Nintendo (The House of M)
George-
So Nintendo had a lot to live up to today. They announced their new handheld system, the 3DS a few months ago, right on the heels of the release of the DSiXL. They announced that it would have full 3D without the use of graphics. They finally showed the system off today, and it looks....
Like a DS with a bigger screen on top. Along with announcing the 3DS, they announced a new Kid Icarus game for it, which looks fucking amazing. Also they showed a bunch of interviews with 3rd party game developers, and they had Hideo Kojima saying that he wants to bring the Metal Gear Solid series to the 3DS. I hope I get to grope a 16 year old IN 3D!!!! Just kidding, but still, amazing stuff.
A bunch of games that I didn't even know I was looking forward to were demonstrated today. Kirby's Yarn was announced today, and it really looks fun. It brings me back to the old days of Yoshi Story. Hopefully this can be played with a Gamecube or a Classic controller, because I think the motion controls would just ruin it for this game.
Also announced was Donkey Kong Country Returns. This is being brought to us by the same stuido that has handled the Metroid Prime series, and looks very promising. I know I logged a billion hours on my old DK Country cartridge, and the last time we played a good DK game was DK64, which was fun, but didn't scratch that itch that rare filled so many years ago (during what I remember as the magic years of gaming).
Another big announcement I was looking forward was kinda ruined for me by the fact that the Wii's hardware is such a big limitation on the games that are going to be made.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword was announced today, and I thought it looked pretty cool. They blended the graphics of Twilight Princess with the midrange colors of Wind Waker to create a vibrant looking world. Only problem was, while Shigeru Miyamoto was demonstrating the game. It will be in full motion controls with the Wii motion+. As you notice even the screen that Miyamoto exits out of doesn't cut in 1:1 motion. I trust in Miyamoto as a game developer though. I think that after the embarrassment of getting up on stage in front of a lot of people and having his child embarrass him so badly, he's going to fine-tune the motion controls so it does not have any possibility of happening to anyone.
The only other disappointing thing for me about this conference is that Nintendo only gave a vague statement as to when their newest console would be available (even though they looked as if they're ready to ship today). They stated the usual "Holiday 2010" that every game developer gives when they mean the 4-5 month period before Christmas, and they didn't drift a price past us. This kind of irked me, as I use this show to judge how much money I'm going to be throwing away in the next year.
A company that did follow through with this though...
Sony
George-
So everyone kind of didn't know what to think of Sony this year. They knew that there was going to be Move news, but they didn't know what other news would be released. I was pleasantly surprised with the plethora of information that I gained by watching the conference.
To kick things off, Sony introduced the Move. What they also introduced was an attitude that they weren't afraid to take pot shots at their competitions' showcases. They talked a lot of shit about Microsoft's motion controller, which makes me happy inside. It means they've finally bucked up and they're confident that they have a product that has the ability to move units.
And they proved it too by demonstrating some games.
First off, from what I can tell, the motion control is 100% 1:1 accuracy. Unlike the Wii, if there's a cursor on screen, there is no jittering or random misses. They showed off Killzone 3, which although I'm not too excited about, was at least worth mentioning that it was delivered pretty well.
The next game they showed was Sorcery. It was 1:1 and had pretty awesome magical gameplay. Can't wait to get my hands on it myself.
What kind of sucked is that they didn't have any news about a PSP2. Instead, they brought out a new marketing campaign for the PSP. Also showcased their sports suite.
This got me the best about the conference though: THEY ANNOUNCED BOTH PRICE AND LAUNCH DATE FOR THE MOVE. This was the big sticking point for both Nintendo and Microsoft. The Move will launch on September 19th for North America. The main controller will cost $49.99, and the sub-controller (think Wii nunchuck if you will) will run $29.99. The PS3 Eye is normally $39.99 but Gamestop has made it unavailable online.
They announced 2 different bundles for the Move. The first package is similar to how the Wii was relesed. Comes with the main controller, the camera and a sports game. This will run for $99.99. They also promised a bundle for $399.99 for a PS3 Slim and the $99.99 bundle. The complete bundle (assuming you have a PS3 already), including the sub controller, will run for about $129.99. Not bad for so many things, and a game that would probably be $50-60 on its own. Buying everything separate would run you about $120, so the extra $10 gets you a game that will serve as a tutorial (and a fun beginner game).
They also announced a lot of good games to look forward to in the next year. InFamous2 looks awesome. Also, Gabe Newell (who has been very outspoken about how much he hates the current state of consoles) had to eat his words and make nice talk about PS3. Also he announced that Portal 2 will be on the PS3, and that they will have some form of a Steam Platform that will allow the Steam Cloud. Does this mean that if I buy Portal 2 on the PC, it will be available on my PS3? God I hope so. I laughed in the trailer when GLaDOS says "I think we can put our differences behind us and work together for science. You monster."
I think that was specifically referring to how Gabe Newell had to just get up in front of everyone and ate his own words. Either way, I'm frustrated that there was no HL2:EP3 announcements or HL3 announcements. Though as I was venting my frustrations, Foe did remind me that they may be waiting to release Portal 2 as part of a Box just like they did with the original Portal. I mean, they even did delay it from a January release...
But that's just wishful thinking.
An exculsive I'm not excited for is Gran Turismo 5. Every time I've picked up a GT game, I can't even get past the licensing part of the game thanks to the shitty handling of the starter cars you get. I'll give it a rent when it first comes out, but I think for now I'll stick to Forza 3.
We also got an announcement about a game that has been denied up, down, left, and right for about the last 2 years now. Everyone should remember the original Twisted Metal game. It was basically a maniacal car shootemup that was extremely fun. Over the years it got darker and darker. There hasn't been a true proper sequel to the game since Twisted Metal: Black, which was one of the release titles for the PlayStation 2.
It's about damn time we get something new. This game looks very crazy. It has aerial combat in addition to ground combat. Also, you have the ability to lean out of your car's window and use a sniper rifle. Very cool. I can't wait to try it out. I remember having hours of fun on all of the titles as a young kid.
On a final note, I have to say I was impressed by Kevin Butler's speech. I'd link it, but everyone posted the G4 stream of it, which had a breakup in the beginning of it. It was an epic speech in which Kevin Butler not only joked about the competition (The Kinect reveal party, and Nintendo's Mii's lack of arms and legs). He also defended casual gamers, with one of the best arguments ever:
"Say you have an awesome girlfriend, then someone else gets an awesome girlfriend too? You know who wins? EVERYONE."
You know what though? The entire speech was very inspiring. It makes me believe that Kevin Butler isn't just a character. He's actually a man that enjoys his work and genuinely loves the world of gaming.
Long live gaming FOREVER MAY HE REIGN.
Oh: and Sony officially won. From start to finish.
I'm off to go mark X's on the calendar every day that passes until the Move comes out.
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