Boy, that full week of news, is not it? On the same day, we had the WWDC and the E3 (the mega-fair games that displays news from console manufacturers and gaming companies). If you grew up reading old magazines or watching the game StarGames certainly dreamed of one day going to the Electronic Entertainment Expo.
The event is still happening (E3 goes from day 7-9 and June), but for most gamers, the main innovations have been displayed in the presentations from Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.
And how many novelties. Among many other things - is difficult to list everything in a concise summary - Sony has finally answered everything we wanted to know about the NGP (including the final name of the console). Microsoft promised a Star Wars game that may finally bring the experience that we thought we would the Wii. And speaking on the Wii, Nintendo showed us his successor.
But what were the highlights of the conference?
Microsoft's presentation was very diversified. For hardcore gamers, we saw 3 Mass Effect, the remake of Halo: Combat Evolved Modern Warfare 3, a new Tomb Raider, Forza Motorsport 4 (little gameplay, but interesting integration with Kinect), and Gears of War 3.
E3 2011: presentation of the "Disneyland Adventures" for Kinect (Reuters)
As for the audience a little more casual games that take advantage of the system of motion sensing Kinect: Disneyland Adventures (which can hardly be called a game, more like a virtual tour Disney with lame gameplay thrown over), Kinect Star Wars (which took me "excitement" a "disappointment" in less than 3 seconds), Once Upon a Monster (a game based on characters from children's program Sesame Street, which is still very popular in the U.S.) and Dance Central 2, presented by the same citizen who paid this monkey at E3 last year. And finished in style with the trailer for Halo 4, promised for the end of next year. It was the only moment of genuine excitement from the audience, which mostly remained silent presentation.
Overall there were no major surprises, and the focus was exclusively on software. The announcement of Minecraft for Kinect was also very nice, but did not show any gameplay so I kind of got a little way of press release (ie, without much substance).
Sony's presentation, however, was far more interesting - partly because it deals with hardware, which is always a more significant change in the status quo gamer. Yes, we saw trailers for Drake's Deception (with that visual film ever) and Starhawk, but what really occupied more space in the conference was the NGP (hereafter called PlayStation Vita) TV and PlayStation.
About PlayStation Vita, the first real successor to the PSP after so many makeovers, you know the release (available later this year) and price ($ 249 for the Wi-Fi version and $ 299 for the version with 3G connectivity). In the U.S. the device will be exclusive to AT & T, which suggests that the console will be locked in the carrier network American ... Bad news for those who are thinking of going past the end of the year in the States and bring a brand new 3G PSV home.
And not only is bad news for us, no: the audience laughed when Kaz Hirai announced that the FDP would be exclusive to AT & T, such is the bad image of the company there.
We saw several games for PSV (I'm the only one who finds this a bit ... weird acronym?): Street Fighter, a spin off of Uncharted, LittleBigPlanet, among others. The numerous inputs from PSV - conventional buttons, touch screen, touch the back too, cameras, gyro - will make it an incredibly versatile platform. The price is very competitive, and the picture quality of games is jaw-dropping. It was expected that one day portable consoles had graphics that rivaled the islands with "table" but that does not diminish the horror of seeing Uncharted running a small screen of 5 inches.
Sony also announced the PlayStation TV: a 24-inch 3D TV that allows, with the aid of special glasses, which players see two different images on the same screen, completely changing the way you play multiplayer games on the same TV. That is, if you get the idea (I have my doubts). And with humble 24-inch, this apparatus is more to monitor than for television.
PlayStation TV will be offered for $ 499. The package will include a copy of Resistance 3, a pair of such glasses, and HDMI cable.
Finally, the conference from Nintendo. Like Sony, Nintendo hardware had to bring to the table: the Wii's successor. Announcement of new console is the kind of thing that attracts much attention and speculation from the public, and no wonder that the presentation of the Big N seems to have caused greater frisson than the competition.
