General E3 impressions thus far...

[Apossum]

This is just a general thread for your cumulative opinions...dump em here as the show goes on.

(read: don't get all pissy and think I'm trying to proclaim the solid truth ;) )

1. Are Sony and MS still game companies? Live Anywhere...yes, I just HAVE to know who is on live at all times, thanks MS, my life has improved 100 fold.

2. Karaoke? ....just no.

3. honk

4. it's too expensive but I'll get it when the price drops. was gonna get it on launch but....

5. ...Nintendo is back. I doubted them for a while. Since the N64, they've been weak. The DS was a great step, but now the Wii looks all poised to rock faces and recapture Nintendo's missing market share. I hear if you rub Reggie's mini-fro, he grants you a wish.

Game of the Show so far:

Tie: MGS4 and Super Paper Mario (go check out the screens and video in ye olde abandoned and haunted gamecube forum.)

Worst ideas:

--the PS3 controller-- we all know they put less than a year's worth of R+D into it. it also doesn't rumble, which is minor but sucks.

--2 versions of Zelda (drop the cube version. Nintendo is just too nice.)

--Live Anywhere.

--Sony and MS trying their damndest to tack on all this extra crap to their consoles, thus making them too expensive.

--Karaoke.

[RedvsBlue]

You might as well have just posted this in the Nintendo forum...

Microsoft's goal is, and has been with the 360, for total entertainment and connection/connectivity not just gaming. Everything they've done seems to further that.

Sony's just trying to do too much with their system by making it have all the features of the revolution and the 360.

Nintendo drops the cube version and they lose all respect from me, personally. I know that may not matter but their lame treatment of the world outside Japan has already eroded my opinion and I have a feeling I'm not alone.

[Apossum]

You might as well have just posted this in the Nintendo forum...




why?

[whoknows]

MGS4

Need I say more?

[RedvsBlue]

why?

Come on, don't bullshit a bullshitter. You and I both know why, your entire post is just a way to point out Nintendo's new direction. I'm not criticizing it but on the same hand, its not like its not noticable.

[Apossum]

Come on, don't bullshit a bullshitter. You and I both know why, your entire post is just a way to point out Nintendo's new direction. I'm not criticizing it but on the same hand, its not like its not noticable.


I swear, I'm not getting paid to do this. maybe it was a bad post though, with these forums being so on edge lately. :-P

seriously, I just figured there's a lot to take in at E3, so here's a thread where people can just spout out whatever about it and be as biased as they want.

[RedvsBlue]

I swear, I'm not getting paid to do this. maybe it was a bad post though, with these forums being so on edge lately. :-P

seriously, I just figured there's a lot to take in at E3, so here's a thread where people can just spout out whatever about it and be as biased as they want.

While I can agree that Nintendo certainly looks like this could provide for a strong showing by them in the next gen I think your downplaying Microsoft's announcements.

Live anywhere really isn't much but Halo 3 and GTA IV were pretty big in addition to some of the other various things they announced. I think what was truly surprising from Microsoft is that they actually had a decent amount of stuff to talk about given the fact that no one was expecting much out of them.

[Fire]

Let's see

PS3 controller - Lame. Takes out what respect I had for Sony. Crappy design, ripped off ideas, what more do I need to say.

PS3 - Trying to do way to much. Going far and away from its roots. Fucking $600 price tag is absolutely fucking insane. Who in the hell are they going to try marketing that to? If I wanted I'd take that money (if i had it) and invest it into the ultimate gaming rig (AKA a decked out souped up Pimped PC)

Wii - Skeptical at first, but after the videos and the conferrence and everything that has happened I have really been swayed. Even the name doesn't bother me anymore, though it is fun to say and I still get a chuckle out of it

Nintendo - They seem to know what they're doing again and seem to have a much focused direction in terms of the gaming and more specifically the console wars. They also seem to be getting more of that perfect mix of more adult oriented games, while still maintening a system/console that can be played by all ages.

Reggie Fils-Aime (AKA the Regginator AKA Reggie "Kicks Ass, Takes Names" Fils-Aime) really seems like he knows what he's doing at Nintendo.

Halo 3 - Wow so meh. Again a nothing special game that will get over blown and over hyped. Yippee, I can hear the fanboys calling already.

Gears of War - Fuck yaeh! Now that's gonna be the game that sells the Xbox for me, oh and the fact that I'm going to need a second pillar to my Wii in this next/gen.

GTA IV - After three iterations of mostly the same, I'm still shocked to see it selling so well.

MGS IV - Just freakin' cool. Sadly it will be on the PS3. *le sigh*

EA - Hmm...nice to see them trying to invest in some new IP for the next gen that will probably over-sequeled (to tired at the moment to think of the correct word) by them. Hey, it's a shot in the right direction for them at least. But again, sigh, they still have Madden.

Hmmm let's see what else have I missed oh yaeh, basically Nintendo has stolen the show so far.

[thorbahn3]

Pretty moot so far except for the controller speaker. Didn't see that coming. I wonder if the GCN version of Zelda: TP will be on the Wii disc. I mean you could just put in a GCN controller and then replay it with Wii controls later or vice versa.

[Apossum]

While I can agree that Nintendo certainly looks like this could provide for a strong showing by them in the next gen I think your downplaying Microsoft's announcements.




it's alright, my opinion really doesn't matter :lol: Alan Wake sounds interesting and DoAX2 looks fun and creepy (limbo anyone?) Lumines live was unexpected and definitely an awesome surprise. It'll be the first thing I dl when I get a 360.

other than that, I'm just waiting for that NG2 announcement...next year.

[RedvsBlue]

it's alright, my opinion really doesn't matter :lol:
Meh, who's does really?

[seanr1221]

Microsoft

- Glad to see they are getting GTA 4 right from the start

- Live anywhere doesn't mean anything to me, but neat idea I guess

- They did a great job providing the marketplace with E3 info, just too bad SOO many people were trying to download things at once

- Halo 3 = :drool:

Nintendo

- The Wii is so charming

- The classic controller has such a sweet design

- Nintendo seems to be doing everything right again

- Graphics = meh on some games

- Where's my SSB??

Sony

- MGS4 Looks AMAZING :drool:

- So does FF XIII

- Price WAAAAAAY to high, will drive away the casual fans that pushed Sony into the number 1 spot these past 2 generations

- Stealing ideas = :shame:

[Scorch]

PS3 = Boring presentation. Thought I stumbled on Sony's answer to iTunes for a while. The Gran Turismo boring is the type of stuff that make people stab themselves in the eye. Boring, expensive, copying everything.. ugh. MGS4 and FFXIII look amazing, but the price of it sucks. And what the hell was with that "Connect the PS3 to the PSP for a rear view mirror" shit? Like someone's going to use that useless feature. My favorite part was how they introduced everything for the PSP.. interactive maps, flash based shit, more applications.. WHERE WERE THE GAMES?

XBox = Okay, I guess. More "big brother" connectivity shit that's unneeded. More sequels. The only "new" thing introduced was Viva Pinata and Alan Wake. Way excited for the latter.

Nintendo = fuck yeah! Blew my socks off. Older games and new franchises, beyond hyped for that controller and level of interactiveness.. bring on the Wii!

[Kuma]

heres my impression

fuck Activision, putting Call Of Duty 3 exclusively on consoles, dumbing it down, and pulling Infinity Ward ist just bullshit

[RedvsBlue]

heres my impression

fuck Activision, putting Call Of Duty 3 exclusively on consoles, dumbing it down, and pulling Infinity Ward ist just bullshit

ok thanks

[Vinny]

Sony
+ MGS4...
+ No more boomerang controller!
+ PS3 doesn't cost as much as those crazy $700+ estimates
+ Fantastic looking games
+ HDD packed in
- Two different hardware packages, same SKU?:-?
- As the console market leader, the best they could do is copy the competition rather than out-do it?
- $500 is still a lot
- FFXIII... how's this series still called Final Fantasy? It's nothing like what origins of the series
- Little to no love shown for the PS2/PSP besides GoW2 and the MGS title. I can understand the PSP but didn't Sony say the PS2 should easily survive 10 years (and with 80 million installed base, that's very feasible)?

Nintendo
+ Games look like they'll be a fun as fuck
+ Some great look exclusives: Red STEEL, Mario Galaxy, MP3
+ DS line-up is godlike
+ Still supporting the GC (shockingly)
+ Wi-Fi always on
+ Remote speaker (amazing potential with sound)
- No price?!
- Many Wii games look no better than GC games
- Uh... Duck Hunt Wii?
- No GBA love, except for 1 Pokemon game?
- Little mention of Wii online capabilities

Microsoft:
+ Halo 3!! Woot! Woot! Woot!
+ 160 titles by the year's end
+ Lumines Live!
+ Gears of War, Forza 2
- Nothing all that exciting since the system's already out

[Tromack]

Am I missing something about MGS4? The trailer was kind of lame. Graphics weren't that amazing and the whole confusing bullshit metaphysics stuff got old in 2, and now that's all we get?

[Kuma]

ok thanks

youre welcome

[Vinny]

Am I missing something about MGS4? The trailer was kind of lame. Graphics weren't that amazing and the whole confusing bullshit metaphysics stuff got old in 2, and now that's all we get?

What? Come on... MGS4 is easily the best looking next gen title or I think so anyway. Sure the trailer left a lot of questions, but you can't expect Kojima to give away all the secrets.:)

[Fire]

Sony
+ PS3 doesn't cost as much as those crazy $700+ estimates



Are you out of your mind?

