E3 2011 Awards: Best Host

Best Host Award goes to Jack Tretton for his presentation during Sony's Press Conference. He came out throughout the show and kept it moving. Some of the presenters tried to take him off his game by making fun of his wealth and fashion, but their jokes fell flat. That was a really nice tie by the way. The way it matches his shirt is awesome. Well done.

He also didn't take up too much of our time talking. He was constantly introducing games and products. He had me clueless as he introduced Sly Cooper: Thieves of Time. Congratulations Mr. Tretton.

Nintendo E3 2011: Pee You Wii U

Nintendo you talk too much. First you have a translator that speaks over Shigeru Miyamoto then have executive after executive doing more talking then showing. Know why Sony has the best show this year? They made their show about games. Jack Tretton didn't come on stage and talk all day. He said a few words and showed us the next new game.

I can't deal with the translator Bill Trinen. He speaks as Miyamoto speaks. I'd rather have Miyamoto speaking Japanese the whole time than listen to a translator speak over him. Nintendo take a note from Sony and have your translators speak after you have spoken. It's disrespectful to have someone speaking over a legend as he's explaining his work.

Don't know why, but I prefer to see Mario in Space. Super Mario Galaxy should be the name for Mario's future 3D adventures. He's in outer space and space is endless so it works. It would also help Mario get a real story if they revolved it around how he's lost in space trying to find his way home. Instead of finding the Princess he's trying to find his way home. That would be cool as hell.

Luigi's Mansion 2, I'll pass. I wasn't a big fan of the first one. I respect it, but it wasn't for me. If any Gamecube exclusive deserves a sequel it's Eternal Darkness. The game is a gem for a flop. I would buy an HD remake of that game first day.

Wii U. How many batteries does that thing need? The controller looks like a tablet. Apple better watch out.That the controller looks huge. Bigger than the original Xbox control. The Golf game impressed me how the controller was used as the T on the ball. Wait. That's Project Cafe wtf?

Overall I give this show a thumbs down. They didn't introduce one new IP or give us any cool trailers. Step your 3rd party game up Nintendo and work with the developers. It's not all about you Nintendo, cause when it is you are boring and uninspired. You abandoned the hardcore gamers back in 2006, and we've forgotten about you. Remind us why we love you Nintendo. We're waiting.

Sony E3 2011: Best in Show

Round of applause for Jack Tretton. It's not often we get the chance to commend the CEO's in this industry. You did the right thing Sir. Open the show, apologize about the Playstation Network, and make the show 5 hours long. Genius. Jack Tretton is a great host. He stuck around and showed us some pretty cool stuff. He also dresses nice and he keeps the show moving.

He kept me guessing when he introduced Sly Cooper's return to Playstation. I didn't see that one coming. I liked the trailer. It was funny and cute at the same time. I'd be the only person laughing in the audience if I was there right now. Motion Controls are so 2006. PlayStation get this and updates us with PS Move early. Medieval Moons... Yeah anyways.

Playstation made the show all about the games. That's what we care about. We don't care about how cool your new technology is we care about the games. Unless Nintendo plans on showing some hardcore games with Project Cafe, Sony might the best show this year. I've seen so many games this year I don't even know where to start. I was surprised by the early reviews of inFamous 2. I was expecting 9.0's and 10's. It got a 7.5 from Gamespot and a 3.5 from GamePro. They both agree it has it has it's moments. I'm still going to check it out tomorrow.

Hello Playstation Vita. I was skeptical about the news that came out earlier in the week about the name. I might have to start believing my colleagues more. I'm not calling it Vita, I'm calling it PSV. PSV for me. That has a nice ring to it.  There's something about a deal with AT&T that I don't understand. Is the PSV a phone? I don't get it. Oh well. Maybe I should have payed better attention. Uncharted PSV looked cool. You can play with the touch screen or with the buttons. It's up to you. Mod Nation Racers announced itself as a launch title on the Vita. That's cool. but when Sony When?

Microsoft E3 2011: Kinect Blah Blah Blah

Starting the show with Modern Warfare 3 shows you've got nothing new to say to the hardcore gamers Xbox. Every gamer knows a new Call of Duty is coming this fall. I bet most fans could have guessed it was Modern Warfare 3. The gameplay itself got off to a boring start. The dude on the stage looked bored playing as swam underwater.

