Malik
(6/14/10)
I don't know when it happened, but I just feel like the E3 season
holds no real meaning this year. Maybe it's the fact that not nearly
as much news seems to be coming my way about what to expect, or
maybe it's because most of the expected large announcements just are
not that fresh anymore. For example, it looks like the main
announcements for E3 this year will be the motion sensors for the
PS3 and 360. I guess all that I would expect for the Nintendo front
to be a bit of hype for the next Wii Zelda title, and maybe some
hints about their 3D DS system that's supposedly due out in Japan in
the next six months.
As for the motion sensing...this was seen last year. Nothing really
new is in the pipeline,
except maybe some name changes. Since the technology has been
pretty well detailed back in 2009, and with new details emerging
periodically, I only except that we'd see some of the new games.
Which would be fine if you're hyped for this stuff, but I still
haven't even seen any of the real fan based hype. Motion sensing
just doesn't seem high up there for the "hardcore" gamers, and the
casual gamers seem more likely to be turned off my the simple math
of the situation; "PS3 or 360 price + motion sensor price >> Wii
price".
As for myself, I have not seen enough titles show off motion sensing
in a way which keeps me entertained as it stands. The only great
motion sensing games I can think of so far have been Flower (with
limited motion sensing) and...ummm...nothing else comes to mind.
Everything else just seems to make motion sensing feel forced or it
just doesn't handle as well as one would need it to be to be the
entire core mechanic of game control.
For example, while I'm enjoying Mario Galaxy 2, the motion stuff is
just not something I enjoy. Flying on a bird or rolling a ball with
only motion (and a single button to jump on the ball) is a pain in
the ass. Even spin attacks with a quick flick of the Wiimote gets
annoying when I either involuntarily cause a spin at the wrong
moment or when I cannot get a spin detected when it's crucial. A
simple button would handle this better, for myself at least.
In the end, all I can see is that motion sensing isn't what matters
when the question is "good games, or another expensive peripheral?"
As for the Nintendo side of things...unless there is a big change, I
don't see much being shown that is worthy of any attention. Nintendo
is notorious for small E3 showings while they hold off most major
announcements for the TGS later in the year. If there is anything
seen, I don't expect to be wowed by Zelda or a 3D DS.
Zelda will be good. Zelda is always at least good and typically
great. So it is just not a hype worthy franchise for the expo and
conference environments. It's like being hyped for a new season of a
great TV show. It will be good, but it's just not something to get
excited for like a new series.
The same goes for the 3D DS. It is still another DS. We've seen four
of them now, and beyond some small tweaks, there is nothing new.
With DSWare, there is nothing else I can see being "new" to the DS
world. Until the DS stops being profitable for Nintendo, there will
be nothing new in the portable world, and it will be, like with
everything else right now that matters, about the games being
quality and not about some hardware changes.
Malik |