[MarkMan]

Right now for me... the show is like this:

Nintendo Wii > XBOX 360 > PlayStation 3

The PS3 and 360 are both around the same for me. MS has very AMBITIOUS goals and have announced killer titles that are sure to get everyone O_O!? Fable 2, Halo 3, GTA IV(Also on PS3). That's some good shit to look forward to.

PS3 has Tekken which we all love. <3 ! Virtua Fighter 5, and the most exciting one to me so far... Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. But then they have that crazy price and hardware changes.

Wii on the other hand. 27 playable titles! WTF. If anyone saw the press conference... man the controller looks wonderful... the new mention of sound/speaker capability is very nice IMO. A new Mario title in Super Mario Galaxy... The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess Wii Edition with exclusive Wii content, Duck Hunt Wii, that Tennis game was nice, Red Steel, and the one that I'm most excited about, Resident Evil for the Wii. I'm loving the classic controller too.

For handhelds, I'm glad with both of them... PSP is bringing some major heat with the post MGS3 title and Silent Hill prequel in Origins... looking really good. TalkMan will be great once it gets over here. For DS though, I'm way more excited... Starfox DS, Lunar Knights DS(From Hideo Kojima) which is the new Boktai I believe..., Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and more... very exciting.

I'll reserve final judgement over the next few days as I'm sure my feelings will change. I'll be able to play the games more in depth and see how they are and how their potential is.

I'm excited as fuck. Only member of my group that is still awake. lol. 2 AM. I don't think I'll sleep.

[trip1eX]

It's all about my Wii come this fall. It's the fun console.

[Genocidal]

GTA IV - After three iterations of mostly the same, I'm still shocked to see it selling so well.

MGS IV - Just freakin' cool. Sadly it will be on the PS3. *le sigh*

:lol: I don't think I'd have found it as funny if they weren't posted right next to each other.

Having not watched the Microsoft conference yet, is there anything that warrants watching that can't just be explained in text?

[Duskycub]

Well there goes the idea of us CAGs with the new price point for sony. Will get nintendo for sure but i am out of the consoles this generation now stick to my PC for games otherwise.

[evilmax17]

What? Come on... MGS4 is easily the best looking next gen title or I think so anyway. Sure the trailer left a lot of questions, but you can't expect Kojima to give away all the secrets.:)
Heh, I thought the trailer was ok. It had some decent writing and direction, but it was a lot of fan service. Also, we haven't seen any gameplay yet! I bet I could make a really pretty FMV trailer for the PS3 too.

Well, I couldn't...but Konami could.

I'm waiting to see how it plays before I get too excited.

Having not watched the Microsoft conference yet, is there anything that warrants watching that can't just be explained in text?
Meh, not really. Bill Gates gives a long and boring presentation. Just watch some Gears of War gameplay videos and the Halo trailer, and read a summary.

[lordxixor101]

Honestly, E3 this year has been a bit depressing.

Yes, Nintendo is stealing the show with me too. This could be my first "next-gen" system.

I'm pretty sure it won't be long until I own an Xbox 360. I might have to suck t up eventually and join Xbox Live also.

I almost with the PS3 didn't have any games that I was interested in. I won't pay $600 for a top of the line version of the system. Yes, I could do it, but $400 seems high to me, $600 is on the other side of the line for me. What I'm wondering is, starting at $600, how long until I can get the system for $250 or $300. Would I even want to play MGSIV and FFXIII by the time I'll pay for the system? Of course, the answer is yes, but still.

I hate to say this, but I'm rooting for a commercial flop for the PS3. I hope you can find it on the shelves all through Christmas. I know it won't happen, but I'm hoping.

[niceguyshawne]

Honestly, E3 this year has been a bit depressing.



I am right there with you. I knew that gaming would eventually pass me by and this E3 drove that point home. I am excited about the Wii and it will be my first console of next gen because it will deliver what I want it to; a unique gaming experience. I have no interest in having (or paying for) a complete home media center like Microsoft and Sony are trying to push out. For me, it is still about the games. Hopefully, Nintendo will be rewarded for their innovation this fall.

[Roufuss]

heres my impression

fuck Activision, putting Call Of Duty 3 exclusively on consoles, dumbing it down, and pulling Infinity Ward ist just bullshit

Is this true?

I saw it wasn't listed for the PC on Gametrailers, but I had just thought that they made some kind of mistake.

If so, I agree with you, fuck Activision. Call of Duty started and was made popular on the PC, at least keep it on the PC, espically if you're porting it to 800 other systems.

[Roufuss]

Meh, not really. Bill Gates gives a long and boring presentation. Just watch some Gears of War gameplay videos and the Halo trailer, and read a summary.

Live Anywhere was amazing, and was easily better then the rest of the entire presentation.

If they can pull it off, Microsoft will have pulled off something grand, something far grander then Gears of War or Halo 3.

[botticus]

If so, I agree with you, fuck Activision. Call of Duty started and was made popular on the PC, at least keep it on the PC, espically if you're porting it to 800 other systems.
Welcome to Rainbow Six territory.

[Roufuss]

Welcome to Rainbow Six territory.

Screw Rainbox Six, it got crappy anyways. :p

At least they still bring us Ghost Recon.

I just wonder why CoD 3 got pulled from the PC... did CoD 2 bomb so badly or something (on the PC)?

[botticus]

Screw Rainbox Six, it got crappy anyways :p

At least they still bring us Ghost Recon.
:D But not until it got console-crazy.

[jer7583]

MGS4

Need I say more?

yes, please. Go on.

Snake's so depressed to be on PS3 only that he shoots himself.. jeez.

J/K

What i'm not kidding about was the underwhelming graphics for MGS4. They look like they've been scaled back a bit from E3 2005, in my opinion. I also don't like the characters.. they don't look right.. or recognizable as those classic characters. Halo 3 was a much more impressive trailer, and fully in-game, as well.


I just cannot wait for the Wii.. almost everything shown for it looks fun and has been a positive impression with me. The 360 is looking good too with some games that are really showing its power. I think there was another media briefing, but I'm not sure.

[Vegan]

Live Anywhere was amazing, and was easily better then the rest of the entire presentation.

If they can pull it off, Microsoft will have pulled off something grand, something far grander then Gears of War or Halo 3.

Only if you care about crap like that.

[Swift900]

Live Anywhere was amazing, and was easily better then the rest of the entire presentation.

If they can pull it off, Microsoft will have pulled off something grand, something far grander then Gears of War or Halo 3.

Live Anywhere has me scared, specifically for what it may do to FPS's on the 360. If PC users are now able to play against 360 users, multiplayer matches will become severely unbalanced.

I have faith that Microsoft knows what their doing and will work to prevent this from happening, but still - it has got me scared.

[Genocidal]

I would hope there's an option that allows you to only play against people on the same platform as you, but I agree, it could become terribly unbalanced -- just look at Quake 3, where DC players could play against those on the PC.

[jkam]

M$ - There announcements didn't really impress me. I don't like FPS's or GTA so those two big games mean nothing to me. Microsoft Live anywhere seems a bit pointless. If you spend that much time worrying about your gamer score you need a life. Live arcade has some decent stuff coming but I'm not sure how good Street Fighter II would be with that controller. With the price though I am considering picking up a 360 over a PS3. The only problem is I have 2 generations of games that would be playable on the PS3. Ugh...ever feel trapped?

Sony - I'm actually suprised at how excitied everyone is for MGS4. It looks great and I'm sure it will be a good game but what's new? The graphics will be good but what else are you giving us? Besides the lame attempt at motion control you also get sequel heaven. Tekken, VF, DMC so on and so forth. Just like LIVE their online seems to want to find a way to get me to spend more money. That's what has been keeping me away from LIVE. The PSP showing was lackluster...a new MGS sounded good until they said it would be squad based. The PS1 game on the PSP was laughable. Look everyone RIDGE RACER! See I'm playing Ridge Racer! It would have helped if they showed Metal Gear Solid or Final Fantasy VII playing on it. The price tag sucks. I don't need 1080p, a blue ray player, or my console to make pancakes. At least with the hard drive we should get better load times (hopefully!). I may really wait until this system is $200 or less.

Nintendo - New controller looks fun with Tennis, Baseball, and some of the other games. I'm not too sure how great it will be with Zelda and Mario. Time will tell I guess. The DS showing was slick as hell. Starfox and Yoshi have me pumped. Super Paper Mario was a nice suprise and looks like it will be a lot of fun. The Wii is going to have an amazing amount of games and encompass every single generation since the NES. I may never need another console.

[Apossum]

The biggest attraction to MGS for me is the story. Seeing Snake with a gun in his mouth and that whole creepy post-apocalyptic setting gave me the chills. I'm also a few hours from beating 3 and am going to play through Substance again after, so I've been on a big MGS kick. (which reminds me, i need to get Twin Snakes to play on the Wii)

[Tromack]

yes, please. Go on.

Snake's so depressed to be on PS3 only that he shoots himself.. jeez.

J/K

What i'm not kidding about was the underwhelming graphics for MGS4. They look like they've been scaled back a bit from E3 2005, in my opinion. I also don't like the characters.. they don't look right.. or recognizable as those classic characters. Halo 3 was a much more impressive trailer, and fully in-game, as well.


I just cannot wait for the Wii.. almost everything shown for it looks fun and has been a positive impression with me. The 360 is looking good too with some games that are really showing its power. I think there was another media briefing, but I'm not sure.

I was with you until the Halo comment. The only trailer worse than the MGS4 trailer is the Halo 3 trailer.

