Which company won E3?

[JordAnime]

The show's over, the conferences are done and the demos have been played; and while the press decides their winner, what did you, the home audience think? 

Me, I'd say Nintendo, objectively speaking they had the best press conference, and with new hardware that was causing the longest lines, and a software lineup that has the core audience excited, I'd say this is easily their best show since 2006. 

Still, I was disappointed with Zelda...I have a feeling we'll be seeing a vastly improved presentation before its release; but still, they definitely blew their one chance to impress; the trailer was weak, Miyamoto's demo was plagued with problems, and the impact was minimal. 

I didn't follow the other two major players as closely, I skimmed some headlines and read a few previews of key games, they seem to be catering to their base as well as ever, but I really think Kinect has failed to get the core audience excited, which will be a huge problem for the expensive peripheral.  Plus with reports that it only works standing up...Microsoft definitely has been caught flat footed.

Sony, once again, they continue to please the core audience with games, but it's also pretty evident that they've withdrawn from the handheld race with the PSP basically being a no show.

[Loki]

Sorry, but I must adhere to my fanboyism and go with Microsoft. Not that I really paid attention to anyone.

But Halo: Reach and Fable 3 look absolutely amazing. And I love achievements. More games = more achievements.

I'm not nearly as disappointed in the new Zelda as you are, Jordan, and I may even give it a shot just to have an excuse to play with my Wii again. But their other franchises just do not interest me. Maybe I'll have missed something, but it's unlikely.

And Sony can still go to hell for all I care. They haven't upset me in any way, but I just don't care about them. It's so hard to.


Other than that... Capcom is win with Marvel vs Capcom 3, and Harmonix is still better than Activision when it comes to the music games genre. Even if their new "Pro Guitar" looks overly complicated and gives more fuel to the "Why not just play real guitar?" argument. But the track list they've revealed so far is so full of win that I don't care what else they do with it.

[JordAnime]

It's hard to see how you could really say Microsoft had "the best" show, I mean, even from an objective point of view it was pretty lackluster.  They do what they do every year, which is show the obviously line up that was announced well in advance, which some years plays into their hands, but this year it really just looked lame.  I managed to predict the entire focal point of their show with almost perfect accuracy.  The only thing I missed on were some of the finer details of what "new stupid feature" Microsoft would unveil, but ESPN fit that bill quite nicely. 

Well, aside from a bunch of games we already knew about, Kinect seemed to lack any sort of core appeal, the slim 360 which isn't so slim.  I dunno, maybe it's because I really don't care one way or the other about owning an Xbox, but I'm certainly not any more glad that I do.

[Loki]

So this poll/thread was more about who gave the best presentation? Oh. Didn't realize.

I thought it was more of a "who won" in the sense of "Who had the best games to offer?" kind of thing.


Although I realize now I totally forgot to mention that Microsoft does lose a LOT of points for Kinect at the moment. It's pretty stupid and I will hold that thought until I try it. Assuming I ever do.

I really don't care one way or the other about owning an Xbox, but I'm certainly not any more glad that I do.

That's pretty much how I feel about the Wii and PS3. It would take a lot for Nintendo to get me back in, and I doubt Sony could ever get me in. So even if I had watched E3, I think I'd give it all to Microsoft. And I've already stated why:

I must adhere to my fanboyism

lol

[Scott Shelby]

I seriously laugh at anyone who says Sony or Microsoft. No objective person could say that they won. They both literally had no surprises that were worthwhile. Their best games were Gears 3 and Killzone 3 respectively. While both were among the best looking console games ever, I've just never thought either series was anything transcendent (this coming from someone who has beat both Gears, played a good amount of KZ, and beat KZ2).

Nintendo won E3 unlike anyone has ever done. They resurrected series that needed to come alive again, showed new entries into their most popular series, and revealed a revolutionary handheld that will have NO competition next cycle. To top that, there are already 70 titles in production for the new handheld, with unimaginable first and third party offerings.

