The Issue At Hand is a new feature we’ve started here at Go Gaming Giant. Each week myself and three guests from the XBOX community will take a look at a current issue or hot topic going on in the gaming industry. This week’s topic is E3.

Welcome to the third edition of The Issue At Hand.

Joining Us This Week:

Matt
Matt is the owner of . Go Gaming Giant is a fairly new site but it continues to grow larger each day. Go Gaming Giant offers news, reviews, forums, podcasts and much more. As the owner of Go Gaming Giant, Matt oversees and helps out with all areas of the site. Matt is passionate about videogames and loves running his site and being involved in the community.

Lono
Currently the founder/co-host/producer of , the official podcast for . Also co-owner and former Editor-in-Chief of and co-host/producer of the Sarcastic Gamer Podcast and the Humpday Update, two of the most downloaded indie podcasts on iTunes.

Nick
Current Editor-in-Chief of , Nick Chester has been with the the independent videogame community for nearly three years, watching it grow month after month and keeping the staff out of trouble. A gamer since he could use his thumbs, Nick’s favorite genres include “anything he has the time to play” and will give anything featuring bats a serious look. He’s a husband, a father, and karaoke rock star when not writing about or playing games.

Phil
Phil is the Editor in Chief of . and the Xcast podcast have been around since late 2006 and continue to grow, evolve and tackle new ideas. is a daily updated news blog, as well as a weekly audio podcast. Video content is also in the works. Phil and his co-host, Frank are dedicated gamers, involved community members and hard working members of the enthusiast gaming press.

Deacon
Deacon is a Microsoft Xbox MVP and also the founder of the blog & podcast, . He’s been moonlighting as a gamer since his early childhood and has since followed that passion into the heart of the mainstream gaming community. Ladies call him “The Velvet Voice”; a moniker that he’s carried since late 2006 when his blog & show debuted. A few of his favorite things include large amounts of money from whomever wants to give it and sunny days in Texas.

This Week’s Topic: E3

The inspiration for this week’s topic: E3 took place recently

Background: E3, the biggest gaming expo in the world. Held in LA every year, tens of thousands of gamers, press, media, publishers, developers etc flock out to LA to experience a gaming expo like none other. In recent years, the big 3 (Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft) give a press conference outlining and showing off their new games, hardware and anything else they think will impress you. Every year there is always a debate as to who had the best press conference.

The Issue At Hand: The Issue At Hand is who had the best press conference? Microsoft dazzled it’s audience with Project Natal and Milo although Sony showed off an equally impressive motion controller and showed off a couple exclusive games that looked simply amazing (God of War III, Uncharted 2, MAG). Then there was Nintendo, many thought they had the weakest showing although don’t forget, they showed off two new Mario titles, both of which look to be AAA titles (the new Super Mario Bros for Wii and Super Mario Galaxy 2). Mario is a huge seller for Nintendo and both games will surely do well. Nintendo also had some new hardware to show. So the question is who did the best and why? Which of the big three dazzled you the most at E3 this year?

The Discussion

Nick

I think Microsoft knocked it out of the park, opening the show with a loud bang that rang over the next three days of E3. Opening the show with The Beatles: Rock Band demonstration, featuring two of The Beatles… how do you top that? At one point, it then proceeded to boldly state that the next handful of games it would show were Xbox 360 exclusives, rolling out a huge handful of solid-looking titles. But the icing and surprise was Project Natal, the long-rumored motion controls MS has had up its sleeve for awhile now. We knew it was coming, but the extent of how different it is to what Nintendo (current King of Motion Controls) is doing was impressive. What we saw was “impossible” science fiction, and the tech demos displayed live on stage (even if much of Lionhead’s “Milo” was smoke and mirrors) awed the crowd. From a technology stand point, if MS can pull off half of what it’s promising, it will be a force to be reckoned with, not just in gaming — Natal technology has a host of real-world applications, too. Really exciting stuff.