[Roufuss]

Besides the lame attempt at motion control you also get sequel heaven. (Talking about PS 3's lineup)

Nintendo - New controller looks fun with Tennis, Baseball, and some of the other games. I'm not too sure how great it will be with Zelda and Mario. Time will tell I guess. The DS showing was slick as hell. Starfox and Yoshi have me pumped. Super Paper Mario was a nice suprise and looks like it will be a lot of fun. The Wii is going to have an amazing amount of games and encompass every single generation since the NES. I may never need another console.

Contradicting yourself?

Funny how people dog on Sony for all the sequels, yet Nintendo themselves is pumping out the sequels en masse.

[botticus]

Calling most Mario's (after NES, maybe SNES) sequels is like putting Snake into a GTA-style game and calling it MGS V.

I'll have to look into it to see what new stuff Virtua Fighter 5, et al. bring to the table.

[jkam]

Contradicting yourself?

Funny how people dog on Sony for all the sequels, yet Nintendo themselves is pumping out the sequels en masse.

Not exactly...when Nintendo does a sequel they actually change the game, the gameplay, or elements within. Mario Wii will be like nothing before it. That was my whole point with MGS4...yes it looks great and I'll probably like it but what's new?

I'll call your bluff with Starfox and Yoshi...but Starfox is a personal favorite and yoshi is hands down one of the best games of all-time.

[Roufuss]

Calling most Mario's (after NES, maybe SNES) sequels is like putting Snake into a GTA-style game and calling it MGS V.

I'll have to look into it to see what new stuff Virtua Fighter 5, et al. bring to the table.

When he meant Mario, I assumed he meant Mario Galaxy, which is a sequel to Mario Sunshine, which is a sequel to Mario 64, seeing as how all 3 are 3D platformers that all pretty much look the same. They can change some things, but its still a sequel, since it's not making nearly as big a jump as Super Mario Bros 3 ---> Super Mario 64 or GTA 2 ---> GTA 3.

For all we know, MGS 4 could totally change how MGS games are played, so simply calling it "just another sequel" while praising Nintendo seems a bit foolish.

[Zoglog]

My impression is that I should have went today and tomorrow instead of tomorrow and friday :D

[Swift900]

Jkam, I can't say that I really agree with you at all.
M$ - There announcements didn't really impress me. I don't like FPS's or GTA so those two big games mean nothing to me.
Thats understandable, it's your opinion. As for myself, I don't like japanese RPGs.
Microsoft Live anywhere seems a bit pointless. If you spend that much time worrying about your gamer score you need a life.
Live Anywhere is much, much more than gamerscore. It enables real-time communication between xbox 360, pc and cell phones. It will also allow Vista users the capability to play online with 360 users which should in turn expand the Live community immensely.
Live arcade has some decent stuff coming but I'm not sure how good Street Fighter II would be with that controller. With the price though I am considering picking up a 360 over a PS3. The only problem is I have 2 generations of games that would be playable on the PS3. Ugh...ever feel trapped?
Live arcade has a shit load of good stuff coming. Street Fighter 2 is only a small piece of what is to come. Here is a list of what was announced.

Contra
Cloning Cycle
Cyberball
Defender
Frogger
Galaga
Heavy Weapon
HoopWorld
Lumines Live!
Mad Tracks
Mutant Storm Empire
Novadrome
Pac-Man
Roboblitz
Root Beer Tapper
Paperboy
Rally-X
Scramble
Small Arms
Sonic the Hedgehog
Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting
Super Contra
Texas Hold 'Em
Time Pilot
Totemball
Track and Field
Ultra Mortal Kombat 3
Uno

Sony - I'm actually suprised at how excitied everyone is for MGS4. It looks great and I'm sure it will be a good game but what's new? The graphics will be good but what else are you giving us?
I don't think fans are really looking for something new. The Metal Gear Solid series is tried and true. What fans expect are some kick ass boss battles and a compelling, driving story. As for what they want, I'm sure it's simply closure - answers to the many questions that the previous games have created.
Besides the lame attempt at motion control you also get sequel heaven. Tekken, VF, DMC so on and so forth.
Did you even watch the conference? I'm guessing no. In that case, head over to gametrailers.com and check these titles out.

Coded Arms Assault
Eight Days
Eye of Judgement
Heavenly Sword
Lair
Monster Kingdom
Resistance

If anything, Sony should be criticized for not showing enough gameplay footage.
Just like LIVE their online seems to want to find a way to get me to spend more money. That's what has been keeping me away from LIVE.
If you are staying away from Xbox Live because it costs $50 a year than you truly are a cheap ass amongst cheap ass gamers. You have no idea the fun you are missing out on.
Nintendo - New controller looks fun with Tennis, Baseball, and some of the other games. I'm not too sure how great it will be with Zelda and Mario. Time will tell I guess. The DS showing was slick as hell. Starfox and Yoshi have me pumped. Super Paper Mario was a nice suprise and looks like it will be a lot of fun. The Wii is going to have an amazing amount of games and encompass every single generation since the NES. I may never need another console.
While I can't really disagree with you here, I will await hearing more actual user reviews of the wii before I make any assumptions.

[furyk]

I'm amazed at how many killer titles they showed on the DS. Sure we all expected Mario Basketball, Castlevania, and Final Fantasy 3 but a new Kirby, localized Ouedan, DK vs Mario 2, and a new DK King of Swing? Fan-fucking-tastic!

Nintendo has pissed me off though. Double AA batteries in the Wii remote rather then a rechargable pack? What the hell?

[slimpip]

In all honesty, I think Sony's price for the PS3 is justified if your in the market for a Blu-Ray player, but definitely not as a stand alone video game console. It's about on par with what a 360 plus HD DVD player would be at. I don't know if I'll be getting one at launch unless I can get 2-3 of them and be able to sell all but 1 off on eBay. The only games I am looking forward to are MGS4 and Assassin's Creed. Plus, the fact that you won't really see next-gen from PS3 until late 2007/early 2008 (when a majority of the developers start utilizing the blu-ray discs) really bothers me. The first year of PS3 games will probably be 95% DVD, 5% Blu-ray, and then gradually DVD will decrease and Blu-ray will increase.

Wii - Will buy at launch. They're having an awesome E3 so far. The press conference was awesome. Focused on the games and I am really looking forward to launch details.

360 - Things are looking up. Can't wait for Too Human, SC Double Agent, Gears of War, Halo 3, Dead Rising. Luminees Live really surprised me and I'm looking forward to that as well.

[jkam]

Jkam, I can't say that I really agree with you at all.

Thats understandable, it's your opinion. As for myself, I don't like japanese RPGs.

I don't like Japanese RPG's either...or any RPG's anymore.

Live Anywhere is much, much more than gamerscore. It enables real-time communication between xbox 360, pc and cell phones. It will also allow Vista users the capability to play online with 360 users which should in turn expand the Live community immensely.

The 360 + Vista users playing online would be cool but the whole cell phone thing seems silly to me.

Live arcade has a shit load of good stuff coming. Street Fighter 2 is only a small piece of what is to come. Here is a list of what was announced.

Contra
Cloning Cycle
Cyberball
Defender
Frogger
Galaga
Heavy Weapon
HoopWorld
Lumines Live!
Mad Tracks
Mutant Storm Empire
Novadrome
Pac-Man
Roboblitz
Root Beer Tapper
Paperboy
Rally-X
Scramble
Small Arms
Sonic the Hedgehog
Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting
Super Contra
Texas Hold 'Em
Time Pilot
Totemball
Track and Field
Ultra Mortal Kombat 3
Uno


I agree I said there was a bunch of good stuff coming. I just don't know that I would want to play some of those games with that controller is all.

I don't think fans are really looking for something new. The Metal Gear Solid series is tried and true. What fans expect are some kick ass boss battles and a compelling, driving story. As for what they want, I'm sure it's simply closure - answers to the many questions that the previous games have created.

Yeah your'e probably right. I guess I just feel with each sequel the wow factor has kind of worn off. You know its coming.

Did you even watch the conference? I'm guessing no. In that case, head over to gametrailers.com and check these titles out.

Coded Arms Assault
Eight Days
Eye of Judgement
Heavenly Sword
Lair
Monster Kingdom
Resistance

If anything, Sony should be criticized for not showing enough gameplay footage.

[color=yellow]I watched it and that's just it who knows what the real games will be like?

If you are staying away from Xbox Live because it costs $50 a year than you truly are a cheap ass amongst cheap ass gamers. You have no idea the fun you are missing out on.

No I'm not staying away from the $50 a year. I'm staying away because I see they are going to start charging you for game updates and all these little extras. Anyway to grab a buck.


While I can't really disagree with you here, I will await hearing more actual user reviews of the wii before I make any assumptions.

ok

[Swift900]

The 360 + Vista users playing online would be cool but the whole cell phone thing seems silly to me.
I too think the ability to send / recieve messages on your cell phone may be a little excessive, but hey, I'll take all the added functionality MS wants to give me. Additionally, I think this feature will be much more popular with those who are very active in multiplayer gaming i.e. those gamers in clans where communication / organization play a big roll. Also, the ability to take the Live Arcade games you have downloaded off of Live onto your cell phone is pretty bad ass.... Now all I have to do is find the money to buy a phone capable of running those games lol.
I agree I said there was a bunch of good stuff coming. I just don't know that I would want to play some of those games with that controller is all.
You have lost me. You now agree with me that there are good Arcade games coming out for the 360 but you are not sure if you want to play them with the 360 controller. What the fuck? I can understand how a controller may not suit you if you a fighting game elitist, but there are what... only two fighting games listed? Sheesh.
No I'm not staying away from the $50 a year. I'm staying away because I see they are going to start charging you for game updates and all these little extras. Anyway to grab a buck.
First of all, no one is charging anyone for game updates... you need to check your sources. Second of all, developers have been offering a lot of free, quality content: various themes and gamerpics, cars for PGR 3, coop mode for Kameo, etc. Granted everything is not free, but what do you expect? Horse armor is not essential to the gameplay in Oblivion, additional multiplayer maps for Call of Duty 2 are not required to keep playing on Xbox Live - these things are offered by developers to prolong one's interest in a specific game, therefore they cost money.