Nintendo definitively won the console wars last night, if there was any doubt left, and all but ensured that the 3DS will be the highest selling gaming device ever. After losing their way with the Wii from 2008 on, they got back to the series and creativity that made them the kings of gaming.

[alexkenny]

I'd say Microsoft. I'm sorry, but the new 360 and the Xbox Kinect just looks incredible.

[Ezlo's Apprentice]

Nintendo. No surprises I'd vote there I guess, but even trying to look at things objectively Nintendo outshone the competition several times over. A stream of returning franchises and a stunning debut for the 3DS make this the company's most memorable display for years. Even a buggy Zelda demo couldn't bring them down.

Sony's Move is very much the hardcore Wii equivalent many expected. Imitation the sincerest form of flattery and all that they seem to have got the balance right when it comes to the audience. Only other thing I remember from the conference is lots of loud noises from the majority of the software on show. And Kevin Butler. Still, I'd say they had the second best E3.

For it was Microsoft who will be looking back with heads a-shaking. They really dropped the ball with Kinect. It was the most impressive thing at last year's event and they had a great platform to build on. They blew it. Sunday's Cirque du Soleil event was nothing but smoke and mirrors as the project was revealed in full on Monday with a host of Wii clones and fitness titles. You know you've got a problem when your strongest launch day title is a Sonic spin-off. You can give away all the free consoles in the world, it can't hide the fact Kinect faces an uphill climb to win over gamers now. (Further issues are already creeping out of the woodwork...)

[JordAnime]

I thought it was more of a "who won" in the sense of "Who had the best games to offer?" kind of thing.

Yeah, this isn't a thread about who has the best game lineup for 2010, it's a thread about who won E3.  E3 is more than just the games lineup, it's about major announcements like  new software and hardware, and features.  It's about big exclusives coming out and pushing the industry forward.  Microsoft had a solid lineup for the core audience at E3 but, but it was a lineup we've all known about for a while.  The hardware changes to the 360 were less than impressive and Kinect, well, everyone's been saying they blew it. 

Even as a Nintendo fanboy, I'll admit last year they most certainly didn't win, even though they did show promising games like Other M, Mario Galaxy 2(which was gaming at its finest) and NSMB Wii.  Still, that wasn't enough for them to win E3.  2008 they shouldn't have bothered even showing up. 

Objectively speaking there were issues, and maybe not all the games they showed will appeal to everyone; and the limited effect of only being able to hear how great the 3DS is didn't help, but over all they continued to surprise and wow, they drew the biggest crowd with the 3DS and its the product the media is writing about, and the base is actually excited for the Wii again. 

[Loki]

I seriously laugh at anyone who says Sony or Microsoft. No objective person could say that they won. They both literally had no surprises that were worthwhile. Their best games were Gears 3 and Killzone 3 respectively. While both were among the best looking console games ever, I've just never thought either series was anything transcendent (this coming from someone who has beat both Gears, played a good amount of KZ, and beat KZ2).

Um, that would be "Killzone 3 and Gears 3 respectively," actually. You said Sony then Microsoft.

Nintendo won E3 unlike anyone has ever done. They resurrected series that needed to come alive again,

All three of them.

showed new entries into their most popular series,

Wait, isn't that redundant? Also: So did Microsoft. And presumably Sony, but who cares about them?

and revealed a revolutionary handheld that will have NO competition next cycle. To top that, there are already 70 titles in production for the new handheld, with unimaginable first and third party offerings.

People still care about handhelds? I thought we were working on getting away from controllers.*

Nintendo definitively won the console wars last night, if there was any doubt left, and all but ensured that the 3DS will be the highest selling gaming device ever. After losing their way with the Wii from 2008 on, they got back to the series and creativity that made them the kings of gaming.

I hope by "console wars" you mean PSP vs DS. Because no one counts handhelds in the 360/PS3/Wii "war." And in that war, Nintendo's so far behind that they'll never catch up this round. Not interested enough in Sony to pay attention to the PS3, but I can promise you that they're at least in second here.

