The Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3 for short, has come and gone. The Expo has sure changed since its glory days of loud shows, booth babes and the ever-present mob of geeks rampaging through its over-crowded halls. Even though the video game industry is making more money now than ever before and has become a sizable threat to the motion picture industry, the Entertainment & Software Association decided to be a party pooper and take all of the fun away from the event. Publishers and manufacturers now expose their hard work in a reserved manner, as the ruckus crowd has been trimmed down to a very select number of press and guests.

Even though E3 has undergone a massive overhaul, console manufacturers and video game publishers and developers still have a strong presence there. In this article, I’ll give my own personal opinion on what Microsoft, Nintendo & Sony had to offer at this year’s Expo.

Microsoft

One thing’s for certain, Microsoft sure do know how to pull off a surprise. Out of all 3 console manufacturers, they were the only ones to make me go “What?! Wow.” as they introduced a trailer for Final Fantasy XIII, which will be released simultaneously on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this fall. We also got to see some actual gameplay footage of Fallout 3, Gears of War 2 and Resident Evil 5, which are all big titles and anticipated sequels. I have to admit though; watching a trailer is cool, but watching somebody actually play the game is even better.

Then, Microsoft presented its new dashboard redesign, which now sports a brand new look, and features customizable avatars. Is it Mii, or do these avatars look a Wii bit familiar? Although they don’t necessarily bother me, this idea doesn’t add much to my gaming experience. After witnessing this, I thought to myself “What’s next on the menu, casual games?” Yep. Lips was announced at the conference, as well as You’re In The Movies and Scene It: Box Office Smash, which are all games oriented towards the more casual gamers out there. All in all, Ninten… err, I mean Microsoft’s conference was the most entertaining one, as it was filled with gameplay footage and tons of games, along with the only surprise announcement of the show.

Nintendo

I am going to write a letter to Nintendo asking them to give back the 60 minutes of my life that I lost by watching their conference. What a ridiculously painful slap in the face that was. Although I’m not the biggest Nintendo enthusiast out there, I still give kudos to the company for generating such stellar sales numbers by focussing almost solely on the casual gamer. Seriously though, what’s the deal with a soccer mom introducing a snowboard game? Has the smell of money blinded Nintendo so badly that they refuse to acknowledge the hardcore gamers that elevated them to legendary status?

Introducing casual games while completely ignoring the hardcore fan base is one thing, but seeing one of the most respected and venerable icons in video game history, Shigeru Miyamoto, act like a complete fool on stage in front of thousands of people made me lose the little bit of respect I still had for Nintendo. I feel sorry for Miyamoto. I know the man believes in his projects, but degrading himself for the almighty dollar because of those beliefs makes me sick to my stomach. Nonetheless, with games like Wii Sports Resorts and Wii Music, Nintendo made their decision known loud and clear: a big, resounding “Screw you!” to their base who brought them to the dance in the first place and an open-armed welcome to the casuals… and the money.

Sony

Even though they lost another exclusive in Final Fantasy XIII, Sony had a strong yet somber showing at E3. They made it loud and clear, on several occasions, that this was the year of the PlayStation 3, and I couldn’t agree more. After bringing up the rear in the “next-gen console war” ever since its launch, the PS3 is showing its teeth for the first time ever since the battle for supremacy began. After a stellar month of June, where the PS3 outsold the Xbox 360 by a healthy margin, and where Metal Gear Solid 4 stealthily sneaked atop the sales charts for the month, Sony showed off its full arsenal for this year and beyond and proved that they can compete with Nintendo & Microsoft.

Returning franchises such as Resistance, Motorstorm and God of War are sure to pique many a gamers’ interest. But that’s not all Sony had to show off. LittleBigPlanet is looking better each time I see it and has me itching to try it out, Infamous is another brand-new title that looks unique in the ever-growing sandbox-type world of gaming and MAG, with its massively-multiplayer-first-person-shooter gameplay will allow for 256 players to shoot each other in the face online. Add to that mix a price drop for the 80 GB model and we’ve got ourselves a clear-cut winner here. The only black mark on Sony’s conference was the lack of information on Home, which has been delayed so many times I’ve stopped counting.

All in all, it was a good E3. Many games were shown and announced at the show, and I cannot wait to try most of those titles out. Even though the event has changed a lot in the past couple of years, it’s still great to see what game developers and manufacturers have to offer us. I just hope that what I’ve seen transpires well into the games themselves and that Nintendo wakes up from its casual coma soon.