[Kuma]

Im sorry but Live Anywhere is kinda lame. Charging people to play PC games isnt exactly attracting to people who havnt been paying to do so for the past 15 years

[whoknows]

yes, please. Go on.

Snake's so depressed to be on PS3 only that he shoots himself.. jeez.

J/K

What i'm not kidding about was the underwhelming graphics for MGS4. They look like they've been scaled back a bit from E3 2005, in my opinion. I also don't like the characters.. they don't look right.. or recognizable as those classic characters. Halo 3 was a much more impressive trailer, and fully in-game, as well.


I just cannot wait for the Wii.. almost everything shown for it looks fun and has been a positive impression with me. The 360 is looking good too with some games that are really showing its power. I think there was another media briefing, but I'm not sure.
First of all, even though the graphics seem to be scaled down that doesnt mean they are still very impressive. And the characters do look different since it looks like Kojima is trying to make them look real. They are still recognizable though.

Also...what was great about the Halo 3 trailer? Master Chief walks out of dust and some woman is talking then it says "Halo 3"

[shipwreck]

First of all, even though the graphics seem to be scaled down that doesnt mean they are still very impressive. And the characters do look different since it looks like Kojima is trying to make them look real. They are still recognizable though.

Also...what was great about the Halo 3 trailer? Master Chief walks out of dust and some woman is talking then it says "Halo 3"

"Some woman" is Cortana and the Halo 3 trailer was great because it's in-game engine and it looked amazing to me. I can understand those that don't like Halo not thinking much about it (which obviously you're not a big Halo player if you don't know Cortana), but for Halo fans it offered a nice glimpse of what the graphics and story are going to be about this time around.

The MGS4 trailer looked decent, but I can't tell or understand what is going on in half of it. Looks nice enough though.

[whoknows]

"Some woman" is Cortana and the Halo 3 trailer was great because it's in-game engine and it looked amazing to me. I can understand those that don't like Halo not thinking much about it (which obviously you're not a big Halo player if you don't know Cortana), but for Halo fans it offered a nice glimpse of what the graphics and story are going to be about this time around.

The MGS4 trailer looked decent, but I can't tell or understand what is going on in half of it. Looks nice enough though.
Yeah...I'm not much into Halo, but I do know who Cortana is...they just change her look in every single game so she didnt look familiar at all besides being purple.

And I'm pretty sure MGS4 is in game as well, seeing as Kojima doesnt do the whole pre-rendered thing.

[Chacrana]

To be honest, I'm actually loving this year's E3... haven't heard about any Castlevania collections or Chrono Trigger ports, but there's simply a ton of games with a lot of potential. Yeah, the press conferences kinda sucked, but the games on display are great.

[Quatli]

I have no idea what you are all talking about. The only reason you are dissapointed is because of how hyped everything was this year. This is quite possibly one of the best E3's ever, if not the best. Sooo many good games to talk about that it is pretty rediculous. Not to mention 2 new next generations playable, how often does that happen?

Nintendo
-Definately poised to win huge in the console war, IMO. Yea ok that might be the fanboy in me talking, but seriously the Wii is garnering a lot of buzz and if the huge lines and positive impressions are any indication, Wii could make some huge waves. Not to mention the suprisingly excellent DS lineup.. and the Lite is sooo sexy. I dont even know where to start with the Big N this year. I am very happy to say the least. So many strong games in Nintendo's camp this year coupled with their newfound apple-esque design sexiness and innovation is going to win it for them this year.

Sony
-MGS4=Best game of E3. The trailer is amazing, it will show what the ps3 is capable of. oooh Metal Gear PSP is promising as well. Other than that, I was quite dissapointed in Sony, especially with the half-assed 'six-degrees' controller (c'mon, now) and $600 price point. I used to be an equal opportunity Sony-Nintendo supporter (sorry MS), but now Sony is looking more and more like the Evil Empire company that everyone is making it out to be. First DRMs, now this... If it wasnt for Kojima i would cut ties completely.

MS
-Ok, ill admit it. I have harboured a bit of an anti-xbox bias since day one. But I will say that I thought the MS press conference was strong. Some promising new games and an expanded xbox live arcade, not to mention the rather ambitious Xbox live anywhere project. With the recent ps3 dissapointments, the 360 is looking a bit more attractive.

anyways, just some initial thoughts...

[DesertEagleXIX]

Ok, quick Impressions

Man, there were a lot of playable PS3 games, at least 10 or so. I expected one or two, tops. Sonic, Genji, and other were on display. The controller felt extraordinarily light.

GT5 was 20% done. It felt about 95% done, maybe they need to add more cars and tracks. The video for MGS4 was amazing, makes we want to get a PS3 at launch.

All PS3 games ran at 60 fps, with the exception of a mech game. Overall, they looked better than 360 software.

I played Saint's Row and Prey for 360. Sain't Row was another GTA rip-off with frame-rate problems. Prey was a multiplayer FPS that looked and played good, nothing amazing. Splinter Cell for 360 looked good, but the animation was choppy, overall it didn't look as good as some of PS3 titles.

[depascal22]

That sounded exactly like Cortana to me. It's awesome because it seems like her voice has matured. There's more edge to it now. Or I can just be going off on a Halo fanboy tangent. Whatever.

It all looks good. I'm still looking to get every system but I now I can comfortably wait for the PS3 until 2008.

[Swift900]

Ok, quick Impressions

Man, there were a lot of playable PS3 games, at least 10 or so. I expected one or two, tops. Sonic, Genji, and other were on display. The controller felt extraordinarily light.

GT5 was 20% done. It felt about 95% done, maybe they need to add more cars and tracks. The video for MGS4 was amazing, makes we want to get a PS3 at launch.

All PS3 games ran at 60 fps, with the exception of a mech game. Overall, they looked better than 360 software.

I played Saint's Row and Prey for 360. Sain't Row was another GTA rip-off with frame-rate problems. Prey was a multiplayer FPS that looked and played good, nothing amazing. Splinter Cell for 360 looked good, but the animation was choppy, overall it didn't look as good as some of PS3 titles.

Thank you for your first hand impressions. It's nice to hear positive comments towards the PS3 for a change. With that said, I believe one of the playable demos would have been Heavenly Blade judging from the on-stage demo during Sony's Press Conference, but from the looks of your post it doesn't look as though you got a chance to play it. Of what I have seen, this game looks pretty sweet.

As far as Saint's Row goes, I was not expecting anything from it... screenshots looked like ass and it came off to me as, just like you said, "another GTA rip-off."

My interest towards Prey has been increasing quite a bit over the past month or so. From the videos and previews I've checked out, I really think the game's strong point will lie within the single player campaign mode. The games seems to be literally chucked full of crazy ass scripted events - something that certainly not would not have been present in the multiplayer aspect of the game. However, the fact that you say the game looked and played good is nice to hear.

Lastly, Splinter Cell 3. While I don't doubt your description of the game in the least, Ubisoft still has a lot of time to work out the kinks in the game you have described... they have yet to produce a bad Splinter Cell game.

That sounded exactly like Cortana to me. It's awesome because it seems like her voice has matured. There's more edge to it now. Or I can just be going off on a Halo fanboy tangent. Whatever.

It all looks good. I'm still looking to get every system but I now I can comfortably wait for the PS3 until 2008.

I stopped over at the bungie forums yesterday, where speculation for what will come in Halo 3 was in heavy debate. From what I've read, a lot of people over there think that it may be Gravemind communicating to the Chief through Cortana... makes sense I guess especially since you can hear their voices seemingly mesh in Cortana's first few words. Anyways, I cannot wait for this game.

[Genocidal]

Nintendo has pissed me off though. Double AA batteries in the Wii remote rather then a rechargable pack? What the hell?

Wavebirds also run on AA batteries, and I can't say I've ever heard anyone complain about how long they last. Worst case scenario, you invest in 4 rechargable batteries per controller, but I honestly see this being a moot point.

[Swift900]

Im sorry but Live Anywhere is kinda lame. Charging people to play PC games isnt exactly attracting to people who havnt been paying to do so for the past 15 years

I too think it will be interesting to see how well gamers accept paying for Live, but a
unified system where gamers are constantly connected is something that is very attractive. Additionally, a service that provides easy access to demo's, patches, trailers, etc. is almost worth the price alone, assuming that it is equal to that of the 360. With that said, I think the integration between console and pc is the ultimate future of gaming. On a final note, those of us who are already Live members via 360 better not be expected to pay because I'll be one pissed off mutha-fuck-a.

Wavebirds also run on AA batteries, and I can't say I've ever heard anyone complain about how long they last. Worst case scenario, you invest in 4 rechargable batteries per controller, but I honestly see this being a moot point.

Wavebirds do not have to deliver power to the many sensors found in the wiimote. Additionally, the wavebird did not have a built in speaker. I think it will be interesting to see how well regular AA batteries hold up, but I agree rechargable batteries can be purchased seperately.

