To those of you who missed it, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) was this passed week. It was a time for all of the big hardware and software designers to come together into one place show off what they had coming in the next few months to next few years. It was place to learn genuine information and also to hear companies hype their consumers into buying their products (for good or ill).

Now, before I go on, I'll state that I've always been a Nintendo Fan. And, every time I've ever doubted Nintendo in a big way, they've always shown me the error of my ways... and Nintendo has always had a bit of a correlation to Apple for me. They're perceived as a smaller company, not for everyone, and they're always doing something different. Furthermore, someone's always stealing their ideas, you know? In fact, the only thing Nintendo and Apple have never shared in common has been price tags.

So, I "walked" into E3 this year, thinking to myself that I wanted to know about the Nintendo Wii (pronounced We, and formerly Codenamed: Nintendo Revolution), but already willing to accept it. I knew that Nintendo was going to try with a console what they did with the handhelds... Do something different, and something better than their competitors. More people (and new people) are playing Nintendo DS instead of Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP)... and new people, new Gameplay, I think, is what's important.

When all was said and done, the controller/s, the games, the ideas, and all the other things about Nintendo (and their excellent Press Conference) proved my faith was well-placed. I had not worries that I would enjoy what came from Nintendo, though I didn't expect them to steal the show like they did. I didn't expect Wii-Exclusive Announcements left and right, and I didn't expect there to be a GameCube and Wii copy of Zelda to come out this year. I didn't expect the "Controller Shell" for the Virtual Console to look so spiffy, nor did I think that Nintendo would bring out a "Light-Gun Shell" and show it off. BtW: Next-Gen Duck Hunt has been confirmed.

Beyond that, I liked what I saw for Mario and for Zelda, and I'm hopeful for everything else. I saw Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and the fact that we've got Solid Snake battling it out with us gives me hope for Sonic and Tails, Sora, Master Higgins, and whoever else to join the party. And, well, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption may look cool, but I want to play that new Excitetruck, or Wario Ware: Smooth Moves.

All in all, I got from Nintendo a bit more than I expected...

But, regardless of how much I like Nintendo, I didn't (by any stretch) walk into E3 this year thinking "Man, Sony is going to blow," even though that's what happened. Being a Nintendo Fan first (mostly because I end up having to defend them), I was still ready to give Sony a chance. More than a chance, really, since every game that's been badly Ported to my GameCube for the past few years, ran originally (and well) on the PlayStation 2 (adding in a lot more load time, of course). I'm not really a fan of that controller (but more so than the X-Box), but I've gotten used to it as the accepted "Industry Standard"... After all, it's just the PSX Dual Shock again, which was copied from Sony's original (and the N64, with the Rumble and the Analog sticks), which were both copied up from the Super NES (which the also Sega Genesis copied), which was copied up from the NES... but, besides that, it (the PS2) always had the games... and that whole year head start they got on Microsoft and Nintendo really paid off.

This year, I "walked" away from E3 a bit depressed about Sony. Put frankly, the main thing that Nintendo has going for them (getting new gamers, and making a different and better controller), Sony has going against them. Sony didn't have a single new or innovative idea under their belt this year. They copied everyone else and had nothing that stood out as their own idea. They snagged an X-Box Live setup from Microsoft, then snagged the tilt function from the Nunchuck attachment for Nintendo Wii (loosing the Shock in the Dual Shock), they showed Grand Turismo in HD (like anyone could tell, it looked so good before), and they outright lied (again) with their CGI videos that were supposed to be In-Game, and saying the PSP has outsold the Nintendo DS (which it obviously has not). Furthermore, their Press Conference [which I can't find a link to] was the most boring thing I've ever watched (and I sat through the Blair Witch Project)... all Hour and Fourty-Five Minutes of it.

Everything about Sony this year revolved around one thing: Sucking.

Hell, I've never liked Microsoft (for games or OS), but I'll be damned if I'm not more interested in buying an X-Box 360 now, rather than a PlayStation 3. Did I mention that PS3 will cost $600? What the Fuck!, seriously. I don't know anyone who will buy that, and I know fewer who will buy the $500 model with all the features missing. You loose more than $100 in features when you buy the "cheaper" one. If Justice here decides to buy one, I will chip in the $100 just so he doesn't loose features down the road, and that's just sick.

I'd rather play X-Box 360 because they have games that look interesting, even if I don't like the controller all that much. Gears of War actually looked pretty good and, hell, it will have Grand Theft Auto 4, and that was one of the reasons I finally got a PStwo (for San Andreas). $600 Price tag? That's nuts!

Did I mention the "Dual Shock 3" no longer has rumble?... or that the Wiimote has a speaker built into it? Microsoft actually did the right thing by bringing up their old controller... but Sony shot itself in the foot with a Nikita, going so far as to claim the tilt function was their idea. I mean, besides the fact the motion sensing and all that is superior to tilt, to claim it was their own idea when everyone (in the audience, by the response) knows better... well, Nintendo did it first on the console, and they did it better. End of Line.

But, hey, maybe I'm not the only one with a view of how things went this year. This is a Journal and an open discussion, so I encourage you to reply with what you think about all that's happened this year... and if you need help with Info, there's always IGN.

See you in the Future,
—The One True Huntermun


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