Sony had a solid, if unsurprising showing. The PSP Go might not be what gamers wanted (an “upgrade” or re-design instead of a true successor), but once I got it into my hand, techno-lust took hold. God of War III looks incredible (but is exactly what I had seen behind-closed-doors months ago), Uncharted 2 looks brilliant, and Team ICO’s The Last Guardian was so beautiful and moving it nearly brought me to tears. There’s no doubt Sony has an impressive first-party line-up of games, but their dragging out the EyeToy motion control stuff seemed like a last-minute and desperate “me too” attempt. It definitely didn’t seem to fit with the rest of the press conference, seemed very forced. It’s neat technology, and I was impressed by what they showed, but not blown away. Sony has demoed motion tracking like that using the EyeToy before, and while this takes it to the next level, it wasn’t nearly as “mind blowing” as what MS had to show (and promise) with Natal.

As for Nintendo, don’t get me started. New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Super Mario Galaxy 2, and Golden Sun 2 is exciting for gamers, but shouldn’t be surprising. A sequel to Galaxy is a bit odd (Nintendo hasn’t done a direct Mario sequel on a console in forever), but these titles almost seem like a given. I’m glad the Metroid rumors I had been hearing panned out, because Metroid: Other M stole their press conference for me. It looks markedly different than anything else in the series, and the fact that Team Ninja is on board makes the project even more interesting. As for everything else, their arrogant talk of sales figures and decision to focus on WiiMotion Plus (seriously, what is this E3 08?) was strange and boring. And don’t even get me started on the Wii Vitality Sensor. I think the woman behind me said it best when the image of Satoru Iwata flashed on screen, his finger inside the sensor which was connected to the Wii Remote: “Seriously, this is happening now?”

Deacon

E3 2009 was definitely one of the better expos I’ve seen in a few years from the E3 people. Who did the best? I’d place them in this order…Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo. Here’s why.

I’ll start, quite naturally, with Microsoft’s media briefing. I had low expectations quite honestly because to me Microsoft has done just about all there is to do to have a successful console. But they surprised me on a few levels. They showed Crackdown 2 which may have been the single most wanted game from me. They also brought back Alan Wake to the public. There were quite a few gems on the gaming front that will position them quite nicely over the next year…Metal Gear Solid: Rising although not exclusive is still a big thing. Halo Reach should be stellar for the Halo fans as well as ODST. Splinter Cell: Conviction really, really impressed me. It’s the first title from Ubisoft that I’ve been impressed with since G.R.A.W.

I was impressed with Project Natal not because I personally want to play it but because I know my daughter is going to love it. I think they had to do something “else”, if you will, about a new audience. I think Natal gives them that new audience along with games like 1 vs 100. No matter what the so-called hardcore will say, it’s a good thing to have a focus on something else beyond first person shooters.

Nintendo’s media briefing was the biggest WTF of them all. A vitality sensor? Really? I mean really? There isn’t much I can say except that I think someone at the head of Nintendo has a weight problem or at least thinks that the world has a weight problem. The Wii has lost its sense of being a gaming console and it is now a fitness toy. There wasn’t much to get excited about from Nintendo. Co-op Super Mario? Come on…we’ve been in the co-op generation for years so why is having 4-players on Mario the sign of a new dawn? It isn’t.

Sony actually did much better than I thought they would. God of War 3 is going to murder people. A lot of people will love Uncharted 2 and Final Fantasy XIV. They showed MAG which was cool. I love the new stuff coming to the PSP. I’m not at all impressed with the price of the PSP Go. I’m actually not even impressed with the PSP Go at all.

Matt

So I think so far the general consensus is that Microsoft is the winner right?
I must agree, it was non-stop with Microsoft. Rock Band Beatles, the 10 games they showed, Natal, Milo. The hits just kept coming. My jaw dropped and my brain exploded when I saw Natal and Milo. The technology behind it was beyond impressive. Just curious though, Nick, what did you mean by Milo was smoke and mirrors? You didn’t think it was real? I think Milo and Natal were enough to enable Microsoft to win E3, but then they also showed a ton of awesome exclusive games and that just sealed the deal. As for Natal and Milo though, I don’t think anything Nintendo or Sony have done or will do will even come close. Natal and Milo are both completely revolutionary. I mean gaming without a controller? Who would have that. If you remember in The Issue At Hand #1 I was against motion control but after seeing Natal I can’t wait.