[Roufuss]

I too think it will be interesting to see how well gamers accept paying for Live, but a
unified system where gamers are constantly connected is something that is very attractive. Additionally, a service that provides easy access to demo's, patches, trailers, etc. is almost worth the price alone, assuming that it is equal to that of the 360. With that said, I think the integration between console and pc is the ultimate future of gaming. On a final note, those of us who are already Live members via 360 better not be expected to pay because I'll be one pissed off mutha-fuck-a.


Here's the thing: Let's say I buy Shadowrun on PC. Do I have to pay for Live Anywhere just to be able to play online at this point on my PC? Or will I be able to play online for free on the internet, just not on Xbox Live with its Leaderboards and 360 people?

I hope it's the latter, I really do.

I'm connecting to free demo's, patches, and trailers just being online already... I don't need to pay for Live Anywhere for that priviledge on my PC.

I'm real curious to see how MS will handle this with MS made games.

[dude2003]

i didn't read through the whole thread so i don't know if someone had mention this but i want to have my opinion on it: from the videos i've seen and the reaction of the nintendo wii, i wouldn't be surprise to see nintendo leading the industry again. the controller and the games shown are simply innovative. also the trailer for red steele, how cool is it to use the controller as a sword and fight someone online? i think the wii will do very well at the very least and nintendo is back!

[javeryh]

E3 has been a lot of fun so far. I'd be excited for all three consoles if it wasn't for that $600 price tag on the PS3 (no thanks). The games look great and I can't wait to get my hands on Super Mario Galaxy and Zelda:TP.

[Swift900]

Here's the thing: Let's say I buy Shadowrun on PC. Do I have to pay for Live Anywhere just to be able to play online at this point on my PC? Or will I be able to play online for free on the internet, just not on Xbox Live with its Leaderboards and 360 people?

Good question Roufuss. As of now, this is still to be determined. As far as I know, the only two platforms the game will be coming out on include the 360 and PC. However the PC version will require Windows Vista. If I were to take a guess at this point in time, to whether or not the game will only be playable online over Xbox Live - I would have to say yes. I can see Microsoft promoting the hell out of this game in the next year or so in hopes that it will springboard the Windows Live app.

I'm connecting to free demo's, patches, and trailers just being online already... I don't need to pay for Live Anywhere for that priviledge on my PC.

I'm real curious to see how MS will handle this with MS made games.

Again, you make a very good point. Let me give you my stance on the issue. If you have ever played Half-Life 2, and assuming you are a PC gamer I believe it is very likely you have, you should be very aware of Steam. For those of you who are not gamers, Steam is a content delivery, digital rights management and multiplayer system developed by the Valve Corporation. It is currently used to digitally distribute and manage games including Half-Life and Half-Life 2.While the service has taken a lot of bashing over its life time, I have constantly found it to be a very stable and simple system. It checks your system to make sure your games are up to date etc.

Aside from Steam, there is also xfire and gamespy that is available to use for free as a match making service but with that said, the services really are not that good.

Assuming Live is as effective on the PC as the 360, the service will utterly crush the free alternatives and will undoubtedly offer Steam some very serious competition.

[hopesfall]

Over the past 6 months, my interest in gaming has dwindled quite a bit (except for the occasional Guitar Hero now and then...), but Nintendo has really sparked my interest. To be honest (and I could be way off here), I don't recall seeing people so rabid over one system in a while. PS2 maybe? But the point is that Nintendo has obviously done and said the right things up to this point to get people at least curious and talking about their system. I want to see a launch line-up. I know LoZ: TP is a launch title; if they can get Mario Galaxy and one other big-name title (aren't they working on a new Metroid?) out for launch, I really don't know how they can screw it up. I'd be in paradise, for sure.

I really think Sony has hurt themselves by pricing the PS3 so high. On the other hand, there will always be people who need the latest and greatest, no matter what the price, so I don't think Sony will be doing as poorly as some have suggested. The worst part, for me at least, is that so far I haven't seen anything from them that I'm dying to play.

As for Microsoft, I'm a little bit unsure of what to make of them. I haven't been "wow"-ed by anything from them yet, but I haven't really been extremely disappointed, either. I do know that I'll definitely be picking up a Wii on launch day, a 360 sometime in the next 6-12 months, and a PS3 when it is priced decently.

[Zoglog]

K just got back,

Basically here's the Good, ok and Bad

Good:
- Heavenly sword (PS3) demo was spot on. Animation is fluid and gameplay is great despite it somewhat being a ripoff of God of War.
- Saints row (360) (despite the stupid gangster undertones) is actually quite a fun game with some tweaking to make it run smoother. Shooting and driving and Mapmarking are well done and driving and foot controls are competent.
- Less people this year means way more moving space. (Retailer crackdowns seem to have worked somewhat
- Crysis (PC) looks fantastic and was running at quite a nice framerate. Really the best game engine i've seen hands down. Graphics surpass PS3 quality you see now.
- MGS4 (PS3) Full trailer is very sweet, Kojima manages to make Raiden not gay anymore, what an achievment!

OK
-99 nights (360) difficulty seems to have been decreased since the previous build but the game does get a bit repetitive (especially mopping up after individual soldiers). Still very worth playing...
- New Super Mario (DS) plays like the old with the dash button and super big bushroom. Old school gamers will be pleased. Style is very nice
-Battlefield 2191or whatever (PC) is not bad, but about the same as battlefield 2 with mechs and featureistic weapons. hovercraft way easier to control than choppers or jets heh...

BAD:
- Too Human (360) is incredibly dissapointing, hits seem to feel like no impact, game graphics are not good at all and it runs are a pertty miserable framerate. From what they talked about in the EGM issue it's waaaaay off. looks like silicon knights needs to get thier heads out of thier asses....
- PSP download spot doesn't let you keep demos on the Memory stick? retarded....
- Gangs of London (PSP) horrible GTA wannabe with no sense of control at all
- Huxley (PC, 360) VERY VERY BAD, does not live up to the hype at all. The game feels 3rd rate and runs at a horrible framerate in action. No MMO feel at all and weapon animation/design is absolutly horrible. They need to do a whole lot of work to fix this game up....... Graphics are not nearly as good as the trailer suggests either.....


Wii Line was way too long and even with media badge you need to wait so I won't have any impressons of those games till tomorrow =). On a side note I finally won something from that damn nvidia raffle for the first time in 6 years..... Geforce 7600 GS. Granted it wasnt the 7900 GT or the notebook but hey at least it's something!

[whoknows]

Shit...I was excited about Too Human too...almost made me want to buy a 360...ah well...

[Zoglog]

Shit...I was excited about Too Human too...almost made me want to buy a 360...ah well...

yeah I know what you mean, I read that EGM article and it sounded very good.

[Swift900]

- Too Human (360) is incredibly dissapointing, hits seem to feel like no impact, game graphics are not good at all and it runs are a pertty miserable framerate. From what they talked about in the EGM issue it's waaaaay off. looks like silicon knights needs to get thier heads out of thier asses....
This is, like you say, incredibly disappointing. Too Human was looking to be a killer action rpg, but sadly from all the impressions I hear and videos I see... all describe Too Human to be a steaming pile of shit. I believe Too Human is shooting for a Holiday '06 release if not sooner - hopefully Silicon Knights can work out the game's short comings because it does have a very cool premise.


- Huxley (PC, 360) VERY VERY BAD, does not live up to the hype at all. The game feels 3rd rate and runs at a horrible framerate in action. No MMO feel at all and weapon animation/design is absolutly horrible. They need to do a whole lot of work to fix this game up....... Graphics are not nearly as good as the trailer suggests either.....
This is the first that I've heard of Huxley at E3, and I am blown away. I was expecting this game to rock some socks, but if what you're saying is true than I have nothing else to say except what the fuck !? Looks like Shadowrun will be the MMOFPS to own...

Thanks for your impressions, and congrats on winning the new GPU. Bad Ass!

[Zoglog]

K day 2

First thing I did was goto the Wii Line. still 1 1/2 hour wait to get in (wtf) and 20-30 min wait to play each game. I tried Wii sports: Tennis, Warioware, Red Steel, and SD Gundam and my girlfriend tried Zelda.

GOOD:
- Warhawk (PS3) I didn't know what to expect since I enjoyed the original PS1 and Sony rippin off the whole gyro thing as people say. But the game controlled very nicely with all tilt. Graphics are superb and game ran at a great framerate with tons of things on screen.
- Wii , I still like the style and design of the Wii and the controller has some good potential. They had a good demo with drums. Unfortunetly the games I tried seemed rather lackluster....
-Tabula Rosa (PC) This game has some decent potential. It's like guild wars but 3rd person shooter.
- Even though Huxley sucked, Webzen gave out soda all day.
-Warioware (wii) Prob the best use of the wii I saw, warioware games are pretty short lived though it seems.

OK:
- Wii sports: Tennis , this game seems like decent potential but the motion aspect is delayed. It did not work very well at all. If you noticed everyone playing the demo always lost.
- SD Gundam (wii), an interesting use of the controller as a smash hammer, best part was it was empty, yet it was 10x better than RED STEEL

BAD:
- Red Steel (wii) This game wnet from "oh" to "huh?" at the promo vid to "omg this sucks" to actually playing it. The control design is clunky, the graphics are horrid....... sword play is basically up down left right and diag slashes.... and Parrying is just shaking the analog stick part bit.... It's not fun at all and feels stiff rather than the immersive experience the wii should be able to offer. Aiming is often fickle and is horrible as well, turninng requires you to move the cursor to the edge of the screen which takes quite a while..... Ubisoft has a whole lot of fixing to do....


