E3 Predictions

E3. The time when the videogame industry announces its plans for the future. The place where gaming journalists who are too arrogant to make friends come together to say "fuck you" to the people who couldn't make it. I live for this shit. The Big 3 always dictate how successful E3 is going to be. Based off the stuff that we already know this years E3 is lining up to be special.

Nintendo is expected to debut it's new console codenamed Project Cafe. More interesting than that is the controller for Project Cafe that is rumored to have some pretty cool features. I heard the controller will have a touchscreen, a camera, a retinal scanner, you name it the controller will have it. I can't wait to see what Nintendo has in store with Project Cafe.

I hope Nintendo acknowledges the missteps of the Nintendo 3DS. It's sales aren't meeting expectations, and it's being outsold by the Nintendo DS. I hope we get an in depth look of the upcoming Super Mario 3DS game that's expected to come this holiday season. I also hope we see more AAA games announced for the 3DS.

Kevin Butler should be around for Sony's presentation. He was a hit at last years show, and after the crazy month Sony's had I think they could use a laugh. I also expect Sony to acknowledge the inFamous Playstation Network hack.

I expect to see a release date and the name "Playstation" attached to the NGP at E3. I also hope there is some in depth looks at some of the upcoming titles for the NGP. Maybe we'll find out Uncharted and Killzone portable are launch titles.

Microsoft might have a few tricks up it's sleeve. They've been pretty quiet about what they have in store for E3. All I know is that their show will be broadcasting Live on Spike TV. I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft introduced it's new console. Xbox 720 would steal the show away from Project Cafe. I expect to see a bunch of jokes about the Playstation Network as well.

It's about time Rockstar gave us a preview of Grand Theft Auto 5. Everybody knows it's in development. If we don't hear anything about it this year then what is taking so long Rockstar?

Is the Nintendo 3DS a Flop?

Would you be surprised if I told you the Nintendo DS outsold the Nintendo 3DS last month? It's true. The Nintendo DS sold 257,000 units while the Nintendo 3DS sold 194,000 units in the month of April 2011. I was surprised at first, but after some thought it wasn't that surprising.

Nintendo 3DS is Expensive

The Nintendo 3DS is too expensive. Especially when the price of the Nintendo Wii and DS have recently dropped. You could buy a Wii and two games for less than the price of a 3DS with one videogame. That's crazy. Lets not forget the PSP Go went for the same price and died in less than two years

It's Not Really Innovative 
The Nintendo 3DS is not too different from the Nintendo DS. Everything from the name to it's design brings out images of the Nintendo DS. The only noticeable differences I see are the circle pad and the design of the stylus. Everything else is small adjustments. The power and volume buttons have moved as did the place for the stylus. The 3D graphics are innovative because they don't require glasses, but that's not enough to call the 3DS a new system. Sure it makes the graphics better, but I've yet to come across a game where the 3D graphics actually improved the gameplay.

Videogame Selection is Horrible
There aren't many games out there for the 3DS. To make matters worse the most notable upcoming games are 3D ports of console exclusives. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D and Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D Edition come to mind as the most anticipated titles of the year for the 3DS. There is also a new Mario game in the works that's expected for the holiday season. Right now the only game I would recommend for the 3DS is Super Street Fighter 3D Edition. I've put well over 50 hours into that game, and I don't see myself slowing down.

It's too early to tell if the 3DS is a flop. It's only been available for 2 months. It's definitely off to a slow start. It has yet to sell one million units in the United States, and it's predecessor the Nintendo DS is selling more. This is supposed to be Nintendo's time to put a dent on the sales of the upcoming Sony NGP. Maybe sales will go up as more high profile games are released. In the mean time I'm going to save up for a Sony NGP.