nintendo.

Number 8:

PlayStation Move

Another piece of hardware makes the list and it's from Sony once again. This is Sony's answer to the success of the Nintendo Wii. Move is a new device that reads motions rather than button combinations for control over a game. Think of this device as a more modern version of the Nintendo Wii and you'll have a good idea of what to expect. Cutting edge graphics and motion control technology makes this an exciting device for any PS3 owner. Since Move already had its real coming out party a few months ago, expect Sony to show off what the new controllers can really do outside of gaming as well as new games that will support motion control.

Number 7:

Crysis 2

The first Crysis game became an international hit, mostly due to the game's reputation as a PC abuser. When released, the game required what many considered to be a supercomputer in order to play. The game was extremely demanding on PCs and only the best and most powerful computers could handle the game, and an even smaller number of computers could handle the game with the graphics quality turned all the way up. Now the game is dated but still gorgeous none the less. Many people said the game could never be ported to a game console due to the limitations of a console. But the developers are doing the impossible: Crysis 2, the sequel to the game that coined the phrase "Yeah, but can your PC run Crysis?" is coming to consoles and it looks incredible. The impossible is being imagined and it's coming to the PC, Xbox 360, and the PS3. Expect this game to be the next big shooter on your console.

Number 6:

Metal Gear Solid: Rising

Hideo Kojima, the man behind the wildly successful Metal Gear Solid series is finally creating a Metal Gear game for the Xbox 360. At last years E3, Hideo Kojima, a legendary game developer and master story teller, shocked journalists and other attendees when he took the stage at Microsoft's press conference and dropped the announcement that he would be bringing MGS: Rising, his next big MGS game, to the Xbox 360. The Metal Gear Solid series has been notorious for appearing almost solely on one type of console, Sony's, but now a MGS game is coming to the Xbox 360 and anticipation could not be higher. Expect a brief trailer with limited to no gameplay (mostly CG) that will help explain Hideo Kojima's direction for the game.

Number 5:

Bioware Booth

I've mentioned the booth as opposed to one or two specific games because this specific developer, Bioware, is one of the best in the industry and has many rumors floating around as to what they will be announcing and showing. Part of those rumors involve sequels to two of last year's biggest RPGs, both critically acclaimed and highly successful: Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2. Rumors has it that Mass Effect 3 and Dragon Age 2 will be shown. The developer also has plans to unveil more footage of their highly anticipated upcoming MMORPG: Star Wars: The Old Republic. This game has already been regarded as the WoW (World of Warcraft) killer so expectations are high. Expect new gameplay for the Old Republic, as well as a new CG trailer showing a more in depth look at Bioware's direction for the game. As for Mass Effect 3 and Dragon Age 2, expect CG trailers or teasers.

Number 4:

Blizzard Booth

Another booth here from the makers of Diablo and Warcraft. Expect more information on the WoW expansion Cataclysm as well as more gameplay of Diablo 3. Also expected to make an appearance is their sequel to one of the greatest RTS (real time strategy) games of all time: StarCraft 2. With a line up consisting of Warcraft, Diablo, and StarCraft, Blizzard will likely be close to having the best games from any developer at this year's E3. All three series are loved worldwide and Blizzard hopes to continue its global domination with Diablo 3 and StarCraft 2. Blizzard is known for high end CG scenes so expect some of these for Diablo and StarCraft as well as release dates.

Number 3:

The Last Guardian

The developers of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, two of last generations best games, are back with another sure hit. The game dropped jaws last year when Sony released an in-game trailer during E3 2009. The game has been slightly forgotten but I'm sure Sony won't hesitate to bring a new trailer to their arsenal. Expect another trailer, a live gameplay demonstration, as well as a time frame for the games release. This game is certainly a contender for Game of the Show.

Number 2:

Project Natal

The motion control revolution is well underway and this year, Microsoft will be releasing their version of motion control technology for the Xbox 360. The codename for this technology has been called "Natal" and consists of just one device: a high powered camera with multiple lenses, including infrared reading. This camera allows for controller free motion reading unlike the Wii and PlayStation Move versions of motion control. The device also comes with voice recognition software allowing the user to speak to an Xbox 360 as a means of control. The camera system is said to allow up to 4 people to play a game at once and is supposed to be error free even if an object gets in the way of the person(s) playing. This is Microsoft's plan to save their console as they continue to lose ground to the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii. The device already had an unveiling last year and blew the minds of just about everyone in attendance. Expect more concrete information on pricing, a release date and specifications such as latency and lag. And of course, loads of demonstrations and hype building exercises are in store.