And of course on a side note won the nvidia raffle again today and got an Antec P180 black case O.o nifty!

[Swift900]

- Warhawk (PS3) I didn't know what to expect since I enjoyed the original PS1 and Sony rippin off the whole gyro thing as people say. But the game controlled very nicely with all tilt. Graphics are superb and game ran at a great framerate with tons of things on screen.
I was also impressed by this game. I think the motion sense controller will work extremely well in handling the movement of the jet. In turn, I think the main reason why this game is receiving a bad rep is largely in part to the douche bag who delivered the on-stage demo. First of all, the guy could not control the plane for shit and when he would tilt the controller he'd go balls out and nearly knock himself over. Obviously his intent was to stress the new motion sense capabilities of the controller, but in doing so he made both the game and himself look like an ass.

-Tabula Rosa (PC) This game has some decent potential. It's like guild wars but 3rd person shooter.I have heard literally nothing about this game at E3. If my memory serves me correct about a year or two ago I first heard of this game by reading an article in some magazine... I think it was described as being a futuristic MMORPG that focuses a lot on teleportation. From your brief description it sounds like it may be promising, assuming there are no monthly fees.

- Red Steel (wii) This game wnet from "oh" to "huh?" at the promo vid to "omg this sucks" to actually playing it. The control design is clunky, the graphics are horrid....... sword play is basically up down left right and diag slashes.... and Parrying is just shaking the analog stick part bit.... It's not fun at all and feels stiff rather than the immersive experience the wii should be able to offer. Aiming is often fickle and is horrible as well, turninng requires you to move the cursor to the edge of the screen which takes quite a while..... Ubisoft has a whole lot of fixing to do.... Ah yes, everyone's favorite Wii. From what I've seen from the online video demos, your description is spot on. I really hope the Wii does well, but I have to say; I'm not yet sold on it...

It seems like some of the games utilize the wiimote really well, where as others do not. For example, in Red Steel when using the sword, you can swing the sword however you wish, but all it does is initiate a pre-animated sword swinging action. I do not see this as being revolutionary; it is a gimmick that does nothing other than replace the push of a button.

What Nintendo is going to have to do in order to get me to buy the system is show me more in terms of replicating my actual movements to what appears on-screen.

Again, congrats on winning the case. I took a look at it just a bit ago and it looks very, very nice. My only concern before using it to build a cpu is whether or not there is adequate air flow... From the looks of it, I cannot see where cool air would get sucked into the case.

[Zoglog]

ah, the Antec P180 supposedly is designed well for airflow and noise dampening though it does have some issues. And yeah I see some potential for the Wii but it just doesn't show at all in these launch titles for the wii. It really felt like a waste of my time. I can't help but feel like the Wii has been way too overhyped (most likely due to people's negative opinion of Sony as of recent with the huge price of the ps3). But in the first area you enter they had a couple of guys with wii controllers playing the drums and it seemed to work very well.

Also the way Nintendo handled the Wii booth was very good for generating press buzz, but really sucked for E3 Attendees. Many people stood in line not knowing they would have to wait in order to play. Many assumed it was just a presentation like they did with the DS. And after waiting a few hours in line, you sure as hell aren't going to leave the small crowded Wii area so you're basically forced to stay in to try some of the games. That's mainly how I felt. If it was an open section I would have saw the line of people waiting for each specific game and probably just left. Needless to say the whole thing just sucked and they should have devised a method to keep the flow going.

[FriskyTanuki]

Sony - Very interesting, informative, and surprising conference. Who would've thought that Sony would've had 12 playable games, and several that were pretty far along in development, on the show floor? Most would've thought that there would be a few, but Sony had several games out in the open on the floor, unlike Nintendo for everyone to try. PS3 demo units were out in EA's booth, I believe Sega's booth, and maybe Namco Bandai's booth, too. The PS2 and PSP got lots of loving from Sony, Red Octane, Atari, Sega, Square Enix, Capcom, EA, Namco, Konami, and many others. Sony easily had the best overall show.

The two SKU's on the PS3 are no big deal, as both include a hard drive (one problem people had with the 360) and the slots taken out for the cheaper system have no effect on games at all. The only thing questionable is the HDMI slot, and besides that, it's a matter of how big you want your hard drive. The Dual Shock 3 felt great when I got to play with it, though that's because I love the controller. I was disappointed that the trigger-like L2 and R2 shoulder buttons were fully used in F1 2006 or Resistance: Fall of Man. The motion sensor supposedly worked very well in Warhawk, so I'm hoping the other titles at E3 could incorporate aspects to enhance the games (make camera control intuitive, make racing easier than on the Wii).

Heavenly Sword was very fun, since it's similar to God of War. Resistance has fun Call of Duty-like multiplayer (played the QA Testers online in the demo) and looked exceptionally well. Gran Turismo HD looked great besides when there was a closeup on the cars since the textures weren't reworked for the demo. Sonic the Hedgehog was fun from what I played of the 360 version. F1 2006 was the best looking and most fun title of them all, too bad it won't be coming here for the launch (this is where the region-free console is great!). For the future Final Fantasy XIII and vs. XIII were great from the trailers I saw (the Advent Children team should do all of their trailers and CG from now on :drool:), MGS4 blew away and gathered the crowds watching the trailer, Assassin's Creed looks like a great exclusive from Ubisoft, VF5 will attract fighting fans, and great looking internal games like Eight Days, the Naughty Dog game, Warhawk, Resistance, F1 2006, Heavenly Sword, Lair, and others. Sony can definitely bring the good game that will make the high cost worth it.

As for PSP and PS2 titles, there were several great titles. Loco Roco, Ultimate Ghosts 'N Goblins, Tekken Dark Resurrection, MGS Digital Graphic Novel (not a game, but I really loved how it turned out), Ridge Racer (and hopefully the other PS1 DL titles), Ratchet and Clank, Lemmings, Field Commander, Lumines 2, Every Extend Extra, Sonic Rivals, and WTF were some of the fun PSP games that were at the show. Metal Gear Solid PSP is just another great reason to get a PSP, I'm very tempted to save up for one. Stay away from 50 Cent: Bulletproof on the PSP as it was the worst game of the show to me (shitty gangster hack-and-slash). AS for PS2, there was Okami, Final Fantasy XII, the two Dragon Ball Z games (for those that care about the show), Guitar Hero II (probably best game of the show), God of War II, Rogue Galaxy, Yakuza, Dirge of Cerberus, Lumines and Tokobot on the PS2, Persona 3, Disgaea 2, more EyeToy games (Lemmings on EyeToy!) and others will keep people busy on the PS2 for a long time.

Microsoft - Not a very interesting conference. Lots of sequels announced, Gears of War was technically interesting, but I could care less about the game. Only shooters, racers, and western RPG's were shown with a few exceptions. Microsoft and their quest to catch Japan's attention reminds me of Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner. The Xbox was shoved into the corner of MS's booth, and there was nothing exclusive or all that interesting. Announcing prices for their HD-DVD drive, camera, and wireless sterring wheel might've helped give them some good press on the pricing, if they were good prices. Moore tattoed his arm to say that they're finally getting GTAIV on the same day as the PS3? Right... If I wasn't mistaken, Microsoft seemed to take credit for Crysis being so awesome with their PC whatever program they announced.

As for the 360, there were a couple of interesting exclusive games, like Dead Rising, Crackdown, and Saint's Row, but most were multi-platform. They need more variety in their games if they want to take first place. If they stick with the strategy of racing, FPS, shooters, and western RPG's, they won't have a good chance to get #1, as Sony specializes in quality in variety of titles offered. The lack of announcements on their BC progress makes any hope of being able to sell their Xbox for good drop to near zero at this point.

Nintendo - Missed a huge opportunity to destroy the show when they hid the Wii behind huge fucking lines that would require a whole day to be able to check out. Keeping the lines, but letting people come by and see what the fuss was all about would've been huge since the lines would be almost too long otherwise. You didn't need to actually play Wii games to see how intuitive, fun, and interesting they were.

Project H.A.M.M.E.R. was repetitive, just move to one street beat up the robots, move to the next street, and beat up robots. Rinse and repeat. Excite Truck's control wasn't so great and controller wasn't built in such a way that holding it sidewise is comfortable. I'd think that there will be a demo disc included with the system to show off some of the demos I saw in the Wii booth, such as Table Tennis and a weird maze game. Pointing the controller at the screen will take a while to get used to become proficient at it, as most of the games show some kind of cursor so you can see where you're pointing (Zelda, Elebits, Project HAMMER, Madden, and others). Also, it's nice that there should be a wrist strap for the remote included with the Wii so that you don't throw it at your TV and break it. Madden 07 was very fun, as I did well in the passing dummy drills, sucked at the field goal drill because I kept twisting my wrist and slicing the kicks. Once in-game, the game was fairly easy to play with the controls, though once on defense, it got confusing without any gestures tackle or jump. Legend of Zelda was pretty fun, as expected. Elebits seemed more like a tech demo than a game with the player just tossing shit around for the fun of it. Red Steel didn't look as good as it seemed to look in the GI issue and I'd have to say the enemies looked like they came from a light gun game, popping up from counters just like in arcade light gun games. The enemies just looked off in the shooting segments.