Tomb Raider looked cool. I instantly thought of Uncharted when the trailer started, but after I saw her pull that stick out of her side I saw this game was serious. Nathan Drake is one of those guys who plays with fire and never manages to get a scratch on his face. Seeing Lara Croft get beat up as she made her way out that cave was cool. Add Tomb Raider to my list of games on my radar.

I'm skeptical about the Kinect support in Mass Effect 3. Sure it sounds cool to be able speak your dialogue choices to the game, but how does it sound to the person in the other room? "You're the Krogan's last hope." My family is going to think I'm crazy. Did Ubisoft show actual gameplay to the new Ghost Recon? All I saw was a trailer and a guy customizing his gun with his voice via Kinect. Only reason why I ask is cause I'm not sure if the game was a first or third person shooter.

Kinect blah blah blah. I thought Kinect was about using your body to make things happen. I guess it's more about using your voice to navigate menus. I think I'll save my $150 and just use my controller thank you very much. The purpose of Kinect's technology seems to be to make the gamer lazier. That Ryse game presented by Crytek seemed... Interesting. I don't know how exciting it's going to be punching and kicking the air. I'll wait for the reviews on that one.

Phil Spencer called Gears of War 3 the biggest exclusive of the year. That's scary since we've known about the game for years. As a matter of fact the game should've been released by now if it kept it's original release date. I'm not mad that Gears of War 3 is the big cheese for Xbox this year, but I want to see an exclusive I wasn't expecting. There's still another 45 minutes left of the show. Surprise me Xbox.

I got nostalgic when they presented Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. It made me think of how far the series has come since 2001. It feels like yesterday when my friends and I spent months playing the first Halo. Those were the days.

I'm not sure about Star Wars Kinect. I want to see something innovative with the technology. All I see is the player swinging the light saber and moving things. Do that in one game you've done it in all.

I see why Xbox was so quiet on the days leading up to E3. Microsoft had nothing to say. They're still hung up on Kinect which has yet to do anything for the hardcore gamers. This technology needs more time behind it. Maybe next year we'll finally see that hardcore game on Kinect.

How come Major Nelson never hits the stage at E3? When I see his tweets I instantly think Xbox. I've seen him speak at a Tweet Upl, and he does a good job at keeping peoples attention. I don't get it. Sure he's on Twitter with the updates during the show, but Major Nelson not hitting the stage is like Kevin Butler not appearing at Sony's show.

Overall I give the show a thumbs down. Xbox 360 isn't doing anything for the hardcore gamers besides Gears of Wars 3. Kinect wasn't cool 2 years ago, and it's not cool now.  The Halo 4 trailer at the end was not a surprise neither was finding out it's going to be a trilogy. Next year Xbox focus on the hardcore gamers please. You'll be doing everyone a favor.

E3 Unboxed

Nintendo is expected to walk away with the best show at E3. I'm not so sure about that. Project Cafe has been making headlines ever since it was announced as the codename for Nintendo's next console. Stories ranging from Project Cafe supporting HD graphics to the controller being a portable console sound cool, but what about the videogames? I've heard speculation about two titles that might end up on Project Cafe. Super Mario Galaxy 3 and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. If Zelda shows up as a launch title on the Project Cafe then Nintendo is off to a bad start. 

Please don't name Project Cafe "Wii 2" Nintendo. I hardly play my Wii at all. I usually binge on it whenever a game I'm interested in is released. The last time I binged I was playing Donkey Kong Country Returns. That was last November. Ever since then my Wii's been collecting dust. I don't want to be reminded of how much I didn't play the Wii whenever I think about Project Cafe.

I hope Nintendo doesn't completely abandon the Wii at E3. I hope they give Link his first real Wii adventure by announcing a 2011 release date for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. As far as Super Mario Galaxy 3 goes that would be an awesome launch title for Project Cafe. Mario continuing his space adventure on a new console? Sign me up.

I still think Sony and Microsoft have a bunch of tricks up their sleeve. They've been quiet about what they have in store for E3. I expect to hear updates about Gears of War and Uncharted 3, but I'm interested to see what they are going to do with their motion peripherals. Maybe they're both ready to present original IP's  for the Move and Kinect. I wouldn't be surprised if Sony or Microsoft presented a new console. Let The Show Begin.

PS3 Unboxed

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