I thought it was more of a "who won" in the sense of "Who had the best games to offer?" kind of thing.

Yeah, this isn't a thread about who has the best game lineup for 2010, it's a thread about who won E3.  E3 is more than just the games lineup, it's about major announcements like  new software and hardware, and features.  It's about big exclusives coming out and pushing the industry forward.  Microsoft had a solid lineup for the core audience at E3 but, but it was a lineup we've all known about for a while.  The hardware changes to the 360 were less than impressive and Kinect, well, everyone's been saying they blew it. 

So a company wins because they hold off and wait until E3 to show off their new stuff? Well then sure, Nintendo's going to win. Because Microsoft and Sony would rather announce something so early that by the time it's released, no one cares anymore.**

Seriously, though. Had Microsoft waited on their announcements until E3, then it'd just be a decision based on which company you like better. And I personally hate the idea of waiting till E3 before something's announced. Not much point in it. Although I guess something can be said for suspense...





*I'm kidding. Kinect looks retarded.
**No sarcasm there. They announce a new game during the idea stages, and by the time it's released, most people don't care anymore.

[alexkenny]

*I'm kidding. Kinect looks retarded.
**No sarcasm there. They announce a new game during the idea stages, and by the time it's released, most people don't care anymore.

I'm confused.... Well anyways, as retarded as the GAMES may look, the concept is a breakthrough. To console gaming, at least.

[JordAnime]

Seriously, though. Had Microsoft waited on their announcements until E3, then it'd just be a decision based on which company you like better.

I can't say I agree with that, because it was everything you'd expect, moreover, I think a lot of the games were announced at last year's E3 anyway, like Halo Reach, Fable III and probably Gears 3.  There was literally nothing new from Microsoft aside from Kinect, which everyone thought looked stupid.  In any event, even if they had been sat on for a while longer, or if not all were announced at E3, everyone knew that these major games were coming. 

I don't think anybody predicted before E3 that there would be a new 2D Donkey Kong Country game, or that a Kirby game would be as unique and different as it is, or that the 3DS would have so many amazing developers behind it. 

[Be_yourself]

Seriously, though. Had Microsoft waited on their announcements until E3, then it'd just be a decision based on which company you like better. And I personally hate the idea of waiting till E3 before something's announced. Not much point in it. Although I guess something can be said for suspense...

I think its kinda fun, i always get excited about E3, it would be nice if it was like this every year, which it isn't, but when there is a decent amount of new games it makes for a fun time.

[alexkenny]

Seriously, though. Had Microsoft waited on their announcements until E3, then it'd just be a decision based on which company you like better. And I personally hate the idea of waiting till E3 before something's announced. Not much point in it. Although I guess something can be said for suspense...

Yep thats pretty much my point.... Sort of.

[Loki]

In any event, even if they had been sat on for a while longer, or if not all were announced at E3, everyone knew that these major games were coming.

And it's such a big surprise that Nintendo announces a new Zelda game? Or a new Metroid? Please. Companies make sequels for their biggest franchises, and Nintendo's quite the opposite of the exception to that rule.

I don't think anybody predicted before E3 that there would be a new 2D Donkey Kong Country game,

Really? With the current trend of creating new games for old franchises in the style of the older games in the franchises, Donkey Kong may not be a specific one you'd expect, but you really can't give Nintendo points for originality on the general concept of the idea.

or that a Kirby game would be as unique and different as it is,

Cause Kirby's totally not known for being different.

or that the 3DS would have so many amazing developers behind it. 

The DS is pretty much the only handheld that matters, cause the PSP is stupid. Nintendo's a great and well-known company, so of course they're going to have great developers working for/with them.


I can't really say that you can give Nintendo points for being unpredictable or clever when they're announcing new games for their already well established franchises, rather than building new ones. And When you expect them to be more creative and fancy with their announcements, and less business-like every single year, then it kind of starts to just become the norm. They're not special for it. They're just doing what they do.