The presentation began with the announcement of a new game for each console Zelda franchise from Nintendo. Link's Awakening, available the same day in eShop (a virtual store 3DS), Ocarina of Time 3D next weekend, Four Swords in September for the DSi (and free), and Skyward Sword for the Wii (no specific date but even in 2011).
Then, a few titles for Nintendo 3DS. Starfox 3D (including online multiplayer with the interesting feature that captures the faces of his opponents in real time and use them as avatar in the game), Super Mario 3D, and Kid Icarus: Uprising - a series of two games which last came out in 1991 . Knowing Nintendo's commitment to its franchisees, it is curious that this has been so long in the refrigerator.
A few more quick videos showing gameplay of games coming to the 3DS (among them Tekken 3D Tetris 3D, Ace Combat Cave Story 3D and 3D, which led the audience to their feet), and then it's time to decide. On stage, Reggie Fils-Aime (Nintendo honcho) begins to explain the company's new console, Wii U.
Wii U ": a device that seems to be a hybrid of console and portable tablet. Do not let the size fool you - this is not a handheld console, Nintendo makes clear.
The presentation shows the various uses of such control. You can continue, little on the small screen, you play a game on TV, if someone changes the channel. With the included stylus, can you draw on the screen. The control can be used in conjunction with Wii Fit, eliminating the TV altogether. There is even the function of video conferencing, and should not have been the only one who felt a strange deja vu. After all, not too long ago that we were introduced to the idea of a videochat white tablet of a certain company named after a fruit, right?
There must have been the only one who found the conference somewhat confusing. Relying only on descriptions of Reggie, you could not decide for sure if the Wii is just U such "control tablet, or if it is part of a larger island. The reason is that in the presentation, the control was constantly called by the name of the island, blurring the line between one another.
Actually, the Wii U "tablet" (U Wii-mote?) Connects to an updated version of the Nintendo Wii, serving primarily as a satellite of the U Wii, which will this time, the graphics in high definition (1080p) and serious games that the hardcore had even given up hope of Nintendo.
The control tablet is not required, moreover, it will be just a luxury for the most enthusiastic of technological innovations. U The Wii is also compatible with the traditional WiiMote.
On balance, I think Nintendo's conference was the most interesting. Announcement of the new console is possibly the biggest news that a manufacturer can bring (even if the ad is a bit confusing).
Nevertheless, the U Wii has not convinced me. The fact that the control is completely optional makes me think that most games will not be done with control in mind. Or worse: enfiarão lame features, made in the thighs, just to be able to announce support for control. Not to mention that to create a device that looks and form factor tablet (to the point that it is necessary to make clear that there is a portable gadget) and it is intended exclusively to the living room seems counterintuitive. Do not know if a post-IPAD accept a "tablet" (because the popular perception that there is a tablet) forever confined to the couch.
And PS Vita seems quite interesting. The combination of touch screen, camera and 3G connectivity makes it the perfect island for the type of game that developers become millionaires in the AppStore, for example. And at the same time, robust graphics capability and the physical controls allow us to play games in the exact manner as they were meant to be played - by pressing buttons and moving levers directional. It seems a perfect marriage of casual appeal ee ability hardcore.
I just would rather not have games like Uncharted used to show the capabilities of touch the console, but what do ... It's like I said before about the Wii U: irrestistível the habit that developers have (especially early in the life cycle of a console ) threading functionality lame just to be able to claim support for new features.
Moreover, it is interesting to see how the seesaw industry's position had changed in recent years. Nintendo has this generation pleasing casual niche, while Sony and Microsoft were running behind the hardcore audience. This time, Nintendo suggests that it will return to more adult market, while Sony and Microsoft develop more games for their consoles for children with motion capture.
Ultimately, it seems that the market will be a little more balanced now, with all three companies all spheres simultaneously pleasing consumers. I think this competition much more interesting than the segregation of yore ("buy X console if you want to give shots to the face of aliens, or Y if you want to jump console in the living room with friends pretending they're dancing.")
And you know what you think of conferences from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony?
