The Top Ten things about E3 2006

2: The Playstation 3

While the big disappointment of E3 was our inability to actually play most of what we saw, the game lineup for the PS3, including even the console itself, was really exciting and fun. From the promising features, such as the really high quality video and the ability to page the game information on the hard drive, to some of the more finer things (Such as the controller's tilt ability), there was a lot going for the newest rendition of the Playstation 3.

Honestly, and I will probably write a whole article on this, I think the PS3 got a lot of bad reputation, especially from G4TV. I've said it before- people who do not know what they are talking about should not talk, and unfortunately, in the interest of being “racy” on TV, certain G4 announcers would not stop bitching about the price levels announced at E3. While I completely agree that they are high, this particular announcer would mention it literally every time the PS3 was mentioned in his presence, without fail. Considering he never complained about price when he talked about powerful gaming rigs or anything of that nature, I felt it was rather biased and targeted of him to specifically complain about the price. If he is going to talk about the greatness of a $3,000 PC, he better damn well be willing to speak about the greatness of a console that is $500.

But, for the actual system, a lot was shown that promised a powerful lineup. Sony went the extra mile at E3 and made sure to present things that were tangible (Not cut scenes), and *ssured us that the vast majority of them would be playable at the launch. That is markedly different than Nintendo's offering, that was superior, but still lacked the definitive “You will have this in your hands by ______”. When the system launches in November worldwide, we can expect one renaissance of technology, if not a renaissance in gaming itself.

1: The Nintendo Wii and everything about it

And finally, the absolutely best thing at E3 was the Nintendo Wii. From the shiny controller to the games they let the press play, Nintendo delivered this E3- and with gusto. Opening their press conference with a literal display of the technology, Nintendo cleared away a lot of the complaining and friction that had built up in the journalist community, and managed to make only one thing present: Nintendo was going to rock.

Revealing information about the Wii, such as the small speaker in the controller, Nintendo just popped open our heads and poured information in like never before, telling us everything we wanted to know. Hell, even I walked away with a sense of understanding about the system, and not two months ago I would have not taken the system if you had given it to me. It showed powerful graphics none of us expected, very tight gameplay, and the one thing we really never expected- just fun. Nothing about the system came off as hardcore, nothing came off as difficult, and we were all proverbially humping the shiny box by the time the press conference was through.

The games were the factor that saved the system, which is something rather odd, but nonetheless interesting. The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess for the Wii, by far the most awaited title, was definitely a factor here, it's full rendered Zelda beauty taking the world by storm. Small, more intriguing games, such as Wario Ware for the Wii, showed that Nintendo still had that edge of uniqueness and fun to it. And, best of all, Super Mario Galaxy was there to show us all that Mario was still around to make us whores to his series.

But that ends it. I walked into the whole E3 thing expecting mediocre press conferences, I walked out a Nintendo fanboy who wanted to save money for the PS3. If you'll notice, I almost forced a XBOX thing in here- that is simply because Microsoft totally, completely, and irrefutably bombed the E3 convention, and looked like a bunch of idiots, even on stage. Every single game they put in our hands was buggy, laggy, or just boring, and everything they showed in cut scenes was the same old sci-fi first person shooter. When the XBOX Live Arcade setup seemed the most intriguing of their whole lineup, that was sad. But, screw them- I barely have enough cash to afford what I want to get, so a 360 is out already.

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