As for Sony, they were probably the biggest surprise for me. I am a 360 fanboy and I usually don’t like much of what Sony does but they did impress me at E3. So much so that for the summer I’m borrowing a friends PS3 to try it out. The thing that impressed me most with Sony was their games. God of War III, Uncharted 2 and MAG all look 100 times better than Halo 3: ODST or Forza 3. Especially Uncharted 2, that game blew me away. The PSP Go! also looks great and I love the whole digital distribution thing. The motion controller didn’t do anything for me, I still think Natal is light years ahead. Another thing I didn’t back about Sony is they still spend time on the PS2, who cares? Not one person at E3 still had a PS2 as their primary system.

Then there was Nintendo. Nintendo’s press conference was very disappointing. Nothing impressed me. In fact it was almost painful to watch. There was nothing good about it. None of the games looked all that great and who cares about Wii Motion Plus or Wii Vitality. It seemed like Nintendo just didn’t make an effort because they know their sales far exceed both the 360’s and PS3’s.

Phil

Microsoft really wowed me with their E3 line-up. Though to be fair, a lot of it was more “Phew, glad that’s confirmed” than “Wow, I didn’t expect that.” We knew about Metal Gear, Forza 3, Splinter Cell, Alan Wake, Halo (both of them), Left 4 Dead 2, etc. But the fact that managed to roll all of that out in one show…and that we’ll have nearly all of within the next 9 months… is impressive. The motion controls – mixed bag. I played with Natal myself as well, and while Ricochet and Burnout’s retrofitted driving demo worked well, Milo was complete bullshit just like I called during the presser. Yes, I’m sure Lionhead will be able to deliver something like what you saw in the video in 2 or 3 years, but what was demoed was not the exact same in terms of fluidity, polish, depth, etc. It was very deceptive, but if you really thought that that concept video was *legit* gameplay, then that is unfortunate. But, Natal is already doing what Microsoft has it set out to do.

Sony had an equally stellar showing, if less polished. They never can seem to shake their need to pimp stats and numbers that bog down the presser – something I applauded MS for being able to do. Uncharted 2 and God of War III stole the show (and show floor) for me, as well as the announcement of things like FFXIV and Agent. MAG should’ve been replaced with Ratchet. Their motion controls were surprisingly nifty, too, though it really did seem like they fit that segment in last minute- as evidenced by the engineer’s seeming lack of a script. This was more or less the “break apart controller” thing we’ve been covering for a year or so now. I think that it will be a great bridge between MS’ s hands-free approach and the Nintendo’s waggle approach. As with MS, pricing on this add-on tech will be the most important thing. The PSP Go? Meh, it’ s the exact same device that we’ve had for four years, just finally in a design and model that we should’ve had since day one. I may upgrade eventually, just to get rid of UMD discs. The price point is laughable, as is the fact that it won’t work with old accessories/memory sticks, and I’m willing to bet Sony tweaks it or introduces some sort of Value Pack by October, just like they dd the first time around.

Nintedno gets a huge LOL from me. Aside from Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M, it was 2007/2008 all over again. Boring, flat, too scripted and too serious. Galaxy 2, though, I am a tiny bit disappointed with. As Nick said, Nintendo doesn’t pump out full-fledged sequels to their key console franchises this often. And this really isn’t even a “sequel”, it’s like Left 4 Dead 2: ideas and concepts that they came up after the first game shipped/couldn’t fit in the first game. New Super Mario Bros. Wii… really? Even for a Wii game it looks awful, visually. Tecmo doing a Metroid game was super surprising. Wii Sports Resort – expected. WiiMotion Plus got FAR too much stage time. What in the hell is that Vitality Sensor, anyway? I expected some details on better/expanded online functionality or improved Virtual Console/WiiWare stuff, which we didn’t get. Nintendo continues to walk the road blindfolded.

Lono

I think it’s pretty straight forward.

Microsoft announced new games but grabbed headlines with Natal and Milo. L4D2 seems to be garnering headlines for reasons other than it’s new content, but Crackdown 2, MGS, and 1080p instant streaming are sure to be a hit in the future.

Sony announced games, but seemed like they were a day late and a dollar short on their motion controls. The PSP Go didn’t excite, but they were partially saved by the one, two punch of Uncharted 2 and God of War III.

Nintendo did what they needed to to do, announce new Mario, Wii Fit and Metroid games. Better than last year for sure, but please, keep Cammy away from E3 next year.

My winner was Microsoft.

Matt

Anyways guys, I think we’re just about out of time. Thanks for joining me and we’ll see you again next week when The Issue At Hand returns.