The Wii booth was worth the wait, but no secretive shit would've made it more enjoyable for the whole show and they probably could've easily stolen the crowd from Sony's booth. Otherwise, Nintendo ignored the GC (no Twilight Princess on GC was a surprise, no Kirby, nothing) and the GBA was fizzling out with the DS and DS Lites being everywhere. I didn't touch a game on either of those systems and only remembered seeing one or two GC games and nothing on GBA. The DS had a great showing from what I've heard, but I never got around to touching more than FFIII (which heavily reminded me of Golden Sun, which was not a good thing to me).

In conclusion, the show was great, as there were plenty of great games to check out all over the show. I believe Sony had the better overall showing, with excellent PSP and PS2 games combined with the surprising amount of playable PS3 games available to anyone who wanted to play them in Sony's booth or elsewhere. Nintendo kind of shot themselves in the foot by hiding the Wii behind rediculous lines to keep onlookers away from experiencinc the system. Not much of a presence on the GBA and the disappearance of the GC are unfortunate circumstances, as Twilight Princess on the GC would've been another huge title if they had it there. The 360 had a nice showing, but the exclusives weren't interesting to me, so it depends on your level of interest in FPS's and shooters and your level of addictedness to Live.

Short version: Sony (with strong PSP and PS2 showings and several playable PS3 games in a veriety of genres) > Nintendo (strong DS and many Wii games, but they should be showing off the system, not hiding it) > Microsoft (Nice 360 games, though nothing mindblowing or anything from unusual Xbox genres, Xbox officially is nothing but a ghost and BC seems to be fading away).

[evilmax17]

I dunno how you can be blaming Nintendo for the long lines. "Damn you Nintendo, why did you have to create so much public interest in your system!"

[Swift900]

I dunno how you can be blaming Nintendo for the long lines. "Damn you Nintendo, why did you have to create so much public interest in your system!"

I don't think he is blaming nintendo for the longs lines but rather the lack of anything to do or see while standing in line.

I'll comment more on his thread a little later.

[FriskyTanuki]

I dunno how you can be blaming Nintendo for the long lines. "Damn you Nintendo, why did you have to create so much public interest in your system!"
Where am I blaming them for the long lines? I'm saying they kept the fucking thing hidden, while opening it up and allowing people to just view those playing the systems without having to stand in line for the entire show. The Wii wasn't a secret anymore, but they still treated it as such. If they displayed the system like anybody else does with any game, I don't think the lines would've been nearly as bad.

[Swift900]

The two SKU's on the PS3 are no big deal, as both include a hard drive (one problem people had with the 360) and the slots taken out for the cheaper system have no effect on games at all. The only thing questionable is the HDMI slot, and besides that, it's a matter of how big you want your hard drive. Correction, huge deal. Atleast with the 360 core unit you could buy after market upgrades to turn it into a Premium. This is not possible for the PS3. It goes far beyond HDD sizes. If you want to buy the $499 unit, you are getting a unit that, like you said, has no sd / compact flash memory slots (which takes a lot away from the PS3 being the centralized family media unit) and no HDMI output! No HDMI output! What the fuck!? This potentially hurts the blue-ray player in a huge way in that it will no longer be able to offer a high def picture. So, imo the $599 unit is the only way to go if you are going to shell out the big bucks for the PS3.

Also the latest news says that the $499 model will not include bluetooth support... which means have fun using wired controllers.

F1 2006 was the best looking and most fun title of them all, too bad it won't be coming here for the launch (this is where the region-free console is great!)
Eh, I'm not sold on region free. If I cannot understand the language there is no way that I can enjoy the game. I know this may not apply to everyone, but to me it does.

Microsoft - Not a very interesting conference. Lots of sequels announced, Gears of War was technically interesting, but I could care less about the game. Only shooters, racers, and western RPG's were shown with a few exceptions.Seriously? I found Microsofts conference to be not only the most informative, but also the most entertaining of all the conferences. There was simply soooo much info delivered at such a rapid rate; major 360 game announcements including: Fable 2, Forza 2, Halo 3, Gears of War, and Shadowrun; major Xbox Live Arcade announcements which I've listed a few threads back; major PC gaming announcements including Windows Vista and Windows Live.

The Xbox was shoved into the corner of MS's booth, and there was nothing exclusive or all that interesting.Are you actually suprised by this? Aside from Xbox Live, Microsoft is through with supporting the original Xbox.

Moore tattoed his arm to say that they're finally getting GTAIV on the same day as the PS3? Right...This is a much, much bigger announcement than you think. The Grand Theft Auto series utterly dominated console sales in the US this past generation, and thus was a direct contributer to the amazing success of the PS2. Now that GTA IV is announced to be released for the 360 and the PS3 on the same day, it give gamers the choice of which console they would rather play it on... the $299 core 360 unit, the $399 premium 360 unit, the $499 basic PS3 unit, or the $599 deluxe PS3 unit. I believe the lower price of the 360 will be much more appealing to a lot of gamers.

If I wasn't mistaken, Microsoft seemed to take credit for Crysis being so awesome with their PC whatever program they announced.I think you are mistaken. They described Windows Live sure enough, a unified PC gaming service, but they certainly did not take credit for Crysis. They did however display Crysis running on XP and went on to explain that it would look even better by taking advantage of Direct X 10 under Windows Vista.

As for the 360, there were a couple of interesting exclusive games, like Dead Rising, Crackdown, and Saint's Row, but most were multi-platform. They need more variety in their games if they want to take first place. If they stick with the strategy of racing, FPS, shooters, and western RPG's, they won't have a good chance to get #1, as Sony specializes in quality in variety of titles offered.I can't say that I entirely agree with you. Later this year, Battle for Middle Earth 2 is going to be released on the 360; which could quite possibly be first strategy game that actually plays good on a console. You also failed to mention DOA Extreme Beach Vollyball 2, which I think will improve sales dramatically in Japan. If you're a fan of the horror genre - Alan Wake is coming to the 360 which looks creepy as hell, if you are a fan of japanese hack and slash games - 99 Nights looks to be a lot more fun than Gengi 2 for the PS3, if you have children or younger family members, Viva Pinata is looking to be very attractive to this specific age group, and if stealth action is your type of game, Splinter Cell: Double Agent is looking amazing. Not to be forgotten is Mass Effect, a futuristic rpg developed by the geniuses at Bioware. Last but not least, Too Human. While it failed to impress at the show, I have a lot of faith in the guys at Silicon Knights, and believe they will make this an action game to own.

Keep in mind that not all the games I have mentioned are exclusive to the 360, however if you want to play them anywhere else, it is going to cost you quite a bit to purchase a PC capable of playing these games at par with the 360.

The lack of announcements on their BC progress makes any hope of being able to sell their Xbox for good drop to near zero at this point.I agree with you here. I would have liked to have seen the two Brother's in Arms games added to the BC list, considering that Hells Highway will be released later this year.

Thanks for your impressions FriskyTanuki!

[Zoglog]

actually MS does deserve some credit for Crysis since it runs on DX10 API. And nintendo definetly knew what they were doing. As frisky said they put it as a secret to generate huge lines and press. But in the end it would have been a whole lot better in the open. the Wii was definetly not worth the line, even more pitiful that warhawk controlled better than any wii game on display =/

Sony also had a stupid useless PS3 line that led to the upper floor with nothing really there............

[FriskyTanuki]

Correction, huge deal. Atleast with the 360 core unit you could buy after market upgrades to turn it into a Premium. This is not possible for the PS3. It goes far beyond HDD sizes. If you want to buy the $499 unit, you are getting a unit that, like you said, has no sd / compact flash memory slots (which takes a lot away from the PS3 being the centralized family media unit) and no HDMI output! No HDMI output! What the fuck!? This potentially hurts the blue-ray player in a huge way in that it will no longer be able to offer a high def picture. So, imo the $599 unit is the only way to go if you are going to shell out the big bucks for the PS3.
The ports are no big fucking deal, as any device that uses those ports also has a USB cable and surprise, you can use that to put them on your PS2. My PC doesn't have an SD card slot on it, but I use my USB cable to put pics on it. Same thing. The HDMI thing goes with how commited you are to Blu-Ray and Hi-Def gaming at the moment or in the future, as some people aren't interested in playing Blu-Ray movies or are fine with their lower Hi-Def sets without HDMI. A warranty would help in the upgrading process, as it's something that should be picked up upon any large console purchase. I'd get the $599 model for the WiFi, bigger hard drive, and three consoles-in-one gaming machine if I had the choice.

Also the latest news says that the $499 model will not include bluetooth support... which means have fun using wired controllers.
Got a link for this? I've only heard that WiFi internet or ethernet ports were the difference in anything wireless about the console.

Eh, I'm not sold on region free. If I cannot understand the language there is no way that I can enjoy the game. I know this may not apply to everyone, but to me it does.
Get the European edition, includes English and the other languages in Europe. Region-free doesn't just mean Japan.

Seriously? I found Microsofts conference to be not only the most informative, but also the most entertaining of all the conferences. There was simply soooo much info delivered at such a rapid rate; major 360 game announcements including: Fable 2, Forza 2, Halo 3, Gears of War, and Shadowrun; major Xbox Live Arcade announcements which I've listed a few threads back; major PC gaming announcements including Windows Vista and Windows Live.
We knew about Fable 2, Forza 2, Halo 3, and Gears of War long ago. As for Live Arcade, it just looks like it's becoming a pay-per-title version of GameTap. Vista was known to be a big part of MS's future gaming strategy, though the Live Anywhere was cool, but it's just a version of Live on the PC that lets you know that your friend is watching porn on his PC so you can interrupt him. :lol: I'm not really surprised with the whole Live on PC thing, as they'd have been stupid not to try to expand Live to as many platforms as possible. I'm wondering if the mobile phone part of the Live Anywhere could be the start of the whole microtransition thing that MS hyped up last year at E3.