Number 1:

New Legend of Zelda

One of the most beloved franchises of all time is finally returning and gamers everywhere couldn't be more upset. Why? Because not one bit of information has been leaked as to what the game will focus on. Expectations are that it will follow the path of The Twilight Princess and will go for a more mature audience. But legendary game developer Miyamoto could be taking this game anywhere. The new Zelda title will certainly steal the show even if one 15 second teaser is shown. Link and the Zelda series are legends and when these legends return to the spotlight, the gaming industry is going to eat up every bit of information available multiple times.

So that's it! The pre-E3 events and press conferences start tonight (June 13th) with Microsoft's Project Natal conference at 10pm EST. Catch a live stream over at Gametrailers.com if you're really interested. On Monday, Microsoft takes the stage again for the Microsoft Conference followed by the Nintendo Conference on Tuesday morning and the Sony conference later in the afternoon. Then E3 officially begins!

3D gaming is coming....again.

Sony has officially announced it's total support for the 3D gaming whirlwind of attention that seems to be popping up all over the web. Major graphics companies and gaming giants have stepped in to try and usher this new (yet old) style of gaming into the consumers hands.But there's a catch right? Of course.

First of all, you obviously need a PS3. The system is ready right now through Firmware updates for 3D gaming. Sony plans to patch their "Everything" machine to allow the 3D technology to accept PS3 signals. The catch here, is that you need to buy a brand new TV. And the prices of these new 3D television sets has yet to be determined.

The problem is with the timing. The TVs are not out yet, and won't be for another year but Sony is already pushing gaming companies to start developing games for the technology. Now, it's likely that these new TVs will be 3, 4 maybe 5 thousand dollars for something average like a 32" causing consumers to spend thousands on another "revolutionary TV" like the consumers did when the purchased their first HDTVs.

Because of the fact that people have just recently caught on to the HDTV craze, the install base for these 3D TVs when they launch will increase extremely slow because the consumer will not want to buy another new TV. The company needs to give this new technology time and go for implementation into the Blu-Ray service first before trying to break it into gaming. I think Sony has gotten a little into itself when they launched the DVD on their own and now thinks they can handle anything by themselves.

The install base for the PS3 is the lowest of the big three, and the competition in the gaming community has never been stronger. I think Sony is jumping way in over there heads here hoping to be the next Nintendo and come out with a new, revolutionary experience for gamers and is unaware that this thing is going to stop dead in its tracks the moment the gate is opened. This technology could be incredible but people will not be ready to spend the money to purchase another new TV. Especially not when HDTVs will be very affordable (in 2011).

Bottom line: Sony needs to bring this technology into the main stream. They need too. But they need to be careful, especially in a bad economy, when investing in technologies that won't be affordable by the middle class for sometime. Just implement the service into Blu-Ray for starters and push the experience with movies. Then force your way into gaming...It will work...trust me.


(We all remember the Virtual Boy's attempt at 3D in the 90s or the movie industry's attempt at the 3D market by allowing you to watch movies with glasses, right!?)

Virtual Boy:

Xbox Live System Update: Joke

Today, Xbox Live saw the realization of it's Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm integration into the Xbox Dashboard. Microsoft has really been boasting about these new features, claiming they will be revolutionizing the console internet interface. Sadly, they couldn't be more wrong.

The implementation was a total bust, in my opinion, and here's why: All three features come as "apps," if you will, not interface changes. Netflix, for example, is an "app" on the Xbox Dashboard. In order to access it, you can't be in a game or movie and if you are, they take you out of the game/movie quite quickly and throw you into there "app." Now, this is all just fine for a video provider, but for social networking and radio? No.

The best thing about Facebook and Twitter on the web are the tools that let you update your status or accept new friends etc., straight from your phone. It's easy. But with the Live method, you have to exit anything your doing and load an app just to change your status or view some pictures. This goes for the radio service, Last.fm, too. Excited because you thought you would get to listen to your favorite tunes while playing Halo or Modern Warfare? Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but it can't happen. Last.fm, like Netflix and Twitter and Facebook, require you to exit what your doing before listening. Because of the services being apps, they cripple themselves to an excruciating degree.

I've had this new services since they previewed them. I was one of the ones who signed up for the preview program. As soon as I got my update almost a month ago, I realized how silly these features were. All my hype for updating my status while playing Modern Warfare 2 as I progressed the levels, was taken away from me. Twitter is even less exciting now, because unlike Facebook, their are no photos of anyone to view. Last.fm is the only feature worth using right now and that's only if you are having a party or cleaning up your house and need something to jam to.

This can be fixed, so have faith. Microsoft needs to allow updates to come through Live and into your TV while you are playing a game. They need to allow a pop to say "New Facebook Message" or "Photo Comment by blah blah." Yes, I know that could get annoying so with that, they would need controls. User-defined controls. I don't want Microsoft picking what I want to see. And for God sakes, let me listen to Last.fm while I'm shooting zombies in Left 4 Dead 2!! It wouldn't be that hard...trust me.