E3 2012

[Wood]

Ok, last year I had a ton of fun last year in Buffalo, watching the Microsoft press conference, and I was wondering if we all should do, say, a google+ hangout for the press conferences. I'm thinking that should make them much more fun that way.

[Ekkebus]

It would be fun. But I'll be at work.

Also...you actually use Google+?

[Ekkebus]

Microsoft Press Conference is go. IMPRESS ME.

[Ekkebus]

Well that wasn't very exciting.

[BlackChad1976]

yeah just finished watching it & wasn't thuroughly impressed. Microsoft needs to step up their game but I will say this COD did good to get michael rooker to do a voice in the new black ops that I am never going to play

[Juese]

Yeah I'm in the middle of it. I already watched the South Park trailer, and I can't imagine anything will beat that. Skipping around, the only interesting thing so far is SmartGlass, and I can't tell how much I actually give a shit about it. Really I just liked following where John Snow was going. What I haven't seen yet but am looking forward to: Gore Verbinski's teaser, Summer of Arcade.

[BlackChad1976]

Smart Glass looks like it has potential but only if you have the "smart" devices it can link too but who knows it could mean future revolutions in how we do gaming

[King wiL]

New Twisted Pixel game
Trey Parker trolling Microsoft in their own press conference with the only non-scripted non-autocued non-robotic sounding bit of speech was the highlight.

[Jakanden]

Watch Dogs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcMRkyoHKeA&feature=plcp

Holy shit this game looks amazing! It starts off slow but once it gets going..holy shit.

[Ekkebus]

I think I've digested most everything big on the day. Obviously there's a podcast coming later this week but these are the highlights for me:

- Watch Dogs. Is this the only new IP that was announced today? Well, at least it was a good one. Looks like Deus Ex meets Assassin's Creed

- Assassin's Creed III. This game looks like just what that series needed. I love the new setting. The Ubi Soft gameplay trailer was cool but the high seas ship battling shown at the Sony presser was even better. Very excited.

- The Last of Us. Duh.

- Gears of War: Judgement. I'm still kind of bummed to see a new Gears already but it's People Can Fly AND it stars Baird. Wait, did Rory make them do this?

- South Park: The Stick of Truth. Trey and Matt definitely stole an otherwise dull Microsoft presser but the game looks damn good too.

- Rayman Legends. God fucking damnit why is this a Wii U exclusive

I feel like so much of what was announced either today or in the past couple weeks is getting dated for March 2013. Seriously next winter/spring is going to be so much more packed than this fall.

[dave auto]

I think Smartglass is fascinating insofar as it would let 360 games replicate the core functionality of Wii U games, without Microsoft themselves having to sell any hardware (on which there'd be a presumably low profit margin). By the time both Microsoft and Sony tried their hand at imitating Nintendo's success with the original Wii, it was too little, too late. Preemptively offering 3rd parties the opportunity to develop feature-complete ports of Wii U games to 360 shows that Microsoft is is at least trying to prevent Nintendo from eating their lunch this time around. If they couple this strategy with the same aggressive marketing to non-traditional demographics (women, the elderly) that Nintendo did, they might actually stand a chance at giving Iwata & Co. a black eye.

This is not to say that M$ was able to demonstrate a single practical application for Smartglass that was at all novel or useful. Calling plays in Madden? Really? Dreamcast VMU's were doing that 13 years ago. Starting a movie on my tablet and then... like magic! ...picking up right where I left off on my Xbox? How long I have dreamed of a media-streaming application that could perform such a miracle! Maybe it could feature a nifty red logo and rhyme with "Wet chicks."

As always, Nintendo will demonstrate to the world that this configuration is a good idea for reasons none of us have even thought of yet, and everyone else will iterate (and possibly improve) on it. But which of them will win the heats and minds (and dollars and cents) of consumers has less to do with who has the better ideas, and more to do with who wants it more.

[Juese]

Yeah I figure we'll go into it more on the podcast, but the whole connectivity thing (which Trey Parker got to make fun of before anyone else) seems to be a good idea with shitty demos. As per the Wii U, I don't see how it's easier to post on your Wii U about a problem than to check gamefaqs, but it's certainly a change of pace to see Nintendo embracing the internet. Just give me a price tomorrow and we'll talk. A $200-250 bundle with Aliens, and I might consider. Might.

The Last of Us, fucking A. I didn't even realize I was so excited for it. Also props to Watchdogs, RE6, and Rayman for killer gameplay trailers.

[Wood]

Only saw a bit of the Ubisoft press, and I caught the replays of the Microsoft and Sony conferences, along with the Nintendo Pre-E3 video. Here's my thoughts.

The Farcry 3 demos starts right of with some sweet tits. REALLY?!

Smartglass looks like it might do really well...if developers embrace the hell out of it. The interactive map of Westeros for Game of Thrones sounds like a great idea for getting a lot of information out of a television program. Using Halo Waypoint for Halo 4 looks pretty good, and even having a separate screen to control the XBL functions is pretty nifty. I think the key to it is to be really damn crafty with it. Also, if the keep with the promise that it'll work with every tablet/smartphone OS looks like a solid sell for me. the "You already own the hardware" is a nice touch.

Unlike last year's "Kinect! Move! 3D! Nintendo's MEA COPA!", nothing was really pushed this time. Thankfully the new hardware rumors weren't talked about, as both systems still have a lot of life in them still.

I'm very glad that Sony is showing good support for the Vita, as they're getting crossplay with PS3 games, and finally getting PSOne classics pushed out to it. It's interesting that some of their bit AAA franchises are getting separate games, rather than simply crossplaying games. Assassin's Creed III Liberation looked pretty damn good, actually.

Speaking of which, Assassin's Creed III looks amazing, coming from someone who never played any of the AssCreeds before. During the Ubisoft press, I was laughing at how they danced around the "Are the British going to be the villain in the series?" question.

Watchdogs and Last of Us both look amazing, and I'm sufficiently hyped for them. Also, ending the Last of Us demo with the main character shooting a man in the face with a shotgun is pretty damn crazy. Though Anyone else hyped for that Ellen Page video game, Beyond?

I really want to watch the Nintendo Press Conference to see what they got coming down the pipe. That cheesy video they played had some funny moments. "Call me Grandpa!" "That's a little creepy." "Says a man who talks to dolls."

But hey! They're releasing the PRO controller, which looks really close to the XBox controller, and they're really pushing the Nintendo Network. To everyone that read "Game Over", or anyone that know's about Nintendo's history, do you think they'll actually be able to pull off the Network they've been trying to push over 30 years ago? There's a lot of cool ideas going on with it, like creating an online community through the system itself, without having to go to a separate device. Also, I do want to nab a copy of "Together Alone" now that Iwata mentioned that book...in any rate, if the Wii U plays Wii games, and there's crossplay with my 3DS, please discontinue discourse and accept my bank notes!

[Jakanden]

As evidenced by my post yesterday, Watch Dog is easily the best thing I have seen so far and has jumped up to one of (if not the most) anticipated games for me. I was already loving that demo and then when they hit the shootout of at the end, I sat there with my jaw dropped. I want this game, NOW!

Assassin's Creed III is a close second. I am a fanboy of the series (although 1 is not all that great) so I am psyched for any new entry. With this one finally leaving Ezio behind (who is an awesome character, don't get me wrong), I am really excited about Conner's story.

[Ekkebus]

Yeah, it's kind of weird to say but I honestly think Ubi Soft came out of yesterday looking the best. As a third party they have less of an expectation to live up to but they were showing off some fantastic stuff all throughout the day, at both the Sony and MS press conferences as well as their own.