Are you actually suprised by this? Aside from Xbox Live, Microsoft is through with supporting the original Xbox.
No, it was just what I noticed at the show. I wasn't really even expecting Xbox at all in their booth. The one Xbox game I tried, SpyHunter 3, didn't work, as the left analog stick's default center was fucked up when they booted up the game, so the car couldn't stay away from the right wall. It's not MS's fault that this happened, but what they had there was disappointing. There was some kids games, Justice League, Spu Hunter and that was about it. Why not any of the bigger games?

This is a much, much bigger announcement than you think. The Grand Theft Auto series utterly dominated console sales in the US this past generation, and thus was a direct contributer to the amazing success of the PS2. Now that GTA IV is announced to be released for the 360 and the PS3 on the same day, it give gamers the choice of which console they would rather play it on... the $299 core 360 unit, the $399 premium 360 unit, the $499 basic PS3 unit, or the $599 deluxe PS3 unit. I believe the lower price of the 360 will be much more appealing to a lot of gamers.
I know it's a huge thing for Xbox 360 gamers, but I'm not one of them. I had the PS2 first so still having it on day one for the PS3 makes no difference to me. It's just a multi-platform title, so whoever has just a 360 will get it for the 360, and vice versa. I haven't bought a console for GTA, it's a fun game, but I buy my consoles for other games.

I think you are mistaken. They described Windows Live sure enough, a unified PC gaming service, but they certainly did not take credit for Crysis. They did however display Crysis running on XP and went on to explain that it would look even better by taking advantage of Direct X 10 under Windows Vista.
As for Crysis, it was regarding their Games For Windows program and announcing Crytek as the first example of it. It's somewhatof a stretch, but whatever. It looked very nice, but again I probably won't get Crysis, so it's a moot point.

I can't say that I entirely agree with you. Later this year, Battle for Middle Earth 2 is going to be released on the 360; which could quite possibly be first strategy game that actually plays good on a console. You also failed to mention DOA Extreme Beach Vollyball 2, which I think will improve sales dramatically in Japan. If you're a fan of the horror genre - Alan Wake is coming to the 360 which looks creepy as hell, if you are a fan of japanese hack and slash games - 99 Nights looks to be a lot more fun than Gengi 2 for the PS3, if you have children or younger family members, Viva Pinata is looking to be very attractive to this specific age group, and if stealth action is your type of game, Splinter Cell: Double Agent is looking amazing. Not to be forgotten is Mass Effect, a futuristic rpg developed by the geniuses at Bioware. Last but not least, Too Human. While it failed to impress at the show, I have a lot of faith in the guys at Silicon Knights, and believe they will make this an action game to own.
BfME2 - Pikmin was the first strategy game that played well on console. While it was simplified, it was still a strategy game. Army Men RTS was also well-received as an RTS on consoles.

DOA XBV2 - There was no DOA Xtreme BV 2, just Extreme 2, the water racing, water game-filled DOA game. I barely care that much about DOA as it is and this helps nothing. If DOA4 couldn't do anything, how would Extreme 2 change anything.

Alan Wake - It's a horror title? That's my answer to that game. I'm not sure how it would do against the king of the genre, RE.

99 Nights - Essentially a prettier Dynasty Warriors. I've heard good things, but it seems to have been geared towards Japan and they don't give a shit about it. It could do well here since Dynasty Warriors is still getting sequels.

Viva Pinata - Looks interesting, but I don't know how it's going to come anywhere near the success of Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh as the Wii seems more geared towards the kids, system pricing and all.

Splinter Cell: Double Agent - Looks awesome as it always does, though I've barely touched Chaos Theory. I'd probably get it for whatever next-gen console I get.

Mass Effect - I haven't really seen much, but it's a western RPG from Bioware, so I have an idea of what to expect. I like them, but I'm not in a hurry to try it out anytime soon.

Too Human - Seems like the Fable of this generation, meaning it seems to be hyped a little bit too much initially and the developers could be made a fool of it they can't keep to their word by the time the game's released. Not really interested at all.

You've got different tastes than me, so I'm not surprised you pulled this stuff out, but most of these titles seem to have that Xbox vibe to them to me. Japan won't go anywhere near the system as long as they see that vibe, too. They'd have to get at least some of Japan's marketshare if they want a good shot at #1, and Blue Dragon won't solve their problems. Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner again.

Keep in mind that not all the games I have mentioned are exclusive to the 360, however if you want to play them anywhere else, it is going to cost you quite a bit to purchase a PC capable of playing these games at par with the 360.
Of course it is, but for those that already has those kind of PC's, it's not going to get them to jump to the 360 for those exclusives.

I agree with you here. I would have liked to have seen the two Brother's in Arms games added to the BC list, considering that Hells Highway will be released later this year.

Thanks for your impressions FriskyTanuki!
Didn't MS say something in the conference about having 800 some Xbox games, and we've seen maybe at the most 25% BC and and even smaller percentage being the more popular games of that list. They made a mistake with the Xbox's hardware last year, and this is the feature that unfortunately had to suffer as a result.

[Swift900]

The HDMI thing goes with how commited you are to Blu-Ray and Hi-Def gaming at the moment or in the future, as some people aren't interested in playing Blu-Ray movies or are fine with their lower Hi-Def sets without HDMI. A warranty would help in the upgrading process, as it's something that should be picked up upon any large console purchase. I don't believe that a warrenty should be viewed as an "upgrade policy," that defies what a warranty actually is. Getting to the point, I guess I just don't see why Sony is failing to include the HDMI port when all along they've been touting the blue-ray player as the system's main selling point. By shipping the cheaper version with out a HDMI port, if a blue-ray movie or game has the image contraint token enabled on disc then the PS3 will not be able to deliver the promised high-def picture.

In response to what source I received my info regarding the lack of wireless controllers on the cheap version of the PS3, here you go: GamesRadar.com (http://www.gamesradar.com/gb/ps3/game/news/article.jsp?articleId=20060513133719562032&sectionId=1006). I've also started a thread in the PS3 forums regarding this article, here (http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=94200). There is currently debate which brings the articles' validity into question, but it has been reported.

Vista was known to be a big part of MS's future gaming strategy, though the Live Anywhere was cool, but it's just a version of Live on the PC that lets you know that your friend is watching porn on his PC so you can interrupt him. :lol: I'm not really surprised with the whole Live on PC thing, as they'd have been stupid not to try to expand Live to as many platforms as possible. Don't forget that Live should carry over from the PC to the 360. With that said, a player's gamertag would remain with them despite which system they are currently on. And keep in mind that by expanding to the PC format, the Xbox Live community has the potential to grow much larger than it already is.

I know it's a huge thing for Xbox 360 gamers, but I'm not one of them. I had the PS2 first so still having it on day one for the PS3 makes no difference to me. It's just a multi-platform title, so whoever has just a 360 will get it for the 360, and vice versa. I haven't bought a console for GTA, it's a fun game, but I buy my consoles for other games. I can understand where you are coming from, but believe it or not people actually do buy consoles just so that they can play a specific game - GTA titles are known for being system sellers. Going back to what I had said originally - when Grand Theft Auto IV is released sometime next year, gamers who are buying a console at that point in time will have a choice as to what system they will buy the game for, they will have the choice of deciding (a) the Xbox 360 or (b) much more expensive PS3. Microsoft seems to think this will be a "no brainer" for gamers.


BfME2 - Pikmin was the first strategy game that played well on console. While it was simplified, it was still a strategy game. Army Men RTS was also well-received as an RTS on consoles. I stand corrected. I have played Pikmin and will agree with you that it is indeed a successful console strategy game.

DOA XBV2 - There was no DOA Xtreme BV 2, just Extreme 2, the water racing, water game-filled DOA game. I barely care that much about DOA as it is and this helps nothing. If DOA4 couldn't do anything, how would Extreme 2 change anything. Haha I guess I screwed up here, huh? Personally, I hate the series but I figured that I'd at least mention it considering it is something "different."

Alan Wake - It's a horror title? That's my answer to that game. I'm not sure how it would do against the king of the genre, RE. Hell yeah it's a horror title! I don't think a lot of info has been revealed about this game but the trailer looks pretty bad ass, check it out. As of now it is slated to release on both the 360 and PC.

Mass Effect - I haven't really seen much, but it's a western RPG from Bioware, so I have an idea of what to expect. I like them, but I'm not in a hurry to try it out anytime soon. I hear ya, but from what I've seen the gameplay looks like something entirely new from Bioware - almost like a futuristic GRAW. Needless to say, I'm excited for it.

You've got different tastes than me, so I'm not surprised you pulled this stuff out, but most of these titles seem to have that Xbox vibe to them to me. Japan won't go anywhere near the system as long as they see that vibe, too. They'd have to get at least some of Japan's marketshare if they want a good shot at #1, and Blue Dragon won't solve their problems. I didn't really intent my list of games to reflect my tastes. In fact, out of the lot of them, Mass Effect is the only one I can see myself actually buying... Alan Wake and Too Human are to be determined.

Didn't MS say something in the conference about having 800 some Xbox games, and we've seen maybe at the most 25% BC and and even smaller percentage being the more popular games of that list. They made a mistake with the Xbox's hardware last year, and this is the feature that unfortunately had to suffer as a result. Microsoft was never really strong supporters of backwards compatability. While it would be nice to see a complete list of backwards compatible titles I don't see that happening.