E3 - Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009

ccontinisio · 06-03-2009, 12:47 AM

I don't know if it's appropriate to start a thread like this, and my apologies if it's too much a commercial thing to talk about here.

Still I wanted to talk about E3 and hear what you think about the announcements of the three console hardware houses. I don't want to know if the new Metroid is cool for you or what you think of the new Metal Gear Solid.

I want to know what do you think of the Nintendo struggle to balance between casual and hardcore.

I want to know if how the motion sensing technologies presented by Microsoft and Sony feel like.

I want to know what do you think about the trends showed there. Then I'll weight in my comments as well.

yaustar · 06-03-2009, 01:53 AM

Nintendo's was un-exciting although a few games did peak my interest. Sony's game line up was very good and from a developers point of view, the motion cam/controller was very interesting despite a lack of games shown. MS's Natal was more worrying in comparison due to lack of live demo and controller. Also, like Nintendo, a few games also peaked my interest.

ccontinisio · 06-03-2009, 03:02 AM

Regarding the motion controllers:
Sony's wand was... funny, but just because of the demo, which was well thought and well presented. I don't see though how it can be more than a Wii Motion Plus, and it will come out a year later. I think it was a little mistake to show it now, and also given Microsoft's technology.

Microsoft's Project Natal instead excited me a bit, but we need to see if it could do what it promises in a decent amount of time from now, and how much will it cost.

As a side note, I think that it's better to have something in your hands when you are mimicking an activity that requires a tool in real life, like tennis or shooters. This is the reason why the Wiimote and Sony's wand feel more intuitive. Of course Natal feels better with a karate or football game.
It's point of views, of course, and then P.Natal's flaw could be fixed by holding something in a hand, and you get the same feel as the other two technologies.

yaustar · 06-03-2009, 03:16 AM

After reading this, I have more interest in Natal: http://www.destructoid.com/wii-hacke...l-134511.phtml

Sony's wand (in principle) has much better positional tracking then Wii Motion Plus. The Motion Plus technology has no concept of spatial positioning.

Protector one · 06-03-2009, 04:06 AM

Cool about Lee being on-board the Natal.
Have to say I'm quite excited about it too. Mainly due to this hands-on report by ign, and Molyneux's Milo propaganda vid. Crazy stuff, that Natal.

Am I the only one that thinks Nintendo's Vitality Meter might actually be cool? I can imagine how it dynamically throws different gameplay types onto you, depending on your stress-level (= heartrate?).

As for actual games, a Metroid by Team Ninja? Wow. Did not expect that. Crackdown 2 could be nice. Super Mario Galaxy 2 is savory. Anything else? (You could exchange "SMG2" for "L4D2", if that's more your thing. :P)

yaustar · 06-03-2009, 04:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Protector one

Am I the only one that thinks Nintendo's Vitality Meter might actually be cool? I can imagine how it dynamically throws different gameplay types onto you, depending on your stress-level (= heartrate?).

At first, I literally thought WTF!, but then began to wonder on what games could be made based on your heart rate.

Gshonk · 06-03-2009, 06:17 AM

The idea for Natal excited the designer in me to no end. I was literally standing there with my jaw dropped when I saw it. I saw this company demoing at GDC this year and as soon as I heard Microsoft had purchased them I got very excited. I just hope they make cool games with it

Zooch · 06-03-2009, 07:08 AM

I'm going to get my grubby developer hands on Natal as soon as possible. I can only imagine the immersive capabilities of combining Natal with Cry3.

Goosebumps.

ccontinisio · 06-03-2009, 07:57 AM

Project Natal is exciting, but it's not yet here. I foresee... end of 2010?

For the Vitality Sensor, it has some interesting applications. Imagine a RPG where NPCs menace you, and understand that you're upset from your heartbeat.

Zooch · 06-03-2009, 08:41 AM

It might be released to consumers by the end of 2010, but developers will need it much earlier so they can integrate games to it when it releases. That's what I mean.