E3 reactions or I am a giant video game nerd

[orangerful]

So, I woke up this morning to an email from Microsoft annoucing there is a new Xbox 360. It's black, quiet, has wifi and 250GB of space. Yum. I'm tempted to upgrade but can't really justify it at the moment. But all that space would be glorious for downloadable Rock Band music...and who knows what else!

Then they announced that Project Natal was now the Xbox Kinect. If it does everything they are showing in the video, I think it could kill the Wii. First of all, it eliminates peripherals. You buy the Kinect and that is your peripheral for ALL of those games. No controller, no balance board - the Kinect KNOWS ALL (erm, so no making out on the couch, okay? because it's watching you and it might...ya know...blackmail you later) I'm fascinated by the Dance game they show. Honestly, the biggest thing when it comes to playing those games now is that I'd have to drag out the DDR mat, find some space for it, hook it up...oh man this would make things so much easier for games like that.

Nintendo sort of flailed around during their presenatation - teasing us with a Legend of Zelda preview, but then telling us the game won't be out until 2011 (which to me translates to "Holiday 2011"). The rest of the games for Wii were the same old, same old. Mario plays every sport ever invented while you wait for Zelda to come out. Their biggest deal was the Nintendo 3DS which is somehow 3D without the player having to wear glasses. I'm not sure how that works...it kind of freaks me out. And as much as I use our current DS, my guess is we won't need this unless a special Zelda or Mario 3D game comes out. Then maybe. MAYBE!

Sony was all about the Playstation Move, which just looks like a Wii rip-off to me. And my guess is that it will suffer from all the same issues that the Wii is currently dealing with - it's hard to design a good game with motion controls. Plus, some games are going to require BOTH the Move and EyeToy. Sony is trying to make a big deal that their controller will be out before the Kinect and be cheaper (even though Microsoft has not announced a price on the Kinect) but the obvious Wii Copy-Catting bothers me and really does not make me interested in this peripheral.

Comments

[theoldmelody.livejournal.com]

You know I have to say, Nintendo was actually my favorite of the three. I think the 3DS sounds awesome, and I've read great things about it from people who have had their hands on it, but we'll see :D On the other hand, I have read that the Kinect is kinda laggy, but again, you never know! I hope they all turn out great cause I think these are really exciting new approaches to games and it would suck to see them fail.

Oh yeah....and I don't know if you heard or not, but my friend IMed me saying Ocarina of Time remake for 3DS. Is that a good incentive?

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was Googling around and saw some comments on the Kinect not being as quick as the Move, but I'm still fangirling over it. It's just starting out so maybe by November it will be perfected...or not. I want to tickle a tiger, dammit!!!!

Ocarina of Time remake in 3D??? Yes, that would cause us to purchase it. They know how to pull us in.

[marshmallow.livejournal.com]

I'd be tempted just by the promise of quiet.. the rest is just gravy.

I wonder, though, if any of the Playstation or XBox motion things can really kill the Wii though. There's something deeply accessible about the Wii that I don't think the others will be able to match, no matter what. They may take over for the Gamers (all important capital G there), but so much of Wii's success is how well it's done for people who aren't traditionally gamers. I'm sure we'll wind up with all of them in my house, of course, because we are childless 30something Gamers, but I don't see my Grandma sitting down to navigate through the XBox tabbing system any time soon. ;)

I'm deeply intrigued by the 3DS though.. of all the gaming systems in my life, the GameBoy remains my most constant favourite, if only because I can do that and watch TV simultaneously. XD I didn't hop on for the DSi, but the 3DS seems magic..

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

We have all 3 systems and the Wii gets the least amount of play, mostly because the only quality games on that system are the Nintendo franchises - Mario and Zelda. And those only come out every few years. Anything made by a third party or that is ported over from the Xbox or PS3 usually suffers (though I find it highly amusing that the PS3 would have a version of 'Dead Space:Extraction' for their MOVE device). I guess it won't kill the Wii right now, but if Xbox and PS3 can make good on these devices now, they might put a dent in Nintendo's ability to advance any further whenever the next generation hits.

My poor DS gets no love. I just never found very many games to play on it. AD played all the Zelda games and I had Super Mario...but most of the other ones I have I just sort of stopped played. Maybe I should keep it closer to the TV - put something on instant view and fire up the DS!