E3 2009: The Best and Worst of the Show + other great Moments

Most of the press conferences at E3 2009 are now a thing of the past and it is time to take a look and what worked, what didn't, who won and and who slipped up.  I did this last year as well if you want to see those results.  These are your E3 winners and losers.

The Biggest Announcement

I have to go with the announcement of Final Fantasy 14.  This shocked pretty much everyone at the show and it was one of the few things that didn't leak out in advance.  Square-Enix has stated it may eventually come to 360 but for now it is launching on the PS3 and PC in 2010.  With FF13 not even out yet this announcement was definitely a shocker.

I think FFXIV was followed closely by Microsoft's Natal, even if I think it is less practical than Sony's motion controls.  As a tech demo it was impressive and you can see Microsoft's roots and genius as a software company.  The third biggest announcement had to be Metroid Other M and the fact that Team Ninja is working with Nintendo on it.  Quite the interesting collaboration between the family friendly Nintendo and the over-the-top blood and guys Team Ninja.


The Best conferences in order

I got some slack last year for my Sony support but I own all the damn consoles now so hopefully that helps the non-bias cause.

Sony - Games games and more games.  Sony had a ton of titles to show off and plenty of "true" exclusives.  I really think the only complaint we can have of Sony this is a lack of a price cut and existing owners really don't care about that.  From God of War 3, Heavy Rain, Uncharted 2, MAG, The Last Guardian, Final Fantasy 14, Rockstar's Agent, and Mod Nation Racers they blew Microsoft out when it came to exclusives.  The PSP Go was a solid announcement that should help bring portable gaming closer to the digital distribution front.  And to top if off their motion controls seemed practical and worthwhile.

Microsoft - While Microsoft brought out what they like to call "exclusives", the fact is many of them are on PC as well (Mass Effect 2, Alan Wake, Left 4 Dead 2, Splinter Cell) and I will play them there.  Metal Gear Rising was announced but we know that will be on the PS3 as well.  The only "true" exclusive that is seemed like a must buy for me on 360 as I don't play Halo was Forza 3.  Natal is very impressive however and some day down the road it could really be doing big things.  Is Reach and ODST enough to satisfy the Halo fanboys?

Nintendo - Nintendo didn't fail nearly as hard this year as last year.  Thankfully.  It was looking a bit bleak after the Super Mario Brothers Wii announcement (which my folks on the show floor say is amazing) but Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid Other M where great saving graces.  They focus so much on the DS (I don't blame them, number selling system in the world) and I just kind of zone out when it comes to that.  The above three games sound like must buys however and I couldn't find one must buy in last year's show. 

Yes, Sony again this year.  Overall these are probably A-, B+, and B- if I had to rank them grade wise in that order.  I felt Sony came with better games overall and more of them.  The motion controls are an interesting battle so lets discuss that a bit more.


The Battle of the motion controls

This deserves its own sub-section as everyone was on the motion controlled bandwagon this year.  Nintendo continued to hype Motion Plus which last year looked cool and now this year it looks mediocre at best compared to Microsoft's Natal and Sony's demonstration.  Natal was far and away the most impressive technologically of the three, I won't argue that.  Sony's however seemed to have the most practical in-game uses and seemed like it could actually make it in to some key games and not just be an afterthought.  From sword play to FPS action the Sony wand-like thingy seemed like something I would use.  Honestly as cool as Natal looks I don't want to stand around flailing my arms with nothing in them just to be "realistic".  Natal may offer the most depth and options with their motion based camera but Sony seems to have won the "usability" department. 

Best Gameplay Video


God of War III has moved up from best teaser to best gameplay of this year's show.  We have wanted to see this in action other than the few glimpses of cinema trailers and SCE Santa Monica delivered.  Note that there is more gameplay footage other than this sole video and you can view more here.  March is going to be an awesome birthday when this bad boy lands.


Best Video w/o Gameplay