After every E3, it seems like gamers are always wondering who “won” E3 between Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo. The question strikes me as odd, because “winning” is a loaded term–it would mean that the others lost. With this E3, there wasn’t a definite “loser”, but varying degrees of winning. Maybe none of them appealed to you, but all of them had something to offer as long as you weren’t looking at it from a purely personal basis.

So, who won E3? I’ll let the grades speak for themselves but, in the end they all won in different ways.

Microsoft:

I’ll just go ahead and relieve any suspense: I personally thought Microsoft’s press conference and showing was the best out of the three. They had something for every type of gamer: Shooter fans got Gears of War 2, RPG fans got Fallout 3 and plenty of stuff from Square Enix (including the “megaton” of FFXIII coming to the 360), survival horror fans got Resident Evil 5, and they showed plenty of quality games coming to the Xbox Live Arcade in Geometry Wars 2, Galaga Legions, and Portal: Still Alive. Microsoft also had stuff to show for the expanded audience in Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, Lips, and You’re in the Movies. You might brush these games off because of their “casual” feel but, at the very least, they diversify their games lineup significantly.

They also showed off “The New Xbox Experience”, which will replace the current Xbox Dashboard sometime this fall. Personally, I dug the design of the new dashboard–it looks sleek and seems a lot more visual and user-friendly. Avatars do stink of “Mii too”, but it’s a neat addition nonetheless.

The only real black-mark on their press conference and overall E3 showing was that they didn’t show what they have in store for 2009. (Sound familiar? Same problem as last year.) However, as a 360 owner right now, I’m feeling pretty good with what Microsoft has in store for me this holiday season.

Grade: A-

Nintendo:

As a hardcore gamer, their E3 showing for me was, in a word, awful. The only games that I came out of E3 remotely interested in were Wii Sports Resorts, Animal Crossing: City Folk and Pikmin 3. Even so, my excitement for these three games is minimal because each has significant question marks. For one, does Wii Sports Resorts come with online? How is Animal Crossing: City Folk going to be any different from the previous games? When are we going to see Pikmin 3?

Furthering my disappointment as someone who is more hardcore than casual was the complete oversight of WiiWare, Virtual Console, and a storage solution for the system. WiiWare is a place where Nintendo could do some really cool, cost-efficient products that skew to the hardcore, but they’ve done nothing with their own service. Complete bummer.

The big win for Nintendo was obviously Wii Music. Sure, to me (Mr. Hardcore) I hate it. It seems like every other Wii (Sports/Fit/Play) game–novel, quick fun for a day or two; then you’re done with it. However, just like every other Wii branded title, it’ll sell extremely well to the audience Nintendo has created, so in that sense–it’s a win for them. At the end of the day, what sells is what consumers want, and if Nintendo’s filling that need…more power to them.

Grade: C+

Sony:

Much like Microsoft, I thought Sony had a great showing that should please quite a few people. Their lineup this year is extremely rock solid, with games like LittleBigPlanet and Resistance 2 leading the way. They also showed two great-looking games coming in 2009 in God of War III and MAG (which sounds all kinds of awesome, by the way).

In addition to all the PS3 stuff, they also showed off new and old PSN games that will surely make me a frequent visitor to their online store. With games like Fat Princess (one of my favorite games of the show), PixelJunk Eden and Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty, it’s great to see Sony support their downloadable service so well.

My biggest disappointment was that they sidestepped on a release date for Home, which I doubt we’ll see this year. Obviously, a great product a year later is better than a bad product now, but Home needs to come out soon. Because it’s been pushed back so many times, I’m personally tired of hearing about it–just put it in my hands already!

Grade: B+