I'm sorry, but saying that Nintendo wins because they're more than just businessmen like Microsoft and Sony is kind of silly. It all boils down to what games were announced, and Nintendo's no less surprising than anyone else in that category, IMO.

[JordAnime]

I'm sorry, but saying that Nintendo wins because they're more than just businessmen like Microsoft and Sony is kind of silly. It all boils down to what games were announced, and Nintendo's no less surprising than anyone else in that category, IMO.

I'd say the majority of industry experts out there will disagree, but as you said, you're basing your opinion totally on fanboyism.  I can't say mine isn't 100% unbiased either, but objectively speaking, Nintendo had more big announcements we didn't know about, updates of old IPs, to the point where a game like Kid Icarus could basically be considered a new IP, new hardware, and a great sense of excitement. 
 

[Loki]

I'm sorry, but saying that Nintendo wins because they're more than just businessmen like Microsoft and Sony is kind of silly. It all boils down to what games were announced, and Nintendo's no less surprising than anyone else in that category, IMO.

I'd say the majority of industry experts out there will disagree, but as you said, you're basing your opinion totally on fanboyism.

Well yeah. And it's also my opinion. lol. Which is also based on what games I think are most interesting instead of their actual presentations. Which, going back to the fanboyism, means Microsoft wins in my book. It's like a big ole circle. Or something. . .

But for the record, I'm not saying anything against Nintendo. I think it's great that their fans are excited about what they have to offer. I just currently don't care about them anymore, innovative or not.


And at least we can all agree that Sony sucks.

[Scott Shelby]

Well, at least you're admitting that your opinion of who won was based off of fanboyism. If any objective person thought Microsoft won, I'd ask them to get themselves committed.

The general consensus from what I've been reading around the web is that Microsoft's E3 was disasterous, and ranks right up there with Nintendo's 2008 and Sony's 2006. I've yet to see a comprehensive poll that has Microsoft winning E3, or even coming in second. The consensus, which I agree with, seems to be that Nintendo was an easy choice for first, with Sony 2nd and Microsoft 3rd. I'm not going to list every poll and commentary I've been through, but here are some discussions on major sites to give you an idea.

http://www.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=27347195&tag=topics%3Btitle
http://forums.gametrailers.com/thread/winner-of-e3---poll-/1084824?page=1
http://kotaku.com/5567595/the-week-in-review-who-won-e3
http://boards.ign.com/teh_vestibule/b5296/192925772/p1/

Kinect hasn't been received well at all, and  the only AAA exclusives they showed were Halo Reach and Gears 3, which weren't even surprises.

I don't know how any objective person could say that remotely compared to Nintendo's presser. So many of their most popular series, current and past, were on full display, with exciting new entries and styles. Likewise their handheld stole the show. Sony did well this generation in selling 56 million units, but they're not going to be able to compete with something as revolutionary as the 3DS, which already has a long list of the best studios in the world developing games for it. They're going to chase Sony out of the market completely with the 3DS.

Nintendo smoked Sony and Microsoft. I just don't see how that's even debatable. Past E3s have usually been tough to call, but this was the most one-sided romp I've ever seen.

[hisak]

You guys are all wrong. Clearly Apple won E3.

The Nintendo 3DS will sell like gangbusters but it still doesn't signal that Nintendo has any understanding of how the mobile market is changing. Sure, the 3DS has 3D graphics without glasses--but also without a sense of perspective. That is to say, Apple is eating their market and Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime is sitting in the white Buick with the devil as they go over the cliff, laughing, a la Thelma and Louise.

[seitaer]

I think Penny Arcade illustrated this perfectly.

Nintendo didn't so much win E3 as that Sony and Microsoft lost it.

[JordAnime]

I think Penny Arcade illustrated this perfectly.

Nintendo didn't so much win E3 as that Sony and Microsoft lost it.

Wait...what?